Te Waipounamu / South Island — Local services in Maniototo Community

Tourism is a huge earner for the South Island. Popular tourist activities include sightseeing, adventure tourism, such as glacier climbing and Bungee jumping, tramping (hiking), kayaking, and camping. Numerous walking and hiking paths such as the Milford Track, have huge international recognition.

An increase in direct international flights to Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown has boosted the number of overseas tourists.

Fiordland National Park, Abel Tasman National Park, Westland National Park, Aoraki or Mount Cook National Park, Queenstown, Kaikoura, and the Marlborough Sounds are regarded as the main tourism destinations in the South Island and amongst the Top 10 destinations in New Zealand.

This is a list of ski areas and resorts in the South Island.

Name-Location-Notes Awakino ski area-Otago-Club Skifield Broken River-Canterbury-Club Skifield Cardrona Alpine Resort-Otago Coronet Peak-Otago Craigieburn Valley-Canterbury-Club Skifield Fox Peak-Canterbury-Club Skifield Hanmer Springs Ski Area-Canterbury-Club Skifield Invincible Snowfields-Otago-Helicopter access only Mount Cheeseman-Canterbury-Club Skifield Mount Dobson-Canterbury Mount Hutt-Canterbury Mount Olympus-Canterbury-Club Skifield Mount Potts-Canterbury-Heliskiing and snowcatting only Mount Robert-Tasman-Club Skifield Ohau-Canterbury Porter Ski Area-Canterbury Rainbow-Tasman The Remarkables-Otago Round Hill-Canterbury Snow Farm-Otago-cross-country skiing Snow Park-Otago Tasman Glacier-Canterbury-Heliskiing Temple Basin-Canterbury-Club...

The South Island, also officially named Te Waipounamu, is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area; the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, and to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean. The South Island covers 150,437 square kilometres (58,084 sq mi), making it the world's 12th-largest island. It has a temperate climate. It has a 32 percent larger landmass than the North Island, and as a result is nicknamed the "mainland" of New Zealand, especially by South Island residents, but only 23 percent of New Zealand's 4.8 million inhabitants live there. In the early stages of European (Pākehā) settlement of the country, the South Island had the majority of the European population and wealth due to the 1860s gold rushes. The North Island population overtook the South in the early 20th century, with 56 percent of the population living in the North in 1911, and the drift north of people and businesses continued throughout...

My friend and I hired a car and did a 1600 km road trip around the south island and wow. It was one of my favourite holidays. There is so much to see and do especially if you love the outdoors. Accommodation was no issue, Airbnb and backpackers were reasonably priced for excellent value. The roads are in great condition however be warned that the distances between places may be short it takes a fair bit longer as its all mountain passes. Queenstown is a must do but be prepared to spend a bit more money than you will in the other town. The locals are great and everything is in English which makes it super easy for any tourist. The place is safe but I would always recommend that you exercise...