New Zealand- the majestic beauty of the South Island!

If you read my previous post about New Zealand’s North Island, then you know this is a continuation of that story. If you haven’t, please ready how this whole crazy adventure started by clicking here. After you are all caught up as to the why’s how’s and when’s of our big New Zealand RV Holiday, please check out our South Island adventures below- it was one wild and crazy ride!

Day 1 of the South Island:
After an early start to an uneventful but amazing crossing on the InterIslander Ferry in the Cook’s Strait from Wellington to Picton, we arrived around lunchtime ready to tackle what the South Island had to offer. Luckily, there was an ISite onboard which provided us with some valuable information and loads of brochures to take along. Over coffee and muffins we made a plan for our next couple days. Upon docking in the lovely and picturesque town of Picton, we grabbed a few groceries and stopped for lunch along the ferry docks at the lovely Cortado restaurant. We had a nice lunch and even witnessed crazy seagulls swooping in to grab a fellow diner’s lunch!

David also was amazing at finding our next holiday park. Just “up the road” from Picton around a windy road along the sound just 1km off of the famed Queen Charlotte Track, which I desperately wanted to hike part of. It took us about 30 minutes to get there, mainly because we drove slowly due to being in awe of the vistas (no pics I’m afraid…was too scared of crashing and too enamored with the sights). Anyway, a short while later we arrived at what would be our favorite holiday park of the entire journey! Smiths Farm Holiday Park was absolute perfection! Upon arrival, Mr. & Mrs. Smith presented us with a couple of homemade muffins along with a bag of feed for the pig, sheep, and goat…oh, and when they saw Ava they also offered their girls’ old backpack for hiking- love.this.place!! It was deserted, the landscape serene, and there was an amazing waterfall hike only 30 minutes away. We were hooked and couldn’t wait to get started! We hiked that afternoon and grilled again under the stars. So peaceful, so complete.

Day 2:
After waking to the sound of birds & farm animals, Ava enjoyed her morning bottle relaxing and then perched herself on her favorite spot while we got ready, and finally we set off for our long awaited hike along the Queen Charlotte Track. Obviously with Ava we knew we couldn’t go far so we started at Anakiwa and walked along until just past Davies Bay before turning back. What a wonderful day filled with sunshine, great conversation, and amazing vistas. All in all it took us about 2 hours, which was perfect as we were able to head back to Smiths’ Farm for lunch and a nap for Ava. After some relaxation, laundry, and sunshine, Ava awoke in time to feed the animals and enjoy her first swing session!! We finished the day grilling with an IPA and dinner with some wine. Aahh, absolute perfection.

Day 3:
Mrs. Smith was so very kind in helping us to settle on a wine tour that would accommodate Ava, her car seat, and all that we hoped to accomplish. As a result, we needed to get going bright an early in time to reach Blenheim (wine country’s ground zero town) in time for our noon pickup. We decided to stay in town at the Blenheim Holiday Park which was convenient and suited our needs of a place to lay our heads- a bit loud next to the road but again, did the basic job we needed. We decided on the Sounds Connection Marlborough Wine Tour and they did not disappoint! We were picked up promptly at noon for lunch. We joined about 4 other really lovely couples for the day in our “party bus”, and Ava and her car seat fit nicely in with us all- LOL ☺.

Marlborough Wine Country is absolutely breathtaking! Seriously I could have spent a week along here but since we just had a day and a half, we did our best to make the most of it. The wine tour started us at the gorgeous setting of Rock Ferry Wines. It’s a small organic winery with amazing food & wine pairings located in an old country house with a lovely courtyard. We loved our lunch and tasting and set out for our next stop- Forrest Wines. Forrest took us out to the vineyards and had us all taste some grapes before taking us back inside for some tastings. They even offered a corner with a bin full of baby and kid toys- what fun!! We stopped next at Nautilus Estate Tasting Room. Here we just adored their wines and even purchased a couple bottles to take away, along with some dark chocolate of course ☺. Our 4th stop found us at a nice little village of gift shops, coffee bar, and the Eradus Tasting Room. This winery is actually located in another town but their wines, especially their Sav Blac, was superb (we bought a bottle)! Our 5th and final stop was at Hunter’s Winery; such a gorgeous setting and offered some great views of their upcoming harvest. After leaving a bit light headed we thought we were heading back, but alas, they had one more stop…the Makana Confection shop….yes, toffee and chocolate after a day of wine tasting. Coincidence? I think not ☺! What a perfectly fun day- we cooked a quick dinner and passed out quite early I might add- hehe!

Day 4:
After some {strong} coffee I decided I wasn’t ready to leave just yet. I really wanted to see Cloudy Bay Winery and David and Ava obliged my request…. he even offered to drive down to our next destination to I could enjoy a tasting! We just love Cloudy Bay wines, its our fav of the whites…. and their tasting room did NOT disappoint us!! What a magnificent setting and even lovelier wines! We bought another couple bottles and enjoyed a nice flight while chatting with an American family we met who happens to live in Singapore! Perfect way to end our time in Marlborough County.

Our drive down the east coast to Kaikoura, our next stop, was simply breathtaking- a nice country scene gave way to a coastline that took our breath away- simply amazing! We thoroughly enjoyed our drive and stopped just short of town at Ohau Point for what we heard would be a nice little 15 minute hike off the coast to see a seal colony of pups frolicking in the pools of a waterfall, unbelievable! Such a fun afternoon filled with the joys of nature.

After looking at our options, we decided to stay just about 3 km south of Kaikoura at Peketa Beach holiday park. This was the only holiday park that was literally on the beach and was quiet and filled with the sound of crashing waves in the small little cove of Peketa that it was situated in- what a peaceful campground! We enjoyed a nice beach walk with Ava before settling in for the evening….you guessed it- grilling and drinking amazing wine!!

Day 5:
We were just giddy with excitement to explore Kaikoura and although we couldn’t go whale & dolphin watching (the main attraction of Kaikoura) nor diving due to Ava being so small, we did enjoy the small coastal town and all it offered. We found a nice little spot for breakfast in town before driving about 1km off the coast to a lavender farm I had read about- the Kaikoura Lavender Farm. I just love the smell of lavender and you can’t beat the many uses its good for. This farm did not disappoint, although due to the season, we did not see the lavender in all its glory, the setting was just breathtaking. We enjoyed walking around the gardens and their little gift shop was chock full of goodies to buy…and wouldn’t you know it- the farm was for sale- OMG!! David and I shared a knowing look and began asking questions. Now before you get excited, no we are not buying the farm…but we did spend the better part of the morning chatting with the owners about the possibility, asking about financials, and dreaming about a simple life in New Zealand…even if only for a bit. * sigh *

After driving back to the coast and finding a “world famous” BBQ seafood truck, we regained our strength over lunch before setting off on yet another hike- this one along the cliffs of Kaikoura with the pounding surf below us. Wow, what a perfect day.

 

Day 6:
A relaxing 36 hours at the coast and it was already time to say goodbye and head on to our next destination since we only had 2 days left, wait, I can’t think about that yet! ☹ We obviously had so much we wanted to see in the south island but as you can see, have just run out of time and have only seen 1/8 of it! Since we didn’t want to spend more than a couple hours a day in the car with Ava and because we wanted to take advantage of the fresh air as much as possible, we decided to head over the coastal mountain range to the quaint little town of Hanmer Springs, situated in between the mountain ranges, and known for its natural hot springs & plethora of hiking.

After checking in at the Hanmer Springs holiday park, we situated Ava in her Bob and took off in the great outdoors. There are a ton of different hiking options within Hanmer Springs- ranging from easy to difficult so since we both wanted a break from the “Ava backpack” (i.e. the ergo baby carrier), we chose hikes that would accommodate our off-roading stroller- LOL. We started in the foothills in the Hanmer Spring Forest Park, one of the country’s oldest exotic forests. It was beautiful- quiet, peaceful, and a perfect way to start our day of fun. This lead us to the start of the climb up to the Conical Hill Lookout– about a 5km hike there and back. It was steep at times but the vistas at the top were well worth the sweat- you could see all of the town below as well as every mountain top surrounding the valley!

We reached the finish line at you guessed it….beer thirty ☺. Back down in town we contemplated going in to the famous Hot Springs that Hanmer Springs is known for but honestly it kind of skeeved me out. I thought they were in their natural setting but it was a bunch of swimming pools basically. No thanks. Instead we walked up the street to Robbie’s Garden Bar for some apps and IPAs. After feeling good, we bought me some new shoes (fun!) and ordered a pizza to go and just relaxed back at the RV for our final night in the great outdoors! ☹

Day 7:
Our final day….so incredibly bittersweet! We packed up bright and early since, with a baby, that’s what you do- LOL, and headed out on to the wide open road once again. We were up early enough to see the most magnificent sunrise I have ever seen. Simply took our breath away so we had to stop and snap some pics before leaving, no captions needed.

We arrived into the greater Christchurch area just before lunch and headed out to one of their outer lying shipping terminals to cook some eggs overlooking the water. It wasn’t spectacular by any means but was a nice break before heading into the “city”. We had to drop our RV with Wilderness Motorhomes by 3pm so we decided to get a hotel (our flight was at 6am the following day) in downtown Christchurch as opposed to by the airport so we could see at least 1 city, even if it was an earthquake ravaged one. We chose the Novotel and it was perfect; they were so nice and it was smack dab in the middle of it all. David returned the RV and we set off for an afternoon exploring. We were absolutely floored and downright stunned by how decimated Christchurch still was, even 3 years after the horrendous quakes that took so many lives and just destroyed an entire city. We learned it was due to the foundation of the earth in the city center is just too unstable still and getting the funds to rebuild from literally scratch is just taking more time than you would think. They did make this super cool outdoor shopping mall built exclusively out of shipping containers (thus not in the ground) that is like their symbol of rebirth….pretty cool.

So that’s it- New Zealand’s South Island explored by your International Nabers! As you can see, we literally explored a tiny fraction of the famed south island. It’s such a bummer really- we didn’t get to the west coast at all- didn’t see Nelson in the northwest, Greymouth on the west coast, Arthur’s Pass in the middle of the national ranges, the great Queenstown down south, nor Invercargill on the edge of the Fiordland National Park. It’s sad because New Zealand is so far away, will we ever get back there? But hey, its fun to dream about it…our next NZ adventure. New Zealand is absolutely now at the top of our most favorite travel destinations ever. Its truly like being out in the country- the total population of the entire country is just over 4M people….so awesome to have such a gorgeous country to (what felt like) ourselves for a moment in time. The hands down the best way to see it all is by RV- its the most popular way to do it and everyone you meet on the road is in it with you….such a community of nature lovers :).

Wow, that was a long one…thanks for reading & for viewing our amazing pics (some not too bad for a novice photographer right?!).

Until next time, dream your next great outdoors adventure big~
Kimbra