We spent the second half of our trip on the South Island of New Zealand (if you missed the Auckland recap you can read it here). When I first visited New Zealand over 2 years ago, I didn’t make it down to the South Island so I was glad we had time to make it down here. It was insanely beautiful and we loved our time there. Here’s what we did:
1. Te Anau
Te Anau is about two hours from Queenstown and we stayed in a great Airbnb here so that we would be closer to Milford Sound. Te Anau is a cute little town right on a lake. Since we really only stayed here to be close to Milford Sound and make that drive a little easier, we didn’t expect much but were pleasantly surprised. There’s a lot of cool new housing being built and it sits right on Lake Te Anau. It’s small but beautiful and we had a really nice, relaxing time here.
2. Milford Sound
We got up crazy early and drove from Te Anau to Milford Sound. I posted about our experience on Instagram but basically I thought it was a let down. A handful of people agreed that there is so much hype surrounding it and it doesn’t really live up to it. It took about two hours for us to drive there and once we were there I kept asking Josh where Milford Sound was because I couldn’t quite believe that what we were looking at was it. We made the most of it and got coffee at Puipui Café before heading back. I think it’s probably a lot more impressive in the winter or spring when the mountains have snow and water flowing down them. I wouldn’t personally go back to Milford Sound but if you do choose to go it seems like you definitely need to do a tour to get the full experience. We didn’t know that so we didn’t book one but I think that would have changed my opinion on it. The drive itself is pretty though and there are tons of places to stop along the way. Here are some of the stops we did: Hobbit Movie Scene rest stop, Mirror Lakes, Cascade Creek/Lake Gun (45 min hike), Falls Creek waterfall, Gertris Valley Lookout and Chasm Viewing Bridge.
3. Queenstown
We flew in and out of Queenstown and absolutely loved it there. It surrounds Lake Wakatipu and there is a ton to do. The town itself is really cute with shops and restaurants and some cool new architecture being built. Our first day in Queenstown we booked a bike tour but it was pouring rain so we had to cancel. It looked really fun though and it took you to a bunch of wineries so check it out if you’re heading there. We stayed right on the water so we walked along the lake and had some really nice relaxing mornings here. Our favorite places to eat were Big Fig and Bespoke Kitchen.
4. Wanaka
We drove to Wanaka to see the Wanaka Tree which was really pretty. Then we checked out the Wanaka Lavender Farm and we both loved it! I thought we would stop in for 30 minutes or so but we ended up staying for several hours. It was so beautiful and peaceful – they have lavender fields, farm animals and a little café. There are tons of lavender products to buy too – we took home some lotions, oil, lavender honey and amazing tea.
We also found this really cool lookout on our way back to Queenstown which had an incredible view – it’s called Crown Range Road scenic lookout.
5. Glenorchy
On our third day we drove to Glenorchy to ride horses at High Country Horses. They have a bunch of different trail options but we chose the Trail to Isengard. If you’re a Lord of the Rings fan you’ll know what that is. If you’re like me, you’ll have no idea what’s going on. It was beautiful though. I didn’t take any pictures riding because I just wanted to relax and enjoy it but our guide snapped a couple of us. If you follow me on Instagram you might have read about my hilarious experience with my horse – you can check it out here in my highlights. After horseback riding we checked out Mrs. Wooly’s and the Wharf.
We had such an amazing time in New Zealand. After a 6 month deployment and such a crazy year, it was so nice to have a few weeks of uninterrupted time together exploring a new place. We would definitely go back!
