New Zealand

Even writing this one, out of all the travel blogs I have done, this one hits different and could definitely be the best place I have ever visited, I feel privileged to have experienced this country for a month.

I did the classic, and rented a campervan, which was not cheap but this is a once in a lifetime opportunity which I intended to grasp with both hands. I picked her up in Christchurch and over two weeks I covered over 2,000 miles driving round the island counter-clockwise along the coast, before heading in land in the final few days.

The campervan life was something I had not experienced before, and it was so unique, I can really see why people decide to live that lifestyle full time. There is something magical about having the flexibility and freedom, how close you always are with nature, and as a result just feel very relaxed and always have the best sleeps!

My highlights were;

• The drives up to the North East of the island

• The West Coast (Franz Joseph & Fox Glacier)

• Queenstown & Wanaka

• Milford Sound

• South East of the island

• Mount Cook

After returning my campervan, I flew from Queenstown to Wellington, to start my North Island adventure for just over a week. This had a completely different vibe to it, as it's where the majority of the people in New Zealand live, so it actually felt like a populated country. My highlights included;

• Wellington, Auckland & Napier

• Taupo & Tongariro Hike

• Rotorua

Driving up the North East of the island

I departed Christchurch, heading north up the coast to a small fishing village around 3 hour drive away called Kaikoura. Now firstly, I was about to find out that drives will take at least double the time, because you will be constantly stopping to take in the scenes, pulling over for lunch or to make a snack and so on. I was blown away by the sheer beauty, how everything felt so untouched, the roads were smooth, the mountains were gigantic, the fields were so green and the water in lakes or the sea were so blue, it was like driving through a postcard. I spent my first ever night at a campsite, in a campervan at Alpine Pacific which was great, good showers, kitchen and flat lots, this would actually become a theme across NZ with amazing campsites, even though you have to pay around $40 each night for them so it can add up if you always stay at the best ones.

Picton to Havelock Drive

Firstly, Picton is a quaint little town, where you can watch the ferries come and go as it's the main link to the North Island, it has a lot of history because of this as well which is cool to learn about. This is only a 35km road, however it takes around 1.5 hours to drive without any stops, as it's incredibly windy and has a lot of undulation which slows you down in a big campervan. You actually want to drive as slowly as possible to take it all in, the scenes are absolutely incredible, it hugs the coastline and goes through a few little fishing villages which have nice areas to pull off in and grab some lunch. Another point is how good the food always was at these roadside cafes, no fast food joints like in the states, but local and family owned businesses. I stayed at Pelorus Bridge, which is an unpowered campsite down by a river, word of advice choose the number 14 pitch as it's super secluded and right by the river.

Abel Tasman National Park

One of the most popular places to visit on the south island is this national park, where you can kayak across to it or take a boat, and hike around the island for the day or relax on the beach. My drive from the campsite up here was a good 3 hours, again you could do it quicker if you were in a car and not stopping so often, but I had a super cool campsite called Bethany Park in a small village, Kaiteriteri, which was right by the beach with a bunch of activities going on.

The next day was a huge driving day down to the west coast, I decided to take more backroads and drove along the Motukea Valley road which was beautiful, right through the countryside. The drive in total was around 6 hours, so I made sure to stop somewhere nice for lunch and found this wonderful cafe called Kohatu Flat Rock Cafe.

My last stop before reaching the west coast was something a little different, I am very into my history so having any opportunity to explore an abandoned mine with a great backstory was something I was not going to pass up.

Denniston coal mining town was initially built in 1880 and was in operation till it's closure in 1967. It is located high up, having a 1,600 meter incline railway to over 500 meters above sea-level, which it was first built it was called the eight wonder of the world. Overtime the town grew it's population to over 500 with many houses, a school, a pub, a mayor and so on.

You can drive up, which is firstly spectacular, and secondly walk around the preserved site at your own leisure, where it has loads of things to read about the site you're currently standing on. I spent a good hour here walking through the old buildings, old tools they used to use and checking out the old railway.

The West Coast of New Zealand

After a long travel day, I arrived at the coast just before dinner, and I was not expecting just how cool my campsite was going to be, right next to the beach with a little path down to the sea, and we all know the sun sets to the west, so it was pretty spectacular, would recommend Punakaki Beach Camp. I was up early the next day for a big one, here's what I did;

• Pororari River Track, which was a nice 5km out and back trail along the river in a setting that made me feel as though I was in a Jurassic Park movie set.

• Arthur's Pass is a spectacular road that climbs for over 1,600 meters, with an elevation gain of 500 meters above sea-level, quite the engineering masterpiece.

• Devils Punchbowl is a 131 meter high waterfall that is actually on Arthur's pass which is cool to check out and only 5 minutes off the main road.

• Hokitika Gorge is kind of on the way, but you detour inland for around 45 minutes, but it's so worth it as again the drive is spectacular, and the gorge is a 10 minute walk where you walk to a bridge to look over the bluest water you've ever seen.

Franz Joseph

After that big day, I stayed at Rainforest Retreat which was one of the most picturesque campsites I've stayed at, you feel like you're in the jungle but it was super comfortable with great facilities.

I was up early the next day to get in a big hike, called Alex Knob Trail which is 15.4km but with over 3,000 feet of elevation gain, so it's 6-8 hours depending on fitness and how many pictures you take. The majority of the hike is in a forest, and it's pretty much all uphill, so the last 2km is quite exposed as you begin to reach the summit. Unfortunately my luck of having great weather ran out here, and so all I was met with was dense fog and no view, but at least I got a good workout in.

I needed to get a view of the glacier, so after the hike I drove up a bit closer to the main car park, where it's a short 10 minute walk to a decent viewpoint of the glacier.

Fox Glacier

Only 30 minutes from Franz Joseph, this was another impressive glacier, however I would recommend taking a helicopter tour, but my budget unfortunately didn't allow for it. I stayed at Fox Glacier Top 10 which was as you'd expect as pretty good campsite.

The next day was another big one, with a drive down NZ State highway 6 over 200km to Lake Hawea, where you drive through incredible scenes of mountains, lush forests, waterfalls and rivers. Must see stops included;

• Westland Salmon Farm Cafe for some incredible chowder

• Thunder Creek Falls

• Fantail Falls

• Blue Pools Track

• Lake Hawea

I had a great campsite right on the bed of Lake Hawea, super peaceful after a pretty long drive, so I got a good nights rest before heading to Wanaka and Queenstown, where I'd again start running into people as the west coast is so unpopulated!

Queenstown

The most popular place to visit in the South Island, it was actually quite a shock after leaving the isolated west coast and entering a bustling town which is very much setup for tourism. Don't get me wrong it's a nice town, an abundance of restaurants, bars, activities and accommodation, it just felt a little overpopulated for a beautiful town. With that being said it's no big deal as a 20 minute drive out of town, and you're either heading into the mountains towards Wanaka, to Milford sound or the only road to Glenorchy.

• Shotover Canyon Swing

I am scared of heights, to a degree, so I was absolutely bricking it with this. Let me give you some stats, the platform is 109 meters above the canyon floor, it has a 60 meter free fall drop and the swing is 200 meters. I decided the option of running off yourself, as I just couldn't imagine someone pushing me or holding me over the ledge. It was honestly an experience I won't forget, that feeling of free falling, with your stomach in your mouth, crazy.

• Shotover Jet

I decided to get the combo, as I thought I'd actually enjoy this one, which I did. It's a jetboat that skims across the canyons water, coming within a whisker of rocks either side, it does 360 spins where you think you're going to reverse into a rock but then you also get some stunning views as you power through the canyon in a straight line.

• Fergburger

Maybe an odd choice putting in a burger place, but let me tell you it was the best burger I've ever had an I can't really explain why as I'm not a massive foodie. But the queue firstly takes about 20 minutes, and you can choose from about 10 different burgers, the buns are super crusty but also fluffy, the meat you can tell is top of the range, grass fed etc. and they just have the perfect mix of salad, toppings and sauces on them.

• Glenorchy

Is a small town south of Queenstown with only one small road to access it alongside the lake, but it's famous for a few scenes in the lord of the rings, an old boat shed and in general being one of the first settlements in NZ with some stunning mountain ranges behind it next to the lake.

• Bob's Peak

Is a popular hike as it's pretty easy only taking an hour, or you can take the cable car up, no judgement here. But you get a great view of Queenstown below, the lake and the mountain ranges i the distant, just be sure you go on a good weather day.

AJ Hackett Bungy Jumps were also very popular, around a 30 minute drive out of Queenstown, one is a smaller one where you jump off a bridge and there is a good viewing platform. The other is Nevis which is the highest bungy jump in the whole of New Zealand, and well you couldn't pay me to go on that.

There are a bunch of other things to do such as zipline, bungy jumps nearby, skydiving and a cruise on the lake, but I decided to do the popular day trips to Wanaka and Milford Sound actually staying in those locations so I could be up early and the first there.

Wanaka

I personally love Wanaka, it's an hour up the road from Queenstown, is a smaller town with half the amount of people, has a lovely lake with many different areas to sit, sunbath, throw a kayak in and it has the famous tree (picture to the right).

That Wanaka Tree

This is a random tree, around 20 meter off the shoreline, standing proud all by itself, and well the reason why it's so famous is that it's so unique and no one really know how it got planted there, how it survives and just makes for a great instagram opportunity of course.

Roys Peak Hike

One of my favourite hikes I did in New Zealand, it's 20 minutes from Wanaka along the lake, and is 16km with an elevation gain close to 4,000 feet, so it's a tough one. It's pretty much all uphill, with switchbacks up the mountain always with a view of the lake, and I did it early in the morning so the peak was actually covered with fog, but by the time I got up there it had just cleared which added an extra coolness to it.

The drive to Wanaka from both directions

I briefly passed through Wanaka on my way down from the west to Queenstown which was stunning, but the drive from Queenstown is even better. It takes you high up through the mountains and there is one special road that's about 1km long but it had around 7 switchbacks, defintely a road I'd love to drive in a sports car.

Milford Sound

Ok now this is a big statement, but this was arguably the greatest morning of my life, so strap yourself into something pretty emotional. Firstly, I stayed in Te Anau as that's the closest town to Milford Sound, meaning you save yourself about 1.5 hour drive in the morning. I stayed in a great campsite, which even had a complementary sauna, called Tasman Holiday Parks.

I set my alarm for 4:30am, and got on the road around 5 in pitch black, the first hour was in the pitch black too, making me think what on earth am I driving through right now. As the sun slowly started to rise over the mountain tops, I began to see the sheer beauty, and the best part was I was literally all by myself. The main reason for that is a lot of people do the day trip from Queenstown so I was ahead of them, and I also had a 7am kayak excursion where the boats don't start running until 8:30am.

But picture this, there was me all alone, driving through one of the most untouched, beautiful mountain ranges, along some incredible roads, as the sun was rising changing the look and colours all the time. I remember driving through a stretch of road where you're in the valley, and you see just nothing but openness and mountains in the distance, I started to cry at this point and just thought to myself how luck am I to be doing this right now.

I pulled over to make myself a coffee in the van, where I just sat for 20 minutes looking out to the most incredible view, and again no distractions just me, my coffee and view.

I pulled up at the kayaking spot, where we were put into boats of 2, I was with a cool german chap similar age also traveling the world. I was so pleased to choose this method of exploring the sound, as we ventured out, hugged the left coastline and as we were down at the water level, the sound look huge! We then made our way across the lake, which was actually pretty choppy even though we had a good weather window, they did say sometimes they've needed to be picked up by a boat due to the swell. We took in the scenes, managed to get up close to some penguins, checked out a waterfall and then headed back after about two hours on the water.

As it was still in the morning, I decided to make the most of the day and go on a 4 hour hike, called Gertude Saddle, it is only 7.4km but has a lot of elevation. You start off in the valley, walking towards what looks just like a big mountain wall and you're like well I hope I'm not going up that, you are. After around 45 minutes, you then start your ascent, which is fine, nothing crazy, but after another 45 minutes, you see some ropes and now it starts getting real where you have to use the ropes to pull yourself up the steep rock. You're then met with a couple random small lakes up there, and you know you're getting high when you start to see snow. After around 30 minutes of having a snack, taking in the view, it's time for the descent. What a day!

South East of the South Island

This is a part of the island that isn't always explored, because yes there are a few cool things to see, but it really adds on a lot more driving, around 500km from Queenstown, to the coast, along it, and back or it would be around 400km if you were going back to Christchurch.

My highlights were;

Curio Bay - right at the south of the island, is a spot to see some dramatic coastline, with some cool wildlife such as penguins and dolphins

Mclean Falls - was really cool, a 10 minute drive on a dirt road, then a 15 minute walk to a two tier waterfall, I of course climbed up to the top tier to get a better look.

Catlins Newhaven Holiday Park - was where I stayed for one of the nights, and this campsite was super cute, very small but right on the shoreline, where I took a walk in the morning along the sea and saw massive sea lion.

Nugget Point - is a unique rock formation, where there are many small and large rocks sticking out of the ocean that yes, look like nuggets, and there is a famous lighthouse overlooking them as back in the day it was prone for shipwrecks.

Tunnel Beach - is another unique rock formation, where over the years the ocean has carved a huge hole in the coastline, and now there sticks out a large rock which essentially looks like it has a natural bridge across to it.

Steepest Street in the world - is based in Dunedin, a bit of a tourist trap of course as it's in the guinness world book of records, but it's pretty cool to walk up.

I then drove back inland towards Queenstown, because I wanted to save Mount Cook for a good weather window, it of course meant more driving, but it was worth it!

Mount Cook

The drive into the national park is amazing, you're driving alongside the lake with a dramatic view of Mount Cook right in front of you. I was heading to the base of one of the most popular hikes called Mueller Hut, which depending on fitness levels takes 6-9 hours, as it's only 10km there and back but the elevation gain is well over 3,000 feet.

As you can imagine, it's pretty much all uphill, you start with a trail/steps built into the side of the mountain for about 1.5 hours, where you'll then reach a picturesque picnic table which is perfect to take your first proper rest. Some people only making it this far, as the next stretch is to try and summit up to the Mueller Hut which is around 3 hours, all uphill, having to traverse over rocks and loose gravel so it is a challenge.

The last part before reaching the hut, is through the snow, which shows just how high up you are and I did this hike in the summer, supposedly you need snow shoes if you're doing this in the winter.

The hut itself is very famous, it was originally built in 1914 for researches studying the glaciers, and over the years it's had to be rebuilt 5 times due to avalanches and the exposed position it sits in.

It really is a great hike, and where you're up there you feel very exposed too, but the hut itself is now very sturdy so you can enjoy a relax up there having your lunch before heading back down.

There is another hike I did, which is a flat 8km there and back, to the lake where you get the best viewpoint of Mount Cook, this trail was a lot busier but if you go to the right, and climb over some rocks you can get away from the crowds and taking in a great view of Mount Cook.

Wellington

So I flew into Wellington, which is a pretty populated city, not too much going on to be honest but the town center is nice, it has a nice town center with some historical buildings, restaurants, bars and all the typical fashion shops you'd expect to find in a city.

The main thing to do there is ride the historic cable car, when construction began in 1899 and was completed in 1902. It was originally built with the population of Wellington growing, more wealthy residents wanted to build their homes up on the hill to take advantage of the view.

Napier

This is an interesting town around 4 hours from Wellington up the east coast, the main background is that it suffered from a huge earthquake in 1931 where the town was completed flattened. It was then rebuilt in the popular 1930's art deco style, where over time they realised it was unique and decided not to update the look of the town or any of it's buildings, so when you visit it's super interesting to see all the old style buildings.

Auckland

I flew out of Auckland, the heartbeat of New Zealand where the vast majority of people live, and pretty much all international businesses have an office. It's a nice city down by the waterfront where you have hotels, offices, lots of bars, restaurants and the marina. I could see why most Kiwi's enjoy living here. A must do is the All Blacks Experience, where you get taken on a tour of the history, replica changing room and stand in front of a huge screen and watch the haka.

Taupo & Tongariro Hike

Taupo is a popular town to visit that is right next to the lake where you can take boats and kayaks out on, unfortunately the two days I was there it was super windy so didn't get a chance. But I actually enjoyed a day of going to the gym, and relaxing in my Airbnb which was needed to be honest after all the driving, adventures and activities still to come!

Huka Falls

This is really impressive, just a 10 minute drive from town, it's the start of the Waikoto river, and it's where water leaves the lake through a narrow ravine, which in turns spits out 220,000 liters of water per second! It's super powerful, loud, some occasional water sprays and is good to view from above on the bridge, but also down at the mouth of it where it's a waterfall.

Hit golf balls into the lake

There are some random golf mats where you can hit dissolvable golf balls onto a green that is floating out in the lake, if you make a hole in one you win $1k I think the price was, I unfortunately didn't make this but I blame it on the headwind.

Tongariro Hike

This is one of the most popular day hikes in the whole of NZ, it is just under 20km with around 2,000 feet of elevation gain. It is point to point, so you actually take a shuttle to the start, and then hike back to where you left your car.

The start of the hike is during sunrise which is beautiful, it's very flat, you're walking through a valley, the only downside is you're with all the people from the shuttle but overtime they disperse as everyone has their own pace.

You then start the ascent, which is gradual, nothing too steep but takes around 1.5 hours where you have some great views of pretty barren landscape. You then walk through around 1km of what feels like you're on mars, quite a weird setting but very cool.

This is now the toughest part, a 30 minute ascent, but it's pretty steep and it's where the wind really picks up, but as you as you get to the summit you're greeted with an amazing view. You walk along the ridge, before descending for only 10 minutes and you'll reach a lake where I took my break and had a snack.

The last 2 hours of the hike is a gradual downhill, where the scene is all pretty much the same but it's spectacular, with switchbacks and the further down you go you can actually start to point out where you car is.

After a few days in Taupo, I headed to one of my last destinations, Rotorua which I was really looking forward to as it's the epicenter of all the cultural things to do in NZ, along with a few adrenaline activities, and it turned out to be my favourite area in the North Island.

Rotorua

If you want to learn about the history and culture of New Zealand you go to Rotorua, I did so many things in this town so let's get into them.

Te Puia

This is a cultural hub, where you go on a tour firstly learning about some animals of New Zealand, then some hot springs and into a workshop to view all of the old tools that the aboriginals used to create their villages.

The highlight was something pretty special, we were a group of 30, and we had to nominate a chief, I put myself forward and then had to stand in front of the group to introduce myself. Then as in the culture, the chief walks ahead of his group, having to keep eye contact with the other chief in front, whilst picking up a leaf which is a sign of welcome. It was a pretty intense experience, as you're standing there by yourself, in front of your group, whilst a version of the haka is performed in front of you, and I've always been fascinated by the haka. We're then brought into the town hall, where again the chief is at the front, with a special seat and they put on a performance for you, quite the experience.

Whitewater rafting

Now I've done this a bunch of times, just some casual Cat 5's in Colombia too, but this was a bit special. The majority were only Cat 3's, however it is famous for the 7 meter drop, correct 7 meters. You essentially are vertical, crouched down holding on with both hands, paddle inside the raft, and just hoping that when the nose hits the water, you flip backwards and not forwards. Luckily we flipped backwards and rode out the drop, it was an immense experience.

Redwoods

You can go and view some incredibly large trees we know as redwoods. But they have built in bridges within the trees themselves, so you're walking around 30 feet off the ground, through these amazing trees.

Skyline Gondala and Luge

You get a Gondola up the mountain where you're greeted with a great viewpoint looking out over the lake. I then decided to get my adrenaline up and luge down, which is a great setup, you have 4 courses to choose from, and can get a chairlift back up with the luge hanging below to ride multiple times.

4WD Tour

Around 20 minutes outside of town, you can go on a tour where you are in your own small 4WD car with around 4 or 5 other cars. You have a radio guiding you through the trail, how to attack the section, what is upcoming and so on. It's a lot of fun with a natural trail through the forests, but also some manmade section such as a 15ft drop!

Hobbiton Movie Set

Now I've never watched the lord of the rings or the hobbit, so was debating if I should go to this or not, but I'm glad I did as it was pretty cool, if you'd seen the movies you'd of loved it. But they are a money making machine, a bus departs every 10 minutes for a tour, where you then walk round the movie set with a guide pointing out bits that were in the movie, and of course a backstory to how it was created and so on.