New Zealand_0023.jpg — New Zealand’s South Island

Although we enjoyed our short week in Sydney, the main reason we flew halfway around the world was to see New Zealand. When we first started planning, we thought we’d visit both islands, but we decided that two weeks wasn’t enough to time to soak it all in. As it turns out, two weeks was barely enough time to see what we wanted to see on the south island alone. Here’s how we spent our time in New Zealand, which we both now agree is our favorite place in the world.

Whale watching in Kaikoura

We flew into Christchurch, got a rental car, got used to driving on the wrong side of the road and got on with our adventure. The first drive was just three hours, up the east coast, to this tiny fishing town. Badly damaged by an earthquake in 2016, the town’s economy is still recovering in part thanks to tourism. The main reason most people visit is to go whale watching, and we chose to do it by plane. A boat takes about four hours to get into deep enough water, but a flight is far shorter, and it makes your likelihood of seeing whales go way up.

We stayed at the Kaikoura Boutique Hotel, which had a lovely garden and comfortable rooms. And we had one of our favorite meals in New Zealand there, at Black Rabbit Pizza.

A boat takes about four hours to get into deep enough water, but a flight is far shorter, and it makes your likelihood of seeing whales go way up.

A day at the beach in Abel Tasman

The drive from Kaikoura to Abel Tasman National Park is about five hours. And like every drive in New Zealand, it’s incredibly scenic. There is a lot to see in do in Abel Tasman, but we chose to spend a relaxing day at the beach. Because you can’t drive within the park, the way to get around is by water taxi. You book your outbound trip in the morning, and then you can hike between five beaches and take a boat back whenever you like. We got extremely lucky with the weather and the timing, spending a sunny day on a secluded beach. You can spend the entire day hiking if you want, but we decided instead to stay at the farthest beach for most of the day. And we had it to ourselves for hours at a time.

We stayed at the Abel Tasman Lodge (don’t you like how easy these hotel names are to remember?), which was our favorite property outside of Queenstown.

Fox Glacier helicopter tour

The best drive we had was between Abel Tasman and Fox Glacier. According to Google Maps, it should take eight hours. It took us a lot longer because we decided to enjoy every stop along the way. Among the sights were the Hokitika Gorge Swingbridge and the picturesque Pancake Rocks. When we got to town, we stayed at the Franz Josef Oasis. The next day, we were booked for our helicopter tour, but it was canceled due to bad weather. We were sorry to miss it, but it was basically the only thing that went wrong for us during the entire two weeks. If doing the helicopter tour is a true priority for you, make sure to stay in Franz Josef for a few days.

New Zealand_0021.jpg — The best drive we had was between Abel Tasman and Fox Glacier. According to Google Maps, it should take eight hours. It took us a lot longer because we decided to enjoy every stop along the way.

Planning to retire in Wanaka

The drive from Franz Josef to Wanaka is only supposed to take three hours, but again, we took the scenic route. There were beautiful beaches all along the coast, and we stopped at several of them to soak in the sun and the scenery. And then we got to Wanaka, which is truly a town of breathtaking beauty. Situated against a blue lake with mountain peaks in the background, it’s like the back of a postcard. Although we had more fun in Queenstown, Wanaka felt like home. I think you’ll feel the same way about it if you visit.

And if you do go, we couldn’t recommend more highly that you eat at Francesca’s. We are a pair of New Yorkers who have been to Italy multiple times, and this was some of the best Italian food we’ve ever had. We stayed at The Edgewater Hotel, which backed right up to the lake and had a ton to do on the property.

Adventuring in Queenstown

The best way to describe Queenstown is: It’s a backpacker’s paradise. After a few days of tranquil towns, Queenstown felt like being back in New York City. But Queenstown has plenty of charm, and it’s the gateway to some of the nature that drew us to New Zealand in the first place. The highlight of our time here was David getting to go paragliding for the first time. I didn’t want to go, but I was happy to take pictures. And I was also happy to go to Fergburger afterwards. It’s probably the most famous restaurant in New Zealand, and I’d recommend going early because the line will be around the block from about 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. I was also happy with our hotel, which was the best place we stayed in all of New Zealand: The St. Moritz. From the outdoor hot tubs overlooking Lake Wakatipu to the pillow menu, this place pampers you.

Hiking the Milford Trek

This was our main reason for wanting to visit New Zealand, and it was such a life-changing five days that I decided to write about it separately in another post. But if you’re going to fly halfway around the world, make sure not to miss this walk.