After dreaming about going to New Zealand for more than 10 years, I couldn’t wait anymore!
Of course I would have wanted to spend a month or two there but with my boyfriend on a work trip in Australia in December, I couldn’t let this opportunity go away. So Kia ora Aotearoa!

Auckland

What to do in Auckland?

• Free tour: I love doing free tours as a first introduction to the city and Auckland Free Walking Tours was a pretty good one! We started in Queens Wharf Village, heading to Fort lane, Albert Park, walking around the University to end up in Emily Place Reserve.

• Mount Eden is the highest of the 50+ volcanoes all around Auckland. Super nice view fom up there, but quite windy.

• Coast to Coast walkway: On the way down from Mount Eden, we noticed that the path was part of the Coast to Coast walkway which I had originally bookmarked. We walked from Mount Eden to Auckland Domain that has several places to explore: the Auckland Museum as well as the wintergarden with its nice tropical house.

We spent 2 nights in a dorm at the Queen Street Backpackers: the location of this one was perfect but the dorm didn’t have any window, the kitchen was pretty dirty.

More pictues and more detail about our visit to Auckland here.

Taupo

We took an Intercity bus for 5 hours from Auckland to Taupo. Taupo is the largest lake in New-Zealand, it’s as big as Singapore! But the main reason why I wanted to go there was to do the famous Tongariro Alpine crossing. Unfortunately, once on the bus, I realised that the weather was terrible over there and the trek was not recommended at all (always check here before going). When arriving in Taupo, I wasn’t really in a good mood… but well I still tried to make the most out of my visit!

What to do in Taupo?

• Taupo Museum: on the first afternoon, we went to visit to small cute Taupo Museum to discover more about the history of the region from fishermen to peace and love enthusiasts. I really recommend going! The surrounding garden is also very nice.
• Walk along the Great Taupo Lake: as the weather was terrible, we couldn’t explore as much as we would have liked to but there’s a big nice sign for picture, a beautiful Maori carving and for those who likes challenges Hole in One Taupo

• Huka falls: my initial idea was to cycle until the Aratitia dam but my mountainbiking skills combined with the dreadful weather made us change our plans. We cycled until the Huka falls, then from the Huka falls to Aratiatia dam trail but only until the red bridge. We crossed the bridge to take the Red Bridge trail until KEFI at the hub, where we dried whilst eating super nice cakes. From there we had to go along the Huka Falls road and then on the Town to Redwoods trail. Nice but tiring!

• Spa: After an exhausting afternoon cycling in the rain and mud, time for a treat! Taupo is also famous for its spa waters. We went to Taupo De Bretts Hot springs (22$) although there are cheaper options.

I can’t recommend enough our hostel in Taupo: YHA Taupo Finlay Jack’s Backpackers !

For more detailed recommendations on Taupo, this is the way.

Rotorua

We arrived in the late morning in a busy city. We dropped our bags at the Rotorua Central Backpackers: a big house with many cheap rooms, nice common areas and a garden.

What to do in Rotorua?

• Government Gardens: The Rotorua museum (what a beautiful building!) was unfortunately closed but the gardens were very nice, with a soldiers memorial and a lovely Rose garden.

• Sulphur Point: we walked towards the lake to reach Sulphur Point and walk until Sulphur bay and its noisy birds. You can guess it from the name… get ready for some ‘nice’ smells!

• Whakarewarewa: this was definitely one of the best visits I made in New Zealand! Whakarewarewa is a living Maori village unlike the Te Puia visitor opposite. The Maori cook their food, go to school and, enjoy thermal pools in this village. There are regular guided tours, cultural performance and beautiful nature walks.

For more info about Rotorua, it’s over here!

Time to explore the South island!

What to do in Christchurch?

• Punting on the Avon river: I was sick so I skipped the ‘cruise’ but to be honest it looked pretty romantic
• Botanical gardens: a very pleasant walk wandering between the ponds and the giant trees, from roses to ferns and from rhododendrons to lilies.

• Christchurch cathedral: the consequences of the 2011 earthquake (that killed185 people) are unfortunately still visible
• Canterbury Museum: the museum was unfortunately closing when we arrived but the building is nevertheless stunningly beautiful
• Christchurch Gondola: The ticket is quite expensive (28$ return) but the views from up there are just incredible. You can of course also climb up (or maybe better: go down!) via the Bridal path and the Crater Rim walkway.

More about Christchurch and nice places to eat and drink here.

Next on our itinerary: drive 200kms (2h30) north to Kaikōura.

What to do in Kaikōura?

• Whale watching: Kaikoura is one the best places in New Zealand to spot whales. I booked a boat with Whale Watch Kaikoura  what a show whales but up for me! I got to see 4 of them. The guide was providing great explanations, and helped us get the best pictures. I really recommend them!

• Kaikōura peninsula walkway and seal colony: the peninsula walkway is a super nice stroll: we started along the beach to spot the lazy seals snoozing on their rocks, and observing the noisy albatrosses and came back walking on the cliffs

We then drove through the country towards Punakaiki on the West Coast.

What to do in Punakaiki?

• Pancake Rocks: these weird rock formations are really impressive, and the big blowholes where the water springs out gives you an idea of the power of the sea

• Punakaiki River track: really nice walk  along the Poporari river that will make you think you are in Jurassic Park. It takes one hour to the swingbridge. Further wals inland can also be done.

My local recommendations: the cute little Punakaiki Beach Hostel and the very authentic Punakaiki Tavern.

Driving South to Franz Josef glacier, we stopped in Hotikita Gorge and Okarito for nice short walks.

What to do in Franz Josef Glacier?

• Kā Roimata ō Hine Hukatere walk: this is the main walk to get close to the Franz Josef glacier itself. Walking for 45minutes to reach the glacier, you will notice several signs showing where the glacier extended several decades ago and the effect of climate change. To be honest, we were a bit disappointed when we reached the closest point to the glacier: it’s still quite far away…

• Helicopter flight: thanks to bookme.co.nz  I booked a 20-minute flight for 220$/person (instead of 280) with The Helicopter Line that became… 40minutes including a stop on the Fox glacier and the view on Mt Cook (3 724m),and Mt Tasman (3 497m). So happy! This first heliride was astonishing!

Driving towards Queenstown, we did 2 very pleasant stops: the Ship Creek sand dunes and the Blue Pools track.

I know Queenswtown is the capital of all sorts of adrenaline activities but for us, it was more of a nice stop between the West Coast and the Fjordland region, and a place where we would find some life on Christmas eve which is also… the night before my birthday! We started the night at the Pub on Wharf and went on dancing late at The World bar. On the next day, we got breakfast with a view at Patagonia chocolates and walked all round Queenstown Gardens to admire Lake Wakatipu.

What to do in Te Anau?

• Milford Sound – kayaking & cruise: the main reason to go and sleep in Te Anau is because it’s the closest town to Milford Sound where we had booked a kayak + cruise trip with GoOrange. For my first experience on open water, I got a bit of rough sea but definitely not enough to actually capsize. After more than 2hours paddling , they drove us to the boat for another 2-hour cruise to explore the fjord further, say hello to seals and get wet under the big falls.

• Glowworm Caves: you should definitely see some glow worms once in your life time. They can eat each other for competition reasons and they actually glow like crazy, it’s not only a name! The trip from Te Anau is organised by RealExperiences and takes a bit more than 2hours.
• Fiordland escapes: we had some free time sod we booked an escape game (35$/person) – nice one!

Time to drive back up to Christchurch, but in 2 days!

2 stops in the historical precinct of Cromwell and the old goldfields of Bendigo on our first day.

Last day in New Zealand with 2 unmissable places:

• We first drove to Aoraki/Mount Cook village to do the 10-km return Hooker Valley track and its 3 swingbridges. The end of the track is at the bottom of the Mueller Glacier. We could still still some bits of ice on the Hooker Lake, really impressive (and really cold there!).

•  the bluest of all the turquoise lakes of the country:Lake Tekapo! Go up to the Observatory to have an awesome (and windy) view.

Last night in New-Zealand at the JUCY Snooze Christchurch at a 8-minute walk from the airport. We dropped off our rental car in the evening, slept there as we had an early flight back to Sydney.

Bye bye Aotearoa! You didn’t disappoint me!