“Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien
We have decided to visit New Zealand and asked Santa for a little present. Santa was so kind and gave us two airplane tickets. Hooray! We have been very excited and started to plan everything for November 2018. It took a while, but we managed to have a plan, organized by days.
How to arrive?
We have chosen the cheapest way. For this reason, we assumed the long flight.
Cluj – Istanbul
Istanbul – Hong Kong
Hong – Kong – Aukland
From Aukland we took the van for the rest of the period.
Where to sleep?
We rent a car from spaceships agencyfor the entire period, for both, North and South islands. Instead of getting a hostel and such every night, you could just sleep in the rental car the days that you’re using it. It was equipped with everything. Renting a car will allow you to save the money you’d ordinarily be spending on a hotel room!
How to travel ?
With a van, you can stop whenever you want, or you can go everywhere you want, at what time you want!
We used to camp in a campground, all of them are equipped to please a wide range of people for a minimal cost. They have showers and laundries, full kitchens and bbqs, TV and wi-fi option (some are included in the initial price, or you need to pay some extra cost). Most of them have attractive landscaped settings, often beside a beach, lake or mountain.
NZ loves beer
The country is a beer-making nation with around 150 commercial breweries. More details TBA!
Waipipi beach
This beach is incredibly large and we took the advantage to immortalize a few pictures with the stunning ocean view.This wasn’t on our list of objectives, but it was a pleasure to go barefoot on this pleasant beach.
The tangata whenua of the area have traditionally used the coastal strip from Waitotara to the Patea River since pre European times, as a place to sustain and nourish their people.
Today, the Waipipi Beach is on a corner of land owned by Waverley farmer and his family interests.
Tongaporutu Reserve
Tongaporutu Reserve was a surprise for us and we have found the beach while searching for some beautiful beaches in the surroundings. I have seen a lot of pictures with Elephant rock and Three Sisters beach before, but I never imagine I will see them for real.
The beach is vast and there are a lot of rocks. Regarding the Elephant Rock – a sizable chunk of the rock had been washed away, and memory is all that’s left of it, now trunk – less. 🙂
At low tide you can walk alongside the river and around the point to find the formations. In nearby caves you can also view a rock drawing of a curious six-toed foot.
PROXIMITY
North of Urenui , 40 km distance
Lake Tekapo
Lake Tekapo gets its intense milky-turquoise colour from the fine rock-flour (ground by glaciers) which is suspended in the water.
PROXIMITY
3.5 hours from Christchurch or Queenstown
After we took some pictures near Tekapo, continued the journey to Aoraki-Mt. Cook National Park, which is home of the highest mountains and the longest glaciers!
We arrived in the National Park around 6 pm and parked the car looking out to the mountain Aoraki. We decided to go to Hooker Valley track, one of the most popular short walking track within the Aoraki National Park, because the weather was so good!
Hooker Lake, end of Hooker Valley Walk, is a proglacial lake that started to form in the late 1970s by the recent retreat of the Hooker Glacier.
In the warmer months icebergs can typically be seen floating in the water.
The lake’s water temperature is typically lower than 2 °C.
PROXIMITY
Twizel, which is 65 kilometers from Mount Cook Village.
Moeraki Beach
We had a lot of fun on Moeraki beach, where there are a lot of boulders that are amazing “creatures”. We imagined they are some
dinosaur egg. Hihi!
The boulders are visible on the beach at low tide. Some rocks are covered with some kind of turtle shells. The perfection of some boulders remains mysterious …
“According to Maori legend, the boulders are gourds washed ashore from the great voyaging canoe Araiteuru when it was wrecked upon landfall in New Zealand hundreds of years ago.”
PROXIMITY
1 hour drive (75km) north of Dunedin up State Highway 1
Dunedin – Yellow eyed penguins colony
The yellow eyed penguin tour at Penguin Place is an absolute must and very fairly priced!
If you are in Dunedin, and are into nature, this tour is a must for more than an hour, you will have an exciting and enjoyable evening seeing one of the worlds endangered species.
This species breeds along the eastern and south-eastern coastlines of the South Island of New Zealand.
The yellow-eyed penguin is most easily identified by the band of pale yellow feathers surrounding its eyes and encircling the back of its head We saw 3 penguins on the beach, all of them came near to us (approximately 1 meter). They are absolutely amazing!
ADDRESS
45 Pakihau Road | Otago Peninsula, Dunedin 9077, New Zealand
website: https://penguinplace.co.nz/
Lake Marian hike
Lake Marian is an alpine lake at the southern end of the Darran. Mountains. The track starts by crossing the Hollyford River on a swing bridge before leading upstream alongside Marian Creek as it cascades over a series of small waterfalls.
We found ourselves walking through some dense forest towards the sound of rushing water. The temperature was 16 degrees, the perfect day for a hike!
A highlight of Fiordland National Park, this hike was the perfect activity to pair with our Milford Sound Cruise earlier that morning, next day.
Lake Marian – Fiordland National Park
Total distance: 6.75 km
Max Elevation : 725 m
Avg Pace: 17:20 /km
Milford Sound cruise
We arrived at Milford Sound in the evening, after the hike to Marian Lake. We decided to bought a half day cruise from here:
https://www.realjourneys.co.nz/en/experiences/cruises/milford-sound-scenic-cruises/ . It was 4 hours tour, snacks and water included.
It was one of the best experiences in New Zealand, an iconic place!
Fiordland’s weather is what gives the region its unique character. Rainfall is what makes Fiordland a land of lakes, rivers, streams, waterfalls and fiords. But our day was sunny, unexpected for that period. We have seen one penguin and a few seals sunbathing on rocks, also dolphins jumping on the water. You can also do kayaking
What is a sound?
A sound, on the other hand, is a river valley flooded by the sea following a rise in sea levels or depression of the land, or a combination of both.
Wanaka tree
A solitary tree has grown up all alone on Lake Wanaka, this is what we found when googled about Lake Wanaka. Let’s see this tree, we said!
Walking along the lake to find the lone tree is a beautiful sight. When you arrive, you’ll find beach access on the shore just a stone’s throw away from the tree, the perfect place to have a picnic and watch the sun set or rise.
PROXIMITY
Wanaka sits in the centre of the lower South Island and is on two of the three main South Island touring routes which pass such iconic places as Aoraki Mt Cook, Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers and Milford and Doubtful Sounds.
Roy’s Peak hike
After we saw the wanaka tree, we decided to camp near Roy’s Peak in order to walk in the morning to see the sunset from the top. Glendhu Bay Motor Camp is about 10 mins drive to Roy’s Peak parking. It is not expensive and is a quite place, near the lake.
The parking lot is free but isn’t very big so make sure to get there early so you don’t have issues with where to leave your car.
Roy’s Peak hike
Total distance: 12.19 km
Max Elevation : 1335 m
Avg Pace: 15:55
The hike is easy, it took 3.5h for us, but we stayed 30 mins at the top to admire the panoramic mountains view and the Lake Wanaka.
The view is gorgeous from the lookout!
It has got to be one of the most beautiful views in the world, and one of the most memorable I will see in my lifetime.
Know before you go:
- You need a wind block jacket because the wind will pick up close to the peak
- Please note that the track is closed for lambing in October every year
- Footwear: Trainers/ Hiking Boots
- Food and drinking water
- Head torch
- Communication device
PROXIMITY
The closest town to Roys Peak is Wanaka (6km) but you can also easily get there from Queenstown (68km)
Lots of Love and Happy travels !
Lately, I’ve had some time to reflect… and I’ve been feeling extra thankful for this trip! It can be considered a big chapter from our “TRAVEL BOOK”!
