South Island, New Zealand, Pt. 1

The ferry from the North Island to the South Island was more expensive than expected. Then again, it is one of the most beautiful cruises in the world. That last hour maneuvering Queen Charlotte Sound before arriving in Picton was pure magic. From there, we took the scenic route, also called Queen Charlotte Drive, along the northern coastline towards Abel Tasman, NZ's smallest national park but also its most popular. Here, we started walking the Coastal Track with deep, green forest on one side and ridiculously turquoise water on the other. We followed the track for a couple of hours until we got to Observation Beach where we had a cold but invigorating swim. 

Making some scenic stops along Queen Charlotte Drive

Walking in Abel Tasman National Park

At Observation Beach

From there, we headed south and had a grey, serene morning at Lake St. Arnaud in Nelson Lakes National Park before the rain started to pour. We sought refuge in our car and drove down the West Coast. The heavy rain and foggy sky turned the sea completely grey like an old photograph but the rainforest to our left was still a brimming green. It was quite a sight. Turning east, we arrived at Arthur's Pass National Park just as the dark clouds broke apart and pieces of clear, blue sky came out. We had enough time for a short afternoon hike to the misty Devil's Punchbowl Falls. Then the rain started again and we decided to camp out in our car that night after a cozy evening in a camping shelter cooking dinner and drinking hot chocolate. 

Morning at Lake St. Arnaud

Going towards Devil's Punchbowl

We got a little wet

Nothing beats an alpine landscape and some wildflowers

Spot the rainbow

The rain coming back in

The weather was kind to us the next day and we spent some beautiful, sunny hours doing different hikes around the park. As we were walking along the bottom of the pass, I spotted a steep zigzag line up one of the mountain sides and I just had to do it. Malli and Danni were not so keen though and passed the time playing cards at a cafe while I went up by myself. It was a tough one and chilly and windy on the top but that is the price you have to pay to get the best views. Then we drove south again and camped on the edge of Lake Mapourika. The water was warm enough (or should I say not too cold) for a late afternoon swim and the stony bank perfect for a camp stove pasta dinner in the golden sunset. 

Exploring Arthur's Pass

Lake Mapourika

The next day, we drove down to the Franz Josef Glacier, the 4th biggest one in NZ, and went on a walk in the woods. For two hours, we zigzagged through lush, wet forest climbing up gigantic roots and under fallen trunks until we gained enough altitude and reached alpine country = no trees to block the incredible views. On the top, we treated ourselves to some chocolate for our troubles and back down in the village, we celebrated our feat with a burger. Then we drove on for about twenty minutes to Fox Glacier and pitched up our tent at a hostel. Pure joy to get a hot shower and some cold beer at the hostel bar. 

Hiking through the forest

Reaching alpine country

And we made it to the top with a pretty good view of the Franz Josef Glacier

Going back down

It was too cloudy to see the Fox Glacier the next morning so we made a tough decision and chose to move on rather than waiting out the weather. This turned out alright as the next few hours of driving ended up being some of the most beautiful we have ever experienced. We drove over rivers and streams of baby blue while spotting snow-covered peaks all around us. Then came the vast lakes of Wanaka and Hawea surrounded by dark mountains which outlines looked like someone had tried to draw a straight line while driving on a gravel road. After some lunch and a swim in the township of Wanaka, we turned north again and drove through pointy, cubist mountains covered in pale green grass that looked like a soft carpet. Then came the open, dry alpine landscape decorated with sky blue channels less than an hour from Mt. Cook, the tallest mountain (3724 m) in NZ. We camped out for the night and got up early the next morning droving along Lake Pukaki as the sun was coming up. 

Lake Wanaka

Lake Hawea

At Lake Wanaka

Driving next to Lake Pukaki at sunrise with Mt. Cook in the background

Arriving at the Mt. Cook Village, Danni and I had a tough hike in front of us. Descriptions of the Mueller's Hut Route state somewhere between 1800 and 2200 steps and that is just half the ordeal but I promised to buy Danni a beer on top at the hut. The steps were a real challenge but that also meant that we were ascending quickly getting some beautiful views of Mt. Cook and the surrounding mountains and glaciers early on. When the steps were over, the trail became a lot more varied and a lot more fun. First, it was steep and rocky demanding us to use our hands sometimes. Then came the snow. I have no idea how but miraculously we managed not to slip and then we were on top of the lower part of the ridge. We still had to ascend some more jumping on giant boulders up the ridge and crossing even more snow but then, we finally arrived at the red hut. Though it was busy, there were no beer. Open for overnight stays, it did not have the service of many European mountain huts. No rich 1-euro espresso like the Italian Dolomites or Union radler like the Julian Alps in Slovenia but we could fill up our bottles with ice cold water from melted snow. Soaking in the burning sun on the wooden deck, we listened to breaking glaciers that sounded like thunder and the voices of other happy travellers reaching the top. Also, I will buy Danni that beer, just at a bar at the bottom of a mountain rather than the top. 

Going up thousands of steps

Extreme focus trying not to fall

Getting closer...

Almost there...

We can see the hut...

And we made it!

Danni asked me to get up there next to Mt. Cook

Lake Pukaki was pretty goddamn blue when we drove back again

Continuing north, we made a short stop at Flock Hill where they filmed the final battle scene from the first Narnia film. Though a barbed wire fence kept us from getting in, we did get to see it and play around on the rocks and boulders that surrounds it. Then we came to Kaikoura, a coastal town on the eastern side of NZ north of Christchurch, that is all about marine life. Here, we caught a boat that took us about 20 kilometers out from shore where we got to see two sperm whales coming up for oxygen. Heading back to shore, we stumbled upon a large school of playful dolphins that jumped around and swam in front of the boat. Needless to say, we were pretty excited. 

Playing around next to Flock Hill

In Kaikoura

The tail of a sperm whale diving

Dusky dolphins

Finally, it was time to drive down to Christchurch where we had a day of exploring before we had to put Malli on a plane. It was a long goodbye hug but Malli had to get home in time for her birthday and Danni and I still had the car for another ten days, plenty of time to explore to go deep south. 

One last adventure with Malli in Christchurch (of course I was doing all the work)

North Island, New Zealand

Just before New Year, we made it to New Zealand. We started out in Auckland, NZ's largest city, where met up with our friend Malli who had made the 40-hour journey directly from Denmark to travel around NZ with us for three weeks. We got to enter 2020 twelve hours before our friends and family back in Denmark and after a few days of rest and preparing, we finally hit the road in our rented Toyota Corolla. 

New Year's Eve in Auckland

Our first stop was Coromandel, a green, mountainous peninsula surrounded by an emerald sea and it did not take us long to find some good hikes. First, a sunset climb up a thousand stairs to warm up our legs for our long hike the following day to The Pinnacles. A five hour roundtrip, the last hour to the top went from windswept stairs to rocks, ladders and metal bolts for a final climb to the summit. The wind almost blew us away but type 2 fun easily turns into type 1 when the view is that great. 

Sunset hike

It was very windy going up to The Pinnacles...

...but the view was pretty amazing

Having an apple on the top

Going back down

I take trail and weather conditions very seriously

Further up the peninsula, we followed the coastline through fairytale-like scenery. Creamy, turquoise water to the left, cow-covered, rolling hills to the right and trees above us with branches as winding as the road. Coming down the east coast, we stopped at Te Whanganui-A-Hei Marine Reserve or Cathedral Cove: A beach decorated with white rock in majestic shapes. Understandably a very crowded place though most people stayed on the dry sand leaving me happily lonesome in the clear, fresh water (of course "fresh" is a nice word for "cold"). 

Cathedral Cove

I just had to touch it

Now, even though Malli and I are passionate potterheads, we had to visit Hobbiton where they filmed parts of the Lord of the Rings-trilogy (it would not be our last time going to such a place on this trip). We do share a love for hobbits, elves and dwarfs as well as witches and wizards and we had a fun morning playing around in the sunny, green hills that make up The Shire. We managed to sneak away from our group to take some photos without too many people in them. The tour finished before noon with complimentary beer and cider at The Green Dragon. Leaving the hilly home of hobbits, we drove west to the windy coastal town of Raglan. So windy in fact that we had to pack up our tent and sleep in the car. Nonetheless, we had a lovely time with a trip to the beach and a good cup of coffee in the afternoon followed by a round of the dearly missed Harry Potter Drinking Game (we had to return to our beloved Hogwarts) in the evening in our car. 

Please notice that Malli is holding a ring

In front of Bag End

We had a lot of fun

Raglan

The black sand was quite magical

Next stop was Waitomo Glowworms Cave. It was a short and expensive experience but still an experience I would not be without. It looked like an underground starry sky. It also gave rise to a good laugh. Since you are not allowed to take pictures inside the cave, you get a few taken in front of a greenscreen before entering and I could just not take it seriously. Not wanting to spend fifty dollars on our three printed greenscreen photos, I managed to sneak a couple of pictures of them with my phone. Enjoy! (see photos below) From insect-eating turquoise worms to a creature that would probably eat those worms, we drove south to Tongariro National Park and made the small walk down to Gollum's Pool (properly known as Tawhei Falls). It is no coincidence that this place would be named after a Lord of the Rings character since Tongariro is home to Mt. Ngauruhoe, more widely known as Mt. Doom. 

What an adventure... In front of a greenscreen

Malli was not impressed by my acting skills and honestly I understand why

Gollum's Pool

They really managed to get into character

The next morning, we got up before sunrise and caught a shuttle bus to the trailhead of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing as early as possible trying to avoid the worst crowds. Leaving our bus driver, Malli said "He's probably thinking: 'Thank God it's not me going up there!'". It was a cloudy, foggy morning and we could not even see Mt. Ngauruhoe most of the way up. Still, the landscape was beautiful and dramatic. Vertical cliffs, misty craters, red rock, emerald lakes, chemical fumes, alpine greenery. I felt spoiled and even though it was a tough hike, it was a lot of fun. 19,4 kilometers, 765 meters of ascend and 1126 meters of descends. Celebrating our feat at a cafe afterwards, I read about a guy who had completed the crossing in 1 hour and 25 minutes. I decided to google his name and a picture of our driver from that morning came up. 

Following tradition

Mt. Doom indeed

And we made it

Finally, Mt. Ngauruhoe said hello

Going down on the other side

Then, it was time for our last stop on the North Island: Wellington, NZ's capital. We treated ourselves to a night in an Airbnb after a week of camping. Wellington is a lot smaller and a lot cozier than Auckland with cute coffeehouses, colorful people and endless thrift stores (I picked up a cheap Irving at a secondhand bookstore so I was a happy girl). In the evening, we saw the sun set over the green hills that make up the city from Mt. Victoria and got drinks and fries at the most perfect hipster bar where we began planning our route for the next stretch of our journey on the South Island. 

Wellington from Mt. Victoria

Until next time