If you were to win a pair of tickets to anywhere in the world, where would you go?
That was the million-dollar question (okay, more like three-thousand-dollar question) after winning the Amex Travel Hacks contest in June 2016. Just by simply submitting my ‘top 3 travel hacks’ on a Facebook contest page, I had won a pair of flight tickets to any destination of choice!
Reality has its constraints of course. The prize had a S$1,500 cap per ticket (not that I’m complaining). We also had to iron out constraints at work separately. Eventually, we settled on travelling in December over X’mas/New Year before dreaming up a destination to visit:
San Fran? But KT’s been there. And it’s gonna be so cold.
South Africa? Maybe.. But I’ve been there.
South America? Exceeds the amount too much.
Australia? Too near – gotta maximize the ticket value!
New Zealand? Hmm…
The early summer days of December made it perfect for exploring NZ’s Great Walks, snow-capped mountains and alpine lakes. A quick search online on ‘North vs South Island’ revealed that the South was known for its great outdoors – just what we loved. (Although I’ve come to learn that North Island too has so much to offer, but that leaves a story for another day!)
And so begun our journey to Wellington for a 3-week honeymoon in the South Island.
We flew in and out of Wellington – taking a one-way domestic flight into Queenstown before slowly driving up and then crossing the strait on a ferry from Picton back to Wellington. Another option would be to fly into Christchurch or Queenstown and drive a complete loop around the South Island. That way, you’d get to cover the West Coast too.
Wellington
We only had one night in Wellington, given that our focus was on the South Island. During our short stint, we caught up with Dylan and his wife Natalie – our Kiwi friend who had stayed in our university hall during his exchange in Singapore – and they drove us to the top of Mount Victoria for a panoramic view of New Zealand’s capital city.
If, like us, you need to catch a flight at the airport the next day, I’d recommend staying around Breaker Bay such as Raymond’s seaside Airbnb just 5min from the airport. The rugged coastlines hugging the town were simply gorgeous and we even got to hike up Point Dorset to catch the sunrise before our flight down to Queenstown.
Wanaka
Wanaka was a last-minute addition to our trip and ended up being my favourite stop in New Zealand. We couldn’t change our pre-booked Great Walk huts and triathlon event in Queenstown later in the trip – and so decided to squeeze in two nights at the start by driving to Wanaka the moment we landed at Queenstown Airport.
The scenic 1-hour drive was well worth it. With its dramatic snow-capped peaks rising above the striking blue waters of Lake Wanaka, the whole place looked right out of a painting. There was also a good mix of activities. Over 2.5 days, we went mountain biking around Lake Wanaka and the Outlet Track, chilled out by its lakeside cafes, picnicked at the stunning Rippon Vineyard – one of the most picturesque vineyards I’ve visited ever! – and hiked up the famous Roy’s Peak.
We stayed at Hilary’s comfortable Airbnb room near town, a highly recommended superhost (whose house mate also happened to be an ex-NZ olympic cyclist!).
Queenstown
If Wanaka is like a cosy local hidden gem of a pub, then Queenstown is the glitzy glamorous party place where everyone flocks to to have fun. For this reason, we spent one full week in this playground for big kids – including 3D2N on the Routeburn Track, one of New Zealand’s 9 Great Walks.
We started our Queenstown adventure by heading straight up to Skyline Queenstown on a gondola – for our Ledge Bungy with AJ Hackett! What better way to kickstart our stay in the adventure capital of the world? We had pre-booked it before our trip (with shaking, sweaty palms) – having purchased the Bungy and Nevis Swing package after a hard time choosing between the two. I remember the rising tensions as we drove down from Wanaka, registered our names and signed the disclaimer forms before waiting an eternity for our turn. THE WAITING WAS THE HARDEST PART!! But no regrets at all – if you’re considering, I’d say just go for it 🙂
I’m glad we went for the bungy BEFORE our Great Walk – because imagine all that built up tension in your head as you walk in the woods for 3D2N knowing that a bungy jump was waiting at the end of your hike. Still reeling from the adrenaline rush, we drove to Te Anau Downs and camped at Deer Flat Campsite, which was as close as we could get to the start of our Milford Sound cruise next morning – another 1 hour drive away. It’s a beautiful but basic campsite with just toilet facilities – so if you’re considering camping here make sure you have your own gas stove.
We had pitched our tent in darkness, waking up to warm sun rays bouncing off the mountains that surrounded us – which our roads had to wind through on the way to Milford Sound.
While the drive to Milford Sound was stunning, our Jucy cruise was out of this world – gliding on glassy waters with Milford’s majestic fiords towering over us. It was like a magical ride in some make-believe fantasy land. Our captain would purposely steer towards a splashing waterfall on which a rainbow had been casted, or remind us along the way to look up at sharp peaks piercing the skyline, or point to an adorable family of fur seals just round the corner.
The end of our Milford Sound cruise heralded the start of our 3D2N Great Walk. As the Routeburn Track is a one-way walk, we engaged the car relocation services of Easy Hike who moved our car from The Divide (our start point) to Routeburn Shelter where our car would be waiting once we ended our walk.
Read more about our Routeburn Track journey here.
After 3 consecutive days of breathtaking vistas – tramping across mountain ranges and alpine lakes – we were greeted yet with more scenery when we got to our car. The drive from our trail end through Glenorchy to Queenstown was one of our trip’s best, tracing the coastline of Lake Wakatipu bordered by the Southern Alps’ jagged peaks on the other end.
Much as we loved being in the great outdoors, after three days of continuous steep climbs with neither a shower nor a bed, it felt luxurious to arrive to the creature comforts of our lakeside Airbnb in Queenstown where we spent our next three nights.
Even if you’re not into big hikes and the outdoors, it’s sucha pleasure to simply sit back and relax against Queenstown’s stunning mountain backdrops or take a stroll around the crystal-clear Lake Wakatipu with an ice-cream in hand – which was exactly what we did. Foodies, please check out Fergburger, reputed to be the best burger in NZ and even the world! I’m neither a foodie nor a burger fan – but I must say it was delicious and definitely satisfied both my appetite and curiosity after about 30minutes of queuing.
After checking out the burger hype we needed to attend to our real cravings – for seafood – and ended up at Harbour Fish, where we decided to buy some smoked fish, fresh lobsters, mussels and oysters to cook ourselves, since we couldn’t find any restaurant that offered an alfresco view better than our room’s.
I know, it’s atypical of me to talk about food so much, but we really needed to indulge after camping for three days! Even more peculiar – we spent half a day in Queenstown shopping! Clearly, I’m not a fan of shopping – but when the adventure capital of the world held a Boxing Day Sale we got pretty excited and it was here that KT bought his very first Icebreaker merino wool baselayer (reputed to be the best in the world!) – which leaves for another story another day.
But of course, we couldn’t be idle for too long. After our recuperation, we spent our last full day in Queenstown racing at Lake Hayes Triathlon – my first tri overseas. Swimming in a lake (with a suffocating wetsuit) and cycling along grazing sheep and rising mountains made it a race unlike any other back home. Even though we finished almost last, I was happy to just complete it (it was also my first race post-ACL surgery) and I think it was then that I became hooked.
Anyway, if you’re planning to race in Queenstown we managed to rent two carbon road bikes for $60/half a day from Outsport Sports whom we emailed before our trip. The whole process was seamless.
If you’re a leisure cyclist however I’d definitely recommend renting a mountain bike to check out the Frankton Trail, an easy but beautiful ride hugging Lake Wakatipu. It leads to Kelvin Heights Track and then Jack’s Point Trail which gets increasingly hilly (I flew off my bike once and we pushed our bikes more than once) but the good thing is that you can turn back at any point.
Just like that, a week in Queenstown was over and we were off to Mount Cook!
Mount Cook
Mount Cook is New Zealand’s highest mountain. We were awestruck the moment its majestic snowcapped peak came into sight, watching it get bigger and bigger as we approached during our iconic drive along Lake Pukaki’s turquoise waters.
We stayed for two nights at White Horse Hill Campground, right in the heart of Mount Cook National Park. There were lotsa fellow campers but plenty of space with decent kitchen and toilet (but no shower) facilities. And in the middle of the night we could hear the loud rumblings of ice avalanches nearby which sounded like thunder.
With its stunning vistas, Mount Cook National Park is a natural setting for many magic moments. We couldn’t resist going on a Heli Hike to check out the Tasman Glacier and had – after much deliberation before our trip – booked a tour with Alpine Guides (that costed us $550 each:O). Given it was both our first ever helicopter ride as well as walking on a glacier with crampons, I think the adventure was worth its steep price tag.
The Hooker Valley Track was another experience that rivalled the Heli Hike – but completely free. It’s an easy 3-4 hour hike past glacial lakes, rivers and swing bridges with breathtaking views of Mount Cook and the surrounding mountain ranges, ending at Hooker Lake where you will find stray icebergs floating around.
Other more unconventional magic moments for us at Mount Cook included a random dip in Lake Pukaki, having brunch at the charming Old Mountaineers Cafe, stumbling upon Mount Cook Visitor Centre which doubled up as a museum of sorts showcasing NZ’s mountaineering history and discovering fresh salmon sashimi slices at the Mount Cook Alpine Salmon Farm that we devoured by the lake (told ya we were seafood fans!).
Lake Tekapo
Our next two nights were spent in Lake Tekapo, but we didn’t have the chance to explore the area much given that the weather turned for the worse. Thankfully, our first night was clear and we managed to check out the famous night sky of this International Dark Sky Reserve, with light pollution strictly controlled in the area. As always, the Milky Way left us in awe, but I remember that evening was also the first time in my life I had seen the night sky reflected on a lake’s shimmering surface.
No pictures of the stars though, sorry!
We stayed at Lakefront Lodge Backpackers – a decent hostel with private cabins a short walk away from the lake.
Ashburton/ Geraldine
After spending 2/3 of our trip in the alps, it was time to head towards the hinterlands. We drove past rolling hills and stopped by alpaca farms (just to laugh at those ridiculously adorable furry animals) before arriving at our airbnb at Coniston, a nice little lakeside cottage situated on a cattle farm itself. With the weather not in our favour, the place provided a cosy refuge from the rain and we spent two nights there.
We had chosen Ashburton as our stopover because of its proximity to Rangitata Rafts, apparently one of the best white water rafting spots in NZ where you’d get to paddle down rapids gushing through gorges with amazing views of nearby ridges. Unfortunately for us, the shrouded vistas were a disappointment, although the experience certainly was not – made all the more thrilling with higher-and-faster-than-normal water levels from the rain plus an additional atmosphere of mystery from rafting through thick fog.
Kaikoura
We had been debating whether to stop by Kaikoura still, having cancelled our original one night’s accommodation due to the recent earthquake in Nov 2016. After monitoring the news closely and hearing that roads had been re-opened on one side of Kaikoura, we finally made the decision to go ahead, checking in for a night at White Morph Motor Inn.
“Kaikoura” literally means “to eat crayfish” in maori – and eat crayfish we did, at the roadside/beachfront Kaikoura Seafood BBQ Kiosk, which was absolutely delicious! Besides the succulent seafood, our decision to come was further reinforced when the skies begun to clear, unveiling the imposing ridges that seemed to rise from clear blue seas.
The recent earthquake had also caused Kaikoura’s seabed to rise, exposing an alien-like, rugged rocky landscape littered with sea kelp and strange creatures open for humans to thread on for the first time. We went out excitedly to look for stray crayfish, but to no avail. Even though the government had just imposed a ban on foraging for these vulnerable crayfish, we suspected the seagulls probably did not abide by it.
We wanted to go on a whale-watching cruise Kaikoura is so known for, but unfortunately the tour had re-opened just the day before we arrived and had no more room for us due to the pent up demand. We ended up driving to Point Kean to look for the local seal colonies, which definitely didn’t disappoint. As we walked further and further away, the number of people got less and it was not long before we found ourselves alone at Whalers Bay with nobody but a full family of seals with newborn pups for company.
Blenheim
It was with a heavy heart that we left Kaikoura for a long drive towards Blenheim (a 6h detour instead of the usual 2h due to road closures from the earthquake), as it meant we were approaching the end of our road trip.
But there are few things a glass or two can’t cure. After a day of wine-tasting in the world-class vineyards of Malborough, our spirits were back up. Amongst those we visited were Wairau River Winery, Brancott Estate (with beautiful views but we couldn’t get a table for lunch as it was full) and Wither Hills (where we eventually settled for a sumptuous lunch) as well as Cog and Keg, a cosy pub near our Renwick airbnb in Renwick surrounded by lush vines.
Picton
After 2+weeks of crazy, crazy adventures in the South Island, it was down to our last 3 nights in Picton. We spent our 1st and 3rd night in Picton at Leita and Kev’s airbnb overlooking the harbour, and with their gracious permission parked our car at their place on the 2nd night while we went for our 2D1N MTB escapade on Queen Charlotte Track.
The whole of Queen Charlotte Track takes 3-4 days of hiking through tropical rainforest and undulating slopes with occasional clearings that offer views of the Malborough Sounds. Instead of hiking the entire trail from Ship Cove to Anakiwa Bay, we decided to bike from Camp Bay to Anakiwa, spending a night in the beautiful Portage Hotel, our halfway point. We made arrangements with Beachcomber Cruises to ferry us with our bikes to Camp Bay and pick us up at Anakiwa for $85 for transport + $18 for QCT passes each. They also dropped our bags at Portage Hotel so we didn’t need to carry extra weight and could have our bags ready for us upon arrival.
While the coastal scenery was breathtaking (literally too), the trails were steep and unforgiving. We found ourselves pushing our bikes at some really punishing sections, although there were long stretches of downslopes too that were equally exhilarating and relieving. By the time we arrived at our hotel, we were completely exhausted.
It didn’t take much to convince us on a change of plans. When we saw Sea Kayak Adventures’ rental shop on the beach – we thought, why not switch our pedals for paddles the next day?
And so instead of cycling for another day, we called to change our pick-up point to nearby Torea Bay and spent the next few hours paddling around Portage Bay, hoping to come across dolphins but instead encountered stingrays gliding below us (which wasn’t too bad!)
With the end of our Queen Charlotte Track biking adventure, we also approached the finishing line of our epic 3-week roadtrip. Back at our Picton airbnb, we rinsed our bikes with heavy hearts (and leaden legs) before dismantling them to fit back into rectangular cardboard boxes to be checked in
The next morning, we would be – again – struggling with our two bike boxes, a trolley luggage and our backpacks on the Interislander ferry to Wellington before flying home to Singapore, where our adventure would finally come to an end. And what an adventure this had been! Little did we know then, that we’d be back to this special corner of the world sooner than we could ever imagine. But that’s another story 🙂
P.S. We spent about NZD4,500 per person over 3 weeks including varying standards of accommodation, meals, attractions, car rental, petrol (but excluding flights+shopping). Here‘s a detailed breakdown.