Today’s post is the last recapping our recent trip to Australia and New Zealand. If you’re curious about our time in Sydney or on the North Island of New Zealand, you can find those posts here and here! Today I’m sharing about our time on New Zealand’s South Island — by FAR our favorite stops of the entire trip! We all agreed that if we were to do it over again, we would have spent the majority of our time on the South Island.
EVERYWHERE you go is just breathtaking — plain and simple. From the mountains to the waterfalls (and everything in between!) I am convinced that with every next curve on the South Island’s windy roads come yet another jaw-dropping scene. I can also say that the pictures below do NOT do justice to the landscapes we saw. You will just have to go see them for yourself! ; )
Queenstown
- Plain and simple, we fell in LOVE with Queenstown! It is a GREAT city to just walk around and hang out in. There are endless shops and restaurants. The city is on Lake Wakatipu and surrounded by mountains. It has a ski town “vibe” with lots of activity and incredible views.
- Our favorite eats in Queenstown:
- Taco Medic (my mouth is watering as I type)
- Madam Woo
- Muskets and Moonshine
- Cookie Time
- Perky’s Floating Bar (super cheap tap beer and totally a place the locals go — plus, you get to be on the water!)
- When going downtown, you can find free parking at the Queenstown Botanical Garden and on Park Street!
- We hiked the Tiki Trail to the top of the “mountain” where you can see amazing views of Queenstown! There is also an option to take the gondola!
Milford Sound
- A MUST! You have to go!!!! Absolutely AWEsome in every sense of the word!
- To avoid driving 8 hours in one day (4 hours each way) from Queenstown to Milford Sound, we broke up the trip into two days and stayed in Te Anu.
- We took the smaller Southern Discoveries cruise — called the Encounter Nature Boat — that left at 9 AM. I would highly recommend doing this timing, especially for travel : )
- On the way to Milford Sound from Te Anu, we stopped at the Mirror Lakes and the Chasm to see the sites and take photos! I would allot 30 extra minutes for this!
- After the 9 AM Milford Cruise, we hiked Key Summit in the afternoon. I would also highly recommend doing this! It is a great couple-hour hike with absolutely spectacular views!
Cookie Time & Taco Medic — both AMAZING!!! Thank goodness for vacation ; )
Isn’t the water color unbelievable?!?!
These views are from the top of Tiki Trail!
Stopping at Mirror Lakes on the way to Milford Sound!
This is on the way to see The Chasm!
The only way these photos will do Milford Sound *any* justice is to look for the boats in them at the base of the mountains! That will help show the scale of the fjord!
Waterfalls everywhere on a rainy day! (Perk of a rainy day!) This was just off the side of the road, believe it or not!
In his happy place : )
We didn’t bungee jump, but it is one of New Zealand’s most frequented activities! You can watch people do it, too ; )
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