New Zealand was one of the furthest destinations I could possibly fly to from the UK, I was closer to Antarctica then I was to home. We took the ferry from Wellington (North Island) to Picton (South Island) with The Interislander on 7th November 2024, this is part II of my Kiwi diary on my unpaid career break to Oceania.

The North Island chapter is here, I was excited to explore the world famous, rough-hewn South Island with sky piercing mountains, glaciers, fjords and green meadows. These are my recommended stops from our road trip:

Kaikōura (3 Nights)

The Interislander ferry connects the North Island to the South Island. With a planned break from having a hire car, we took the Coastal Pacific Train from Picton to Kaikoura (1:40pm > 4:35pm).

Kaikōura is a stunning town and one of our favourite stops on the South Island, there were turquoise sparkling bays set against the backdrop of the snowy foothills of the Seaward Kaikōura Range. There were opportunities to spot sperm whale (in season), Hectors dolphins, dusky dolphins, fur seals and orcas. Marine animals were abundant in Kaikōura in particular due to the currents and the continental-shelf formation.

Stayed: Awatea Country Bed and Breakfast – The warmest of kiwi welcomes from Kevin, it was like staying with an old friend, there was a superb cooked breakfast and homemade crepes. 200 NZD per night (£100 per night)
Activities: Swimming with Dolphins in Kaikoura (my blog post is here). This was one of my highlights of South Island. Another recommended hike is the Kaikōura Peninsula Walkway (approx 4.5 miles) where you can view the bays and inlets with resident seal colonies.

Christchurch (2 Nights)

Christchurch is the most populous city on South Island, it is compact and easy to walk around. We found the city to be a little underwhelming and barren, however the city works as a good logistical stop when exploring the South Island. We enjoyed exploring the Riverside market, and taking the chairlift at Christchurch Adventure Park.

Stayed:  Garden Hotel & Restaurant – Next door to the best Indian restaurant in town, Indian Moments. 150 NZD per night (£75 per night)
Food: Spartan Greek cafe and restaurant We had a lovely Greek dinner with other travellers, I would recommend First Table where you are able to book an early dinner for 50% off all the food prices. I use First Table regularly in London and the concept was invented in Queenstown, NZ! There is a booking fee of $12 but all food ordered is then half price.

Lake Tekapo (2 Nights)

A lake so blue it almost defies reality, the reason why Tekapo and Lake Pukaki are this colour is because of a sediment called rock flour, the sediment gives the water a slightly milky quality and it refracts the sunlight beaming down, creating the cartoon blue effect.

Lake Tekapo was one of our top locations in the South Island as well. Situated 100km (62 miles) from Mt Cook itself, we used Lake Tekapo as a base to take part in a very popular NZ activity – flightseeing! I would recommend Inflite Experiences, the ultimate Alpine Experience includes a glacial landing, helicopter and ski-plane for $499 / £250pp. We combined this with a 2.5hr – 3hr hike of Hooker Valley (10km there and back).

Lake Tekapo is a very small township but it serves as a good base for Mt Cook. In Lake Tekapo itself, I’d highly recommend a night stargazing tour with Chameleon Stargazing, I felt humbled, enthralled and had a sense of wonderment after stargazing.

Stayed: One Piece Tekapo – A new air bnb style property with shared bathrooms and a cosy communal area, we paid NZD 130 / £60 per night in low season.
Food: Try a little salmon sashami box from Alpine Salmon, freshly caught salmon from the lake, pleasingly pink, melt in the mouth and delicious.

Queenstown (4 Nights)

Queenstown is the adventure capital of New Zealand, located on the shores of Lake Wakatipu. The small town serves as a centre point for activities such as rafting, bungee jumping, Skippers Canyon, mountain biking, jet-boating and various wineries. We loved the beauty of Queenstown but found the town to be the most expensive town in New Zealand, there was also the feel of the a small town being awashed with tourist groups. In Queenstown, we loved the scenic journey to the village of Glenorchy, enjoyed the best burger in New Zealand and absorbed the gold rush history in Skippers Canyon.

Activities: I’d recommend Jetboating in Glenorchy (invented in New Zealand in the 1950s) and a 4WD tour through Skippers Canyon. We went to Milford Sound from Queenstown with Altitude Tours but my top tip is to arrange this trip from Te Anau instead (if time allows), otherwise it is a 12 hour day from Queenstown with lots of driving.
Food: Have a Fergburger in Queenstown, located on Shotover Street, the juicy patties and homemade buns make it one of the best in NZ!

Te Anau (2 Nights)

Te Anau is a beautiful lake-front village and the gateway of two of the Great Walks of New Zealand, the Kepler Track and the Milford Track. New Zealand’s Great Walks are premier tracks that pass through diverse and spectacular scenery, overnight hut reservations often sell out over 6 months in advance. We took the opportunity to board a water taxi from Te Anau lakefront to Brod Bay and followed the Kepler Track to the picturesque Luxmore Hut. I loved this day walk in particular, it was 5-6 hours, shaded with a gradual ascent and affording some incredible views of the lake and surrounding mountain ranges.

Stayed: Te Anau Lakefront Backpackers – Situated right in the middle of town, NZD 50 / £25 per person in a 4-bed dorm

Activities: Hike Brod Bay > Luxmore Hut (approx 16km). The water taxi was 65 NZD per person (£32.50 each). There are no fees from the Department of Conservation for day hikes. I’d recommend the Milford Sound trip to be done from Te Anau.

Dunedin (2 Nights)

Dunedin is home to New Zealand’s first university, we zigzagged across to the east coast in search of one of the most accessible wildlife areas in New Zealand, the Otago Peninsula. We drove to Tairoa Head which has the world’s only mainland royal albatross colony and were lucky enough to spot an albatross in flight there. After an action packed few days in Queenstown/Te Anau, we arranged a Shepherds Hut by a lake to relax.

Stayed: The Birdie Hide – A lovely Shepherds Hut with a private bathroom and kitchen area. NZD 150 / £75 per night in Waikouaiti

Activities: Royal Albatross Centre in Dunedin, I’d recommend booking the Unique Taiaroa Tour as this includes both the Albatross centre and 1886 tunnels with a 150mm Disappearing Gun.

Wanaka (2 Nights)

Wanaka was another location within our ‘Top 3’ in the South Island. I loved the quieter feel to Wanaka vs neighbouring Queenstown. The lake was incredibly beautiful and the small town still retained it’s carefree and free-spirited feel. Wanaka is only a 1hr drive from Queenstown.

Stayed: Hampshire Holiday Parks – Top tip: opt for a ‘Tiny Home’, they are brand new cabins with air conditioning, a private kitchen and snowy mountain views. Hampshire Holiday Parks is centrally located in Wanaka, historically the land was left for the town with the ethos for Kiwis to enjoy low-cost and accessible camping holidays.

Activities: Cycle between Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka (we booked this via BookMe for $70pp / £35.00pp). Trails are narrow and rocky as they hug the rivers edge but this is only for 15% of the ride, the rest is suitable for beginners. We loved the hike up Mt Iron for panoramic views of the lakeland.

Franz Josef (2 Nights)

We started our journey to complete our circular around South Island by venturing towards the West Coast of NZ. The West Coast of New Zealand is the wettest region of the country, with approximately 180 rainy days a year. There was no exception for our time at Franz Josef. Franz Josef is known for glaciers and lakes. Top Tip – Franz Josef had the most expensive petrol in New Zealand (the reviews are here for entertainment value) and I would recommend topping up the tank in Wanaka, or after Franz Josef.

Stayed: Franz Josef Top 10 Holiday Park, our benchmark cost of $100 / £50 per night, at Holiday Parks, Wi-Fi can be intermitted and a slower speed.

Activities: Kayaking with Franz Josef Wilderness Tours at Lake Mapourika was a lovely experience. The guides were full of knowledge on flora, fauna and the history of NZ. The classic activity at Franz Josef is hiking or flightseeing on the glacier, my opinion was that Mt Cook was offered far more spectacular views compared to Franz Josef.

Lake Brunner (1 Night)

We researched different areas to break up the journey from Franz Josef to Abel Tasman National Park and stumbled across Lake Brunner. Lake Brunner is the largest lake in the West Coast Region of New Zealand, located 31 km southeast of Greymouth. Greymouth is the endpoint for the TranzAlpine Train, often described as one of the world’s greatest train journeys.

We had a one night stay to break up the drive and enjoyed the Rakaitane Track. There was a Fairy Village with painted rocks and trinklets, a swing bridge, and panoramic views of the lake on a short walking track.

Stayed: Hotel Lake Brunner for NZD 100 / £50 per night including breakfast.

Eat: On the West Coast, we stopped off at Hokitika at Hokitika Sandwich Company for the best sandwich in New Zealand.

Abel Tasman (3 Nights)

Our penultimate stop was New Zealand’s smallest national park, Abel Tasman National Park comprising of golden bays and lush coastal native bush. Abel Tasman was within our Top 3 stops on South Island.

Following some research, the Abel Tasman skydive site is the only place in New Zealand where you can jump out of a plane and get views of both the North and South Island. Skydiving was incredible, I’d highly recommend it! It’s one of the best feelings in the world and there is no drop sensation, you feel like you are flying.

Stayed: Kanuka Ridge Lodge, a lovely independently run and quiet hostel with private rooms and shared bathrooms.

Activities: Go Skydiving with Abel Tasman Skydive, they are brilliant. So many online accounts mentioned water taxis, these are quite costly in Abel Tasman and generally start from $50 One Way. We loved completing a walk directly from Marahau to the quiet haven of Coquille Bay (out and back with free parking at Marahau) and a subsequent hike from Medlands Beach to Anchorage. We booked the Water Taxi for the Medlands hike with Wilsons.

Hamner Springs (2 Nights)

We finished off our trip around South Island with a final stop at Hamner Springs located just 1.5hrs from Christchurch. Hamner Springs has 22 mineral hot springs with multiple slides. If your stay coincides with a weekday, you can pay for entry via BookMe, the cost drops from $40pp to $32pp for entry.

Trip Tips 💡

• The North Island chapter is here
• For the ferry, Bluebridge is the more competitive ferry but as the vessel is smaller and often used for transporting livestock, I would recommend Interislander. The Cook Strait is notorious as one of the roughest crossings in the world, we were lucky on the day  as we had calm conditions. The ferry starts from $75pp.
• We rented our vehicle with Ace Car Hire (Toyota Corolla) and Ace were fantastic! Car hire was £24 per day and we covered 3,233km (1988 miles) in the vehicle and the petrol cost was £173 in total in a 2024 Hybrid car.
• For accommodations, I secured my bookings a couple of weeks in advance of travel, this was during mid-season in November, December/January is the busiest time of year in New Zealand.
• If I had to shorten the trip, I would look at removing locations on the West Coast as Franz Josef covered the same themes as Mt Cook, it was a long drive up to Abel Tasman NP but we enjoyed our time there.
• I used Airalo as an E-Sim for using data abroad, there is no more fussing around with changing Sim cards or phones as a virtual sim card is available via an App, a online referral code is FELIX5695 for $3.00 off credit. £20.00 bought 10GB of data.
• If you have any questions at all, feel free to comment here and I’ll be happy to help