Celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary…New Zealand’s South Island?

Check out our 1500 mile 16 day Camper Van schedule on New Zealand’s South Island

Note that on Day 4 we started our camper van trip. We had a full day of travel from Philadelphia to Christchurch plus 2 days in a Airport Palms Motel and did some bus and rental car exploring before we could get a camper van. So if you just interested in following our route and stops with the van start with Day 4.

Day 1 – Philadelphia to Christchurch

Day 1, the long flights to New Zealand begins at Philadelphia International Airport. We had a small hiccup with our luggage. We planned to carryon only but by the time we got on the plane all the overhead compartments were full and we were forced to check our bags. They assured us that they would be in Christchurch when we arrived which was incorrect. It turned out okay only because of a nice lady on the plane from New Zealand who recommended checking the baggage claim area in Auckland “just in case” thank goodness for Joanna who used to be a Air New Zealand flight attendant.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner….our home for the next 16 hours

End of a long day-one. Beautiful sunrise about an hour out of Auckland. We finally made it to our hotel, Airport Palms Hotel, in Christchurch. The longest leg from Chicago to Auckland which ended up being around 17 hours due to a weather system in the Pacific, as they had to re-route further west before heading south, actually went quicker then we thought it would. It’s now 12:30 pm we’re going try to power through the jet lag and tiredness and check out the town, find a pub for dinner and call it a day!

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Day 2 – Hanmer Springs & Lyttleton

Since we don’t get our camper van until Monday we decided to rent a car and go to the Hanmer Springs Hot Springs. These are natural hot springs and some of the pools had high concentrations of sulphur which is supposed to be healthy for your skin… not so much for silver jewelry. We completely missed the sign that said to remove silver jewelry.. Carla’s rings immediately tarnished. In the gift shop she asked to buy something to clean them but they had a cleaning kit that people could use to clean their own rings. This must happen a lot. Aside from being completely stressed out from trying to get used to driving on left side it was well worth the trip. The view of the mountains and sheep everywhere along the valley road made the 2 hour drive from Christchurch to Hanmer Springs go quickly and we’ll worth it. The hot springs were crowded but still very enjoyable and relaxing.

After the hot springs we took an unplanned detour to the port town of Lytttelton and found an awesome brewery on London street. Eruption Brewery had a view of the harbor from the rooftop deck the blue cod Baja tacos were a great pairing with the Volkinized IPA and Sour we had there. The coolest thing was the water canon to shoot at sea gulls that were flying around the tables unfortunately I didn’t get to shoot (squirt) any it seemed like they knew to stay just out of range.

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Day 3 – Sumner Beach

After returning the rental car to the airport and doing laundry to prepare for our 15 days of camping. We took a bus to the town of Sumner a little beach town on the pacific coast. It was a bit cold and windy there but there were still plenty of hardy Kiwis on the beach in bathing suits and swimming in the ocean. There was also a pub on the beach called “Beach Bar” of all things….so we stopped in for a beer and a cider. We wanted to eat dinner at a place called the “The Headless Mexican” really that’s what it was called we didn’t make this up, but it was closed so we ended up at “Fire and Slice” wood fired pizza. The smoked salmon and “rocket” pizza was amazing. We had to ask what rocket was turns out it’s their word for arugula. It also had capers, red onions and cheese. Caught a bus back to Airport Palms to prepare for getting the camper van at 8 am tomorrow and head west for Arthur’s Pass and the Tasman Sea.

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Day 4 – Hokitika and Arthur’s Pass

This morning we picked our camper van which will be our home for the next 15 days. Michelle and Milaya with Pacific Horizon Camper Vans were so helpful and friendly with the delivery and orientation process and got us on the road to Arthur’s Pass in about an hour.

First stop was for groceries and some fishing tackle. Chris at Complete Angler was so patient and helpful with our lack of knowledge about local fishing patterns and techniques. Conveniently if one needed to purchase a gun that was right next door. The first grocery stop was not so easy. Locals recommended Pak n’ Save. We found the parking lot VERY difficult to navigate with our small camper van. It was super crowded and barely enough room to get in and out of the lot and a parking space. We decided to go to another store Countdown which had plenty of room for parking even spaces that designated for camper vans. Honestly the quality, selection, and verity was much better. Another excellent choice for groceries was New World Groceries.

The 2 hour drive to Arthur’s Pass was very scenic but at times unnerving with the steep, narrow, windy roads and switchbacks in the mountains. We took our time but I can’t say the same for the tandem tractor trailer drivers…. VERY SCARY! We stopped at Arthur’s Pass and hiked the the Devils Punchbowl up to the waterfall. Allot of steps but overall a pretty easy hike. One more quick hike after the punchbowl can’t remember the name but it was also pretty easy.

After Arthur’s Pass it took about an hour and a half to reach the Tasman Sea at Hokitika. We got a campsite at Shining Star Beachfront Accommodations. Hokitika is a really cool little town wish we could have spent more time there. Found a place on the beach to park the RV have a much deserved adult beverage and watch the sunset. Across the street from our campground was the Hokitika Glow-worm Dell. It was well worth hiking about 50 yards into the woods in the dark. The picture did not turn out very well because it has to be pitch black to see them. Tomorrow we head to Hokitika Gorge Trail. Bought local salmon at the New World grocery store and French fries of course and cooked in the camper.

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Day 5 – Hokitika Gorge and Kaniere Lake Trail

The Hokitika Gorge is a fairly short, less than an hour, and beautiful drive from town west, back to the mountains. Through mostly farmland, we followed the Hokitika River crossing back and forth over New Zealand’s notorious one lane bridges. If you enter the bridge at the same time as someone coming the other way either you or they will have to backup and everyone behind you or them. The color of the water is really indescribable. Honestly it looks almost like Kool aid and it was intentionally dyed that bright turquoise blue. According to Google – ‘This natural phenomenon is due to the glacial till, or “rock flour,” suspended in the water. As sunlight hits these particles, it reflects back, giving the waters their unique and mesmerizing turquoise hue.” We just kept saying “guess this is what water is supposed to look like”

Kaniere Lake trail. It was a fairly challenging hike lots of roots rocks and water on the trail. We did a mile and a half in and out. We stopped at the overlook because the the trail was nearly vertical with running water down to the lake so we thought better of continuing.

For dinner we hit the local and only Thai restaurant in Hokitika and ate on the beach road. We prepared for the 2 hours south to Franz Josef in the morning.

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Day 6 – Hokitika to Franz Josef

Hit the road around 11:30 on the way stopped at the local fishing hole where the Hokitika River empty’s into the Tasman Sea. We were told this was a great spot for catching Kahawai (member of the salmon family) King Salmon and Sea Run Brown Trout. I was told by a local guy that this was usually a great spot normally every cast you get a bite. Of course no bites for me after about an hour of fishing. It’s like I always say – “ doesn’t matter who you are, how much money you have, where your from, the fish just don’t care about any of that they’ll bite when THEY want to”. HYW 6 south to Franz Josef and Glacier County was also a beautiful drive with the mountains to our left and ocean to the right. We got a site no problem at Rainforest Retreat in Franz. We had some time before dark so went to the Franz Josef Glacier walk. Really super easy walk from the car park to the glacier overlook took about 20 minutes only to find that clouds on the mountain obscured the view of the glacier. On a sign at the overlook it said that in 1879 the glacier wall was up to the overlook platform where we were standing filling the entire riverbed behind us (in the selfie) but has retreated to what you see in the picture. We booked a heli flight with HeliServicesNZ over Franz and Fox Glaciers for Friday where we hopefully will get good views of the glaciers.

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Day 7 – Franz Josef RAIN OUT

woke up to pouring rain and forecasted for most of the day. Replenished our groceries and hung out in the camper until the rain stopped around 3.

We took another try at hiking up to the Franz Josef glacier lookout to check if we could actually see the glacier. We just made it before the clouds started covering again. Afterwards, French fry happy hour at the Landing. Dinner at Alice May Restaurant was outstanding. The service and food was top notch the best meal we’ve had yet. Carla had the Akaroa Salmon on risotto and asparagus. Just had to try the lamb shank since sheep are the number one livestock here in NZ. Tomorrow we take the Heli tour of the glaciers and mount Cook which should be done by 12 noon then a 4 hour drive south to lake Wanaka.

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Day 8 – Franz Josef & Fox Glacier Heli Tour – Lake Wanaka

Sorry for the delay for the day 8 update. After the rain-day yesterday we couldn’t have ordered a more perfect weather window for our heli tour with HELISERVICES.NZ and our awesome pilot Mark. We were a little disappointed to find out that our “Grand Tour which would have included Mt Cook and Mt Tasman then crossing the main divide to the Tasman Glacier was canceled due to high winds through the pass. We were still absolutely blown away by the Franz, Fox tour. They take you up to the glacier and land for photos. We were surprised at how warm it was at that elevation completely comfortable in a fleece and the sun was intense.

After our heli tour we fueled up the RV and hit the road southeast for the 4 hour drive to Lake Wanaka. The scenery was once again so vivid and beautiful we kept saying it doesn’t look real. We were surprised to be stopped at a DUI checkpoint literally in the middle of nowhere. And yes I did pass. There is no way you could drink and drive these crazy roads with everyone driving on the left and actually survive. Once we got to the Mt Aspiring Holiday Park – Wanaka we did some desperately needed laundry. Due to a landslide in the Franz Josef mountains that muddied the fresh water supply we had to boil all of our drinking water and the laundry was closed because they said that the silt would damage the washing machines. We walked to dinner at Kai Whakapai I got the open faced ribeye sandwich with truffle aoli. Carla had the soba noodle salad both were excellent. Tomorrow we get up early and push for Te Anau for the Milford Sound Tour and hiking.

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Day 9 – Travel day to Te Anau – Milford Sound

Day 9 was mostly a travel day from Lake Wanaka to Tasman Holiday Park – Te Anau. This was a halfway point to the Milford Sound Fiord. We salvaged the day with a 4 mile hike around a portion of Lake Te Anau. Restocked groceries, beer and wine in town and had one of the pies that New Zealand is apparently known for at Miles Better Pies. I had the venison blue cheese and Carla had vegetarian. Both were very good. We had Dinner at the Fat Duck. We both got fish and chips. Fish was very good chips no so much.

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Day 10 – Milford Sound and Fly Fishing

We got an early start for the 1 hour and 45 minute drive to Milford Sound for our 12:45 reservation on Cruise Milford. Another absolutely beautiful but white knuckle drive to MS over the mountains and through the one lane “Homer” tunnel which looked like it was dug with picks and shovels. Milford Sound is a must-do tour for the South Island. No words to describe the mountains that rise straight up out of the water thousands of feet and some hundreds below the surface….absolutely stunning and humbling.

after the tour we worked our way back to Te Anau to spend the night before heading to Mt Cook and Queens Town. We stopped at a few DOC ( Department of Conservation) camping areas to TRY some fly fishing for trout. We saw one nice size trout in the crystals clear water but it was not interested in our fly patterns. It seems like the DOC Angler Access points are fished hard and get allot of pressure. I’m sure this guy I’m casting to has seen every fly pattern out there so if it’s not perfect he’s not biting!

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Day 11 – Nugget Point

Today we took a slight detour from Mt Cook and Queenstown and headed back over to the pacific coast and south to Nugget Point our southern most point so far before heading back up north again. After passing up a few campgrounds we finally settled on Kaka Point Camping Ground. I have to comment on how clean the restrooms and common kitchen was. There was allot of people here and everything was spotless. Much easier drive getting here. 3 hours of mostly flat straight 100 kph roads most of the way until you get to the coast. The drive offered mostly sheep, cattle and deer farms in the way of scenery until you reach the coast. There is literally nothing here no cell phone service, no gas stations, no grocery stores, and only 1 restaurants which was closed. We took the 2k hike out and back up to the lighthouse which was once again beautiful and not to be missed. Along the way we could hear young sea lions barking and whining down in the surf. As always the pictures just don’t cut it. After settling in the campground we took a 2 mile walk on the beach. The weather here is all over the place you literally have to pack for all four seasons if we look cold in the pic it’s because we were it was warmer on the glacier at Fox then here. On the way back we spoke to a very nice local little boy named Bay who advised us to take a side path back to the campground where we would see ‘delightful” local New Zealand birds and foliage which we did. Now at the campground to try to scrounge something up for dinner.

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Day 12 – Mclean Falls, Curio Bay & Queenstown

Due to high winds forecasted for Mt Cook we decided to head 2 hours south to Mclean Falls and Curio Bay the Southern most point for our NZ road trip before turning north for 3 more hours to Queenstown where we would camp for the night at Queenstown Holiday Park Creeksyde. Who would have guessed that after 40 years we would have ended up back at Niagara Falls. On the way down to Curio we saw the sign pointing to Niagara Falls. We were low on fuel and there is nothing in this area so we decided not to use the fuel to find it. We did stop at McLean falls and made the 40 minute hike up to the falls. Well worth the trek. I think the rainforest was equally as expressive as the falls if not more so. Curio Bay home to the yellow eyed penguins was also worth to extra miles. Nothing south of Curio except Antarctica.and with the cold wind and rain it felt like we were in Antarctica. From there we headed north in search of fuel. We found some fuel in Gore (the brown trout capital of the world) with a third of a tank to spare. Once in Q-town we walked from the campsite to town for dinner. We ended up at a burger joint called Fergburger. The line was down the street but since they had such good ratings and apparently Ed Shereen eats there, so we had to give it a try. The wait was about 30 minutes for take out and we’ll worth it. Carla got the tofu burger, Holier Than Thou and I got the Bullseye ribeye burger with calamari and fries. This is a food stop not to be missed.

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Day 13 – Mt Cook

Left Queenstown around 10 am for the 3 hour drive north to Mt Cook. We got to the Glentanner Park Centre campground about 1:30 as we made a few stops along the way for photos. The nice lady the helped us with registration had a VERY thick Kiwi accent. She asked if we wanted “chicken” one night or “chicken” two nights. It took a minute but we figured out that she was saying check-in for one to two nights although since there are no grocery stores or restaurants up here the chicken sounded good 😊. It’s sort of a free for all here you just pick an open site and somehow indicate that it’s taken so someone else doesn’t grab it while you’re hiking. We put our folding chairs and table on the site. Some people hung laundry on trees and whatever they could to mark their territory. We got here early enough to get some hiking in. We did the Tasman Glacier, Tasman lake, Tasman River, Blue Lake trail. The Glacier trail was very crowded but on the other 3 we were able to get off the main trail and away from the crowds. lake Pukaki which we followed on the way in was from Glacier melt and the vibrant turquoise color with Mt Cook in the background. Makes it hard to keep your eyes on the road.

We grabbed some NZ salmon in Queenstown and a salad kit and rice which we made at the campground tonight honestly the salmon is so fresh it tasted amazing pan fried with just salt and pepper, lemon. Tomorrow we do the Hooker Valley Hike.

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Day 14 – Hooker Valley Track

3 days until we return the camper van to Christchurch … a sad day! Our second day in the Mt Cook area and second night at Glentanner Park Centre campground. The campground was very crowded but it’s the closest campground to Mt Cook that has electric and free showers with a billion dollar view of Cook and Tasman. We hiked the Hooker Valley Track 6 and a half miles out and back. Super easy walk gravel, boardwalks and suspension bridges the whole way. Hooker is one of the most amazing hikes we’ve ever taken. Cook towering in front of us the entire way with Tasman on your left and mint green river coming from the hooker lake. Something cool about this hike was the sound of landslides or avalanches in the upper mountain. No danger since we were miles away from and thousands of feet below the mountain. Since sound travels slower than light we heard the noise after the the avalanche/landslide was done so we never actually could see where it was happening. After the hike we drove 50k to Twizel the nearest town that had food, fuel and dump. Really didn’t mind the drive as the view of Pukaki lake most of the way made the time fly by. the middle photo is the view from the campground. Tomorrow we head to lake Tekapo and maybe another fly fishing opportunity if the weather holds.

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Day 15 – Tekapo Lake

On our way to Lake Tekapo we stopped at the first overlook after crossing the Pukaki Canal bridge for one last photo of Mt. Cook at the south end if Lake Pukaki. This would be our last close up view of Mt. Cook before heading back east to Akaroa and Christchurch. We missed it but if your fortunate enough to catch this view on a windless day you’ll get a great reflection of Cook on the lake.

It was only about an 1 hour drive to Tekapo and all we can say is WOW! We did the Mt. John hike up to the observatory 5.25 miles round trip with half being uphill but well worth the effort. The view at the top is like nothing we’ve ever seen. The color variation and vibrance is like neon. The rock flour turquoise, with the green pastures and blue sky again it all looks fake.

Once you cross the south summit 1200 feet above the lake level, the trail cuts through sheep pasture and then along the lake for about 3 miles to return to the trailhead were we started. We camped at Lakes Edge Holiday Park which allowed us to walk to town for dinner at Blue Lake Eatery & Bar. They featured beers from Burkes Brewing Company. We are going to try to stay up until the stars come out. Star gazing is supposed to be very good here as they say this is a “dark sky” area hoping to see the “Southern Cross” constellation visible only from the southern hemisphere 45th parallel and below. According to google NZ is one of the few places in the world that the Southern Cross can be seen all night long which made it a prominent constellation for sailors to use for navigation as it always points polar south. Stephen Stills wrote the CSN hit song “Southern Cross” about this constellation after a long sailing trip. In the lyrics he mentions sailing to the “southern islands” I wonder if NZ was among them?

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Day 16 – Akaroa

Our final night in our awesome camper van from Pacific Horizon. Left Tekapo about 10am for the 3 and a half hour drive to Akaroa. We picked a good day to travel as it rained most of the day. We stopped a few times on the way. In Fairlie we stopped at the Fairlie Bakehouse at the recommendation of Carla’s NZ palates instructor. The place was slammed. We got a salmon bacon pie and salmon frittata for lunch and chocolate cake for later. All were excellent and well worth the stop. Also stopped at the Rakaia River to try out an Angles Access Point for a possible fishing spot. 1/4 mile walk to the river from the parking area. Turned out to be a local hangout spot with empty bottles left around (shame) plus needed waders to get out to the main river so I didn’t even get my rod out. The water was still the beautiful rock flour turquoise. We got to the Akaroa top 10 campground around 4 and walked to town to check it out. Turns out everything was closed. Cooked leftovers in the van and supplemented with some local NZ muscles. So we pack up in the morning and head back to Christchurch to turn the van in and prepare for the long flight back on Monday (here).

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Day – 17 Back to Christchurch

We have to get the van back to the Pacific Horizon depot in Christchurch by 4pm which is only about an hour and a half drive so we have a few hours here in Akaroa for a hike and some shopping. We were planning on a boat tour but with 25 mph winds we scraped that idea. We need to eat and drink everything left in the van today and tonight (it’s a lot) because there’s no bringing it back with us. We used the last of the French fries, ribeye and eggs for breakfast. We drove up to the Akaroa Lighthouse where we found a trail that went back into the woods. It lead to a lookout call “Lovers Lookout” had to get a picture. Did some shopping along the waterfront then headed for Christchurch. Stopped at Riverside Market in downtown Christchurch for some additional shopping then dropped the van off about an hour early. Got the shuttle to Airport Palms Motel for our final night here. It has been a fantastic trip with only one regret… that we didn’t have more time. Which means we’ll have to come back.

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In 15 days of camping we logged 1475 miles on the Mercedes Sprinter Camper van. We ended up spending about $700 in diesel fuel which carried us to the 16 primary destinations that we had on our list.

• Arthurs Pass
• Hokitika
• Hokitika Gorge
• Franz Josef
• Lake Wanaka
• Te Anau
• Milford Sound
• Te Anau
• Nugget Point
• Curio Bay
• Queenstown
• Mt. Cook
• Lake Tekapo
• Fairlie
• Akaroa
• Christchurch

Day – 18 Start Long Travel Home

one last peanut butter sandwich in New Zealand. Rainy day here which makes it a little easier to leave.

We also picked up a little unwanted souvenir on the plane ride home.

What Airline Should you choose for your New Zealand trip?

I would like to comment on the excellent customer service we received from Air New Zealand. The 787 Dreamliner appeared to be a newer more up-to-date aircraft. The seats in Economy class were comfortable with plenty of leg room. We are smaller people (5’8” and 5’2”) so it was enough leg room for us. However to be fair and realistic no economy seat is going to be absolutely comfortable for a 16+ hour flight but it was not as bad as we thought it would be. The aircraft was roomy and when allowed we were able to get up and move around a little which helped a lot. Plenty of bathrooms to go around for the economy class 4 I believe two towards the front and two in the rear. The flight attendants were kind, pleasant and engaging, attentive to our needs even through the nighttime hours, offering water and snacks for those who were awake. The meals were excellent and overall ours was a good experience and we would definitely fly with them again and recommend Air New Zealand for your round trip international carrier. 

Now United Airlines on the way back was quite different experience. The aircraft was older, noisier and seemed to me that this plane should have been taking out of service a decade ago. We sat just behind the wing and there were grease streaks running from the flap axles and paint chipping in places which didn’t do much for my confidence that the parts of the aircraft that you could not see were maintenanced and cared for properly. The seats too were older style and uncomfortable. They would have been fine for a shorter domestic flight but it was a challenge to get comfortable for the long haul.  To United’s credit they did provide butt pillows which helped ease the discomfort some. The onboard service and domineer of the United flight attendants was a 180 degree difference from Air New Zealand. I will say that the food was good and they even provided a vegetarian option for Carla however they just seemed really tired and overworked just going through the motions for the lack of a better description. I’ll chalk this up to the United Airlines upper management over-scheduling their people and NOT the flight attendant staff. The bathroom situation in economy class was challenging for both passengers and attendants to say the least. At one point there were 4 passengers in line waiting in the rear galley area for the only 2 bathrooms available for economy while 3 flight attendants were also there trying to do their job and one of the passengers waiting was very large which was awkward and uncomfortable for everyone including him. I kept moving around trying to get out of the way and got dirty looks from the flight attendants, and the other passengers seated in the back. Again we feel this was NOT the fault of the flight attendant staff rather AGAIN the upper management that allowed this less than adequate aircraft to be used for this many passengers for a long haul flight from New Zealand to the US. We therefore will not be using United Airlines or recommend them for the long international flight to New Zealand.