Two Week New Zealand Family Roadtrip

March 12, 2024March 12, 2024Leave a comment

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.

At the trailhead – we had no idea what we were in for 🙂

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 ❤

How did I get the best, kindest, cutest parents in the world:) So grateful for them & making this dream trip happen ❤

South Island, New Zealand

January 10, 2020Leave a comment

CITY: Picton

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

I stayed at the Piwaka Lodge and Backpackers. At first, I was a little underwhelmed by the facilities, but I ended up loving this little spot because of the hospitality by it’s owner, Nicci. When I was cold at night, she provided extra blankets and a hot water bottle (this my favorite invention btw- not sure why we don’t have these in California). She also provided breakfast and dinner each night (FOR FREE). It was also one of the more deluxe free hostel breakfasts I have had, complete with toast, cereal, and a delicious homemade porridge with fruit in it. Delicious! Nicci was also very helpful in planning my time in Picton. At her recommendation I did a day trip to an island sanctuary and did a hike through part of the Queen Charlotte track. Overall, I would highly recommend staying her.

Where to Eat:

Given Nicci provided breakfast and dinner, and I packed a lunch for my hike, no recommendations for where to eat here.

What to Do:

Like a lot of New Zealand, the best things to do here involve hiking or boats. The afternoon I arrived I did a 2 hour hike to the Snout. It was a great way to stretch my legs after the 4 hour ferry from Wellington.

The best thing to do here is the Queen Charlotte Trail through the Marlborough Sounds. Given I did not have my backpacking gear or 5 days to spare, I obviously couldn’t complete the whole track. However, Nicci recommended a day trip that allowed me to do about 15km of the trek, which was perfect! This was definitely one of the highlights of my time in New Zealand. The views were unbelievable and there weren’t too many people around. It was peaceful to meander through the Marlborough Sounds and I met three Irish women who I became friends with (and met up with twice more in the South Island).

Overall Thoughts:

Picton was such a fun stop for me! I ran into a girl I met at the hostel I stayed at in Auckland and we grabbed a drink. I met the three Irish ladies who I couldn’t wait to hang out with again. The day hike was magical. I loved my hostel and the cute town of Picton. Also, because the Kiwi Experience doesn’t stop here for a night it provided a break from the experience which was nice. Definitely recommend a stop here to spend time in the Marlborough Sounds!

CITY: Kaiteriteri (Abel Tasman)

HOW LONG: 3 NIGHTS

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at the Kaiteri Lodge and it was not the worst, but not the best. You have to pay for wifi and you have to put a deposit down for silverware (which you get back when you check out). It just didn’t give the place warm, fuzzy vibes. However, there was a restaurant/bar and a smoothie food truck in the same lot so access to food was great. Kaiteriteri is small so there aren’t too many options for accommodation. As such, this isn’t a bad choice.

Where to Eat:

My favorite meal here was my smoothie bowl from The Mermaid’s Beach House (next to the hostel). So yummy and nice to have something healthy!

I also got a burger from Gone Burgers, which was pretty delicious and fairly reasonably priced.

What to do:

The two great things to do here is hike through Abel Tasman National Park and kayak around the outskirt of the national park.

The kayaking brought us to two different islands where we saw waterfalls, sea lions, black sand beaches, and had a picnic lunch (which you need to bring, unless you pre-pay for a lunch with them). It was beautiful to get a taste of the national park.

Overall Thoughts:

This was a cool, low-key stop along the Kiwi Experience route. Very small town with a few restaurants, but I enjoyed this lazy spot. The kayaking was stunning and definitely a highlight. This is also where I met a whole new group of people on my bus, which I would become good friends with and travel the rest of New Zealand with 🙂

CITY: Westport

HOW LONG: 1 NIGHT

ACCOMMODATION:

We stayed at Bazil’s hostel, which was a quirky, homey hostel. We only stayed one night so we didn’t get too acquainted with the hostel, but the kitchen was well equipped and they had a nice common room with a large tv that some people used for a movie night. If for some reason you end up in Westport, don’t hesitate to book here.

Where to eat:

We were literally here for less than 18 hours so we only cooked in the hostel and did not eat out.

What to do:

Westport seemed like a bit of a random stop along the west coast so there is not necessarily a reason to stop here, other than potentially to break up the drive along the west coast (?). The one activity offered to us on the Kiwi Experience was a surf lesson. I opted out as I wanted to save surf lessons for an area with warm water (Australia, Bali, etc).

CITY: Lake Mahinapua

HOW LONG: 1 NIGHT

ACCOMMODATION:

As legend has it, the Kiwi Experience bus broke down and got stranded about 20 years ago near the Lake Mahinapua Hotel. The hotel was nice enough to take them in and now the bus stops here on every route. Once again, I think this is just another spot to break up the time down the west coast to Franz Josef glacier, but it’s a nice spot. The beach is about a 5 min walk and there is a pretty lake about a 10 min walk away. There is no wifi, but there are hot tubs! It’s a flat $55, but that included dinner, breakfast, and your room as there is no kitchen.

Where to eat:

You are treated to a yummy dinner and a lovely breakfast buffet in the morning at the hotel.

What to do:

The main activity is a fancy dress/costume party the night we stay here. The theme when I went was dressing up as something that started with the first letter of your name. As such, I went as a marathon runner (aka wore what I wear everyday while traveling haha). It was a fun night, but I would have loved for there to be more drinking games so it was more social and you got to know everyone. Instead it was just very loud music so all you could do was dance.

The morning after I did go for a lovely run near the lake through some trails so that was great!

Also, I did not participate in this, but you could carve your own piece of jade jewelry here.

Overall thoughts:

There is no reason to stop here unless you are on Kiwi Experience, and this definitely wasn’t my favorite stop, but I did enjoy the hot tub and walking to the lake.

CITY: Franz Josef

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTs

Accommodation:

Rainforest Retreat was one of my favorite places we stayed in New Zealand. The whole place felt like a rustic lodge. There’s a hot tub and sauna. The restaurant had fireplaces and it felt like the perfect place to cozy up for some hot chocolate or ciders. The kitchen was very functional and the wifi worked fairly well (for NZ standards). While we stayed in dorm-style rooms, they also have private rooms and bungalows as well as camping spots. If you plan on stopping in Franz Josef to see the glacier, then definitely stay here.

The restaurant where we had all you can eat pizzas

Where to eat:

We ate at the restaurant at the retreat as they offered an all you can eat pizza night and who can turn that down? There were some cool looking restaurants around town so have a wander and see what tickles your fancy!

What to do:

Almost everything around this town centers on the glacier. You can walk on it, take a helicopter over it, ride snowmobiles, climb it. In the interest of budgeting my money, I chose to just do a hike to the foot of the glacier for a small peek of it. I wish I had the money to do the heli tour, but alas we can’t get everything we want 🙂 Side note: It’s pretty devastating to see how much the glacier has melted in the past 100 years #climatechangeisreal

Overall thoughts:

I could have stayed here one more day. I enjoyed the hike and the lodge and the pretty valley it was located in.

CITY: Wanaka

HOW LONG: 2 NIGHTs

Accommodation:

We stayed at Base and unless you are on Kiwi Experience, I would recommend staying elsewhere. The wifi was bad, the kitchen was gross, and there are definitely better places to stay. It’s also a dry hostel. The location was close to the water though so that’s a plus.

Where to eat:

My favorite place to eat was the crepe shack, Charlie Brown Crepes, right next to the Base hostel. I went twice I liked it so much. I also had a delicious hot chocolate from them.

I had a decadent ice cream from Patagonia chocolate after hiking all morning.

What to do:

One of the most famous spots in Wanaka is the Wanaka Tree, which is a tree that is growing out of the lake. It’s about a 15 min walk from town around the lake. The lake was a bit flooded while we were there so my friends and I agreed it didn’t look particularly cool, but normally it’s beautiful.

The highlight in Wanaka for me was the hike to Roy’s Peak. While some of my friends did it for sunrise, I am not a morning person, but they said it was amazing. I left with some other friends at around 8am to beat the afternoon sun. It took us about 2.75 hours to get to the top and about 2.25 hours to get down, including some breaks for water, rest and food. There aren’t restrooms once you leave the bottom so keep that in mind. Don’t forget snacks, water and sunscreen! This was definitely a hard hike as it’s mostly straight up to the peak and the obviously straight down to the bottom.

Another fun thing to do here is go for a ride on a boat on Lake Wanaka. I chose not to go for budget reasons, but my friends who went really enjoyed it!

Overall thoughts:

This is a beautiful, sleepy, relaxing spot in New Zealand. I love a cute town on a lake! I easily could have stayed here longer.

CITY: Queenstown

HOW LONG: 12 NIGHTs

Accommodation:

We stayed at Nomads in Queenstown. It is in a great location, right in the middle of town so close to all the bars and next to the lake. You can’t beat the location. The kitchen was most everything you needed, but it could get crowded at peak cooking times. The “free breakfast” consisted of toast and jam so I wouldn’t rely on that. The wifi is quite unreliable and kicks you off constantly. Plenty of showers and bathrooms, which is good as it’s a decently sized hostel, but it wasn’t always super clean. Rooms didn’t have lockers so make sure to have a lock for your bag itself. I would recommend staying at one of the other cool hostels in town (and there are many), however, if you are on a tight budget, this hostel will do the trick.

Where to eat:

Queenstown has so many fun spots to try. A few highlights were:

Fergberger– If you are traveling in New Zealand and haven’t heard of Fergberger then you must not have spoken to one other traveler. There is always a line out the door and once you have a burger, you understand why. My advice: don’t be afraid to go a couple of times, whether you take it to go and sit by the water at sunset or if you go late at night after a night out and try a few different burgers (they are all good). I didn’t love the fries, but that might just be personal preference as I like shoestring fries.

Ferbakery– This is right next to the famed Fergburger and has delicious sandwiches and ice cream!

Cookietime– What a dream for me: mixing cookie dough and ice cream! I went a few times to try different menu items and ultimately tried the cookie dough milkshake, chocolate chip cookies and the double chocolate vanilla milkshake. My favorite was definitely the cookie dough milkshake but they were all delicious!

Cannot have too many cookie dough milkshakes 🙂

World Bar– This is a great bar for bar hopping in the evening, but I also really, really liked the burger and fries I got here!

The Boat Shed– While biking around the lake we stopped here for a quick snack. It’s a really quaint spot and cutely decorated.

Vudu Cafe & Larder– This is the cutest spot for some delicious, healthy, inventive meals. I went twice!

Devil Burger– Another great burger stop and as a bonus the line is shorter than at Fergburger.

The Bathhouse– This is a cute little spot for some pastries and a coffee in the morning. Grab a spot outside and just enjoy the view of the lake. I had a great banana bread and hot chocolate here.

Little Blackwood– This is a slightly nicer bar right on the water. A bit on the smaller size, but it had delicious drinks.

What to do:

MM OH MY there is a lot to do in Queenstown so it really comes down to the time you have, the $$$ you can blow, and what you enjoy doing.

For the hikers, there is Queenstown hill and Ben Lomond. There are plenty of other hikes if you have a car and get yourself out of Queenstown itself.

You can take a day trip to Milford Sound.

For the adrenalie junkies, there are no shortage of options for bungy jumping, catapolts, swings, and skydiving. You can also canyon down a river and speed along a river in a speedboat. You can mountain bike and race around the lake in a tiny shark-like contraption.

You can enjoy a leaisurely walk through the gardens or the path around the lake. You can take a cruise through the lake or enjoy a glass of wine at one the many bars right on the water.

For the partiers, you better believe every night feels like a Saturday night here and the bars are happening. Every 20 feet there is a cool bar to check out that probably has a happy hour going on, including an ice bar.

If you are here during the winter, then ski at one of the 5 ski resorts nearby.

It is very easy to fill your time with activities and empty your pcokets while in Queenstown. ENJOY!

Overall thoughts:

Queenstown was by far my favorite place in New Zealand. I could spend a month here; in fact, I could spend a year here working on a working holiday visa.

Please allot appropriate time here in Queenstown on your trip to the South Island. It is such a fun spot to hang for a few days.