Three weeks in New Zealand
We didn’t have any specific reason to visit New Zealand. It just looked really far away on the map, the pictures on the internet were stunning, and that was enough for me and my girlfriend to decide it was time for another adventure.
After two long flights and a broken day in Shanghai, we finally landed. We got through the biosecurity check at the airport and went straight to pick up the rental car and drove to Auckland for the night.
Auckland and the coast
Getting used to driving on the left took a bit of adjusting, but it turned out fine. We dropped our bags at the place we were staying, finally had a shower after two days of travel, and went to the city. The center of Auckland is pretty small, but it had a nice atmosphere, so we walked around a bit and had a beer.
The next morning we walked through the rest of downtown, tried the classic beef pie, and went up to a lookout over the city, which is an old volcano.
From there we drove about an hour to Piha Beach, known for its black volcanic sand. It was cloudy at first, but the sky cleared up a bit, and then it looked much better.
After that, we drove three hours to the other side of the island to see Cathedral Cove, a natural rock tunnel on the beach. The walk down took about half an hour, and we got there right at sunset with almost nobody else around. Spectacular.
Then we headed back to the car and drove to our accommodation for the night, about 30 minutes away. We got lucky because they had the last room left and everything else nearby was either full or way overpriced.
Paeroa and Blue Springs
The next morning we stopped by a shop for breakfast and snacks and kept heading south. On the way, we passed through Paeroa, a small town with a great vibe and a bunch of shops selling old junk and antiques. Worth the short stop.
Next up was Blue Springs, known for its crystal-clear blue water. The walk there and back took about 2-3 hours, and it was a nice and easy hike.
We didn’t have Hobbiton on the list originally, but as we were passing by, we thought it would be nice to give it a look since we were already there. However, as we hadn’t booked tickets in advance and it was fully booked out, we ended up skipping it. Lesson learned there if you’re planning something similar, book ahead.
After a snack break in the car, we drove on to Rotorua, a bigger town known for its Māori villages and geothermal springs. We got in around 5 pm, filled up the tank, and went for dinner at Taco Bell, which tasted surprisingly close to the American version. We spent the evening walking around the lake and then went for a beer.
Maori culture, volcanic springs, and Taupo
The next day we went to a Māori cultural centre to learn more about the original inhabitants of the island.
After that, we checked out volcanic springs that are common in that area and it made us feel like we were on a different planet.
Afterwards, before continuing to Tongariro, we stopped for lunch at a McDonald’s in Taupo that has an actual small plane serving as part of the restaurant. Taupo itself looked surprisingly upscale, all the houses new and modern, really nice.
Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Today was the Tongariro Alpine Crossing day. We got to the parking lot in the morning and took a shuttle to the starting point. The hike itself went fine overall, windy in some parts, warm in others. At the top, it was mostly clouds, but the volcano peeked out for a moment. The geothermal lakes at the top were beautiful too. The way down was fine but felt endless.
Since it happened to be my name day, we celebrated back at the hostel with a game of cards and then went out for dinner and a beer.
Waitomo Caves
Today’s plan was the Waitomo glowworm caves, known for a special species of blue worms glowing in the dark. The drive took about 2.5 hours, and we arrived early enough to check out a bird park nearby that had kiwi birds. We watched a kiwi for a while, and once everyone else left, it walked right up in front of us, so we got to see it completely up close. I was surprised how fast it can run and how big it actually is. Kiwis are nocturnal animals, and it’s not allowed to take pictures of them, so this model must suffice.
Then it was time for the caves. We were in a group of about 20 people. The cave cannot be explored on foot, so we got on a boat and floated through the cave in complete darkness, looking up at hundreds of tiny blue lights covering the ceiling. Honestly, one of the best experiences of the whole trip. Unfortunately, it’s forbidden to take pictures inside the cave, so I’m adding an illustrative photo from the internet.
Afterward, we stopped at a farmers market for some fruit and ice cream before heading toward New Plymouth. Accommodation there turned out to be either fully booked or way overpriced, so we decided to spend a night in Inglewood instead, a small town nearby. There we had excellent fish and chips and called it a night.
Taranaki - second time’s the charm
The plan for the next day was a short trek up to a lookout on Mount Taranaki. The climb up took 2 hours, the whole way on wooden steps, pretty boring and mentally draining if I’m being honest 😅
We miscommunicated somewhere along the way about when to leave in the morning and ended up missing the sunrise, reaching the top around 9 am instead. By then, the volcano was completely covered in clouds, so we saw nothing. Pretty disappointed, we headed back down.
We checked into our accommodation and went to the beach instead. The water was warm enough that we even went in for a short swim. In the evening, we had a beer at a local spot contemplating a decision to give the hike another try tomorrow. We went to bed early because we didn’t want to leave without seeing the volcano during sunrise.
Wake-up call at 4 am. The walk up went by much faster in the dark, and we actually reached the top quicker than the day before. This time the volcano showed up completely clear of clouds, and at sunrise it looked absolutely stunning 😍. Second attempt was definitely worth it.
The way down went quickly too, and we got back on the road. We drove through the small towns around the volcano and headed toward the village with the longest name in the world, about 380km away. We took turns driving, and the time passed easily. The last hour before the village cut through forests and hills with no real civilization around, so it felt like at the end of the world.
We finally got there, took some photos and videos, and kept going, another 260km to Wellington. We rolled into the capital at 9.30 pm straight out of complete nowhere, and went directly to Taco Bell for a quick dinner before checking into the hotel.
Wellington
The plan for today was to explore Wellington, do laundry, and return the rental car. We found a laundromat nearby and decided to just drop everything off rather than waste time doing it ourselves. Back at the hotel, we relaxed for a bit, then went to check out the cable car, which sits on a hill and gives a nice view over the city.
After that, we filled up the tank one last time and returned the car. We’d covered over 1900km in just 8 days. Then we grabbed an Uber into the city and stopped at a great coffee place called Flight Coffee Hangar. The rest of the day we walked around downtown and browsed shops.
Wellington has a ton of cool restaurants and places to eat, and we ended up at an Italian place for pasta. We walked around a bit more, but by 5-6 pm everything was closing, so we sat down for a beer instead. On the way back to the hotel, we grabbed a chicken burger from a stand, which was surprisingly great. At the hotel, we tried some milk, which is apparently a pretty normal thing to offer there given how many cows New Zealand has.
Onward to the South Island
Wake-up call at 5 am, off to the airport to fly down to the South Island. Christchurch was covered in fog that morning, so our flight ended up delayed by about 3 hours.
Once we finally landed, we took a taxi straight to pick up the camper van. Everything at the rental office went smoothly. They showed us how everything worked, and we even grabbed some spare kitchen supplies from a shelf where previous renters had left stuff behind for others to take.
It took me a bit to get used to driving the van, but I got the hang of it pretty quickly. Since we were running a bit behind schedule, we drove straight toward Lake Tekapo. On the way there, we stopped for groceries, and a guy from another campervan asked if I could heat up some water for his coffee. We ended up chatting for a bit, and he said we were going to love the trip.
Then, we continued down to the lake, took some photos, and decided to push on to a second lake, Lake Pukaki. There we found a wild freedom camping spot, right next to he lake, and made it just before sunset. Our first night, and already outside of an actual campground.
The sunset was gorgeous, though it took us a bit to get used to living in the van. I kept bumping into everything, and since we’d parked on a slope, the shower water wouldn’t drain properly because the drain was on the higher side. Small details we’d figure out as we went.
The night made up for all of it, though. Completely clear sky, millions of stars, and we even got to see the Milky Way. We just stood outside and stared at it for a while - truly one of the best moments of the whole trip.
Mt Cook and Omarama
The next morning we started driving toward Mt Cook Village. The hour-long drive gave us gorgeous views of the mountain and surroundings with the sun coming up.
We parked the van and set out on the Hooker Valley Track, but it didn’t last long because about halfway through, a gate was closed for some kind of maintenance work and we couldn’t continue. Nothing to do about it, so we turned back and went to check out the glacier views at Tasman Lake instead.
From there we headed toward Omarama, where we’d booked a campsite for the night. On the way there, we passed through Twizel, where a bunch of huge old machines used for building dams and digging canals back in the day were on display - massive trucks, diggers, and so on. We grabbed a coffee and took a short break to look around.
Cromwell and Queenstown
The next morning we filled up the tank and headed further south toward Queenstown. On the way, we drove through Lindis Pass, a pretty winding road through the mountains.
We stopped in Cromwell, a small town with an old historic gold rush era “western” village. We walked around a bit, grabbed a small bite, and kept going. Cromwell also has a racetrack and a museum of racing cars, so we decided to check it out, and it was worth it. There was a Formula car, all kinds of race cars, even a truck and an American police car straight out of GTA. Really cool stuff.
A bit further along, we stopped at a market and stocked up on fruit. Cromwell has large orchards nearby. Then we continued to Queenstown. About an hour later we arrived and drove straight to the campground, parked at our spot, and headed into town.
I’d been really looking forward to Queenstown and was pretty curious about it for some reason, but it ended up disappointing me a bit. It looks like a typical mountain town, with a ton of tourists.
Still, we walked around some clothing and souvenir shops, picked up a few gifts, and went to grab food. There’s apparently a famous burger place in town called Fergburger that we hadn’t actually heard of, and we ended up in a long line for it. Surprisingly, it moved fast, and we even managed to find a seat. The burger was really good, definitely worth it. Afterwards, we went for a couple of beers and called a taxi back to the campground since it had started raining outside.
Te Anau
Not much happened today. We had breakfast in the morning, emptied the wastewater at the dump station, and drove toward Te Anau. The road was really scenic, so we stopped a few times for photos.
We also filled up the tank ahead of tomorrow’s drive to Milford Sound, since there wouldn’t be any more gas stations along the way. At check-in, a woman suddenly started speaking Czech to me once she realized where I was from. Completely random, but really cool, we ended up doing the entire check-in in Czech and Slovak. I do wish I’d asked her more, though - whether she was born there, moved there, or what her story was.
We took a short walk through the tiny town center, and I picked up a nice New Zealand-themed hoodie as a souvenir. Then it started raining, so we just headed back to the van, hung out inside, and planned some logistics for the upcoming days.
Milford Sound
Wake up call early again, 5 am, since it’s a two-hour drive from the campground to Milford Sound. The road was great, barely any traffic, so it went by fast. We parked at a free lot a bit further out and walked to the terminal, about 20 minutes. There weren’t many people for the first morning cruise, and we even ended up on a smaller boat, so it wasn’t crowded on board either. The weather cooperated too - no rain, so we had great views of the cliffs and waterfalls.
By the time we got back, the place was packed with buses that kept rolling in one after another, bringing in more tourists. Glad we got there early.
From there we drove about 4 hours to Wanaka. Once we arrived, we just stayed at the campground, set up the chairs, and spent the evening with a beer and Netflix outside.
Rained out at Roy’s Glacier
We wanted to hike up to Roy’s Glacier today, but it started raining that morning, and by the time we were on the way there, it was only getting worse, so we decided to turn back.
We drove back into town and parked by the lake. Waited a bit for the rain to ease up, then went to check out the famous tree in the water, took some photos, did some grocery shopping, filled up the tank, and headed toward the west coast over Haast Pass toward the sea.
We stopped at Monro Beach, where a trail through the forest leads to a beach known for penguins. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to spot any. We turned back and kept driving north.
It was starting to get dark, and this stretch of the coast barely has any towns, so we couldn’t find an actual campground. Luckily, we came across a nice spot right by the sea where another campervan was already parked, so we decided to stay there for the night too.
The mouse incident
The night on the beach was fine overall, though we woke up a couple of times to strange noises, or just from being a bit paranoid that someone might come check on us and tell us to move.
In the morning we discovered we’d had a mouse (or something) in the van overnight. We had a chocolate figurine in one of the cabinets, and the top of it had a bite taken out of it.
After breakfast, we continued north. Today’s plan was Fox Glacier. We got to the parking lot, but it started raining, so we waited it out in the van, about 3 hours in total, until the weather improved a bit. The forecast said it would clear up around 3 pm, so we headed out to the lookout, about a 40-minute walk. Of course, once we got there, the mountains were completely covered in clouds. We waited around for another half hour, but it wasn’t improving at all, so we decided to head back.
Didn’t work out today, but that happens sometimes. In the afternoon we went grocery shopping and drove to a campground near the town of Franz Josef. We made dinner, emptied the wastewater, and called it an evening.
Franz Josef Glacier
This morning we set out on the Robert’s Track up to a lookout over the Franz Josef Glacier. The hike was interesting and more demanding than usual, with some nice swing bridges, sections over rocks, and crossings over waterfalls and streams in the forest - an actual trail, not just wooden boardwalks the whole way.
The view was great and worth the effort. We headed back to the van, stopped in town for a coffee, and picked up some groceries.
From there we continued north until we reached the town of Ross. We found another campground from the Top 10 group, right by the sea, so we didn’t think twice and pulled in.
The campground was nearly empty. We picked a spot close to the beach and set up the grill. The weather was finally good, so we made the most of it, grilled some meat and steak, and it turned out great. Afterward, we went down to the beach for sunset, which was genuinely magical, and ended up goofing around like kids. A really good day after two rained-out ones in a row. We sat outside for a while afterward, enjoying some of our last days on the trip.
The only downside of an otherwise beautiful campground was that, for some reason, it only had a tiny unisex bathroom setup, showers and toilets combined, which made things pretty uncomfortable since you could hear everything next door, kids and women included.
Arthur’s Pass and Kaikoura
The next morning we left the campground and headed to the east side of the island, toward Kaikoura. We drove through the mountains via Arthur’s Pass, which was gorgeous. We stopped for a coffee at the top and kept going, mountains all around us the whole way.
The drive took about 5.5 hours, and we got into Kaikoura around 5 pm. We went straight to the seal spot by the water, only found a handful of seals hanging around, so we stuck around for a bit and moved on.
We did a quick grocery run and headed to another Top 10 campground. This one even had a pool. We did laundry to have everything ready for the next leg of the trip, had a beer, and made dinner. We were returning the van the next day, so we packed up and gave the vehicle a bit of a clean. It was hard to believe our trip was already coming to an end.
Seals, Christchurch, and the end of the road
We went back to the seal spot at Kaikoura Beach in the morning but didn’t see any. So we drove about 20 minutes further north to another spot, and this time we got lucky. We got to see a massive colony with tons of seals. Yay!
From there we drove to Christchurch to return the van. Everything went well, and after that we took a ride to the hotel. We dropped our stuff off and went to explore the city.
Christchurch turned out to be really nice and interesting, with tons of buildings in an English style and murals all over the walls. We spotted something on almost every street. In the evening, we went out for drinks and beer and toasted to a successful trip.
The next day we started with a walk into town, grabbed a coffee, and wandered around a bit more. We had fish and chips, went back to the hotel for our stuff, and took a taxi to the Antarctic Centre.
The Antarctic Centre was really cool, we had a guided tour where a woman told us about Antarctica, and at the end we got a ride in one of the special tracked vehicles they use down there. Wonderful experience.
After that, we headed straight to the airport with our bags, checked in, and flew to Sydney, where our journey continued. Our New Zealand trip was over, but we’d had a great time and really enjoyed it, especially the camper van part. We’re already thinking about how we could make it back there again someday.