South Island Excursion

A recap of my travels through the South Island of New Zealand!

Christchurch: Arriving by plane here in this West coast city, we immediately saw the English influence all around. Resembling a European city with corner apartments, traditional Cathedrals, and streets lined with autumn coloured trees, I was able to enjoy the beauty of the city, but felt a bit put out by its overwhelming English influence. We spent a quality amount of time in their botanical gardens which allow gondolas to float through the river, and I truly enjoyed escaping the city for a bit.

Akaroa: Continuing westward, we drove through the hills to the various bays of this peninsula. This place stole our hearts. We made several bike rides around various bays, and hiked through one of the hills (a hike that almost killed us with its direct vertical climb up!), but the most captivating moments of our time there was the cottage hostel we stayed in. Located right on Banks Bay, the front garden and veranda looked out straight into the water and hills, not to mention the precious couple who welcomed us into their homey hostel, I knew this place was a storybook come to life!

Lake Tekapo/Lake Pukaki: Heading directly East from Akaroa, our destination were the lakes that lie in the centre of the South Island. Lake Tekapo welcomed us with its large body of water that was completely aqua and the hills were strong and covered with forestry trees. Though the town was not much, Tekapo provided us with enough excitement as we awoke with the present of 3-4 inches of fresh laid snow. Everything white, crisp, and reflective of the sun – it truly felt like Christmas morning! Lake Pukaki was a beautiful compliment to our drive further inland to the mountain range of Mt. Cook.

Mt. Cook: These were mountains like I had never seen before. These mountains were massive in size, abundant in snow, and majestic in beauty. Despite warnings of overcast, raining weather, the afternoon we spent there was clear, sunny and bright!

Queenstown: This is one of New Zealand’s more famous destinations as it is known for its extreme adventurous opportunities. Of course Jen and I had to partake in the adventure, so we signed ourselves up for a bungy jump: 440ft into the depths of a canyon – third largest in the world. Fear did not come to me until I was in the chair getting my feet tied looking at the ledge I was about to jump off of – but once I jumped, leaving behind my shaky legs and light-headed self, the feeling of free falling for 9 seconds with speeds of 80mph is like nothing else. For a time, I was completely separated from the world. Alone in the canyon, it seemed as though I was free to do anything – I loved it!

To celebrate, we spent a half of an hour in Minus 5 Bar – a bar that is a freezer, literally. With a temperature of negative 5, we were provided with gloves and heavy coats since everything in the bar was made of ice: benches, glasses, and all ice sculptures as decoration – a definitely unique experience.

Despite all its offers of extreme adventure, Queenstown also was such a welcoming town. Situated right on Lake Wakatipu, the town grows outbound and up onto hill. So quaint with its town centre and shopping boutiques, I would have enjoyed staying here longer.

Quote from Queenstown store: “Chocolate makes my clothes shrink.”

Te Anu/Doubtful Sound: Waking up early one morning, we drove south east to the town of Te Anu in order to travel Doubtful Sound. The Sound was a definite highlight to our trip. Heading on the cruise ship out to the Tasman Sea, we travelled through mountains with a small mist hovering at the top of them. We were able to see a pod of dolphins and a group of seals seeing how the water was more still than it usually is. In a moment of silence, we were able to witness the Sound as it naturally is – peaceful, yet full of life through the voices of birds we heard. In so many words, it was beautiful and majestic.

Arrowtown: This was a small stop along our drive, but one well worth it. A small town located in the valley, it consisted of a town centre of only two streets. Yet along this were boutiques, restaurants, and the greatest ice cream shop: Patagonia, where Jen and I fell in love with their banana split ice cream. Though it still doesn’t out live ‘hokey pokey’ ice cream which is honey comb flavour!

Lake Wanaka: This is where we celebrated Easter!! Waking up on the lake, again with hills surrounding, was the perfect way to remember the beauty of the gift of life. With two beautiful days of sunny and clear weather, this lake was crystal sparkling.

Franz Joseph Glacier: While this town had hardly anything to offer, the draw was the expedition to the famous glacier. It was a 45 minute walk to get to the base of the glacier where we then had to clap on our snow shoes so that we could begin the climb up. Despite the torrential down pour, the time we had on/within the glacier was magical. A mountain of ice we were descending upon in the mist of two other large, not ice, mountains – it was quite the complex. But a trip such as this one really makes one recognize how small they really are when there can be such a large mound of ice to climb about.

Punakaiki + Pancake Rocks: Continuing our voyage north, we stopped in the small costal town of Punakaiki, known for their Pancake Rocks. These rocks are composed of layers of thin rock stacked on top of one another – hence the name. Situated in the crystal aqua waters of the Tasman Sea, our lookout walk along the coast from the top of the cliffs provided us with beautiful views of the rocks in the vast water. As the water crashed upon the lower ends of the rocks, more of a realization occurs as to our weak place in a planet that is so much more than we understand.

Abel Tasman: In the north east cove of the tip of the South Island lays Tasman Bay. Here Jen and I sea kayaked before venturing into the bush for a hike. Kayaking is such a refreshing new look at the world. Resting upon the water, one begins to view land as the constricting force which prevents the abundant water to come to an end. There is such freedom which resides with being so connected to the sea – its one thing to observe it; it’s another to be upon it.

Our hike allowed for expansive shots of the water and its relation to the curving hill sides rolling into the shoreline. Again, a beautiful bright, sunny day blessed us with its presence – bringing about a gorgeous reflection upon the water.

Farewell Spit/Golden Bay: At the very northeast tip of the South Island is where the land dwindles out to a thin peninsula, Farewell Spit, wrapping around Golden Bay, with the Tasman Sea on the east side. Here we ventured out on horses! A three hour horseback ride left us extremely sore, but with one of the greatest memories of the trip. Riding on the top of the hills, with deep valleys on one side and water on the other made this journey one right out of an epic story. As my first horseback ride that I can remember, I truly enjoyed when we got into a canter (an almost gallop) with the horse; there was such adrenaline during one of those rides!

Nelson: The most north city the South Island can claim is, once again, on a hill which descends down to a water front. Here Jen and I stayed for several days at a hostel which was a home – with only less than 15 guests, it quickly became a comfortable environment we could rest in. My favourite portion of our stay here was our bike ride along the river in the quiet of a hidden trail, after which I hung around the park and befriended many dogs. I was also opened up to the true essence of a scene out of a novel where I sat under a London Plain tree, large and abundant in leaves, out looking the green grass and those which ran about it.

Wellington: The capitol of New Zealand resides in the southern tip of the North Island. We travelled there by ferry and re-entered the northern land. As our last stop of our trip, Jen and I treated ourselves with a day of shopping and the second day at the National Te Papa museum. A relaxed time in this spread out city on a hill and its artistic culture gave us a good closure to an amazing trip!

So as not to add anymore, I will close with saying that my South Island road trip (where driving proved to become quite natural on the left side of the road) was more than I could have imagined. Though in the end, I realize that a life on the move does not compare to one where a stable home is there to welcome you at night.