After our incredible family trip in Fiji, the Nichols headed to New Zealand for a big adventure on the South Island. We flew to Christchurch before picking up a car to roadtrip our way to Queenstown. Ultimately we would embark on a bucket list adventure: the guided Milford Track! Will the Nichols survive another 2.5 weeks together in a car? Stay tuned!

CITY: Christchurch

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTs

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at this Airbnb. It was a great location (about a 5-10 min walk to the CBD) and the beds were super comfy. Unfortunately I had gotten sick at the end of our time in Fiji and was still recovering here, but this was a lovely place to be stuck in bed.

WHERE TO EAT:

Given I was still quite sick, I barely had energy to eat or leave the airbnb, but I did manage to get out for a meal at Riverside Market, a very cool food hall. It’s right on the Avon River, and it’s a great place for a drink, a treat, lunch, or dinner! Highly recommend a stop here.

WHAT TO DO:

Unfortunately being sick here meant I had no energy to do much here. The one thing I managed to drag myself out of bed for was some punting on the Avon! It’s a lovely way to pass some time in the afternoon. Enjoy a relaxing meander down the river. We had a beautiful sunny day & I was glad I got to do it. It’s also nice to just walk along the Avon River, which has beautiful green grass & trees to shade you.

The other thing I would recommend doing is checking out the Margaret Mahy playground. If it sounds weird to recommend a playground, hear me out. It’s a very cool all-ages, all-abilities playground that is truly worth seeing.

I headed back to the airbnb, but my parents & sister rode the cable car around the perimeter of town + also strolled through the Christchurch Botanical Gardens.

There’s also a gondola you can take to get some breathtaking panoramic views.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

While I wish I hadn’t been sick here and got to explore more, I still got very good vibes from Christchurch. Seemed like a very livable, approachable city.

CITY: Lake Tekapo

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

This was probably my favorite airbnb of the trip! We honestly just absolutely loved spending our evenings watching the sunset + playing cards with the huge sliding glass doors completely open to the outdoors. Magical! Also the sunsets being at 9:30pm is something I could get used to.

WHERE TO EAT:

We ate at the airbnb mostly while here. Lake Tekapo is fairly small, but there are a few restaurants right next to the lake as well as some coffee shops.

WHAT TO DO:

We did three main activities while here:

Hiking to Mt. Cook – Hooker Valley Trail. This was incredible! No permit required, we just parked and started the ~7 mile out & back trail. We got very lucky and got views of Mt. Cook the entire time. Often clouds can obscure its visibility.

Tekapo Springs – We thought this would be more serene, natural, and relaxing. In reality, it’s more like a kids waterpark. We wouldn’t recommend it.

Hiking Mount John Summit- We hiked this loop right before going to the Tekapo Springs as you can park in the same place. Gorgeous views of the lake from the top- highly recommend!

Unfortunately we missed doing the Dark Sky Project – guided star gazing. We honestly thought it might hokey, but in all honestly I think we regret skipping it. Although, just “normal” star gazing from the airbnb was spectacular!

Also, just walking along the lake is beautiful. There were nice pathways along the lakefront with some art installations.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

While the actual town is quite small, we just loved sitting at our airbnb in the evenings (with the late, late sunsets) and watching the world go by. The views are stunning and the pace is so lovely & slow. The color of the lake is such a cool shade of blue. The mountains are gorgeous, and it’s nice that Mt. Cook is only an hour away. I would’ve happily stayed here a week, honestly. I really, really enjoyed our time here.

CITY: Wanaka

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

This was our Airbnb. While the airbnb itself was nice, it was too far to be able to walk into town, which was a bummer. Highly recommend prioritizing access to downtown Wanaka in whatever accommodation you book while visiting here. The highlight of the airbnb was the big tub outside on the patio. We all loved this for an evening soak, especially my mom & sister after they went horseback riding!

WHERE TO EAT:

Our favorite restaurant was Francesca’s. Very yummy Italian food. This place books up so make a reservation or plan to get it to go and eat by the water!

Brunch at Federal Diner is a must in Wanaka! My dad raved about the Comfort Kedgeree. Ellie & I loved “The Fix”: House made banana bread with Fix & Fogg chocolate & peanut butter 🙂

We also loved eating at the Brownston Street Food Truck market. They had probably over 10 different food trucks, all with yummy food! Something for everyone 🙂

WHAT TO DO:

My mom & sister went horseback riding and absolutely loved about it (it’s just not my thing so I skipped it).

I loved reading my book on the beach by the lake. I also took myself to a movie at the classic old Paradiso Theater. There are only three screens and some of the seating is cool, funky couches.

The highlight of our time in Wanaka was the 40km electric bike ride we did along the Dunstan Trail. From the website: The Lake Dunstan Trail is the 23rd and newest trail in the Ngā Haerenga Great Rides of New Zealand network and links the townships of Clyde and Cromwell. It was so much fun, but we were all very sore the next day! The trail ended near a winery so we took a much needed break for a lovely snack & drink in a beautiful setting, before returning to Wanaka.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I just love Wanaka. I would live here in a heartbeat. My parents thought the same. I think they are ready to spend a few months here sometime in the future! This is a must do stop on any NZ South Island itinerary!

CITY: Queenstown

HOW LONG: 4 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed in Queenstown one night before we left for the Milford Track and three nights upon our return. Honestly neither of the accommodations were note-worthy. Queenstown can be expensive and it can be hilly so I recommend booking early and looking for a place very close to the center of town so you are not huffing & puffing up the hill to your stay.

WHERE TO EAT:

Fergburger! Need I say more? The most famous burger joint in the world 🙂

We had a more fancy dinner at The Grille, which had excellent service and very yummy food.

I returned to my favorite brunch spot I ate at on my 2019 trip: Vudu Cafe

I loved going to CookieTime for a cookie dough milkshake! Although at this point I have mastered my own recipe for cookie dough, which I think is way better…. haha

Our favorite meal was at Bella Cucina our last night together. It’s very popular so get a reservation 🙂 The food was mouthwateringly delicious. It made our last evening together quite lovely. We loved reminiscing over this incredible trip over yummy food & great drinks.

WHAT TO DO:

I don’t even know where to start! There is literally so much to do in Queenstown, but make sure to bring your wallet hehe.

Here’s a (non-exhaustive) list of things to do (bold are the ones we did):

• Luging
• Bungy Jumping (there are a few places, but I’d recommend Nevis because it’s the biggest! If you are only doing it once, might as well go big)
• Canyon Swing & Catapult (also at Nevis)
• Hiking
• Shotover Jet
• Canyoning
• Day trip to Milford Sound
• Day trip to Arrowtown
• Paragliding – wish I had done this – would’ve been amazing views on a sunny day
• Swimming in the lake
• Bike around the lake
• Mountain biking
• Skydiving

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

Obviously I love Queenstown! It’s one of my favorite places in the world and I was very happy to spend another 3 days here. It’s very easy to fill your time in Queenstown and I love that there’s such a variety of activities between just enjoying the vibe of the town, shopping, eating yummy food, getting your adrenaline up, soaking up the lake views, & experiencing the nature. Can’t go wrong here! Would happily return here for a third visit anytime.

CITY: Milford Track

HOW LONG: 5 day/4 NIGHT adventure

You can either do the Milford Track on your own (thru hikers) which means you carry your tent, sleeping bag, & food, or you can pay a pretty penny to do a guided tour with Ultimate Hikes. They are the only company that you can do the guided hike with and it sells out as this is very popular so book ahead. This is a bucket list item for a lot of people, including my Dad!

The Milford Track is one of the “Great Walks” of New Zealand & you walk 54km (33.5 miles) through the heart Fiordland National Park and you end in the gorgeous Milford Sound.

ACCOMMODATION:

You stay in private lodges all four nights and they were all lovely. Each had everything you needed (even if it was fairly basic), but the views were always incredible. Also they all had fabulous common areas to hang with the other hikers in your group, play cards, stretch, & rest after the hard day’s hiking. I have nothing bad to say about the lodges. It’s pretty incredible how pleasant they are when they are literally located in the middle of nowhere and are only accessible by helicopter or by foot.

WHERE TO EAT:

LOL not much choice along this track 😉 But I cannot emphasize how incredible the food is along the trip. I am amazed at the freshness & quality of each meal (although lunch is build your own wrap or sandwich, but I am not complaining). Dinner each night had a few courses and you go to choose from a few options for your main course. I am not exaggerating when I say it was some of the best food we had on our trip,, which again is incredible when all the food has to be helicoptered in.

WHAT TO DO:

Hike 🙂 Here’s the official itinerary. The first day is pretty easy (1 mile). The second and fourth day are medium (10 & 13 miles, but fairly low elevation change). The third day is by far the hardest (9 miles, but you go up and over the pass). It’s the longest day and it’s hard on your knees. But it was also my favorite day as we had gotten rain the night before, so we were treated to hundreds of small & large waterfalls coming down the mountains and into the valley’s. It was so, so magical.

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

This was truly a top 3 moment of my trip so far, and that’s saying something given I’ve been traveling for 7 months and NZ was my 21st country of the trip. I’ve done tons of cool stuff, but the combination of being in the mountains (my favorite), the hundreds of waterfalls, being with my family, and meeting tons of new people, just made this such a special experience! While it’s not cheap (thanks Mom & Dad!!), I can highly recommend this trip if you like hiking in gorgeous nature. You won’t regret it.

Trip Summary

I can’t even truly put into words how much fun this trip was! How often do you get to go on a family vacation with your core family, but everyone is an adult? I loved all our deep conversations, learning more about one another, and even the tears 🙂 I mean would it be a Nichols family trip without some tears shed by me & Ellie haha. But, to be fair, we made a bet at the beginning of the trip on how many tears there would be, and it ended up being less than we expected – so not too shabby!! I can’t believe I got so lucky with my family ❤