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New Zealand South Island Bucket List Activities
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items We spent two weeks road tripping New Zealand’s South Island and these are my highlights! I’d go back and do all of these things again in a heartbeat. 🥝
Map
Absolutely 10/10 activity! We only got to do the glacier experience (helicopter trip to stand on the glacier, get some pics etc) which was amazing but they also do heli-hikes where you hike on the glacier for a few hours which I will do one day becau...
Franz Josef Glacier Helicopter Experience
We booked with Mitre Peak Cruises and it was phenomenal 🫶🏼 This is a smaller company, with smaller boats so it’s less crowded and the boats can get in closer to the waterfalls than some of the larger ships can!
Milford Sound Cruise
Soaking in a hot tub, while looking over snow capped mountains, sipping on local wine and eating some chocolate - do I even need to continue? 😍
Onsen Hot Pools
The best pasta I’ve ever eaten! Made even better by the lovely staff. We enjoyed it so much that we also visited one of their other locations in Wānaka. If you like Italian food, this is a must visit!
Farelli's by Giovi
All of the stickers I got are the brand Love Thy Land NZ which is a small business who create beautiful artworks of different areas. Highly recommend 🙌🏻
Buying souvenir stickers at every visitor centre
If you like beautiful scenery, roadside waterfall stops and insanely blue water holes, you’ll love this drive! There’s so many places to stop off along the way.
Road trip the Haast Passt
This food was so delicious I can’t stop thinking about it. I had the calamari with peanut and chilli (sounds weird but trust me it was incredible). I’d eat here regularly if we were locals. Also quite reasonably priced.
Enjoy lunch at Bendix Stables in Arrowtown
Whether it’s in the designated dark sky reserve or anywhere else in NZ, the stars are like nothing I’ve ever seen before! 😍 also being so far south, we also got a really good show of the Aurora Australis so keep your eyes (and cameras) out for that!
Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve: the world's best stargazing ✨
A place where all the photos look edited but they actually aren’t. I could spend days here just admiring the view. Make sure to visit late November/Dec to see the lupins in flower.
Visit Lake Tekapo
Hands down my favourite hike ever! We did this hike in the snow and it was incredible. Would love to go back and do it during summer to be able to have a swim. Make sure you’re carrying a map, especially in the snow.
Hike to Lake Alta in the Remarkables