We will be driving all over the South Islands during late October. Possible tricky stretches could be the drive down West Coast to the glaciers, from the Glaciers to Queenstown via Haast Pass, the drive to Milford Sound, and from Te Anau to Mt Cook.

Is there any chance of encountering snow or ice on any of these drives during late October ? Do we need to carry any snow chains etc for the car ? Anything else to be mindful of while driving at that time of the year ?

It is highly unlikely that you would encounter snow or ice on any roads in NZ at that time of year, unless we have some freak weather conditions. I would never carry chains as a matter of course at the end of October.

You may strike some heavy (read VERY heavy) rainfall on the West Coast, but you just need to modify your driving to suit the prevailing conditions.

Thanks a lot kiwi-rob, it is a relief. I was mainly worried about the Haast Pass stretch.

Rains are not a problem, as we are quite used to driving in very heavy rain in India.

Freak storms are not unknown especially on the South Island. It's best to check the metservice forecast before setting out.
I just missed being snowed upon in December a few years ago, of course they always say it's the worst weather in years..haha!

In October you can be flexible with your itinerary.

www.metservice.co.nz

Get familiar with that website! Especially the "mountain forecast".

BTW most hotel operators were very understanding when I wanted to shift my stays by a few days because of the "freak" weather conditions. They don't want you caught in a snowstorm either.

Thanks for the website link mlgb. Will keep checking on it when we go.