A Hop, Skip, and A Couple Jumps Around the South Island

Hello hello hello! I am back on the grid!!! And by on the grid I mean in my flat!!! Three friends and I just got home from the most INCREDIBLE road trip around the South Island full of surreal sights and adrenaline rushes. I have an unruly amount of homework to get done this month (right now), so this recap of the past 14 days is going to be slightly ~abridged~ and full of photos with minimal storytelling. I’m down I can’t do this trip justice, buttttt there’s always the option to edit later! Hit my line (0064291261853) for a complete recap with more quirk and a guaranteed laugh or two.

With that being said, let me introduce you all to my sweet travel gang:

Maggie (front):

-Sociology major studying in DC

-Theater star
-Shawn Mendes’ biggest fan

Ciku (left):

-Criminology major studying in England

-From Kenya (international student twice removed?)
-Reuben Stone’s personal hype-woman

Rebecca (middle):

-Design major studying in Atlanta

-Our trip’s personal photographer (a majority of the included pics are hers and they rock)

-Yes, she is as cool as her hair    

Friday, April 12

We loaded ourselves and our massive backpacks into an Uber and zipped down to the ferry terminal! We took the ferry out of Wellington and docked just across the Cook Strait in Picton! This ferry ride was the rockiest, most nauseating thing EVER. Barf bag in hand, we plopped ourselves in the back of the boat and tried to battle off seasickness for four hours. Here is the very first picture we all took together at the ferry terminal!  

That night, we stayed at a hostel in Picton called The Villa. While eating our first gourmet meal of spaghetti, veggies, and wine out of mugs, we met two men from Germany who had left their jobs as hotel receptionists and camp directors, and were on a 6 month adventure around the world. Both had quite the “YOLO” outlook on life; very cool dudes. Here are our very personality driven choices of mugs… guess who chose which if you so please!  

Saturday, April 13

That next morning, we woke up and showered for what we all thought would be the last time for a while. Before we knew it, we were picking up our rental car (a Toyota Fielder who was soon named Lisa) and started to make our way to Nelson. On our way there, we stopped at the Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve. This broke up the drive a bit with a quick walk in the woods and over our first of many suspension bridges.

When we got to Nelson, we explored the beach town and enjoyed deli-made lasagna on the beach! This little town was the Cape Cod of New Zealand.  

Around mid-afternoon we headed to our first night’s stay at Old MacDonald’s Farm in Abel Tasman National Park. This was a cool and quiet campground with the friendliest NEIGHbors…  

We popped into the camp store to buy some cards to keep us entertained and I saw a poster advertising a free album release tour for a group called Aro. They were set to perform at Park Cafe Marahau that night, so we went! The cafe was the cutest little restaurant full of fellow backpackers and the friendliest staff. Once we sat down and grabbed dessert it was nearly time for Aro to begin their gig. After one song the four of us absolutely fell in love with the couple performing and turned into the biggest fangirls for the rest of the night. After talking to Emily and Charles (the couple that makes up Aro) during the show’s intermission, we learned that they are actually married and are self-proclaimed gnomads traveling to wherever their music takes them! They live out of a van and bee-bop from campground to campground as they please. Very very genuine people with such incredible talent! I urge everyone to listen and learn from the sweet tunes of their latest album ‘Manu.'

Sunday, April 14

On Sunday, we hiked a chunk of the Abel Tasman Coast Track! This track lead to many BEAUTIFUL beaches with the bluest water I’ve ever seen. Such a fun walk in the woods up and down the coast.

That night, Rebecca and Ciku taught Maggie and me how to play a card game called Cabo. This became the most addicting thing ever and we played this almost every night in the tent from them on.

Monday, April 15

After two days, it was time for us to leave Old MacDonald’s and head to our next stop: Hokitika! This was about a 5 hour drive, so we broke it up by eating lunch at the famous Pancake Rocks!  

We got back on the road and made it to Hokitika in time for the most beautiful sunset and pizza at Fat Pipi Pizzas.

Our campsite on Lake Mahinapua was free of really any light pollution, so we had the best night stargazing from the lakeside.

Tuesday, April 16

The next morning, we rose with the sun and dipped to Hokitika Gorge. We found ourselves some BEAUTIFUL glacial streams with the iciest blue water. To our liking, there was yet another suspension bridge!

Moseyed around town, hit the museum, drank water out of the side of a building, and fell absolutely in love with this “Cool Little Town.”

On our drive to Haast we stopped to see Lake Matheson’s impeccable reflective capabilities

Just before arriving at our hostel, we drove right into yet another incredible sunset and had a sweet little photo shoot in and around the road. Arsty, eh?

Wednesday, April 17

We got up Wednesday morning and drove to Roys Peak in Wanaka and started hiking by 9:30am. I was so excited for this hike, but the rest of the crew wasn’t so much...especially when we got there and discovered it was nothing short of a constant uphill hike. I thought I lost 3 friends that day, but after bribing them with beer and ice cream in hopes that they might love me again, I think I won them back. Long story short, the view from the peak was absolutely breathtaking and I couldn’t stop talking about it for days after.  

Thursday, April 18

We saw the famous #ThatWanakaTree on Thursday, left our campsite, and of course had a photoshoot with Lisa!  

After a short two hour drive, we made it to Queenstown! We ate the famous, Fergburger for dinner (this place is not overrated, its amazing), then bee-bopped over to Cookie Time to fulfill each and every one of my dreams. I got the sweetest, yummiest cookie dough milkshake and then we all did karaoke...at the cookie bar. Iconic, really.

Friday, April 19

Good Friday just got better when Rebecca, Dan (our temporary travel buddy), and I jumped off a bridge!!!

Saturday, April 20

April 20th was the ONLY day we got caught in a bit of rain. We really really really lucked out with weather every other day of our trip; it was amazing. Anyway, while Maggie and Ciku were fulfilling their adrenaline driven dreams at the Nevis Swing, Rebecca, Dan, and I drove a bit outside of Queenstown to leaf-peep in Arrowtown and Glenorchy!

Sunday, April 21

This was by far the dopest Easter ever. We rolled out of our hostel bunk beds at 5:00am and drove four hours to Milford Sound!!! The drive was amazing, the cruise through the fiord was amazing, and just wow oh wow was this a cool day. Also, with a little help from Dan, I managed to drink a waterfall. I will not be taking questions at this time.  

Of course, we stopped for yet another sunset photoshoot on our way back to Queenstown:

Oh, annnnd we had Fergburger for Easter dinner that night!

Monday, April 22

We finally escaped the worst hostel in the history of hostels and were Christchurch and campsite bound! We drove to lake Tekapo, I got my first speeding ticket ever for going 10.5mph over the speed limit (but who’s calculating), and we ate meat pies! Then, we hopped back in the car and got to our campsite before dark.

Tuesday, April 23

Real fruit ice cream and a walk through the Christchurch Botanical Gardens was such a chill way to start our Tuesday! By 11:00am, we were on the road yet again and on our way to Castle Hill. This drive, like all others, was so stunning. In Castle Hill, we walked Cave Stream and it was by far one of the absolute coolest things I’ve ever done. It’s exactly what it sounds like—a stream running through a cave! We strapped our head torches on and walked up the stream from one end of the cave to the other. I took GoPro videos through the whole thing, so those will be uploaded at some point!!! Just take my word that it was the sickest experience ever.

We finished this day by driving through our favorite town, Hokitika, for the CRAZIEST sunset!

After making it to our campsite in Franz Josef after dark, we played Cabo (like every other night), and got some rest before Rebecca and I were scheduled to jump off of more stuff the next morning.  

Wednesday, April 24

The rumors are true, folks! We jumped out of a plane from 16,500ft above the ground! We got so up close and personal with the Franz Josef Glacier, Mt. Cook, and Mt. Tasman. This was an experience I will never forget with views I have only dreamt of. The pictures the company sent me actually had me SCREAMING and crying laughing. I have no idea how people look good in photos like these and refuse to believe any flattering skydive picture is real.

Thursday, April 25

Our trip was coming to a close and we weren’t so happy about it. We drove from our campsite on Lake Rotoroa to Blenheim Thursday morning and hopped on some bikes by 1:00 that afternoon! We rode the Golden Mile of wineries and did some tasting before the sun went down. We had a blast. Fun fact: 86% of the entire world’s sauvignon blanc grapes are grown in little Marlborough Sounds! How cool!?

Friday, April 26

Friday morning was spent repacking our bags and cleaning our sweet Lisa. We drove back to Picton and spent the day eating, shopping, and playing Cabo in the park. This was fun and all, but man was it kind of a downer to come back to school after such an incredible mid-semester break.

I am so thankful for the experiences and friends that these islands have given me. I can’t stress this enough and I will probably never stop talking about any of it.

Rebecca, Ciku, and Maggie—thank you for being the best traveling girl gang ever. I miss you, our tent, and Lisa so much already!!!

Until next time, South Island ✌️