New Zealand South Island Things to Do

KIA ORA!  Everyone I know wants to go to New Zealand – especiallythose who have already been there.  Kiwi’s as they call themselves (after the flightless bird, not the fruit) as the most fun loving, well balanced, good natured people I know.         Perhaps it’s the amazing playground of mountains, volcanoes, rivers, beaches and rainforests they call home that makes them so chill and happy.  Scroll below for more details, photos and videos.

Christchurch

Kaikoura Peninsula

Marlborough region –  great wines

Nelson Lakes hiking – Bike Queen Charlotte Track – Kayak Marlborough

Inland Pack Track Loop and Pancake Rocks

Franz Josef Glacier heli-hike – Hike Alex Knob or Robert’s Point

Mountain Bike Hawea to Wanaka

Queenstown

Milford Sound kayak and hike Kepler Track

Hike Mt Cook area’s Mueller’s Ridge and/or Hooker Valley Glacial Lakes

Christchurch

Our adventure begins in Christchurch, a bustling but manageable city rebuilding from the 2011 quake.  

My favorite recommended things to do in Christchurch:

Visit the Canturbury Museum

           Learn about the history of the area, Antarctic exporation expeditions (see Dog parachute video below!), and about the land and resources of this area.   The video above is of the dogs that the early Antarctic explorers parachuted down onto the ice.  Makes me laugh every time!  What were those dogs THINKING???  Especially the one wagging it’s tail. 

Visit the International Antarctic Centre  

           Allow time to check you bags at the airport and then head over to this fascinationg exhibit next door!

Visit the Quake City exhibit

           Learn about the devastating 2011 earthquake and quakes in general.  Watch the videos – heartrending!

Explore Hagley Park in the CBD (Central Business District) to get fresh air, people watch or stroll. 

Explore the Christchurch Botanic Gardens  

           Take the Caterpillar Shuttle to hop on-hop off and explore these beautiful gardens (or combine with the city Hop on – Hop off!)

Take a River Trail Horse Trek

           Horseback ride (beginner’s welcome!) a high country sheep farm past the Waimakariri River Canyon in the backdrop of the Southern Alps.entire family.

Kaikoura Penninsula

Have enough of the action? Ride up the rugged coastline to the Kaikoura Penninsula and look for the fur seal colony in the former whaling center. Hike to the ridge for a spectacular view!  Be on the lookout for the pink 1844 Fyffe House stained with the blood of a whale with a foundation built on its vertebra. 

Marlborough Wine Country

Before heading out for your adventure, stop by the family-owned and operated, award wining vintners, Forrest Winery for a taste testing on their gorgeous grounds.  Then choose between:  

           Hiking Nelson Lakes on the Angelus Circuit                       

Three day hike to see the lake from above.  We stayed in DOC huts ( Dept of Conservation) that have kitchen facilities, a latrine and shared bunk rows.  Nothing fancy, but clean and all you need! One river crossing, and a steep ascent (and therefore descent) – most definitely worth it for the view!  After which we hiked up to Robert’s Ridge for an unforgettable view of the Tasman Sea and Kahurangi National Park. Some Kiwi’s prefer this hike to some of the better known trails.

           Walk or Mountain Bike the Charlotte Track

Explore the Marlborough Sounds through historic bays, lush coastal forest and atop the ridge for some fantastic views of the Queen Charlotte and Kenepuru Sounds!  A great opportunity to get a real feel for Kiwiland’s people, culture and environment.

           Kayak the Marlborough and Kenepuru Sounds

What better way to get up close to nature than by kayak!  In these mostly sheltered coves you can check out the lush forest alongthe rocky coastline. Be on the lookout for dolphins, fur seals and little blue penguins!

Punankaiki : Pancake Rocks and Paparoa National Park

Pancakes aren’t just for breakfast (that’s breakie to a Kiwi!).  The Tasman Sea crashes against the limestone cliffs on the western coast to create these surreal stacks of pancakes out of stone!  Get there at high tide for the best show of the blow hole when the waves crash up and in through the rocks. There’s a fab boardwalk that takes you safely through them.  Walk along the beachy coast to get a closer look.

Afterwards, work off your pancake breakfast with a trek along the Inland Pack Trek in Paparoa National Park. Choose a section of this 25 km (one way) trek to see the inland forest hugging this rugged coastline.

Franz Josef Glacier

When you make it to Franj Josef, BE SURE TO COUGH UP FOR THE HELI-HIKE!!!  

This is a highlight and ranks in the Top 3 Things I did in New Zealand.  Weather permitting, a helicopter drops you on top of the Franz Josef glacier.  The glacier is different everyday, so your guides scout out today’s environment to develop a cool adventure for you.  They carve out ice steps for you, or often you are trekking slip free (due to the provided crampons to go over your boots that have metal spikes to grab the ice). I got to climb through TWO ice caves that didn’t exist the day before (see pic).  This was SO MUCH FUN!!!

The town of Franz Josef is fun as well, so allow time to explore.

You can also get a good look at the glacier with a hike on Alex Knob or Robert’s Point.

Mt. Aspiring National Park and Wanaka #2 for adventure in New Zealand after Queenstown (Below)

Why not bike into town? We biked from Hawea all the way to downtown Wanaka, home to all outdoor adventure activities (the small town even boasts a couple of outfitters!).  Of course there is skiing in the winter, but in the summer you’ve got beautiful Lake Wanaka overlooking snow capped mountains. No wonder this area is a UNESCO World Heritage Area!  Glaciers – check! Beech forests – check! Alpine meadows and braided rivers – check! And also check out the Wanaka Tree, a lone tree growing out of the water.

Queenstown: New Zealand’s Adventure Capital

What can’t you do in Queenstown? There’s great hiking up to Ben Lommond, or up Queenstown Hill.  You can take a jet boat on gorgeous Lake Wakatipu, or white water raft (or boogie board!) the Kawaraui river with the country’s longest commercially navigatable rapid at 400m (!), horseback ride the rugged countryside, or mountain bike the many forest trails.

Bungee jumping was invented here and they have the original bridge jump over the Karawaura river, or for the fearless (or crazy) they have a 440’ drop – yikes!

Adrenaline junkies can have non-stop action and adventure in Queenstown!  Luge down a mountain, any kind of kite or parasailing, frankly, any kind of adventure you can imagine, they have it here in this charming harborside village.

Active Adventures

If you want to truly EXPERIENCE New Zealand, consider touring with Active Adventures!  I did their Rimu South Island adventure travel tour and then the back half of their North Island Kauri adventure (podcast episode to follow).

Active is based in New Zealand, so no one is going to know how to show you an adventure and a good time better!

Fjordland and Milford Sound

Pass through the Homer Tunnel (home of the annual Naked Tunnel Race – sneakers and headlamp exceptedJ), a pickax formed ¾ mile testament to human fortitude to find your jaw drop to the floor:

Towering 4000’ jagged cliffs abound with waterfalls (especially good after a rain).  You are a mere spec in this outsized land. Follow the road to Milford Sound (actually a fjord, not a sound as the area coastal waterways  were first thought to be, so they just renamed the area Fjordland). Kayak the sound for a truly monumental treat. But: be sure to also book a boat tour of the sound in case the weather disallows safe kayaking.

There are only two lodges at Milford, so you usually end up busing the eight hour round trip in a day. Active Adventures secures rooms at one of the lodges which is far more pleasant and gives you more time there.

Milford Sound – the Eighth Wonder of the World – Rudyard Kipling

Too bad Captain Cook never made it to Milford – he missed a gem!  DRAMATIC 4000′ stone face shoot up from the sea.  Turns out it’s not really a sound, but actually a fjord.  All the the fourteen sounds along the coast are, so instead of renaming them all, they just call the whole are Fjordland.  Simple!

Aorika/Mt Cook : New Zealand’s Tallest Mountain

We were lucky to stay at Braemer Station, a sheep farm, in the shearer’s lodge that has a lakeside, unencumbered view of Aorika/Mt. Cook  (the mountain now goes by the Maori and Western name). Lucky too were we at sunset – see pic.  My Aorika/Mt Cook photo is NOT photoshopped (I don’t know how), yet it still doesn’t do it justice.

The next day we hiked the 2200 steps (2000’ elevation gain) to Mueller Ridge for a fantastic view of the glacier, moutains and glacial lakes.  If time, also hike the Hooker Valley Glacial Lakes hike (CROWDED). If your body can hack it, do the ascent – it’s well worth it!

Links Mentioned on this Show:

Banff National Park

Active Adventures

Adventure Travel Show Podcast

New Zealand South Island Part II

New Zealand North Island Part III