Please check out my posts on week 1 and week 2 in New Zealand.
It’s quite hard to actually split our New Zealand itinerary into set weeks, but I am trying my best. I ended the last blog with us leaving Napier and heading towards Wellington.
Wellington
We arrived in Wellington in the afternoon and met up with another family friend. Lynda put us up for two nights and was the best tour guide to the windy city. She also makes the best poached eggs I have ever had!
In Wellington, we managed to fit in Mt Victoria, WETA studio, Te Papa museum and the botanic gardens.
WETA studio did a lot of the work in Lord of the Rings so it was a must do on our list.
Te papa was also very interesting. We tired ourselves out walking round multiple exhibits about New Zealand geography, wildlife and even Maori history.
We also caught the Wellington cable car (which is actually a Funicular) which took us to the top of the hill and we walked back down through the gardens.
Catching the Ferry
In the morning we had an early ferry to catch. The cook Strait ferry takes around 4 hours and ours also had a delayed getaway. It’s a very slow journey and we tried to sit outside to enjoy the view but I was way to cold to sit there for long.
Kaiteriteri
After getting off the ferry in Picton, we made our way to Kaiteriteri with a stop off at Nelson. We stayed at Kaiteriteri recreation reserve and and this was one of our favourite places to stay. It was a great campsite that also had these cabins which is what we stayed in.
Abel Tasman
In the morning we caught a water taxi into the Abel Tasman national park. This is New Zealand’s smallest national park but also one of the most popular because of the stunning coastal track.
Unfortunately, in the weeks prior to our visit, the area had received an incredible amount of rain. This rain caused a lot of land slips which meant that several sections of the coastal track had to be closed for safety. This changed our plans somewhat, but we still tried to make the most of it.
We got dropped off at Medlands beach and walked towards Anchorage Bay. The Torrent bay crossing had to be done at low tide as the high tide track was closed.
We stayed the night at the Anchorage Bay Hut which is run by the Department of Conservation. It has four rooms of eight bunks but we had a whole room to ourselves. I think it would have been a different story if we were travelling in peak season!
Whilst it was novel to stay here, it was also freezing! The bunks don’t come with bedding and it wasn’t actually run by anyone so you just turn up and take a bunk. Keith and I ended up sharing a single bed to try and stay warm. We didn’t have full sleeping bags, only the liners so in hindsight maybe it wasn’t a good idea. I am still glad that we stayed there and it was a funny story to tell. Plus the views in the morning were stunning!
That day we caught the water taxi back to Kaiteriteri and checked into the cabins for another night. We checked out the beach at Kaiteriteri before heading onwards.
Punakaiki
When we arrived in Punakaiki, we didn’t realise how much there was to do. We stayed at The Nikau Retreat and guy running the place gave us so many recommendations.
We check out the beach which was a short walk away from our hostel. The beaches at Punakaiki are very different from the beaches we had seen in the last few days. Very dark cliffs and very stony. The waves were also pretty insane.
We then checked out the Punakaiki cavern which is just off the side of the main road and free to explore. We took our head torches and had great fun.
We explored more of the coastline and in the morning we went to see the pancake rocks. These are the main tourist attraction in Punakaiki and are best visited at high tide. That way you will see more water coming through the blow holes.
We also managed to walk some of the Pororari river track and of course loved the suspension bridges.
Franz Josef
Franz Josef was our next stop on our New Zealand itinerary.
We made many stops on the way but the main one not to be missed (slight detour but worth it) is Hokitika Gorge. Bright blue water and even more suspension bridges. Make sure to take your bug spray!
In Franz Josef, we stayed at the Chateau Backpackers and it was amazing! Free veggie soup in the evening and free breakfast in the mornings – what more could you ask for!
In the morning, we stocked up on breakfast (make your own waffles and pancakes). Then we set off on a long hike on the Robert’s Point track. This is a great way to see the Franz Josef glacier. The path is very steep and quite slippery so we were advised not to go in the rain, fortunately it was sunshine all morning.
The path also contains one of the longest suspension bridges I have ever seen and some cool slanted wooden steps on the side of a cliff.
Time is going quickly in the South Island!
That sums up the highlights in week 3 of our New Zealand road trip. There are so many small stops and visits that I can’t write about in full but I hope you can see how wonderful this country is and how hard it is to sum everything up.
