South Island, New Zealand Travel Blogs

Packing the fish...
Sep 12, 2005

... this year and so that is why he has worked for so long (although I still maintain that he could go on a trip around the South Island first). More often than not, I return to the backpackers just after midnight to find everyone asleep, so it was a nice ...

Kaikoura Whale Watching
Sep 5, 2004 (14 photos)

In July we headed down to Kaikoura for a weekend away and to get out on the whale watching boat. We caught the Bluebridge ferry from Wellington to Picton at the very sociable hour of 3am and tried to convince ourselves that the humming and vibrating of ...

Penguin spotting...and rain!
Nov 21, 2005 (3 photos)

... more than a seagull or an oyster catcher. "That's a penguin isn't it?" she said, and she was right. Stood upright on a rock island just metres in front of us was a Fiordland crested, yellow eyed penguin. I'd seen a few of them on the Milford Sound cruise, ...

Home made Yorkshire puddings!
Nov 24, 2005 (11 photos)

... the mist made the overlooking mountains invisible to the eye. This despite the fact that we were now in the middle of the South Island, a fact that Mum had great pleasure in pointing out! They'll be well blessed when I'm in Brisbane... I'd not booked ...

Nature on the Otago Peninsula
Dec 8, 2005 (13 photos)

... walking towards a seal colony, where pups were being born daily. I've certainly seen my fair share of seals since arriving in New Zealand, but these pups were the smallest ones I'd encountered. It was lovely to see a mother sleeping on the rocks with her ...

Kayaking an icon
Jan 4, 2007 (14 photos)

... and another playing in the shallows near our kayaks. We paddled up to the bottom of the Bowen Falls, amongst the highest in New Zealand, but appearing dwarfed by the enormous mountains behind it. We got close enough that I could feel the spray in my hair. ...

Stunning views of Aoraki
Dec 12, 2005 (19 photos)

... , with spacious dorms and friendly staff. Unfortunately, the girl at reception said no less than 4 fronts were due to pass over the South Island, so this made me even more determined to get outside. I had a bite to eat, put some suncream on...and off I ...

A whale's tail
Dec 22, 2006 (14 photos)

... the long tongue of sand that is Farewell Spit. I had my bikini packed and was looking forward to spending Christmas touring round the South Island with my parents.  I hadn't banked on the weather. Almost all the British staff at work had  ...

Fox Glacier
Jul 5, 2008 (6 photos)

The abundance of snow made the famous drive from Wanaka through the Haast Pass to the West Coast a winter wonderland. The alpine scenery was truly breathtaking as countless waterfalls cascaded through thick forest canopy into icy cold streams flowing ...

Westport
Jul 7, 2008 (2 photos)

New Zealand's only mamoth drive, but driving dosen't get more beautiful than this, so not too bad a way to spend the day. We stopped of at the amazing Pancake Rocks, for an awesome break in the journey. The rocks at Punakaiki are formed to into what looks ...

Doubtful Today
Sep 22, 2004 (9 photos)

I'm back online, but not for long. I got up early this morning and headed to Manapouri. What's in Manapouri? Not much. Lake Manapouri is the starting point for trips to Doubtful Sound. I took the Real Journeys bus in and headed across Lake Manapouri, ...

Dusky Dolphins
Nov 11, 2005 (11 photos)

... . En route, the sunshine highlighted the colours in the scenery, so Mum and Stu were treated to an early glimpse of the South Island's beauty. The coastal route just prior to Kaikoura was particularly pleasing to the eye, as we wound our way along the ...

Straight off of 90210
Nov 8, 2004 (3 photos)

... them away quickly. Last night I went to work for the old man. In Bailiez we had a wine taste testing for for the new menus and I was "researching". Of course my "research" was obstructed by the fact that we didn't have anything to spit the wine into. ...

Around the South
Apr 9, 2005 (9 photos)

... was like most, average. I'm not a big birthday person anyway. I have since left the orchard to finish up on the South Island. A few more people ended up moving on to the orchard just before I left though. Nimrod and Hila from Israel, Beth(poody), ...

Playing games with Rie!
Sep 19, 2005

... day walk. Hopefully the weather will be better than when me and Ali visited in July! Then my journey to the bottom of the South Island will begin, stopping briefly in Christchurch to see Yumi one last time before she leaves on Friday. So, I've had an ...

Mount Cook
Jun 23, 2008 (5 photos)

We left Christchurch for Mt Cook stopping at Late Tekapo, a beautiful vast lake surrounded by snowy mountains. Once we'd negotiated the Japanese tourists we had a lovely walk along the lake and found a cracking spot for lunch!   We arrived in Mt ...

Dunedin
Jun 24, 2008 (4 photos)

... 's Camp in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe,) Omaru and the Moreaki Boulders we arrived in Dunedin once again impressed by New Zealand.   Out into Dunedin, we started at the excellent Otago Museum. And then we went to Cadbury's World. It was ...

New Zealands own Giants Causeway
Apr 25, 2007 (3 photos)

... happy that we had made the journey. But before I go into this lets go on a side note again. To look at on a map, New Zealand looks to be quite a small country, just a bit bigger than Britain. However when driving along the coast you realize that as the ...

Golden Bay
Jul 3, 2005 (8 photos)

... in the Information Centre, planning my next jaunt. In the end I decided to head to Collingwood in the far north-west of the South Island. Yumi had recommended the Golden Bay area to me, and it did seem like my kind of place - quiet towns, deserted beaches ...

Hanmer Springs
Jun 17, 2008

The drive to Hanmer was fantastic. Middle Earth is really quite stunning. The rolling hills gave way to the snowy mountains and Oscar's first drive was wonderful. The heater was used to its full potential that night and we woke up to be frozen in. We ...

Swing bridge fun
Nov 18, 2005 (10 photos)

... as an early Christmas present...once I'd finally decided which one I wanted! We then set off on a 2 hour drive to our next stop off, and I was excited because we were heading towards one of the most stunning regions on the South Island...glacier land!

Map Marker - No Text
Jan 16, 2005

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Map Marker - No Text
Feb 5, 2005

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Walking up Mt John
Dec 16, 2005 (6 photos)

I'd timed my trip to Mt Cook to perfection, as if I'd have arrived 2 days later, then I wouldn't have seen a thing. Jens and me kept looking out of the window and saying how lucky we'd been - all you could see now were clouds! We therefore hung around the ...

Overnight Milford Sound cruise
Oct 10, 2005 (10 photos)

... but I wasn't disheartened as we'd been incredibly lucky with the weather, and it is definitely a challenger for my favourite experience in New Zealand. It was made all the more enjoyable by having Charlotte there too, and as we made our way back along the ...

Crossing the Cook Strait
Apr 28, 2007

... Seumus's Irish Pub (they were ok, but nothing special) and a pint/Archers aqua Alco pop. It is now Saturday Morning. The rain has not stopped since about 7pm last night and we head to the North Island at 1.15pm Speak to you all soon Paul and Ciara

12,000 feet high and rising!
Jul 21, 2005 (5 photos)

... of the lakes and mountains. The fact that I found a $10 note on the way back to the hostel was the icing on the cake! My list of highlights in New Zealand is growing, but it will take something extra special to surpass the skydive over Lake Wanaka.

Milford Sound
Sep 24, 2004 (10 photos)

Two updates in two days. This is unheard of! Actually I've just done a lot in the past two days between Doubtful and Milford. Today I woke up kind of groggy and wondering if I wanted to even get up to go ot Milford. Would they reschedule if I just ...

The Rakiura Track
Oct 4, 2005 (27 photos)

... on Saturday morning, hoping that it would give me an energy boost ahead of my walk. I have done a fair bit of walking in New Zealand, but this was to be the first serious tramp where I had to carry my main backpack. It did feel quite heavy, and experienced ...

Puzzling World!
Jul 20, 2005 (5 photos)

I had a one night stopover in sleepy Haast, which I knew would be uneventful, but I enjoyed the relaxation ahead of Wanaka and Queenstown. The hostel had an indoor garden, and so I spent a lot of time in there listening to music and planning which ...