Random fact: ​Some scientists are saying that New Zealand is part of the world's 8th continent, Zealandia, which would be 2/3 the size of Australia. It doesn't seem to be official, but in the meantime, I'll treat NZ as its own continent as far as my website menu organization is concerned :)

December 2018: My family and I spent a little over a week on New Zealand's South Island. It's an awesome time to travel because it's summer there and the days are super long. My dad and sister did the bulk of the trip planning, so I don't have a great sense of what trade-offs were made. Overall, this trip reminded me a bit of Iceland; we rented a car and were constantly moving, surrounded always by amazing views and natural beauty, and the food was good but not the reason you should go. 

Read below for details, but here's our high level itinerary: flew into Christchurch (via Auckland), went to Mt. Cook, then Wanaka, then Milford Sound, then Te Anau, then Queenstown. 

A few tips and observations:

• The ozone is thin and the UV index is super high. I got badly burned after only about 30 minutes in the sun :( bring lots of sunscreen and apply it regularly.
• The weather is really unpredictable and it's hard to trust the forecasts. So, if there's something you are dying to do, consider building in a buffer so you can still do it if there's a storm / bad weather one day. Pack a rain jacket and lots of layers.
• There are tons of information centers - at all the parks, but also in every town. You can book tours from these info centers and get tips on places to go hiking (also known as tramping), etc. It didn't seem like activities really sold out, even though we were traveling during their peak season. Our Airbnb guide recommended this site to guarantee the best prices - we didn't use it but it looks like you can get discounts for booking in advance. Otherwise, we didn't see price differences so you can just buy packages where ever you see them advertised. 
  • A few things that you'll need to book way ahead of time if you're interested: Onsen in Queenstown and Milford Lodge if you want to stay in the park.
• Broad buckets of things we didn't do:
  • Wineries
  • Multi-day hikes like the Routeburn (there are a bunch at varying levels of intensity)
  • NZ's North Island (this is where Hobbiton is)
    
  • Go north of Christchurch on the South Island
  • Anything Māori related 
  • Consider renting a camper van / RV - this is a really popular way to travel because you can freedom camp in NZ and there are also a lot of camp sites you can pay to park at. Just make sure you're comfortable driving such a large vehicle. Most of the roads were paved, but it's basically a two-lane winding highway that you're sharing with all sorts of big buses and other camper vans (Britz and Jucy were two brands of rental vans that we saw everywhere)
• New Zealand is one of the best places in the world to see stars. The star gazing tours all seemed a little pricey. I think you do a decent DIY version by downloading one of the many free constellation iPhone apps and staying up late / waking yourself up in the middle of the night, especially when you're somewhere remote. 
• There are public bathrooms everywhere and they are very clean.
• You can drink the tap water almost everywhere, so bring a reusable water bottle with you.
• ATMs were easy to find - you can pay for activities and meals at restaurants with credit cards, but some smaller cafes / food trucks only took NZ cards, so you'll want some cash
• Tipping isn't expected, though we did tip our guides because we liked them so much! It didn't seem like many other people were doing that.
• At some restaurants (even nice ones), once you get the check, you pay at the host/hostess stand. It wasn't consistent as some people did come back to us with the credit card reader, but just something to note if you feel like they forgot about you.
• There were lots of local products to try! I was surprised by how many snacks and drinks (alcoholic or otherwise) were produced in NZ given how small of a country it is. 
• There are lots of young people from other countries in NZ on a year-long working visa. Most people we met working at restaurants or tour companies weren't Kiwis. At the time of writing, the minimum wage in NZ was 16.50/hr, so people can work and save money for future travels / life back home. We saw tons of help wanted signs in all the towns we went to - so it seems like this is a good way to make sure local businesses have the workers they need. It also helps the tourism industry attract people that speak different languages since tourists are coming from all over (all the tour information is printed in Chinese too given how many Chinese tourists there are). 

Day 1: Christchurch

• We flew into Christchurch via Auckland and rented a car from the airport. We were only in Christchurch for the evening so didn't really spend much time exploring. The city wasn't too exciting. It looks like there are a few popular museums and the park in the city is nice, but otherwise, don't think you need to spend much time here.
• The city has a lot of construction, it seems like rebuilding from the 2011 is still ongoing.
• The plaza by the cathedral had a lot of food trucks and small craft stands if you want to grab something quick.
• Where we ate: Strawberry Fare - probably the best beef we had all trip. They're also known for their huge desserts. Downside is that it's in kind of a random area. Make a reservation ahead of time!
• Oxford Terrace along the river between Hereford St and Cashel St was bustling - lots of restaurants and bars there to check out. 
• Where we stayed: Novotel Christchurch

Day 2: Christchurch --> Mt. Cook National Park

• We left Christchurch after breakfast and started the beautiful drive to Mt. Cook. On the way, you should stop at viewpoints along Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki. The water is this unreal shade of blue.
• The Mt. Cook visitor center is really legit and has a mini museum inside.
• Once we got to Mt. Cook, we hiked the Hooker Valley Track - it's 3 hrs round trip, pretty flat the whole way. At one point, there's a little staircase up to a viewing point on your left. I thought that was the best spot for pictures. There are picnic tables at the end where you can rest, eat, etc. The trail is uncovered with not much shade, so put on sunblock! There's a spigot where you can fill your water right before you start the trail.

Where we ate:

• Breakfast: Café 1851 (in Christchurch)
• Lunch: We stopped at the Lake Pukaki visitor center (State Highway 8 between Tekapo – Twizel, 10 km north of Twizel) for some alpine salmon sashimi. You can also pick up salmon here to cook later!
• Dinner: ​Old Mountaineers' Café - It's homey with a cabin feel. You can stop here for snacks too before a hike. I think this is the only option, unless you want to go to the Hermitage Hotel. The food was just okay and it's not inexpensive, but it's nice to support a local business. 

Where we stayed: Aoraki Court Motel. We loved staying in the park. But since Hooker Valley Track is short, you could do the hike and then continue driving.

Day 3: Mt. Cook --> Wanaka

• We spent the morning doing the Tasman Glacier Heli Hike. The weather was really nice so we were okay with light layers. The company has extra layers (rain pants, fleeces, rain jackets) if you need them and they also provide wool socks and sturdy boots. All things considered, it was a really cool experience. But, if you've done a glacier hike elsewhere (Alaska, Iceland, etc.), I don't think this is particularly unique. 
  
  • Something to note: our guide says the weather here tends to be better than on the west coast (Franz Joseph glacier), so there are fewer cancellations. You used to be able to walk directly to the Franz Joseph glacier, but now because of the melting, you have to fly to the glacier too. As the prices for those tours increased, tourism picked up for the Tasman Glacier (before, few people would pay double to do Tasman since it was the only one that required a helicopter ride). I think that's the main reason why you hear more about Franz Joseph - there's just a longer legacy of tourism there, and thus way more reviews.​

• After the glacier hike, we stopped in Twizel (pretty small town) to grab some food on our way to Wanaka. We had pizza and some local beers at Ministry of Works. Our glacier guide lives in Twizel and recommended Hydro and Shawtys, but they were closed between lunch and dinner. There's also a Thai place that looked pretty legit.​
• Once we got to Wanaka, we took advantage of the hot weather and went swimming in the lake (there's a picture at the end of the slideshow). There's a lot you can do on the water. Companies rent jet skis, paddle boards, etc. ​

​Where we ate:

• ​Breakfast: We went to the Hermitage hotel and enjoyed a long breakfast buffet there before heading out to the glacier.
• Lunch: Ministry of Works (Twizel)
• Dinner: Cooked for ourselves in our Airbnb!

Where we stayed: Airbnb (this couple has a few listings that all look similar and very new). The main part of Wanaka is basically along Ardmore St between Brownston St and Dungarvon St - so anything near that is very walkable. ​It was great to have a washing machine so we could pack lightly. 

Day 4: Wanaka

• Okay, so we loved Wanaka. It reminded me a little of Park City, Utah since there are only a few streets of activity that serve as the hub for people when they come back from whatever active thing they're doing that day (my mom said Santa Cruz for her since it's on the water). There are quite a few restaurants and bars, and more locals live here than in Queenstown apparently. Overall, we were really happy to spend 3 nights here, but we also had amazing weather while here and weren't in search of bumpin' nightlife. It's not far from Queenstown, so you can still make it out here for a day trip if you're staying there!
• We had another day of awesome weather and spent the morning doing this waterfall climb/hike. My mom and dad did the beginner one and Jacqueline and I did the intermediate one - it's the same path though so we got to stick together for the beginner section. If you're scared of heights you will probably not like this at all. The most advanced one takes all day and is quite a bit more expensive because you have to ride a helicopter to get down.

• After the climb, Jacqueline and I had the waterfall company drop us off at the base of Rocky Mount trail which took us a little under 3 hours. It's basically all uphill, but is manageable and the trail is very clearly marked. In a few places, the trail splits. We liked the trail that kept you in view of the lake (I think it's the west) and also because given the direction of the wind, it kept us more sheltered. You get up to the same place though! The views at the top are awesome.
• We had plans to do Roy's Peak the following day, but rain was on the forecast and we weren't sure we could squeeze it in (it takes about 6 hrs) after the waterfall climb. Our waterfall guides recommended Rocky Mount because it's shorter and the views are similar.​​

​Where we ate:

• Breakfast: We cooked our own breakfast, but stopped at Fedeli for coffee and smoothies. It's tucked away off an alleyway. Federal Diner is adjacent and has more of a sit down breakfast menu (and also lunch/dinner)
• Lunch: Jacqueline and I ate lunch during our waterfall activity, but my parents went to the food trucks on Brownson St, near the Helwick intersection. They had burritos and said they were pretty good!
• Dinner: Big Fig (they have one in Queenstown too!) - you pay for the size of your plate, and then you get to pick one meat and then the sides you want. This makes for a delicious and quick meal 

Day 5: Wanaka

• It rained a bit in the morning but then cleared up pretty quickly (we probably could have done Roy's Peak if we wanted). We spent the morning at the Wanaka Lavender Farm, which my mom loved. They have some animals on the property and some outdoor games sprinkled in among the fields of lavender. 
• We decided to go biking in the afternoon which ended up being one of our favorite activities of the trip. We rented mountain bikes from Torpedo 7. Their bikes were really nice...or maybe it's just because the only bikes I've ridden recently are Lime bikes or the city ones in Boston...haha. There are a few bike shops in town that I'm sure are great too. 
• There are a bunch of different bike paths, some of which have more extreme mountain biking sections. You can ask the bike shop for recommendations.
• We biked to the right along Roy's Bay, taking Lakeside Road until the Yacht Club parking lot. Bike through the parking lot and you'll see the start of a gravel trail.

• There are lots of spots along the way where you can stop to have a picnic, take pictures, read a book, etc. You can find a public bathroom easily too, as always. When you get to Lake Outlet (there's a campsite and a paved road), make sure you stay along the water and follow the river. If you find yourself on Outlet Road, you've gone too far. This path along the river is so beautiful - the water is pristine. At some point, you'll get to a bridge. If you take a right onto Highway 6 and then make the first right you come across, you can stop at Pembroke Patisserie for a coffee, donut, or other snack before heading back to Wanaka. We'd recommending taking the same path back to Wanaka - if you ride along the roads, it's shorter but also hillier and less pretty!
• According to Google maps, it's roughly 15 miles round trip. I'd estimate it takes a little over an hour each way if you're not stopping - but give yourself time to enjoy the ride because it's SO beautiful. I'd recommend packing a lunch and stopping along the water to eat if the weather is nice!
• Just like driving, stay to the left as you bike! 

​Where we ate:

• ​Dinner: Francesca's Italian Kitchen - this was one of our favorite meals. We loved the clams, beetroot agnolotti (appetizer) and all the pastas we ordered. We didn't try their pizza but those looked great too. Make a reservation ahead of time - it didn't look like they set aside tables for walk-ins. They have a food truck too but our guide told us it's not as good as the restaurant. 
• Another popular restaurant that we didn't try is Kika
• We also went to Black Peak Gelato almost each day we were there. Their flavors rotate and they make everything in house!

Day 6: Wanaka --> Milford Sound

• On the way into Milford Sound we stopped to hike the Lake Marian Track. There are a bunch of places you can stop on the way from Te Anau into Milford Sound. There isn't much to do once you arrive in Milford, so pick something along the way based on how much time you have. Lake Marian was pretty steep and quite rocky, so it took us closer to 4 hours than the estimated 3. You'll probably want long pants even if it's warm out because the trail is pretty narrow and there's a lot of vegetation. 
• Where we stayed: Milford Sound Lodge. Their cabins were booked so we stayed in the shared bunks (yes, my parents too haha). The facilities are very new and super nice. 
  

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​Where we ate:

• ​Lunch: We stopped in Te Anau and had a snack at Miles Better Pies. The thai chicken curry was our favorite. At some point, you should have a pie in NZ, but it doesn't have to be here. Most cafes will have a couple options. 
• Dinner: We ate at the lodge. We got there after dinner service technically ended, but they were super nice and still fed us (thank goodness). The food here was great and probably the most consistent across meat dishes that we had. Jacqueline got the venison and really liked it. It was cooked perfectly. I enjoyed the beef cheeks! Portions are pretty big, so if you're getting appetizers you can probably share an entree. 

Day 7: Milford Sound --> Te Anau

We woke up early and spent the morning kayaking with Rosco's out in the sound. They give you everything you need to wear which is nice so you don't get your own stuff wet. They also gave us dry bags - bring snacks and get ready to work a bit when you're moving against the current! Again, we got really lucky with the weather today. Apparently two days before there were 100mph winds! They will also provide round-trip transportation to/from Te Anau if you can't find a way to stay in Milford Sound. 

A few fun facts from our guide (who was a local Kiwi from the South Island):

• New Zealand has no native land mammals. The land mass that makes up NZ emerged before mammals existed. The deer population, with no predator, grew really out of hand so hunting deer became a popular activity that was also good as a way to control the population. Possums are a big issue and you will sometimes see traps set up for them - they eat the native birds, some of which are endangered. Farms can let sheep roam freely because nothing will eat them.
• Milford Sound is not a sound! Europeans incorrectly named it a sound, which is when a river valley is flooded by the ocean. But, it's really a fjord which are formed by glaciers. To make up for this error, they named the region Fiordland...but spelled it wrong! It should be fjordland with a "j," oops!
• Manuka honey is super popular but New Zealand's native bee population don't produce honey. They haven't evolved to be able to do that. 
• 90% of NZ lobster (which they fish for in the sound) is exported to China. Apparently the Chinese like this lobster better than North American lobster because the meat is in the tail, not the claws. The claws signify severing family ties, so it's not as fun to serve / eat North American lobster.

• Alternatively, there are a lot of cruises you can do which take you farther out towards the ocean. A lot of people who do this are able to see dolphins. We probably could have done both the kayaking and a cruise if we wanted. 
• We also met a couple later that spent a night on an overnight cruise. They really enjoyed it - that's the way to maximize your time out there. I'm sure seeing the stars are unreal there too. But, if you get bad weather it's probably not too pleasant.
• At the movie theatre in Te Anau, you can watch a 30 minute documentary on the fiords. It's a nice way to see some aerial (and snowy) shots.
• The other thing that I've heard good things about in Te Anau is the glow worm caves, but we didn't have time to do that. 

​Where we ate:

• ​Brunch: after kayaking, we grabbed a snack at the lodge again. They only serve one soup and fries during the day. Both were delicious - my dad loved their fries so much he tried to get the recipe. In Te Anau 
• Pre-dinner snack: Habit Foods in Te Anau is relatively new and super popular. We loved their soft shell crab bao and the crispy tofu salad + venison. 
• Dinner: Redcliff Cafe had good reviews but we thought it was mediocre at best. Nice vibe with cool décor and I think sometimes they have live music, but we liked the Habit Food Truck way more. I got the venison at Redcliff and it was nowhere near as good as the food truck's. 

Where we stayed: Airbnb less than 5 mins drive away from Te Anau city center. In hindsight, we probably would have skipped Te Anau altogether and driven all the way to Queenstown. 

Day 8: Te Anau --> Queenstown

• Once we got to Queenstown, we took the gondola up to the viewpoint and did the luging which was surprisingly fun. You may as well buy the 5 ride option because it's only a couple dollars more. Everyone seemed to love it as much as we did - little kids and grandparents alike.
• We were going hike Bob's Peak Track but it ended up getting pretty cold and rainy. You start from the top of the gondola and it's supposed to be about 3 hrs round trip.
• Queenstown is a fun town and probably your best bet for nightlife on the South Island. It's mainly tourists - there aren't that many kiwis in Queenstown. There are tons of restaurants and bars right along the lake that make it a great home base for day trips around the southern part of the island if you don't want to move around as much as we did.
• There are a ton of other activities you can do in or from Queenstown. A lot of people use it as their home base and do day trips. It's probably the place you'll have the most fun in terms of nightlife.

Where we ate: 

• Breakfast: Sandfly Café in Te Anau before hitting the road. My dad grabbed a breakfast bao at Habit Foods (opened at 9:30am) since he liked it so much the day before.
• Late lunch / early dinner: Fergberger lives up to the hype. If you want to skip the (always long) line, you can call ahead and pick up your order! I got the Southern Swine which has avocado. Jacqueline got the Big Al which was massive - two patties and two eggs! We really liked their salt and pepper squid and the fries weren't bad either. Make sure you ask for ketchup when you order, it doesn't come with your food. They are open until 5am which makes for a dangerously delicious late night meal.
• We'd recommend grabbing Mrs. Ferg gelato/sorbet and going on an evening stroll along the lakefront - the sunset is gorgeous.

​Where we stayed: Airbnb - the view from this apartment was enough to fully convert my mom to an Airbnb supporter. It made for a really hilly walk to/from town, so sometimes we drove when we were lazy. 

Day 9: Queenstown

• Jacqueline went bungy jumping off the Kawarau Bridge first thing in the morning. Really though...she was the first one of the day! She considered doing the Nevis bungy which is 3x (!!!!) higher, but she would have had to go alone because for that one you have to ride their bus there and spectators have to pay to go. at Kawarau, there's plenty of space to watch and take pictures. She says it was very fun but couldn't convince me to do it. 
• After that, we stopped in Arrowtown which is an old gold mining town with about two blocks of stores and restaurants. This is where the first Chinese immigrants to New Zealand lived and worked. There's a museum in the visitor's center that tells you a lot about the history in the area. 
• Then we did the Mt. Nicholas's farm tour in the afternoon. It was really cool to see the way they use the dogs to herd the sheep. The ones on this farm are merino sheep and their wool gets sold to Armani in Italy and Icebreaker (a local clothing producer).

Fun facts from the farm tour:

• Merino sheep are sheared once a year. Other types of sheep with different wool may get sheared more often. Shearers are flown in and it takes about a month to shear all 26,000 sheep on this farm. 
• Shearers get paid $3.40 per sheep (everyone else gets paid hourly) and they can do about 220 sheep per day. 
• The sheep look dirty, but under the outer layer of wool, it's all pretty clean. Their wool has lanolin oil on it which keeps it clean and also is a nice byproduct that can also be sold.
• You will generally get 3 kg of good wool per sheep. The good parts can be sold for $22-30 per kg. The dirty bits can be turned into insulation and fertilizer and gets sold for much less. 
• After the sheep is sheared, a classer looks at the wool to see how fine it is. The lower the micron (thinner) the better - that stuff gets sent to Italy for Armani. The rest gets sold to a local outdoor gear company, Icebreaker which turns the wool into thermals, beanies, and socks. Younger sheep tend to have thinner wool.
• The wool from one sheep can make about 4-5 thermals.
• The dogs were AWESOME. They are incredibly well trained. The smaller one is a heading dog (border collie) that follows commands to run left or right in order to corral the sheep. They don't like to get close to the sheep and keep their distance. The bigger one is a huntaway and gets a lot closer to the sheep. These dogs are used for their loud bark, which scares the sheep into moving a lot faster. 
• The farm has over 100k acres, so the dogs are used to gather all the sheep up when it's time for shearing. 
• This farm also has cattle that they sell after about three years for beef.

Where we ate:

• Brunch: Chop Shop in Arrowtown which was Asian fusion and very delicious! It was the only restaurant we went to that had real hot sauce, so that's a winner in my book. 
• Dinner: Finz was recommended by our Mt. Nicholas guides for seafood. It was good - not a meal I'll remember forever, but solid. They also said Flame was the local's go-to spot for meat. 

We connected through Auckland on our way out the next morning. They basically have no airport security for domestic flights. They didn't check our IDs or our bags…such a contrast from traveling anywhere else in the world.