Australia & New Zealand Part III - The South Island

December 8-23, 2018

After two days on the North Island of New Zealand, we were airport bound again. We flew Jet Star from Auckland to Christchurch to explore the South Island for the next four and a half days!

After landing in Christchurch, we had a three-hour drive to Lake Tekapo. We spent so much time walking around and taking pictures of the lake and the Church of the Good Shepard that we almost missed our chance to eat dinner. The local restaurants had all closed, and we just barely got in an order at our hotel bar. It was almost 11 o’clock before we got to eat, and then we headed back out to do some night photography.

The next morning we went to the Greedy Cow for breakfast and grabbed sandwiches for our hike in Mount Cook National Park. With only an hour-long drive, we had planned to stop at Peter’s Lookout along the way, but it, unfortunately, was closed.

At Mount Cook, we hiked the Hooker Valley Track, an easy 10km hike with swing bridges, rivers, and lakes. It was a nice but very windy day for this hike. At Hooker lake, we ate our sandwiches and then headed back to fit in a short hike to Tasman Glacier. This hike was a lot shorter, and while not difficult, there were a lot of stairs. We then had a two and a half-hour drive to Wanaka, where the most anticipated hike was yet to come!

Alarms were set early for a 5:30 AM departure, Tuesday, December 18th, to hike Roy's Peak. Roy's Peak is a roughly 16km out and back hike through beautiful farmland. The hike is rated easy, it is not technically difficult, but it is very steep. Along the way, you get to walk alongside grazing sheep, and the views are spectacular. It was cool and cloudy, but we made it to the first lookout before the rain came, and the views were nothing short of breathtaking! There was even a rainbow! To my surprise, my parents arrived just minutes after us, while my cousins had already made it to the very top and were headed back down by the time we made it to the first landing. After getting our pictures, we headed to the very top, which was not nearly as spectacular to us as others have indicated, but it could have been due to the cloudy, rainy, and cold conditions. We snapped a few pictures and started the long trek down, which was just as difficult, if not more than the hike up. It was a different kind of workout trying to walk down such a steep incline, and the rain did not make it any easier. From experience, it’s safer to stay on the dirt path than to walk on the grass when it is wet. Chad told me more than once not to walk on the grass, but it clearly had not sunk in, and I slipped multiple times.

It took us a little under 5 hours to complete the hike and was 100% worth the early wake-up and steep hike. The hike had us all quite exhausted, except for maybe Chris and Thomas. After some downtime at our Airbnb, we went to Kai Whakapai for lunch, followed by a visit to the lone willow tree of Wanaka, and Patagonia for ice cream.

After two days of hiking, Wednesday was a much more relaxed day. We enjoyed breakfast at Relishes, had about a 1-hour drive to Queenstown, did a little shopping, and got burgers at the famous Fergburger!

The next day was probably the biggest day of the whole trip. We had booked a helicopter and cruise tour of Milford Sound. We knew we wanted to see the Fiords, and after much discussion decided this was the way to go over driving for hours by car or bus. We booked a tour through Over the Top, and couldn’t recommend them more, especially since they had a helicopter that allowed all 8 of us to go together. The tour started with a helicopter ride to Milford Sound, which was not as scary as we thought it would be. Our pilot was very good at reassuring us during the flight and letting us know what to expect. When we landed, he escorted us to the cruise portion of the tour, where we got to sail across Milford Sound with views of several waterfalls. After the cruise, we got back in the helicopter and got to make a landing on a mountain top to take in more views, and of course, take more pictures! Every time we boarded the helicopter, we would switch seats to allow everyone to get a different experience. Chad, Chris, and Thomas all got a chance to sit in the front seat, which they loved! We returned to the office, and they had transportation waiting for us to take us back to our Airbnb (they had also arranged transportation to pick us up earlier that morning). The whole tour was about 4 hours, which meant we still had half the day left!

We went to Taco Medic for lunch, Fergburger Bakery, and the Cookie Bar for dessert before heading to Queenstown's Gondola. After everything we had done, this part was a little anticlimactic, so Chad and I decided to try out the Luge.

Our last full day in New Zealand, we found the best breakfast spot, Vudu Cafe. After breakfast, we drove to Glenorchy, which we had read may have had some scenery used in the filming of Lord of the Rings. On the way back, we picked up Fergburger for the second time and spent our last evening hanging out at the house together. Chad, unfortunately, was starting to get sick and had to turn in early.

My family didn’t fly back to Sydney until around lunchtime the next day, so we were able to go back to Vudu Cafe for one last breakfast with everyone before parting ways. Once back in Australia, we went to the Pie Tin, where we got to try sweet and savory pies! Then we walked across the Sydney Harbor Bridge and went back to Bondi Beach. We even got to see the lifeguards from the show Bondi Rescue.

Our flight home, Sunday, December 23rd, didn’t leave until lunchtime, so I convinced Chad to venture out one more time for breakfast at Local Mbassy. I got the red velvet pancakes, but Chad’s french toast was by far the way to go!

We made it home just in time for Summit’s Christmas at the DPAC and just days before Christmas! We had the absolute best time traveling with my parents and aunts family! We can’t wait for our next trip together!

Photo credit: Katy provided some of the pictures in this post as well as a lot of the planning that made this trip possible!

Australia & New Zealand Itinerary:

Day 1 & 2 -Flew RDU - Atlanta - Los Angeles - Sydney

Day 3 - Arrived in Sydney / Criniti's Darling Harbour / Walked around and saw the Sydney Opera House from the Botanical Gardens

Day 4 - Featherdale Wildlife Park / The Rocks Cafe / Sydney Opera House / Ferry to Manly / Manly to Spit Bridge coastal walk / 4 Pines / Ferry back

Day 5 - Blue Mountains National Park / The Gingerbread House / Bondi Beach to Coogee Walk / Wishbone

Day 6 - Flight to New Zealand

Day 7 - McDonalds / Cathedral Cove Hahei Explorer Boat Tour / Cathedral Cove Classic Kayak Tour / The Pour House / Hot Water Beach

Day 8 - Spellbound Glowworm and Cave Tour / Shires Rest Cafe / Hobbit Tour

Day 9 - Flight to Christchurch / Lake Tekapo / Church of the Good Shepard

Day 10 - The Greedy Cow / Mount Cook Hooker Valley Hike / Tasman Glacier / Drive to Wanaka

Day 11 - Roys Peak Hike / Kai Whakapai / The lone willow tree of Wanaka / Patagonia

Day 12 - Relishes / Drive to Queenstown / Fergburger

Day 13 - Over the Top Helicopter & Cruise Milford Sound / Taco Medic / Cookie Bar / Queenstown Gondola / Madam Woo

Day 14 - Vudu Cafe / Drive to Glenorchy / Fergburger

Day 15 - Vudu Cafe / Fly Back to Sydney / The Pie Tin / Walk the Sydney Harbor Bridge / Bondi Beach

Day 16 - Local Mbassy / Flight Home

Food Recommendations:

Criniti's Darling Harbour (Sydney, AUS)

The Rocks Cafe (Sydney, AUS)

4 Pines (Manly, AUS)

The Gingerbread House* (Katoomba, AUS)

Wishbone (Newtown, AUS)

The Pour House (Hahei, NZ)

Shires Rest Cafe (Matamata, NZ)

The Greedy Cow (Lake Tekapo, NZ)

Kai Whakapa​ (Wanaka, NZ)

Patagonia (Wanaka, NZ)

Relishes (Wanaka, NZ)

Fergburger* (Queenstown, NZ)

Taco Medic (Queenstown, NZ)

Cookie Bar (Queenstown, NZ)

Madam Woo (Queenstown, NZ)

Vudu Cafe* (Queenstown, NZ)

The Pie Tin (Newtown, AUS)

Local Mbassy (Sydney, AUS)

Accommodations:

Glebe Airbnb (AUS) 

Auckland Airbnb (NZ) - no longer available

Peppers Bluewater Resort Lake Tekapo (NZ)

Wanaka Airbnb (NZ)

Queenstown Airbnb (NZ)

Rydges Sydney Airport Hotel (AUS)

Things to Know:

- A visa is required to go to Australia.

- Wear sunscreen if you are going to be in the sun for any length of time.

- Early into our planning, we learned that Australia is as big as the US and that we needed to be selective in choosing destinations, so we didn't use all of our days traveling. For this reason, we were unable to make it to the Great Barrier Reef on this trip.   

- New Zealand is very strict about what comes into the country.

- A lot of Airbnbs in New Zealand do not have air conditioning. The evenings were cool, but we still found it too warm even with the windows open at Airbnbs without AC.