New Zealand

Despite the amount of time and effort required to travel to New Zealand (from the U.S.), it's become quite a popular tourist destination amongst my friends recently, and now having finally made the trip myself, I completely understand why.

My friends, husband, and I trekked out to New Zealand for about two weeks this past February.  We were only able to squeeze in the South Island this trip, but even then, it was barely enough time.  NZ looks so small on the map, but I was quite impressed by the vast and diverse landscapes -- we saw everything from beaches to glaciers.  The best way to see the country is probably to drive from city to city in order to fully appreciate the scenery.  There's also a wide range of activities to enjoy, ranging from extreme sports and adventures to leisurely strolls and scenic cruises.

Here are the spots we hit.

• Day 1: Arrived in Christchurch.  The city still hasn't really been rebuilt post-2011 earthquake, so there was not much to see.  It's still a major transportation hub though, and not a bad place to begin your journey and just take it easy for the first day.
• Day 2: We took the famous TranzAlpine Rail for a scenic train ride from Christchurch to Greymouth, then picked up our rental car and drove to Punakaiki.  The views along train ride were nice, but I wasn't blown away.  Perhaps part of the reason was because there were only a couple of open air trains to take pictures, but those got crowded very quickly.  It might have been nicer to just sit back and relax in our seats the whole time without worrying about getting good photos.  In Punakaiki, we saw the Pancake Rocks and Blowholes, and I was blown away by those views.  The rocks are eroded limestone, and they appear to have many thin, stacked layers, hence the "pancake" name.

• Day 3: We explored the Charleston GlowWorm Cave in Paparoa National Park.  We chose to walk through the cave, but the cave rafting option also sounded fun.  The upper level of the cave showcased impressive stalactites and stalagmites, and then we made it to a dark cavern to see the glowworms.  In order to really see the glowworms, it of course had to be pitch black, but that meant pictures don't really turn out.  I ended up with lots of black photos with white dots -- nothing at all like the neon green galaxies I saw on Google Images.  That said, our guide informed us that those cool photos you find online are all photoshopped, so it's clearly not my photography skills (or lack thereof)...

    

• Day 4: We bundled up and did a heli hike on Franz Josef Glacier.  This was my most anticipated activity, and it did not disappoint.  We had a bit of a scare in the morning, as it was quite foggy and there was a chance the trip would get cancelled, but fortunately the skies cleared in time for us to hop on the helicopter up.  It was beautiful on the glacier, and we had a lot of fun hiking around.  I wouldn't have minded some extra hiking though.  

view from helicopter

  

• Days 5-6: Queenstown, the adventure capital.  Up until this point, we'd been on the go to a new city everyday, so Queenstown felt like the first breather where we could relax and walk around town aimlessly.  Of course we had to have our fair share of adventure too though, and we all went whitewater rafting the first day.  This was only my second time whitewater rafting (first time was in Poconos), and I have to say, this was much more fun.  We somehow ended up with the honor of being the lead raft (no pressure at all!), and it was pretty fun(ny) watching all the other rafts attempt to make their way down/over/around particularly tough spots.  The next day some of us went for a bike ride around a pretty lake, (Lake Wakatipu?), while others played a round of golf.  Food was also great in Queenstown.  We had a nice dinner out at Botswana Butchery and got to compare and contrast two burger places for lunch (Fergburger and Devil Burger; Fergburger better, in case you're curious, but not sure it's worth the wait).

• Day 7: Fiordland, specifically Milford Sound.  Our tour included a drive through the Hollyford Valley, with scenic stops along  the way, including Mirror Lakes.  Then we hopped on a cruise through Milford Sound.  One of the first things I learned was that Milford Sound is not really a sound; it's a fjord.  (A fjord is created by a glacier, whereas a sound is created by a river.)  Cruising through Milford Sound (...I mean Fjord) was a very different experience than going through the Norwegian fjords.  The Norwegian fjords are larger and perhaps more majestic, but we were able to get much closer to the fjords in Milford; at one point, we even went (almost) right up to a waterfall.  And animal sightings (dolphins, seals) are always a plus!

           

• Day 8: We had a quiet next day in Lake Wanaka.  The drive over was beautiful, and after arriving, we stopped by a winery (with spectacular views, of course).  But there was pretty much nothing else to do; just take in the scenery and enjoy.

  

• Day 9: This was a bit of a failure.  We were supposed to do a glacier boat trip at Tasman/Mount Cook, but it was pouring so everything got cancelled.  We didn't stay in Tasman and went straight to Lake Hawea and Lake Tekapo next, where we had booked an observatory tour in the evening at Mt. John, but the skies were not clear, and that also got cancelled.  

• Day 10: We made a detour to Oamaru because I really wanted to see penguins.  On the way there, we stopped by the Moeraki Boulders for some pictures.  I have to say, the Moeraki Boulders look really cool in pictures, but the actual place was pretty smelly, and the sand along the beach was rather sticky and what I imagine quicksand to feel like.  But Oamaru turned out to be a pleasant surprise.  Before our evening viewing of the penguins, we stumbled across a New Zealand whiskey shop and enjoyed a nice flight and left with some tasty souvenirs.  Dinner at Riverstone Kitchen was also one of the best meals we had.  We were so excited by the menu that we literally ordered everything on the menu except for a soup and chicken dish, and then added the special too.  As for the actual penguins, they were adorable.  Oamaru is home to a colony of blue penguins, the smallest penguin species.  We watched them return home from work (aka fishing) in small groups, and they would make their way up the beach, climb the rocks, and return to their burrows.  The tide gradually rose and the waves got stronger, and when one of the last penguins got washed back out to sea (they're so small!), its fellow penguin friends all jumped back into the water to make sure they all safely made it back to shore together -- talk about camaraderie!  Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any photos, as the light and sound from cameras and phones would disturb the penguins.  Cuteness overload!

  

• Day 11: This was our last full day in NZ, and we stopped by Akaroa for a harbor cruise to swim with Hector dolphins (smallest dolphin species with Mickey Mouse-looking fins) before returning to Christchurch.  While we did spot some dolphins, they were not in the mood for play and disappeared as soon as we went into the water.  By the way, that water was coooolld.  Wetsuits were not enough to keep us warm.  Could've used a down feather blanket or something.

So as you can see, we had a jam-packed itinerary, as our goal was to see as much as possible since we traveled so far already.  I would definitely love to make another trip some time to revisit some of our favorites and explore North Island as well as different places on South Island.