Another of Chris’ Travel Fails After the glacier area, we drove up along the West Coast towards the North end of the South Island. On the way, we stopped for a dip in Lake Ianthe before heading to the beautiful Hokitika Gorge. When we arrived at the gorge, I wanted to change into my hiking shoes but couldn't find them. Then it hit me: I had taken them off to jump into the lake and left them under the car without picking them up again. So we had … [Read more...] about West Coast and Marlborough & Nelson
Destinations
The Fox and the Franz Josef Glacier
After leaving Lake Wanaka behind, our next destination was the glacier area on the West Coast. On the way to the first, the Fox Glacier, we made an overnight stop at the Lake Paringa Campsite. Unfortunately, the sandflies made it impossible to enjoy the sunset and we had to retire to our tent fairly early. That was not so bad because we spontaneously decided to do sunrise the next day for which we had to get up at 3.30am to drive to a good … [Read more...] about The Fox and the Franz Josef Glacier
Vegan Review of Dunedin
Our first vegan experience in New Zealand was in Dunedin. We checked the HappyCow! app to have a first impression about out options and the selection wasn't too impressive. There were only four pure plant-based options of which, one was closed, two were too expensive and only one was good for budget travelers. However, after chatting with some local vegans we found out that most restaurants offer at least some plant-based options next to their … [Read more...] about Vegan Review of Dunedin
Queenstown and Wanaka
After leaving Lake Te Anau, we began driving to Queenstown where we would spend one night in my cousins' car outside the shared house he lives in. The drive to Queenstown is worth mentioning just because of a crazy rain and thunderstorm we had on our way. We even had to pull over at one point because the visibility went down to zero. Further along the road, we passed some car accidents and were grateful when we arrived safely in … [Read more...] about Queenstown and Wanaka
Archer Track and the Tennyson Inlet
For our final hiking and camping experience on the South Island of New Zealand, we were looking at the options along the Queen Charlotte Track or the Nydia Track. In the end, we didn't do either - the Nydia Track is mostly inland and we were looking for a hike with views over the water. The Queen Charlotte Track we discarded as well because it was too much hassle to get to the track and we would have to spend money on a water taxi or transport by … [Read more...] about Archer Track and the Tennyson Inlet
The Southern Scenic Drive
After our lovely time in Dunedin, we took the advice of a local and made our way down to the Southern Scenic Drive starting with The Catlins. The original plan was to drive over the inland route to Fiordland but sometimes you just have to change plans. We didn't regret it one moment because we felt like being in the real New Zealand, driving through the lush countryside, past thousands of gazing sheeps. Nugget Point Lighthouse The road … [Read more...] about The Southern Scenic Drive