Travel to New Zealand’s South Island – Episode 341

Brad W.

Erik and Chris,

Thanks for a very well done episode. I did almost the exact same trip about 8 years, although in reverse order. We arrived in Picton then drove down to Blenham to check out a couple wineries, then around through Abel Tasman, etc…

You mentioned microbrews. We did stop in Greymouth for the Monteith Brewery tour and tasting. Here in the States, you’d never get than close to the open kettles. We could have easily added our own flavorings if so desired. And I’m not sure if they were short staffed, but they led us into the tasting room and just showed us where the glasses were. And left… Good thing I’m not much of a beer drinker, or that could have gotten out of hand.

We didn’t get to both Milford and Doubtful, but instead opted for a splurge: flying in a 4 seater Cessna from Te Anau to the little airport at Milford Sound, then boarding the boat for the regular tour with all the bus tourists, then a small van ride back to Te Anau. The flight takes you over the famous Milford Track, which is, in a word, drop-dead-gorgeous. (Hey, that’s one word, right? Some of your other guests have done that! ) There were a couple times where we asked “can we fly over there to get a better picture…?” And the driver of the van kept asking, “Well, what do you guys want to see on the way back?” We took several little detours and hikes that got us back well after dark. Much better than the boring 50 passenger bus ordeal from Queenstown.

One other thing that we thought was well worth the detour was a quick trip to Stewart Island just south of Invercargill. The boat to get there is nicknamed “The Vomit Comet”, so bring your Dramamine. There’s a lot of great treks there, plus the Ulva bird sanctuary on one of the nearby islands. All predators have been removed so the birds have flourished, and is supposedly pretty close to what the rest of the South Island used to be like.

One annoyance to watch out for are Sandflies, especially on the west side. Bring your repellent. Their bites itched more than any mozzie, and lasted much longer!

I was saddened to know that Christchurch is still reeling from the earthquake a few years back. My thoughts and good wishes go out to the people so impacted by the tragedy.

We had 5 weeks to see all of NZ, and split 2 weeks on the north and 3 weeks on the south. We could have easily spent 5 on each, but given the time we did have, it was a good split.

Thanks again, it was fun to relive that trip the last couple days during my drive to work. On the “right” side of the road.

Corinne

My husband and I spent our three week honeymoon in New Zealand way back in the late 90s. Free wheeling we toured both islands by motorcycle and zig zagged across the south island. We overtook all those people who toured by campervan and thought we’d never use one. Our journey in the south started at Picton off the ferry, Kaikoura, Hamner hot spa springs, Christchurch, Akaroa (a beautiful French colonised town), twisted around Arthur’s Pass, Queenstown (did an adrenalin shot over boat ride), Milford Sound (over night on the more restful boat) & up the west coast to Greymouth.

Listening to Eric’s holiday and your commentary, I long to go back to visit our neighbour to the East. Living in Australia I agree with your comments about the differences between Australia’s dry and New Zealand’s wet terrain. We toured New Zeland in January and still got a lot of rain. We were prepared and had contingency days. Anyway, now with kids, them pesky campervans look appealing. I must be getting old.

sammijk

I loved listening this to this episode, New Zealand is a destination close to my heart and one of my favourite countries to visit. Although Christchurch does appear to be broken, since Erik travelled there more of the city has opened up to the public again and they have a unique shopping experience set up in the form of a mall of containers which is proving to be really popular. I haven’t been to Christchurch since the earthquake but I hope to return soon to visit the gallery, wander through the botanic gardens and hopefully make a trip to Akaroa that won’t be affected by wind and horizontal rain.
 
Erik was correct when he said that Milford Sound appears to be more like a fiord, technically it is a fiord because it was formed by the erosive effects of a glacier. I flew in from Wanaka and it was an awesome experience to see the alps from the air, there was quite a bit of cloud cover as we flew over Queenstown, the Matukituki Valley and Rob Roy Glacier but once we reached Milford Sound the cloud had lifted and the weather was perfect for a cruise. After a few weeks of wet weather the waterfalls were gushing and the seals were making the most of the warmth as they lay like slugs on the edges of the Sound. Heading back too Wanaka we flew over Mt Aspiring National Park and past the peak of Mt Aspiring, the view of glaciers and glacial pools from the air was one of the most amazing sights I’d ever seen and I swear that my mouth was open in awe the entire time.
 
I have spent anywhere from 2 days to 7 weeks in New Zealand, not always travelling because I often stayed with my grandparents and my time was spent visiting family, but there is not one moment that I have not loved. Choosing between the North and South Islands is not possible for me, I have probably had alot of (authentic) experiences on the North Island that visitors don’t normally get  and although it doesn’t have the Alps it does have the giant Kauri tree forests, thermal regions and volcanic activity, spectacular beaches and rainforest as well as a prevalent Maori culture.