New Zealand’s sights, sites, and lights!

We made it to New Zealand and it was just as incredible as we imagined! With beautiful fall colors, incredible star gazing, gorgeous hikes and views, a stunning dusting of snow, and our favorite part… the southern lights! New Zealand has been on our list for ages, it’s amazing to finally be here!

It was a bit of a shock going from humid 80s to dry 30-40s, but the change was welcomed as it meant we got to enjoy my favorite season in May… Fall! Lucky me, I get two falls this year! We knew this would be a chilly stop, so we packed a few layers but tried to keep it light as we’ll have summer weather for the majority of the trip.

Departing from the airport we were presented with our first major learning experience… driving on the opposite side of the road… it’s strange because so much of it’s the same, but it all feels so wrong! Jeff did a great job chauffeuring us around for the bulk of the trip!

On our way from Christchurch to Lake Tekapo, we stopped for a quick hike to stretch our legs at Rakaia Gorge and were greeted with stunning views of the glacier blue water. After our 11 hour flight to Fiji and another 4 hour flight to New Zealand, the hike and stretch felt fabulous.

We arrived in Lake Tekapo just as the sun was setting, and thanks to the wall of windows in our new home, we had a front row seat for the show. We settled in, watched the sunset, then headed off to get a bowl of hot ramen for dinner.

We booked a couple of nights in Lake Tekapo because it is known for its dark skies and we were hoping to see the southern lights while we were visiting. Unfortunately, the lights weren’t active, but the star gazing was absolutely incredible!

On Wednesday, we woke in time to be the first to enjoy the sunrise on May 8, 2024! It also gave us an early start to our hiking day. On our drive, we encountered our first ever sheep crossing where the shepherds set up a sign and temporarily closed the highway so the sheep could run to the other field. We rolled down the windows and listened to the sheep bleating and their feet thumping against the ground.

Unfortunately we didn’t see any Wallabies

With morning dew still on the grass, we set off on the Hooker Valley Track with yet again, incredible views. We couldn’t get enough of the snow accenting the ridges on mountain.

Unfortunately 15 minutes in, Jeff realized his credit card had slipped out of his wallet, so he turned back to look for it in the car (it was there!) while I waited on a large boulder taking in the view. Unbeknownst to me some other hikers snapped this fun photo of me and I’m glad they did!

We passed over three bouncing suspension bridges on our way to Hooker Valley Glacial Lake. It was fun to look down at the massive boulders and rushing water below! At the summit, we found the perfect picnic spot with views of the stupendous Aoraki (aka Mount Cook) and the glacial lake which was topped with a thin layer of ice.

Our second hike of the day was more of a climb than a hike as we ascended 300 stairs to Tasman Lake and Glacier. The views from the top were superb, and you can’t beat seeing an intact glacier.

On the way back to town, we stopped at the picturesque Church of the Good Shepherd followed by the local hot springs. We watched the sun light up the town before setting behind the mountain as the rain and snow moved in.

We woke to 24 degree weather and a stunning inch of snow on our second morning in New Zealand. We’re hoping this is the coldest day of our trip as we are definitely not prepared for snow. On the other hand, we know we’ll be dreaming about these chilly days when we’re sweating buckets in India and Dubai in the middle of June…

On our way out of town, we stopped by the lake for one last view and grabbed a hot pie for breakfast. We were excited to finally try one of these famous pies! We’re not exactly sure what flavor ours was, but it had spicy minced meat and prawns inside with a flaky delicious crust. It did the trick of warming us up and filling our bellies.

Our drive to Queenstown was filled with countless grazing sheep, several hawks, the occasional deer and cow farm, and a beautiful canyon drive. We stopped by the Airbnb to check in and meet our host. As we were booking this Airbnb, we discovered that the host is the author of The Wonky Donkey, a silly book, but one I enjoy, so of course we had to book his room! Plus the price was right and the views were yet again outstanding. We sat out on the patio chatting with Craig and getting his input on what we had planned for the next few days, he was full of great recommendations!

If you haven’t heard of his book, YouTube “The Wonky Donkey” and watch the video with the Scottish granny reading the book aloud, it will make your day. :D

We hopped back in the car and headed to Arrowtown for a quick visit before the sun set. Arrowtown is a cute historic gold mining town with several original buildings. With the fall colors popping in the background and the crisp refreshing air filling our lungs, it looked and felt like we were in a Hallmark movie. We finished the evening with a stroll around Queenstown.

On Friday, we set off to Milford Sound via a small group tour. We debated driving ourselves, but were so glad we did the tour instead. It was a nice break to let someone else take the reins, plus it was fun to learn about the history of New Zealand and the fiords.

We stopped at Lake Te Anau, Ellington Valley, Mirror Lakes, and Lake Gunn along the way, with Mirror Lakes being our favorite. We saw a few Kia from the car and added a new item to our bucket list - Milford Track, a four day trek where you hike between huts or lodges if you choose the fancy route. We can only imagine the views you’d have on that trip!

The main event of the day was a cruise around Milford Sound to explore the fiords that were carved out by glaciers thousands of years ago. We settled in to our open air seats and took in the view. We were told the fiords receive 6-9 meters of rain a year and it typically rains 2 out of every 3 days. We had a beautiful dry, sunny day which was fabulous, however, if you go when it is raining you get to see hundreds of little waterfalls running down the fiords, that would be a sight to see! We saw a few small falls dripping down the rock edges, but the best one was Wai Manu. The captain gave a warning to get inside or get sprayed, we chose the latter. :)

We ended the day at The Cow, a cozy little cottage, dining on warm pizza and pasta.

Day 2 in Queenstown! We jumped out of bed to see if we could see the southern lights as we heard they might be visible before the sunrise. No luck this morning, but hopefully tonight we’ll have a show!

We took the winding scenic lake route to Glenorchy for a morning stroll. The fall colors were once again outstanding and the drive and walk were just splendid! We strolled along the Glenorchy Walkway which passes through the marshy lagoon, aka the Dead Marshes if you’re a Lord of the Rings fan.

We spent the rest of the day watching the solar activity and anxiously awaiting the sunset and darkness. From what we were hearing, we were going to have an incredible aurora show tonight!

We wandered through Queenstown, found the perfect lightweight wool hats at the local artisan market, and grabbed lunch before heading out to the wineries. We took Craig’s recommendation and enjoyed Amisfield’s wine tasting the most. With a bit more sunlight to kill, we stopped at the original bungee jumping operation and watched people plunge to the depths. One person even touched the river below! We ended the afternoon back at Arrowtow as it was on our way to our planned aura sighting destination.

At 5:30pm we hopped in the car and headed to the mountain top. We arrived at the lookout, chatted with the other couple that was parked nearby, and settled in to wait for the sun to disappear and the lights to come out! The jitters started as we saw the first few wisps of red strewn across the sky. As we snapped our photos, the colors continued to develop, getting better and better! It was so crazy to see the difference between what our eyes picked up versus the camera. We could see several light colors across the sky, but the vibrant lights that the photos captured were outstanding!

This is more of what it looked like to our naked eye

We stood outside at the lookout for as long as we could, but as the activity slowed, our frigid bodies and numb fingers needed a break, so we climbed back in the car to enjoy our picnic dinner. Our creative layers could only keep us warm for so long! We kept a watchful eye on the solar activity and popped out for one more viewing before heading back to the Airbnb where we continued to watch nature’s light show. It was so exciting to see the lights and to see everyone else camped outside enjoying the spectacle. After all, it was the biggest solar storm in over 20 years! Thank you Mother Nature, this was an experience of a lifetime! And now we can check “seeing the southern lights” off from our bucket list!

We finished our New Zealand loop via the costal route back to Christchurch. We took a few breaks along the way, one at an adorable little winery in Kurow, another to see the Elephant Rocks, and a third stop to see the ocean and listen to the waves crashing into the shore.

We spent our last day in New Zealand strolling along the promenade in Christchurch, soaking in the last of the fall colors, visiting “Hogwarts” and the botanical garden, wandering through the Riverside Market, admiring the many murals around the city, and walking along the beach. It was the perfect way to end our time in this remarkable country!