PlanetRovers – New Zealand

New Zealand’s South Island
Updated November 16th, 2000

Our South Island adventure began as we drove aboard the ferry that would take us across the Cook Strait and through the Queen Charlotte Sound, before docking in Picton, the South Island’s port city.

We had heard from several people that the crossing can be rough and test the strength of your stomach, but we had shrugged all of that off as nothing. As soon as we encountered

the cabin steward passing out sea sickness bags “just in case,” we realized that we were in for an interesting three hours.

It took less than 20 minutes before the rocking started. The boat moves so slowly through the massive swells (at least 10 ft.), that the bow is constantly moving up….and down…up….and down. Fortunately, neither one of us is prone to motion sickness, so we sat inside and tried to enjoy ourselves while many others sought the refuge of the seats outside on the stern.

After an hour or so of enduring these rough seas, we crossed into the Queen Charlotte Sound, and the water became placid and calm. We ventured out to the back to check out some of the scenery and were met by the swarms of green faces emerging from all directions – it was as if everyone were suddenly given a cure for some deadly disease.

The rest of the trip was much more upbeat with people chatting away while marvelling at the lush green hills rolling into the waters of the Sound. We even caught a glimpse of two bottlenose dolphins surfing in the bow wake of a passing ferry.

We spent our next day in Picton hiking the Queen Charlotte Track. It was more like sliding through the mud than walking in places, but fortunately, although the threat of rain was lingering, we never saw a drop. In fact, the skies cleared just as we reached the hilltop lookout, which gave us magnificent views all the way around. In the sunlight, you could almost see through the green and blue waters below, while the shadows of the clouds added to the majesty of the place. Just to see the green hills right next to these deep green waters was breathtaking.

After bidding farewell to Isabel and Julia, we set off for Abel Tasman National Park, home to one of the most popular walking tracks in New Zealand. We awoke to a gloriously sunny day and one of the warmest that we’d had to date. The sky was crisp and blue with only a few high wispy clouds. We spent the day just on the first bit of the track. The walk was on an incredibly easy and well-graded path perched on the side of the cliff. Again, the views were spectacular: the quiet little waves slowly making their way to the golden sand beaches; the beaches exposed by low tide juxtaposed with the full, greenery of the mountainside; the views of the far away hills through the trees; several cascading waterfalls; the incredible brightness of the turquoise waters.

Our kayaking trip was not quite as magnificent. The blue sky was covered by a thick, gray cloud ceiling, the seas turned rough and choppy, and the little breeze turned into a strong wind. We ventured out in spite of the adverse conditions, and although we didn’t get to see as much and had to work hard at paddling, we made a fun day of it. Our guide, Mark,

gave us several lessons in the history of the park and pointed out many of the different species of wildlife that we encountered.

After lunching on one of the “beaches” (sand exposed by low tide), we went on a little bush walk that took us to the summit of the nearby mountain. Fortunately, the sky cleared enough for us to get a good view all the way around. On our return, Mark rigged a makeshift sail, so we were saved from paddling and simply sailed back to the beach.

We left the park and drove across the island to the town of Kaikoura for some dolphin watching. We were immediately blown away by the vistas – distant snow-capped mountains set behind crystal blue crashing surf. Unbelievable! Again, we were fortunate to have clear, blue skies and calm waters for this boat trip.

It was only twenty minutes before we were in the middle of a pack of dusky dolphins. They were everywhere, jumping and playing, swimming and chasing one another. When we’d move (in the boat) to catch up to them, you could stand on a platform over the bow and watch them play in the bow wake. At one point, we came across a flow of wandering albatross, an unexpected surprise. After about two hours, we had to say farewell and head back to port.

We left the sunshine and the warm temperatures in Kaikoura to drive across the island via the Lewis Pass to the Franz Josef Glacier, basically a hunk of ice perched in the middle of the rainforest. The next day, we got up early, put on as many warm clothes as we had, and headed out for our glacier hike despite the gray, gloomy, thickly overcast skies.

We went with Franz Josef Glacier Guides and wouldn’t likely recommend them. Our guide wasn’t incredibly knowledgeable or informative and didn’t seem incredibly confident on the ice. They gave us “rain pants”, socks and mitten covers, all of which failed before we even set foot on the ice. Those first few steps were definitely a bit tricky. Trying to walk in ice climbing shoes on ice takes some getting used to.

We ended up having a mildly enjoyable day despite the frequent and driving rain showers. The ice formations were spectacular with deep blue crevasses, lots of rivers (an obvious by-product of the rain), and the view of the main face with its blue and white ice side-by-side. The trek down was a test of endurance – we were drenched and freezing and moving at a snail’s pace. But we lived to tell the tale!

We spend the next couple of days relaxing in the Wanaka. The city, or town rather, sits in the middle of the southern section of the Alps. Thus, in addition to the stimulating climbs, there are magnificent lakes and splendid mountain views just about everywhere.

Most people come for the skiing, but we decided to save our money and do the Diamond Lake Hike instead. We climbed through rocks, over flowing streams, under cliffs dripping with rain water leftover from the previous night’s storm, along ridges in the middle of barren fields that hug the mountainside, and finally reached an incredible lake overlook. The weather was perfect – blue sky, light breeze, and not a hint of rain. We could see the reflection of the hills in the glassy stillness of the lake below, with snow-covered peaks surrounding us. Neither one of us could get enough.

After these few slow, low-key days, we left Wanaka for Te Anau (pronounced tee ah-now). During this drive, we saw snow, sleet, rain and then more snow and sleet. The temperature dropped at least 10 degrees (Celsius) and we got our first taste of REAL winter weather. We decided to use Te Anau as our base for exploring Milford Sound, the highlight of Fiordland National Park and one of the most touristed places in New Zealand.

Our accommodation here is worth mentioning because it was a new experience for both of us – a homestay. Run by Rosie and her husband, Alistair, a Fiordland park ranger, Rosie’s Backpacker’s is basically a double room and a four-bed dorm where guests share the living area, bathroom, and kitchen with the family (they have four children). Although we were a bit leery at first, it turned out to be one of the nicest, most relaxing places that we stayed. Alistair is a fountain of information about the park and lots of things with the country.

Our first day in Milford was fabulous. We had blue sky and bright sunshine, which is fortunate in a place where it rains two out of every three days. The drive up was mesmerizing – almost too much for words. Snow-capped peaks that seemed to reach forever perched atop steep, sheer rock faces, all sitting amidst green meadows, trees, and rivers.

The cruise on the sound was equally as breathtaking. We travelled up the south side of the fiord and saw many waterfalls descending from the massive heights of the fiord walls. We saw a couple of seals, a couple of bottlenose dolphins paid us a quick, surprise visit, and a penguin poked out of the water for a brief moment. After cruising all the way to the Tasman Sea, we sailed back up the north side and got a closer view of the two largest and most magnificent peaks – Mt. Pembroke and Mitre Peak.

The next day, we headed to Key Summit, a short walk within the Park. The first bit was pretty easy, but the track to the summit is steep and barren, although undoubtedly worth the effort. We were surrounded (again) by snow-capped mountains all glistening in the reflecting sunlight. There were a few small, crystal clear alpine lakes nearby and with a bit more walking, we could see Lake Marian, an alpine lake nestled among some of the adjoining mountains. Truly amazing!

On our way out of Te Anau, we stopped in the visitor center to get some information on the Catlins (our next destination) and ended up with a free flight over Lake Te Anau. A local company was looking for some young people to pose as “trampers” (hikers) for photos on their updated promotional brochures. The ride was short, the view was incredible, and we got to take off and land in the water.

The drive to the Catlins was LONG! We opted to take the Southern Scenic Route, which passes over 40km of unsealed road (rather like driving on an unpaved driveway for hours). We did stop at the southernmost point on mainland New Zealand, where we had to walk past the “Closed” sign and through a sheep farm to get there.

Beyond that, the “scenic” got old quickly. Vibrant green hills that fall into the ocean via some pretty extreme cliffs – lovely scenery but when it’s getting dark, you’re hungry, and you’ve been in the car for more than nine hours, such scenery loses some of its appeal. We made it eventually and were grateful to find that the hostel is literally in the middle of nowhere and sits right on Surat Bay.

After a filling dinner and a restful night, we were ready to face the day (and the car) again. We went for a drive, as that’s the only way to see the Catlins, and saw some incredible waterfalls, a deserted little beach, and of course, the yellow-eyed penguins that come up the beach in the evening, preen themselves and then waddle up to their hide where they spend the rest of the night. We were fortunate to see four of them; some sit there for hours and never see one.

From the Catlins, we drove to Dunedin – thankfully a very short distance. Except for the few hours that we wasted driving out to the Otago Peninsula, we spent most of our time just walking around and exploring the city: Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world; the University of Otago; the cathedrals; the train station and some of the other buildings noted for their architecture.

We left Dunedin and drove to Oamaru to see the blue penguins. We spent the afternoon meandering around the town and were pleasantly surprised. All of the old buildings are constructed of Oamaru limestone – a locally quarried stone that has a lovely, sandy color – and have been incorporated into the modern infrastructure: a pub now fills the walls of the old post office; the opera building is now home to the cinema; and the visitor center has taken over the Bank of New Zealand building. The town is charming and quaint and has quite enough character to warrant spending an afternoon.

Later that evening, we went to see the blue penguins, the smallest in the world. We were able to see these much close than the yellow-eyed. Their rituals are the same – waddle up the cliff, sit and preen, and head to their burrows for the evening. One of them even ventured close enough to the grandstand where we were sitting that we could almost touch him. It was quite exciting to see penguins so close.

Our next stop was Mt. Cook, the highest peak in New Zealand, and Lake Tekapo. The weather actually deterred us from doing any of the walks around Mt. Cook. When we arrived in Tekapo, we were greeted by a genuine, albeit brief, snow storm. Once the snow subsided, we ventured out to see the lake. Even with the sun, the air was still bitter cold. We could not get over the deep turquoise of the water. It was as if someone had covered the bottom with a swimming pool liner.

The next day, after a useless drive to Mt. Cook, we embarked on the walk up Mt. St. John. The winds at the top were fierce, but the views were so spectacular that we (almost) didn’t notice. The color of the lake is even more unbelievable from above. We found out later that this deep aqua color is caused by tiny rock bits that run off the mountains with the melting glacier water.

We decided to take the long walk down and ended up battling the wind for over an hour. We could barely walk at several stages and were both shouting to be heard over the noise. Eventually, we made it around the bend, left the wind behind, and met the views on the other side: mountain peaks in the distance covered with snow, valleys and hills off to the other side of the lake, the clarity of the sky reflected in the blue of the water. The battle was definitely worth it.

Our next stop was Akaroa, a small French-influenced village on the Banks Peninsula, situated 80 km east of Christchurch. The town itself has less charm than we expected. We spent most of our time indoors because of the buckets of rain. We were fooled one morning by the sun and blue skies, so we ventured out for a walk in the Hinewai Reserve. It was lovely until the big dark cloud moved in, dumping hail and rain, and we were forced to seek refuge in a toilet for two hours. The rain cleared as quickly as it came and we did have sun for the rest of the day.

We left Akaroa for Christchurch, our last stop in New Zealand. Before returning the car, we drove to Lyttleton, a quaint little harbor town 8 km outside of Christchurch. We hiked along the Crater Rim Walkway, where we saw the Alps in the distance, a mountaintop view of Christchurch, Lyttleton harbor, and even Kaikoura, 185km to the north.

We also spent a day at the Antarctic Encounter Museum, which was both educational and informative and well worth the price of admission. They’ve set up interactive computers, a small snow area where visitors can play in the snow, a video on penguin life, and lots of mock-ups that help visitors gain a better understanding of what life in Antarctica is like.

Beyond that, Christchurch doesn’t have much to offer. The Art Center is worth a look and the Botanic Gardens are supposed to be nice. We had the pleasure of sitting through one of their worst storms ever, with driving rains and 60km/hr winds, so the gardens were subsequently closed.

Overall, the South Island more than met our expectations. We stayed in some top-notch places, saw some incredibly majestic scenery, and met all sort of wonderfully pleasant Kiwis. Already one of the highlights of our trip!