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South Island

New Zealand

By Yes Mom I'm Alive

DAY ONE

Arrive mid-day by transpacific flight to Christchurch International Airport. Spend an hour going through customs.

Pick up your rental car and drive south to Lake Tekapo (3hrs).

Stop for a walk through the lupine field just a few kilometers outside of town.

LAKE TEKAPO

Check into a small one-room cabin at Lake Tekapo Lakefront Lodge.

Pick up fish n' chips from Tekapo Takeaways to enjoy at the lakeshore.

DAY TWO

Head to the Lake Tekapo Airport for Air Safari's Grand Traverse morning flight around Aoraki-Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest mountain at 3,754m.

WANAKA

After landing, drive south to Wanaka (2.5hrs).

Check into the beautiful Wanaka Homestead Lodge & Cottages.

Walk downtown for dinner at Big Fig, followed by an evening stroll along Lake Wanaka.

DAY THREE

Drive west to Mount Aspiring National Park (1hr).

Hike the steep trail to Brewster Hut (1.7 miles, 3281' gain; 3hrs one-way). As the Kiwis say, this trail is a real grunter, climbing almost 3300' in less than 2 miles!

BREWSTER HUT

After stair-climbing on tree roots for 2000', break out of the beech forest and into the alpine tussock.

Just when you are ready to call it quits, you'll get your first look of the cute red Brewster Hut in the distance.

Enjoy a well-earned rest and lunch while watching a company of keas perched on the roof.

Keas – the world's only alpine parrots – are notoriously clever and mischievous birds. They are legendary for tearing the rubber off windshield wipers on rental cars and locking hikers in outhouses. When I woke up the next morning at Brewster Hut, three keas were tearing up a pair of sandals a fellow hiker unwisely left on the porch overnight. Keas are quite amusing to watch – provided you are not the victim of their antics.

2019 Wildfires

We visited New Zealand in late December 2019 during the terrible Australian brushfires. Wind carried smoke and ash 1200 miles to the west coast of New Zealand. The skies over Mount Aspiring National Park were hazy and the glaciers on the surrounding peaks were coated with orange ash.

SUNSET

After the ochre sun finally sets, retreat inside the hut to play cards by candlelight with new friends.

We stayed at Brewester's Hut on December 31, and while everyone was too exhausted to stay up to midnight, it was an incredible spot to start the new year.

DAY FOUR

If the weather allows, wake up well before dawn to hike up Mount Armstrong (2 miles, 2400'; 3hrs return) for sunrise over Mount Aspiring National Park.

If the weather doesn't allow (like it didn't for us), sleep in and save your legs.

Enjoy your breakfast and coffee on the porch. Slowly pack-up to delay as long as possible the knee-killing descent.

Eventually and reluctantly, hike 3281' straight down to the car (3hrs).

BACK TO WANAKA

Just before reaching the car, take a short detour to Fantail Falls. Soak your sore legs in the Haast River before returning to your car.

Drive back to Wanaka (1hr).

Grab lunch (again) at Big Fig and a coffee at Ritual Espresso.

Drive south to Te Anau, gateway to Fiordland National Park (4hrs).

Check into YHA Te Anau.

PIOPIOTAHI - MILFORD SOUND

Wake up early to drive to Piopiotahi - Milford Sound (2hrs). Leave early to beat the coach buses coming south from Queenstown and to allow plenty of time to pull over to admire the hundreds of spontaneously formed waterfalls following a rainstorm.

FJORD CRUISE

Take a dramatic cruise of the fjord out to the Tasman Sea (2hrs). There are multiple cruise companies; we booked our cruise with Go Orange.

If you look carefully you can spot fur seals, dolphins and penguins.

KEY SUMMIT

Once ashore, drive halfway back to Te Anau to The Divide Trailhead (1hr).

Hike Key Summit (4.5miles, 1389'; 2.5hrs return). Complete the short nature loop at the top for views of Lake Marion and the Darren Mountains.

Return to your car before dusk and finish the drive to Te Anau (1hr).

Stay a second night at YHA Te Anau.

DAY SIX

Wake up at your leisure; today is a rest day.

Drive north to Queenstown (2hrs). Or in our case, drive north 1 hour, realize you left your wedding ring at the hostel, and race back to Te Anau to get it.

Check into the hip and bougie Sherwood Resort. Pick up a cocktail (or two) from the hotel's bar and enjoy it while walking the grounds.

DAY SEVEN

Wake up early enough to beat the breakfast buffet rush at Sherwood. It is very important that you order the lemon curd and blueberry waffle. Months later we still talk about that damn waffle.

Take a stroll along Lake Wakatipu. Take selfies and a nap on the beach instead of reading the book you hauled halfway across the world and did not open once.

ROY'S PEAK

Drive north back to Wanaka (1hr).

Arrive at Roy's Peak trailhead in the later afternoon.

I recommend starting later in the day to avoid crowds and hiking under the high sun. Alternatively if the forecast seems promising, start hiking at 4 a.m. the following morning to catch sunrise from the summit. Unfortunately for us, rain was coming in so we hiked this one before dusk.

DAY EIGHT

Drive north to Aoraki-Mount Cook National Park (2.5hrs).

In the late afternoon, start the Hooker Valley Track (6.2 miles, flat; 3hr return). Take your time so you can enjoy the setting sun's light on Aoraki-Mount Cook on the way back.

HOOKER LAKE

MOUNT COOK VILLAGE

Return to Mount Cook Village for dinner at Chamois Bar & Grill.

Enjoy sunset from the open field below The Hermitage.

DAY NINE

Visit the Aoraki-Mount Cook Rangers Station. If you're lucky, you'll get the go-ahead to hike up to Mueller Hut for an overnight stay. If you're us, you'll get bad news of 60 mph winds and icy conditions.

Make the most of cancelled plans by spending the morning at the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre. You can watch several mountaineering films to pass a rainy day away.

In the afternoon drive 10-minutes to the east section of the park for the short but scenic Blue Lakes and Tasman Glacier View walk (1.6 miles, 500'; 40min return).

ALPINE MEMORIAL

Return to the village and set up a tent at White Horse Hill Campground.

Visit the Alpine Memorial honoring climbers lost in the peaks of the national park. Watch the setting sun's light on Aoraki from the hill above the memorial.

DAY TEN

After breakfast at camp, take a casual stroll along the Kea Point Trek (2 miles, 590'; 45min return)

SEALY TARNS

Return to the ranger's station for the 50th time to inquire about the weather at Mueller Hut. With the ranger's approval at long last, race back to camp to put on your hiking boots.

Start the long climb to Mueller Hut (6.5 miles, 3,425'; 5–6 hrs return) by first taking the 2,200 step staircase to the Sealy Tarns.

MYELL

After a brief rest at the Sealy Tarns watching a kea steal a hiker's apple, continue on up. Mueller Hut is another 1485' to go.

Scramble up a steep slope of rock, then kick-step up a steep slope of snow. Top the ridge for a stunning view of Mount Sefton before traversing across a large boulder field.

MUELLER HUT

Hike the last snow slope until you see the magnificent red hut in the distance.

DAY ELEVEN

Wake up and overeat at The Hermitage's breakfast buffet.

Drive north to Tekapo Springs (1.5 hrs). Spend a few hours soaking your tired muscles in several different hot pools fed by alpine springs and heated to 82–104 degrees.

CHRISTCHURCH

Complete your roadtrip by driving northeast to Christchurch (2.5hrs).

Take a walk with some iced coffee along the Avon River and city center.

Return your rental car and check into the Sudima Airport Hotel just a block from the airport.

Spend the afternoon at the International Antarctic Centre, located just a block away from your hotel and Christchurch International Airport. Take a Hägglund ride, brave a simulated arctic storm, watch a penguin feeding, and learn about the past and future of Antarctic exploration.

DAY TWELVE

Wake up early for your 7 a.m., 17-hour flight home to the U.S.

Land in Portland at 8 a.m. the same day.

Time travel is strange.

ITINERARY & ADVICE

Travel Advice

DRIVING

Driving between places in New Zealand will always take longer than estimated by Google Maps or GPS. For every 2 hours of driving quoted, add 30 minutes for a more accurate forecast.

We rented our car from About New Zealand; the cost was ~$350 for 10 days. Our rental was a tiny Peugot programmed only in Japanese that we dubbed "Little Turtle."

Some travelers prefer to explore New Zealand by camper vans. After paying $75 USD to fill up the of our tiny Peugot, I shudder to think of the cost of filling up one of those tanks after driving a mountain pass.

As you head further south, always stop when you see a gas station for a top-off. There are some rural areas where you can go hundreds of kilometers before seeing the next gas station.

Lastly, always yield to faster traffic. Kiwis are very nice people except when you are driving slowly along a scenic highway. Pull over and let them pass.

ACCOMMODATIONS

New Zealand has a great variety of accommodation options: campgrounds, mountain huts, holiday parts, hotels, and budget-friendly hostels. I recommend staying in as many mountain huts as possible and staying in YHA hostels when in-town.

Unfortunately New Zealand rarely permits primitive camping and car campgrounds are pricey (it was $15 per person - not per tent - to camp at the basic White Horse Hill Campground at Aoraki-Mount Cook).

Book your stay at YHA hostels well in advance of the summer. It may be worth it to get the $20 YHA membership to get discounts on accommodations and excursions like a Milford Sound cruise.

FOOD + WATER

We kept our budget lean by eating most of our meals from grocery stores. We had instant coffee, yogurt, and muesli for breakfasts, and pb&j sandwiches for lunches. We splurged a few times on hotel breakfast buffets and it was always worth it.

When hiking we packed snacks from the bulk section at New World grocery store. We practically existed off BBQ rice crackers and chili-lime snippets. We brought several dehydrated backpackers meals from the U.S. (warning: food products with pork are not allowed into New Zealand).