After a glorious visit through the north island we flew from Wellington to Christchurch, where we picked up another car to begin our south island explorations. Our itinerary took us in sort of a loop starting at Lake Tekapo, then to Mt. Cook, down to Queenstown for a few days, then down and around to Milford, a stop in Te Anau, then up and over to the west coast, and back inland through Castle Hill before finishing in Christchurch. This island feels wilder than the north and we've got our adventurous spirits locked in their upright position ready to take it all in.
Our first destination on the south island was Lake Tekapo, a beautiful, clear blue lake surrounded by mountains and fields of lupins that smelled like churos (no lie, I kept smelling churos!)
The Church of the Good Shepherd on the shores of Lake Tekapo
The highlight of our visit to Lake Tekapo was the evening we spent at the observatory up Mt. John We did a twilight tour learning about the work astronomers are doing up here with some of the world's most powerful telescopes. Mt. John is one of a handful of internationally recognised dark sky reserves, so the night sky viewing here is exceptional. We had the opportunity to view distant stars and other cosmic objects through some pretty powerful telescopes. It was such a wonderful experience.
On our way towards Mt. Cook
Mt. Cook, New Zealand's highest peak
Gorgeous hike through the Hooker Valley with spectacular views of the valley and Mt. Cook. We lucked out with exceptionally clear skies and unobstructed views of Mt. Cook
Mt. Cook
Queenstown is a pretty busy place. Up until we arrived here we were wondering where everyone was. It was high season for New Zealand tourism, and yet we felt like we had the entire country to ourselves. That is until we reached bustling Queenstown packed with tourists. It's easy to see why people are drawn here, such a gorgeous setting with the mountains over the lake and the gateway to the southern part of the south island for further adventures. Queenstown had a lot going on with amazing restaurants and activities. We, however, spent most of the time enjoying the views and some downtime in our amazing condo overlooking the lake.
We BBQed every night on one of the terraces in our unit, which was pure bliss!
Wandering the town steps from our condo
Views from our bedroom balcony
After Queenstown we head south to Milford Sound. We had booked an overnight cruise on the sound to have a more complete experience and more viewing opportunities of arguably New Zealand's top sight. Mother nature had other ideas. Our good weather streak came to a screeching halt when we arrived, and instead of scenes filled with towering rocks of the fjords amid blue skies we managed to only see the base of the entire place, the sky heavy with dark clouds and persistent rain obstructing the view the entire time. It was a bummer, but we made the best of it.
Kayaking in the pouring rain
The cheeky Kea bird of New Zealand. Better watch out, these guys will mess with you!
Mirror Lake
Arriving at sunny Lake Te Anau where we would ring in the new year.
Phone shot of the fireworks over Lake Te Anau. A small celebration in the very south of New Zealand, and easily the earliest we will ever celebrate the new year in our lives, very few places on earth later in time than New Zealand.
Forest en route to the west coast
Fantail Falls
Arriving at the west coast of New Zealand's south island, just stunning!
Such surreal coastline
The rain followed us a bit up the coast, and by this time we were all experiencing a bit of travel and sightseeing fatigue, but we did manage a little hike to Franz Joseph Glacier
Celebrating Trevon's 12th birthday at our hotel in Franz Joseph
Further up the west coast
Punakaiki
The pancake rocks of Punakaiki
Views turning inland on our final stretch
Our final stop was to Castle Hill, a remarkable place in the middle of the south island where giant boulders sit like a pile of tossed pebbles from a giant above. Gorgeous, unique landscape, and the setting for an iconic battle scene in Narnia.
Farewell Aotearoa! You have captured our senses and stolen our hearts!
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