New Zealand South Island 2024
By Helen
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We got on the ferry as planned. It was a bit later in the day than last time and being just after New Year it was really, really busy. When we got on board we went up top quickly but it was quite windy so we headed down to find some seats. Smart decision as they pretty quickly closed the top deck and everyone was scrambling for spots. We managed to get some decent seats where we could see a bit and they were even comfortable. Since it was just after the holidays, there was loads and families and so many kids. There was a clown making balloon shapes and a scavenger hunt to keep them busy but it had mixed results. We used the time to make a couple of plans and read. We had a minor scare when the older van in front of us ended up putting up their hood when everyone was disembarking but whatever they did worked so no delays.
We decided to spend the first night in Havelock as we wanted to stop at the Mussel Pot again. The very twisty drive we had done last time along the sound was under major construction so we took the less scenic route, which was still quite pretty. There had been a lot of landslides and washouts of the highways over the past year so almost every highway was affected. The campground in Havelock was okay, had a nice sitting are by the kitchen and had everything we needed but was very busy. There were people in the sitting area talking about hiking the Te Araroa and saying how muddy it was and they were discussing what to do. We contacted the restaurant and were able to get a reservation for dinner so went for a walk to stretch our legs after the ferry. The meal didn’t disappoint and we enjoyed a nice evening.
Our plan was to head across to the west side of the island, then head down to Invercargill and Bluff, the southernmost point of the South Island, before going back up to Christchurch along the east coast. It never really worked out that way, but that’s the great thing about plans, they can change! We had a stop in Murchison Motorhome Park, pretty sure it was the same lady as before, but we didn’t see the older fella that told us bees like the colour blue. We had a nice walk to the river before it started to rain. Luckily, we were very close to SPT so we didn’t get totally soaked. We chatted with a really nice family in the camp kitchen who offered us some fresh strawberries. The next day we drove through the gorge to Greymouth. It gets a bad rap sometimes, but is actually quite a decent town with good grocery choices and a lot of walks.
We stayed in the Greymouth Seaaside Top 10 here which was great, we booked 2 nights because of the footie game. We were 5 minutes from the beach which was very rocky but beautiful, people had made fire pits all along and we had some great sunsets. We had a site that had no one nearby which was perfect and the amenities were good. There were a lot of temporary workers in the bunks there and I had a nice chat with 2 young people from Vietnam about Hanoi. We went off to do some beach walks, Paul found a couple of highly recommended ones. When we pulled up to the first one the flies were so bad we didn’t even get out of SPT. We headed north to Motukiekie Beach, which was awesome, possibly our second favorite walk. We walked south along the beach and it was just beautiful… walking on small pebbles of so many colors and the rock formations along the coastline were really wild looking. At the end you went through a small cave and could see the river heading into the sea. You did have to keep an eye on the tide because in some spots there was no place to go if it came in, but we timed it well. We may have taken a few rocks to keep with the tradition of a “van rock collection”.
We decided to head to Jackson Retreat the next day and had booked into one of the sheltered sites. We woke up to watch the game and then went back to sleep for a few hours since it was a shorter drive. Unfortunately when we woke up the second time my phone was dead. It was an original Pixel from 2016 so to be fair we were lucky it lasted this long. Paul tried every trick in the book but wasn’t able to get it to work. In the end, we shared his phone and the raspberry pi when stopped at night. This worked better then when we tried to share a sim card in New Zealand in 2017 but was not ideal. Paul had been researching new phones and thought it best we wait for all the new 2024 releases to happen before we replaced my phone.
Anyhoo, we made it to Jackson Retreat without issue. We decided to try and find a place for lunch where we had previously stopped at but the area has become much more developed and had changed so much we couldn’t find it. We eventually stopped by a lake which was busy but nice where we had lunch before checking in at the grounds. The campground was under construction and they were adding more cabins where it used to be set up for caravans, changes all over. We headed over to Cave Stream and pushed our luck going through a second time. It was quite busy and lots of people were heading through. Personally, I thought the water was flowing faster this time and it was harder for me to reach the ladder to climb out at the end, but it was still pretty awesome. Had a visit to the Glow Worm Caves which were spectacular. The next day we decided to head off to Otira Gorge for a hike. It was a windy day, but we made it to the rocks where “mountaineering skills” were advised and had some lunch. The campground was filled with kids who ran too close to the BBQ for my liking so gave them my best “oi, be careful” gruff tone.
We continued down the west coast so our next stop was Ross Beach Top 10. This was great, Andy and Sue, the owners were friendly, the sites were large and private and you were right on the beach. The amenities here were really nice and they had a little “bar truck” set up where you can get wine, beer and pizza. We walked along the beach to the north the first day, found a lagoon and skipped rocks for a while. The next day, we walked along the beach to the south for a few hours. It was a lovely walk and we saw lots of old tree stumps that had washed ashore. The kitchen area was small but they had a nice balcony with tables and umbrellas for sitting outside and enjoying the view. It was nice to be able to hear the waves while sitting there. We drove up to Hokitika for some groceries and probably the longest wait we’ve ever had for a takeaway coffee. The shop was run by an older couple and while waiting I got to hear about a friends accident and was reassured that “not to worry about the coffee going cold, he made the milk extra hot”. Unsurprisingly, this isn’t the selling feature he thinks it is as burnt milk isn’t tasty.
Next up Franz Joseph. We booked in at Rainforest Retreat which was really quite nice… if you got a good campsite. We lucked out and got a great site, very private and right by a little creek. The amenities were being upgraded but the kitchen was still quite good aside from the BBQ’s not working. We hiked from the campground to the glacier, it was a beautiful walk. The glacier access is closed off due to people being idiots but you can still get a glimpse of it and the walk made it worthwhile. We went for supper to celebrate our anniversary at the restaurant at the grounds. It was a nice meal and we had a free anniversary beverage. The next day was another hike back towards the glacier but we went in another direction on the way back. There was a swing bridge and you could walk along the rocks by a river. Paul went and checked it out and then we headed back by Peter’s Pool.
Our next day we planned a longer hike with an elevation gain to see above the glacier. Unfortunately it was raining when we woke up so we took our time and thought we’d wait for when the rain stopped. By that afternoon, it hadn’t stopped raining and seemed to be getting heavier every hour. We got a warning from Wendekreisen that we were in a heavy rain warning area and to stay put. At the same time the campground advised the highway heading south was closed and while the highway heading north wasn’t closed yet, it was labelled as dangerous conditions and should not be attempted. We ended up staying at the campground for another 2 nights because of the rain and closures. We had to switch sites as the creek beside us overflowed in our spot. The front desk staff were great in dealing with shuffling people around and providing as much information as possible. We got dressed in our rain gear and headed out for a walk to check out the river which was crazy… it was really churned up and flowing fast. You could hear the water moving the rocks against the bridge. Before going to sleep, we could hear water and when we looked outside the whole area around the campsite was like a large puddle.
In the end it worked out because we had been notified of a cancellation of our flight to Kuala Lumpur in March, so this gave us time to get that sorted. It also meant a change to the rest of the time on the South Island because of the extra days spent here but we had time to figure it out. Paul also had a nice break from driving. We met some of the staff in the kitchen, who happened to be Filipino and were cooking for a family birthday, they wouldn’t let us leave empty handed and shared some delicious food. We are glad we took an extra day, we heard the highways were quite busy and very slow moving once they opened.
When it eventually cleared up we headed south towards Wanaka. In 2017 we drove through the area and weren’t keen but had heard so many good things about it that we decided to stay. In the end, it was great. We had a long drive but, again, it was beautiful. We found a nice stop by a creek in the mountains for lunch and to stretch our legs. When we arrived, we ended up going for a walk along the lake and into town that night which was lovely. There was a tree lined walk through Wanaka Station Park that also took you down to the lake but through a rose garden and quiet park. Around the camp kitchen was a large deck area where you could sit out and it had a lovely view. We were able to get groceries, found a decent coffee place, did a lot of walking and enjoyed the scenery.
After that it was down to Invercargill, to get close to the southernmost point of New Zealand. We stayed just outside the town at Invercargill Holiday Park. It was a very long drive but a beautiful one. The scenery was rolling hills, gorges, small old towns, river valleys and so green. The next day we headed off to the southernmost point which was basically in a farmers field, on the edge of a bluff. It wasn’t as epic as the north, but still pretty cool to say we’ve been to both. We took some photos and headed over to Bluff… an interesting little place but so packed with tour buses we couldn’t get to the point and almost got blocked in at Bluff Hill Lookout. We made dinner reservations at a recommended restaurant, Buster Crabb, but unfortunately we were out of season for Bluff Oysters. We did get some blue cod which was delicious and Paul had some pretty tasty fish and chips. We had an awesome dessert with coconut, chocolate and mango foam.
We headed back north the next day with a stop in Queenstown for some groceries. We took the shorter, but more technical drive up to Wanaka but it was a beautiful day for it. We decided we wanted to stop somewhere and plan out our next adventure so decided Ross would work, good amenities and solid wifi. It was a long drive, so we stopped again in Franz Josef. We stayed back at Rainforest and went out for a meal at another restaurant down the block. The food was good, but we had decided to sit outside and it got quite hot… no rain this time!
During our previous stay, Paul was looking at getting a helicopter ride, something he has always wanted to do. When pricing it out, we realized that he wasn’t guaranteed a viewing seat and it didn’t seem worth it at the time, plus everything was cancelled with the rain. With nicer weather this time, we started looking into it again and it didn’t seem worthwhile unless we did a private charter. When we looked into it, the prices seemed reasonable for the length of the ride and being able to experience a once in a lifetime moment tipped the scales. We got in touch with Glacier Country Helicopter Tour and were able to book it for the next morning! Paul would get the main seat beside the pilot and I’d keep my eyes closed with a death grip in the back. When we walked over to the office we got weighed in and advised that our tour would be a bit shorter due to a change in winds, safety first.
We had an awesome time. We had a private van ride to the site and the driver was great, gave us lots of tips on places to try in the areas. The helicopter ride was one of those beyond epic experiences. We were up for just over 45 minutes and had a glacier stop to ourselves. Our pilot, Mike, was a really nice guy, he liked my response of “don’t fuck with me man” when he and Paul were joking about how long he’d been a pilot. I wonder if he would have let Paul sit in the pilot seat? We saw glaciers, rivers, Mt Cook… so glad we were able to experience this, especially for Paul. You can access all the photos in the main album link above.
After that we headed back to Ross, where we stayed for several nights. We walked the beaches which were changed, the storm had taken out the lagoon and now it was a river into the sea. We visited with a young couple from Italy who were working there, spent time chatting with Andy and Sue, had a chilly night where we were able to sit by the fire and enjoy a pizza, they even had a gluten free option! We were able to sit by the kitchen again and do some planing for our return to Australia. We went to the local pub for the dinner buffet, which was crazy expensive and busy. We had a nice visit with a couple who sat at our table, they’ve been traveling about the south island for several months. We spent our last couple of nights in Greymouth, went back to Motukiekie to return the rocks we had previously collected and started getting SPT ready to return.
We had a long drive to Christchurch… made even longer by the triathlon that was going on at the time. What should have been 3 hours was 4+. It was beautiful though and we had a nice lunch stop. We booked in at a place not far from the drop off, gave SPT a good wash and finished packing. Next morning we said goodbye to SPT at Wendekreisen before heading off to the Christchurch Airport Novotel Hotel. Our flight left at 6 the next morning, so it was the best option. The lady from Wendekreisen even gave us a ride and we were able to check into the hotel early, which was really nice.
There was a strip mall not far, so we walked over to grab some food and relaxed in our room. It was neat as our room overlooked the airport runway so we could see all the planes. We got organized, packed and walked over to the mall for dinner and a few snacks for the flight the next day. We were up really early and headed over to the airport. Once we figured out where everything was, it took us a bit since no coffee yet, the airport experience was quite smooth. The flight to Melbourne was packed so we were glad Paul had already checked us in and we had our seats arranged. We aren’t sure if we’ll ever make it back to New Zealand but even we were glad we had an opportunity to experience it again.
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