New Zealand- Road Trip from Christchurch to Queenstown

It was our first time visiting, and I am pretty sure it won’t be my last.

We spent nearly two weeks there in early May, and it is definitely one of the best seasons to visit. We got to see a beautiful mix of vibrant greens, autumn falls, and icy mountain peaks. Exploring all those different views on different days just kept us amazed. Unfortunately, our glacier helicopter hike and skydive got cancelled due to bad weather, but the endless views still delivered.

We went through Christchurch, Kaikoura, Tekapo, Mount Cook, Wanaka, Arrowtown, Te Anau, Milford Sound, and Queenstown. Here are my honest suggestions from the trip:

  1. Spend more time in Tekapo (but watch the moon phase): Never skip Tekapo, and be mindful to skip the full moon periods if you would like to see the awesome Milky Way. But the pretty full moon is still nice tho, you still get to see the stars, just a weaker Milky Way.
  2. Give yourself a glacier buffer day: Book your glacier hike in advance of everything else and try to spare a day. Just in case your tour gets cancelled, you still have a buffer day.
  3. Not the Wanaka tree but the Lake: The Wanaka Tree itself isn’t something special at all, but Lake Wanaka is still worth it. The trees by the side are special and worth spending time to explore.
  4. Arrowtown is a must in autumn: Never skip Arrowtown during Autumn. It is for real another level.
  5. Unpopular opinion on Milford Sound: I understand a lot of people recommend Milford Sound, but personally, I would suggest a skip. It takes up too much time and it is really weather-dependent. It didn’t impress me at all, so yeah, I would skip it and save time for other activities.
  6. If you want to do an extreme sport, just do it: If you want to do something like a skydive, bungee, or swing, just do it (as long as your health conditions allowed, be responsible to your own life!!) Otherwise, you will regret it like me, even though I have left NZ already for a month! Just keeps seeing those reels. Oh god, I really wanted to, but the weather and time just didn't allow it.

I know you might have different opinions with me, happy and open to any sharing, these things are just personal perspectives. If you got anything about my experience and trip that you would like to know, feel free to ask!

Some of my favorite captures from the South Island of New Zealand.

1-3: on the road, near to Arrowtown
4: on the road
5-6: Lake Wanaka
7: Peter’s Lookout, way to Mount Cook
8-10: nearby Lake Tekapo
11-13: Seal Colony at Kaikoura
14-16: whale watching cruise at Kaikoura
17-18: on the road, NZ locals, the sheeps
19-20: full moon at Kaikoura

Author: ysbusdl