Again, I am very behind on writing this post and we left New Zealand about 7 weeks ago. Better late than never! I am currently writing this whilst in a train station in Malaysia.
If you haven’t already, please check out my previous blog posts on the first 3 weeks in New Zealand. Week 1, Week 2 and Week 3 can all be accessed here.
I ended the last post in Franz Josef. From here, we drove towards Wanaka. This is quite a long drive and we had quite a few stops on the way so it took pretty much all day.
The first stop on our list was Lake Matheson. This is one of the most photographed lakes in New Zealand. If you are lucky, you can get a wonderful reflective shot of the mountains. We were told the best time to visit was first thing in the morning on a clear day. We got there about 10am and the weather was a bit too cloudy for the perfect photo, however it is still a nice lake to walk around.
The other stops on the way included Ships Creek, Thunder Creek Falls and Blue Pools. We made a lot of little stops as well, there are a couple of waterfalls just off the road on this route so whenever you see a scenic point sign it is worth a stop.
As this is the main / only road in the area, most people are doing the same thing and stopping at the same places. We ended up seeing the same people at multiple stops.
Wanaka
We arrived in Wanaka in the evening and checked into our hostel. We grabbed some food and then explored the town a little. Our hostel was actually in Hawea which is just a short drive from Wanaka but we decided to drive into Wanaka.
Of course in Wanaka, you have to go see the infamous Wanaka tree. It is a small tree growing in the lake and you’ll often see many photographers down there waiting for the perfect shot.
Wanaka is a nice town with plenty of shops and restaurants and the wonderful view of the lake and mountains.
We had a limited time in Wanaka so we didn’t get to explore too much. One of the other attractions here is Puzzling World .
In the morning, we had a walk by Lake Hawea which was again, another beautiful lake. We then set off towards Queenstown.
Again, we made a few stops on the way towards Queenstown. Anytime we saw a scenic sign or a place to park up, we stopped and took a picture.
Queenstown
Queenstown was absolutely one of our favourite places in New Zealand. It is the adventure capital of the southern hemisphere and it is also a very pretty place to be.
We stayed at the Tahuna Pod hostel which was a very good location and one of the best hostels we stayed in. We stayed in Queenstown for four nights and loved every second. I would like to point out that Queenstown is a very expensive city so you need to budget well for your visit.
We loved Queenstown, the lake and mountainous view really is something else.
Shotover Jet
We packed in a lot of adventuring in our four days. On the afternoon of our arrival, we did the Shotover jet. This was fantastic! I could not recommend this enough. It is a like a specially designed speedboat that goes through the canyon and the drivers get as close to the rocks as possible and through in a few 360 spins. It was so much fun and a must do in Queenstown. I would say, if you have long hair, tie it up before you go!
Bungy Jump
We had a skydive planned for our first morning, however it got called off due to the weather. So instead we booked a last minute bungy jump. We went for the Nevis bungy jump which is 134m! This was the first bungy for both Keith and I so we started on a big one. There are a couple others in Queenstown which are around 30-40m if you wanted to try a smaller one.
It was an amazing experience. First of all, you have to get on the bus and then check in at the site. You get harnessed up and then you can go out to the viewing platform. From there, they ship you out in small groups to the jump. Anyone who was doing a package deal (i.e. bungy and skyswing or catapult) went first. You get on this cable car across to the bungy platform which is suspended over a canyon.
Once we arrived, they told me I was next to jump and I was definitely not prepared for this. I sat in the chair, they attached my bungy cord and then helped me shuffle to the edge. The guy holding me at the edge counted down from 5 to 1 and I jumped. I didn’t have time to think, I just jumped.
I still can’t believe I actually jumped 134m. It was scary but so thrilling. I would do another bungy jump in the future but I would also need to psych myself up for it again.
Milford Sound Tour
The next day we had an early start. We drove to Te Anau to catch a coach tour to Milford Sound. We could have got the coach from Queenstown instead, however we worked out that is was both quicker and cheaper for us to drive part of the way to The Anau.
The coach drove us all the way to Milford Sound. You can also drive this part yourself, however when we booked this, we were unsure of the roads and it was not recommended to do it without snow chains.
The drive to Milford Sound goes through the national park and makes a couple scenic stops. one of my favourite stops was when we saw a bunch of Kea alpine parrots. One of them even tried to jump on the bus!
The coach stops at the harbour where you get off and get on a boat instead. The boat journey through the fjord is quite magical. I am not sure I can quite describe it well enough so you should make the trip yourself to find out.
The journey back was direct with no scenic stops and we eventually got back to Queenstown. It is a long day trip but definitely worth it.
Pro tip: Take sunglasses if you get a coach tour! The roofs are all glass so you get stunning views.
Skydive
The next day, we had our rescheduled skydive with Nzone. We did the 15,000ft one and it was amazing.
We really lucked out with the weather, clear skies and views for miles! This was also my first skydive and Keith’s second one.
I had so much fun, free falling was completely different from the bungy free falling. I would do a skydive again in a heartbeat. I also enjoyed the paragliding part and I think Queenstown is one of the best places to do a skydive as the views are simply stunning.
Keith had a slightly different experience to me. We were the last two to leave the plane, him after me. During my descent, my tandem instructor pointed out that the guys after us had to use their back up parachute and my heart skipped for a minute.
It turns out, Keith’s first parachute didn’t open properly and it wasn’t slowing them down enough. The instructor had to release the parachute and open the second one. So Keith had two sections of freefall.
They both landed fine, and Keith was in good spirits. He was a little disappointed that he didn’t get to enjoy many parachute spins, but at least he got a good story out of it. Please note the chances of the parachute failing are very very small.
Other highlights in Queenstown
It is a very pretty town and we really enjoyed just walking round. The lake gardens are a great place to walk and we found a nice rope swing too!
Queenstown also has a luge, very similar to the one we did in Rotorua. The track in Queenstown has less options but has a couple of jumps. It was a lot of fun!
Another thing that has to be on your Queenstown list is the Fergburger. Fergburger is a famous burger joint in Queenstown, it is also part of Fergbaker and Mrs Ferg gelato. The burgers are huge and delicious. We didn’t realise it was so famous when we walked past and saw the insane queue. Later on there was a very small queue so we decided to try it out.
I had a tofu burger and it still stands as the best veggie burger I’ve ever had. We ended up getting another Fergburger a day or so later.
Another thing we did in Queenstown is stargazing. We drove out to a couple of points outside of town to get a good view of the stars and also the city.
Christchurch
After a busy few days in Queenstown we left and did the long drive up to Christchurch.
Again, we made a lot of stops on the way to break up the drive. In New Zealand there is always a scenic stop.
We had lunch at Lake Tekapo which is a very nice place to stop and if we had more time it would be nice to stay there longer.
We arrived in Christchurch in the evening and checked into our Airbnb.
The next morning we had to drive to near the airport to hand back our trusty hire car. It was quite a moment to hand back the keys after a while month.
We got a shuttle back to Christchurch city centre and spent the day exploring the city as best we could with our big backpacks.
The botanic gardens were pretty and there are plenty of art around the city to look at. We also managed to find a charity shop and hand over some of our winter clothes that we no longer needed (as we were going to be heading to warmer climates after this).
This day was also Keith’s 26th birthday so we managed to find a dessert place Rollickin Gelato. Keith got a brownie and they even brought it out with a candle for him. Very nice place and apparently quite famous in Christchurch.
We ended up sitting in that cafe for absolutely ages. We had accommodation booked for the night so out plan was to head to the airport late in the evening and wait it out in the airport until our 6am flight. After a little while, an Irish lady walks in with her young son and they sit opposite us.
We spent ours chatting to her and laughing at the boy’s knock knock jokes. They eventually left and came back within a few minutes and she told us she had booked us a hotel room for the night so we could get some sleep for a few hours. I couldn’t believe it!
So thank you Katherina and Finn for your insane kindness. It will not be forgotten. I hope one day we can also pass on this kindness.
So what next..
We had a shower and a nap at the hotel and then got a taxi to the airport. We boarded a flight from Christchurch and left New Zealand. That’s it the end of our New Zealand adventure. This beautiful country had been out home for a month so it was bittersweet to leave it. I cannot wait to come back already.
So back home? Nope! No yet! Next stop …. Melbourne. Keep an eye out for further posts on the travel adventure or check out my personal Instagram @amyiruss for the latest on our journey.
