Greener Pastures in the South Island of New Zealand, part 1

February 18 – March 2, 2023 (entirety of South Island)

February 18-23, 2023 (covered in this blog post, part 1)

Kia ora, or hello, friends and family. The next stop on my journey was New Zealand. Mel stayed in Fiji for a few more days with her friend while I ventured off to New Zealand to meet with some of my friends from Hawai'i. I flew into Christchurch in the South Island of New Zealand, which is divided into the roughly equally sized North and South Islands, on February 18. I stayed in the South Island until March 2, but I'm breaking my time there into two blog posts. This first one will go until February 23.

The first stop I made after the airport was Spaceships Campervans, where I picked up the incredible campervan I’d drive and live in for the next 12 days. The van was built like a minivan, but there were only the two seats in front instead of the usual two or three rows. In place of the back rows, there was one empty trunk for storage, and another trunk with the kitchen contained inside. The kitchen consisted of a mini fridge, about one cubic foot in size (maybe less), two portable gas stoves, some butane cannisters, a cutting board, a cutting knife, a can opener, four sets of cutlery, plates and bowls, mugs, a sponge, a scrubber, dish soap, and some dish towels. In the middle of the van, there were sheets and a comforter, three long cushions (similar to couch cushions, but longer and more rectangular) and some smooth wood boards. At night time, the wood boards were placed on metal arms that extended from the trunk in the middle of the van towards the front, and then the cushions were placed on top of the trunks and the wood boards to form the bed mattress. There were also some outdoor accessories like camp chairs, a fold-up table, an awning to attach to the back of the van when it was open to give some extra space and fresh air with the option for opening a zip to see the night sky, and a solar shower, which was a bag with an absorptive material that heats up water in sunlight for a warm shower.

I spent some time getting familiar with the campervan and checking to make sure the contents were there before driving into the city part of Christchurch and running some errands. I did a big grocery shop for food, bought a SIM card, took out cash, and got some camping supplies like extra water and bug spray. Though my flight had arrived around 2pm, it wasn’t until close to 7 that I started driving towards Mount Cook, about four hours south, where my friends were camping.

February is peak summer in New Zealand and the sun was setting around 8:45, with close to an extra hour of light after that, so I drove for a few hours and made it to a campsite at Lake Tekapo. I had no idea how the campsites worked in New Zealand and I got really lucky. The office for the campsite was closed when I rolled in at 9:30pm and there were some passcodes for the entrance gate written down for guests with reservations in one box, and a single passcode in the drop-in box that I claimed. I was relieved I didn't have to keep driving and find a campsite I could get into. I used the code to get past the entrance gate and slowly find my assigned spot. It was a relatively crowded site with vans and tents right next to each other for most of the massive parking lot. When I finally found my spot, I had no energy for dinner so I had some snacks, made the bed, and went to sleep. I was feeling unprepared and not sure if I was in over my head getting a campervan for 12 days.

The next morning I woke up early and drove the final hour and change to Mount Cook National Park to meet my friends Kip, Andrew, and Jenna from Hawaii, and one of their friends Joseph who I hadn't met before. We had some breakfast and then started a hike up to Mueller Hut. There are hundreds of huts around the country for refuge managed by the Department of Conservation. The Mueller Hut hike is a popular one because it offers breathtaking views of the national park. It was a steep hike with over 3,000 feet of elevation gained over three miles of distance hiking, along steps in the beginning part of the trail before changing to rock scrambling. There was some weather coming in and it was violently windy at points, but it was worth it to get to the top. The view was of a light blue glacial lake on the left and a valley between more massive mountains on the right.

When we made it down to the valley, I was hungry and decided to break in the kitchen. I fired up the hot plates and made a lackluster quesadilla, but it was nice to have hot food. Despite its poor appearance and mediocre taste, the quesadilla actually required a lot of effort to make since it was my first time using the kitchen. I had to figure out how to get all the cookware I needed onto a small table and keep food and utensils from blowing away. After cooking, it was a struggle to wash dishes with limited water inside a ten-liter bag of water. It would’ve been easier if I’d realized that there was a small eating area with running water a few hundred feet away, but that realization helped me with dishes at future campsites at least.

We left Mount Cook around 3. It was a short visit for me, only spending the day there, and it’s a spot I’ll definitely visit next time I’m in New Zealand. I was tagging along to the itinerary my friends had crafted months ago and I was grateful to not have to plan for a couple weeks after spending so much time planning in Singapore and Thailand.

I drove, with the company of Andrew, a few hours to Queenstown, a popular outdoorsy city in the southern part of the island. We did a short two-mile hike at a nearby ski mountain called The Remarkables and hung out at the top for a while. When it got dark, we went to sleep at a campsite called 12 Mile Delta in Queenstown. The campsite was easier to figure out as the gate was left open after hours since the camp ranger was off duty when we came in. It was much more spacious and we got a couple spots next to each other.

The next day we did a hike called the Ben Lomond Track which started right in the city part of Queenstown. The hike had a woodsy part in the beginning, then an open part on a dirt path, and a very steep rocky part towards the end with spectacular views of Queenstown along the way.

This hike was another steep one with over 4,000 feet of elevation gain and eight miles of distance round trip. We were drenched in sweat from it so we swam in the refreshing water at Queenstown Beach Bay after.

In the afternoon, we explored the town and got some happy hour drinks at a craft beer place and dinner at an Irish pub. The downtown area was cool; it was small and walkable but there were plenty of food and drink options, many of them with great views right along the water. After eating, we went to sleep at the same campsite as the night before.

We continued the trend of exceptionally strenuous hikes the next day with a 14.5-mile trek in Wanaka called Roy’s Peak. The first few miles were through a bog with some sheep nearby. The next several miles were uphill but on a road that was pretty even, so it felt easier to me than the steps of the Mueller Hut hike. There were some clouds rolling in but we had a magnificent view from Alpha Peak of the lakes and mountains.

The trail was a bit tricky between Alpha Peak and Roy’s Peak and it started to rain so we didn’t see much from the second viewpoint. We were hungry, though, so we had our lunch there and caught our breaths. The last four miles down were along a winding path and we passed many more people on this stretch, which was much more popular than the backside of Roy’s Peak we’d just done where we saw literally two people.

It was a point-to-point hike, so we ended up at the main parking lot where Joseph kindly picked us up after being in town for the day. We got some groceries afterwards and I drove, with Kip as passenger, to a campsite a few hours away near Fiordland. It was gray and rainy out so the drive was a bit dark, but the campsite had hot showers so we were grateful to get cozy and clean.

The next day we drove towards Milford Sound and hiked the Lake Marian Track along the way. The hike was under four miles round trip and much easier than what we’d been doing. The trail was muddy and wet along the way but ended at a pristine glacial lake up in the mountains.

We continued on to Milford Sound in the afternoon and walked around, taking in its beauty. It’s probably one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen; the water is like a giant river between mountains and the tallest sea cliffs in the world, with several waterfalls pouring down into the sound. We did a short walk to see as much as we could from land.

After exploring the sound as much as we could by foot, we walked to a nearby lodge with Wi-Fi to book boat tours for the next day to see more of the sound. We took our food and cookware to a picnic table by the sound and ate there, relishing the beautiful scenery in the early evening and dusk light. The nearest campground was 45 minutes away, so we drove back along the way we’d drove in (there’s only one road to Milford Sound) and camped there for the night.

We drove back to Milford Sound the next day for our boat tour. We chose the cheapest and quickest option so we just barely made it out of the sound and to the ocean before turning around. Still, it was a great way to see the sound and getting out on the boat let us see a lot of hidden gems. I would definitely try to do a longer boat tour of Milford Sound next time I'm in New Zealand.

I'll write about the rest of my adventures in the South Island, picking up from Milford Sound, in another blog post soon. Thanks for reading!