Bus Travel

It may take a full day, but you can take buses to and from the major towns in the Southern Alps and Fiordland area. InterCity operates a daily bus service between Christchurch and Queenstown via Mt. Cook Village, with a one-hour stop at the Hermitage Hotel for lunch. Their coaches also make daily trips from the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers through Wanaka to Queenstown. InterCity also goes down the South Island's eastern flank from Christchurch to Queenstown via Dunedin. Newmans, meanwhile, runs a daily bus service from Christchurch through Mt. Cook to Queenstown and a daily bus round-trip route from Queenstown to Milford Sound and Te Anau to Milford Sound. Wanaka Connexions sends buses between Wanaka and Queenstown several times a day. They also run to Christchurch, Te Anau, Dunedin, and Invercargill.

Contacts

InterCity Coachlines (09/583-5780. www.intercity.co.nz.)

Newmans Coach (09/583-5781. www.newmanscoach.co.nz.)

Wanaka Connexions (www.time2.co.nz.)