A spring break full of South Island

By Maja Peach, University of Auckland, New Zealand

Away to the South Island we go!

As we are reaching the end of first semester, I thought I would reflect back on our spring break road trip back in August. A group of 10 of my friends decided to hire a van and embark on an adventure around the South Island. 

We started in Queenstown, joining UoA’s Study Abroad Society organised trip for the beginning part of our travels. Queenstown was absolutely stunning and resembles a little ski town with its impressive mountains and ski bars. There is a wonderful walk to the edge of the town through the Queenstown gardens which overlooks Lake Wakatipu surrounded by the Southern Alps. We had a fun few days exploring there, partaking in some crazy activities including skiing, luging and even bungee jumping the Nevis Bungee (over 130m!). 

After Queenstown we picked up a van for the 10 of us to drive to Milford Sound. We were able to explore the fiord (it’s not actually a sound as it was created from a glacier!) from kayaks, sailing around waterfalls and all the way across from one side to the other. This was one of the best experiences of the trip and some of the most stunning views I have ever seen!

The next few days of travel included hiking to see the Franz Joseph Glacier, swimming in the rain and exploring the cool pancake rocks and blowholes in Punakaiki. We spent a day in Nelson and then headed up to Picton. 

Picton is a beautiful seaside town filled with boats and trails. As soon as we arrived, a few of us borrowed bikes from our hostel and biked around the town as the sun was setting. This did mean I may have ended up falling off a cliff on my bike due to the dark and narrow path but it’s ok there was no major damage inflicted.

We spent the final day of our road trip in Christchurch ambling around the city and exploring the food markets. 

We dropped the van off the next day and flew back to Auckland after the two weeks of travelling.

The trip was definitely one of my highlights from my time here so far. Road tripping around is such a great way to explore New Zealand, being able to stop off in the van wherever for a spontaneous swim or to spot seals and penguins is the way to do it!

I am now in the process of planning my summer travels which will absolutely be involving lots more road trips and more adventuring so stay tuned!