Driving Route : DHL Lions Series - Test Match Route

These driving routes refer to the 2005 Lions Tour. Click here to view our 2017 DHL Lions Tour preview.

Start:	Christchurch
Finish:	Auckland
Recommended Length:	12 Days
Distance:	2,651 km (1,657 miles)

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Route Summary

Travel time is approximate only, based on an average driving speed under normal road conditions.

	Travel time	Km	(Miles)
Day 1 Christchurch to Twizel	3.75 hrs	288	180
Day 2 Twizel to Wanaka	3.75 hrs	297	186
Day 3 Wanaka to Fox Glacier	3.5 hrs	261	163
Day 4 Fox Glacier to Westport	3.75 hrs	296	185
Day 5 Westport to Nelson	3 hrs	226	141
Day 6 Nelson to Wellington	5 hrs	241	151
Day 7 Wellington to Masterton	1.5 hrs	124	78
Day 8 Masterton to Napier	3.5 hrs	236	148
Day 9 Napier to Taupo	1.75 hrs	139	87
Day 10 Taupo to Rotorua	1 hr	81	51
Day 11 Rotorua to Whitianga	3.25 hrs	250	156
Day 12 Whitianga to Auckland	2.5 hrs	212	133
Totals for Driving Route	36.25 hrs	2,651	1,657

DHL Lions Series - Test Match Route

Your explorations kick off after the first test in Christchurch.

Drive to Queenstown and Wanaka via Mount Cook/Aoraki National Park—you're in an alpine wonderland watched over by New Zealand's tallest peaks.

If you love to ski, hit the slopes before driving over the main divide to the rainforests and glaciers of the west coast.

Shop for art in Nelson or catch a fishing trip in the Marlborough Sounds.

Enjoy the vehicular ferry cruise over Cook Strait to Wellington for the second test.

The road to Auckland, for the third and final test, leads through the vineyards of Wairarapa and Hawke's Bay—plenty to tempt you here.

Investigate the geothermal wonders of Taupo and Rotorua before you hit the surf coast that leads past Tauranga and around the Coromandel Peninsula to Auckland.

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