In February 2020, we spent 18 magical days traversing both the North and South Island in New Zealand. We added 1,500 kilometers to our rental car, which we nicknamed “Turbo”, and hiked ~100 km across 12 different day treks. On more than one occasion, we said,“this place is so beautiful, it doesn’t look real.” It was difficult putting down our cameras from time to time, because everywhere had such amazing views. But our cameras could never do this place justice!
We have been craving to visit New Zealand for years. We almost came to New Zealand during our year of travel, but it was always just a little too far, and probably too expensive. We saved this for our honeymoon instead :)
Our Favorites:
Sea Kayaking in Akaroa
Akaroa was our first stop on our New Zealand adventure. The roads are easily the windiest and narrowest we’ve ever navigated, and Annie did an incredible job behind the wheel, though her hands were cramping up from gripping the wheel so tightly.
While we were in Akaroa, we went on an early morning sea kayaking adventure. There’s this beautiful bay in Akaroa and we were lucky enough to spot a very friendly Hector dolphin (the world’s smallest dolphin!) that hung out near our kayaks for nearly an hour. There were a few different types of sharks that we were told live in the bay so we kept our head on a swivel! Especially after we learned that a Great White Sharks was spotted at the mouth of the harbor (though apparently they don’t come in the harbor!).
It was in Akaroa that we received the best New Zealand advice that we could receive: follow the good weather. We know this advice won’t always work, but we did modify our schedule based on the weather. For the remainder of our time on the South Island, we booked our accommodations a day in advance to stay flexible. We felt rain on our skin only once out of our 18 days in New Zealand - we know that .
Daily Jaunts around Lake Tekapo
Lake Tekapo’s turqouise water was unlike any we’ve seen. Because it is a glacial lake, it has tiny particles or rock floating around, which gives it the lighter color. On day 1 we stretched our legs for the first (of many!) hike of this adventure to the top of Mount John. The cafe at the summit served an incredible vegan felafel sandwich… so good we had to come back the next day. Further down the lake, we walked down to the Peninsula where we couldn’t see any other humans for miles in any direction.
Two Big Hikes near Mt. Cook
Mount Cook is so beautiful that we stopped our car 15 miles away to take a photo. Then we stopped again 10 miles away, and again 5 miles away. The view kept getting better and better. The Hooker Valley track was spectacular, winding through a grand valley for 5 miles before stopping a glacial lake at the base of the mountain. This was a great warm up before climbing the Sealy Tarns track the next day, which was 2.5 hours straight of nothing but stairs… fitness we would definitely need when we would make it to Patagonia in March.
Backtracking to find Good Weather in Rangitata
White water rafting was on our short list of adventures we wanted in New Zealand. We chose the Rangitata River, which had 2 separate legs of Category 5 rapids. Though the rapids were intense, the highlight was jumping out of the raft and floating down the river for about 20 minutes. Annie happened to be the slowest floater, which gave Adam an unforgettable view of Annie’s yellow helmet bobbing up and down with the wild mountains in the background.
Queenstown may be our new favorite city
Given the South Island’s reputation for the outdoors and very few people, we had mixed feelings about leaving nature to head into the city for 2 nights. In this case, we couldn’t have been more wrong. Queenstown might be our new favorite city. Our Airbnb held breathtaking views of the sound and mountains. On our first day, we landed a phenomenal Airbnb experience with a local wine connoisseur, who shepherded us to 4 different wineries to test over 30 types of wine (it was an early night). On the second day, we climbed the Ben Lommond on a sunny day and met 2 new friends from Montana, then went out to dinner together in downtown Queenstown. We honestly considered spending the rest of our time in Queestown… it was very tough to leave.
A Day Trip to Milford Sound
We originally planned to drive out to Milford Sound, but due to an unseasonably wet summer, the road caved in and was closed. So, we booked a short 35-minute flight out to Milford Sound and hoped we could land some nice weather. It couldn’t have been more perfect. We had sunny skies (but lots of turbulence so Adam was gripping his seat the entire flight), and met a great couple on their honeymoon. We drank wine as we spun around the Sound for a few hours, before heading back to our new favorite place… Queenstown!
A hot, long hike in Wanaka
After painfully peeling ourselves away from Queenstown, we landed in another stunning little town called Wanaka. With our one full day, we climbed 22 km to Roy’s Peak despite being advised it would be “too busy”. After living in Manhattan for 7 years, I think we have a different definition of “busy”. We passed another human every 10-15 minutes, which is busy for New Zealand, but definitely worth the breathtaking 360 views from the top. The whole hike took about 6 hours and we drank almost 3 liters of water, so we were both shocked to see a couple leave for the summit at 4pm without any water (We wonder if they made it).
We finally stayed in a Yurt in Hokitika
During our year of travel, we almost stayed in a yurt multiple times but it never happened. Annie found a perfect Airbnb right on the coast in Hokitika to make our dream come true! Even better, it started pouring that night which made the tent extra cozy.
