Top 5 things to do in New Zealand

It has nearly been a year over here in New Zealand – so I thought it was time for a Top 5 things to do in New Zealand (after previously blogging about my Top 5 things to do on South Island) – although it could so easily have been a Top 10! I feel that having spent so long over here (as well as taking two prior trips here in 2006 and 2010) I can choose my ultimate 5 paid-for activities I would recommend doing in New Zealand. Obviously these are down to personal taste, and the weather also played a factor in our decision. I have also chosen different things to those in my Top 5 to do on South island – it was so hard to choose and any of those could easily have made this list!

1. Helicopter trip over Queenstown – with snow landing.

Helicopter trip over Queenstown

Snow landing

We took a scenic helicopter trip over Queenstown with Glacier Southern Lakes Helicopters to celebrate my 30th birthday recently (check out my previous blog post for more details). We chose the alpine scenic (flight 104) which included a snow landing and it was the most perfect choice! The scenery was completely and utterly stunning. We flew up with two other passengers over Arrowtown and Skippers Canyon and landed atop Mount Hyde. Here we spent time in the snow and it was great fun! The 360 degree views were just amazing.

Views from the helicopter

The weather was also just perfect – which we think made a real difference. There had recently been a fair amount of early snow in Queenstown (we went in early May) and this coupled with clear blue skies meant we had the best of both worlds – summer sun and skies with the winter snow! Our pilot was great and took some great photos of us while in the snow. On the journey back I was able to sit in the front seat so had the most wonderful view of Queenstown – as we took off and circled round with Queenstown below us – I also managed to take some great photos. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience and one we will never forget!

Details:

Cost: $310 per person – although we got a reduced rate of $199 each via a discount website called Book Me.

Times: Often throughout the day – depending on demand.

Activity time: 40 mins.

2. Milford Sound

Milford Sound

Mirror Lakes

We took an amazing boat trip (see my old blog post for more) out on Milford Sound with Mitre Peak Cruises. We chose this company because they used smaller boats than other bigger companies (such as Real Journeys etc.) so we could get a more personal and close-up experience.

One of the main reasons Milford Sound makes the Top 5 (as well as the brilliant boat trip) is the road to Milford. It really is one of the most scenic roads we have ever driven on! We were very lucky that the weather was clear and we had great views all the way along. There are loads of different stops on the way – our favourites being Mirror Lakes and Lake Gunn, and lots of places to pull in and take photos. It is also quite windy and steep and care needs to be taken. It was fun passing through the Homer Tunnel and the view that greets you the other side is beautiful. We loved driving the road, and definitely one of our favourite road trips from the year.

Out on Milford Sound

Back to the cruise itself – we much preferred being on a smaller boat. It also wasn’t full so we had space and could move around. We queued up early for the boat and so were able to get a seat up top outside which was great. We then spent about 2 hours out on the sound. We passed beautiful waterfalls (Bowen falls was our favourite) and saw wildlife such as seals. We went right up to the Tasman sea and then turned back into the sound. The scenery along the way – as we passed Mitre Peak itself – was just gorgeous. Another definite highlight of a wonderful year in NZ!

Details:

Cost: $80 per person.

Times: Up to 7 times a day in peak season.

Activity time: 2 hours.

3. Dart River Jet Boat in Glenorchy

Dart River Jet Safari

Me on the Dart River Jet Safari

Back in December we experienced an incredible trip on the Wilderness Safari with Dart River Jet Safaris – check out my blog post for more details about our trip. This was our first jet boat trip – and we had read so many amazing reviews about it being the best – so it was a great choice! The Wilderness safari is split into 3 main parts – the bus journey from Glenorchy through Paradise (where we can get out to take some photos) and learn all about the movies and adverts filmed in this area. The next part is a 30 minute guided walk through the beautiful forest. And finally the last part was the awesome jet boat ride!

On the jet boat

We were on the jet boat for about 1 hour 30 (so much longer than other jet boat companies), and our driver Simon was amazing! He was so careful negotiating the pretty dangerous river, and we always felt safe. It was such thrilling ride and we really did love every second. Some of our favourite parts were the 360 degree turns we did in the boat – we got a bit wet but it was great fun. Travelling along at speeds of up to 80kmph with the wind in our hair (gripping on tight!) was simply amazing and the whole trip was a fantastic experience.

Details:

Cost: $219 per person (they offer free transfers from Queenstown, although we drove ourselves to Glenorchy as its a stunning drive).

Times: 8am and 12pm (from Queenstown), and 9am and 1pm (from Glenorchy)

Activity time: 3 hours

4. Hobbiton

At Hobbiton

At Bag End

Definitely one for fans of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit (which of course we are!) but in our view no trip to New Zealand is complete without a trip to Hobbiton. We visited on a stunningly beautiful sunny day back in May (check out my detailed blog post about our trip) and the trip completely and utterly exceeded all of our expectations! The trip felt so real and authentic and not anywhere near as touristy as I was expecting! They have really sensitively planned the tours, to make the most of the location and to maximise the experience for guests. Our trip started with a old but quaint bus picking us up and driving down the gravel and windy road to start our tour at Hobbiton itself. Over the course of an hour or so we spent time exploring Hobbiton – accompanied by our awesome guide. We saw lots of hobbit holes (including Sam and Rosie’s and Bag End) and took endless awesome photos (see my blog for loads more!).

A pint in The Green Dragon

We also saw the famous ‘party tree’ and party area, as well as the bench where Gandalf and Bilbo have their smoke hoop competition. We really were walking exactly where the stars of the films had, and at every turn there was a sight you recognised from the films – amazing 🙂 The best part was to come with a visit to The Green Dragon to complete our trip. We enjoyed a lovely cold ginger beer by the fire, while we explored The Green Dragon inside and out – which had been incredibly well replicated. It really was the perfect end to the perfect trip and one we will always remember with excitement and fondness.

Details:

Cost: $75 per person.

Times: Tours run every half an hour starting at 9.30am and 4.30pm from the Shires Rest cafe – there are also various pick up options from Matamata and Rotorua.

Activity time: 1 hour 45 mins.

5. Heli-hike on Franz Josef Glacier

Hiking on Franz Josef Glacier in 2006

Us on Franz Josef glacier

This is the only one of the Top 5 not from our 2012/2013 trip – this was back in 2006 on our first trip to New Zealand. It really truly was one of the best things we have ever done, and still holds its own amongst so many amazing things we have done this time around. We took our trip with The Helicopter line who were amazing from start to finish. They were incredibly professional and our guide was fantastic – so knowledgeable and above all safe – we never felt any danger or risk whilst walking on the glacier.

Inside an ice cave

Our trip took us up to land on the Franz Josef glacier, and the journey up was spectacular! It was our first ever time in helicopter (we have been in them a further 3 times since!) and we loved every second! After landing on the glacier we hiked across it – using crampons attached to our shoes. We climbed through ice caves and spent lots of time exploring. The scenery was simply incredible and it was such a memorable trip.

Details:

Cost: $395 per person.

Times: Up to 2 or 3 times a day depending on season.

Activity time: 3 hours.

If you are planning a trip to New Zealand and would like help putting together an awesome itinerary (specialising in amazing off-the-beaten-track places) then feel free to take a look at my website – Blue Penguin Travel, check out some of my wonderful testimonials or drop me and email 🙂

Magical Milford Sound

Milford Sound

Days 2, 3 and 4: Milford Sound/Te Anau

What a busy – and amazing – few days it has been! The time has flown since our first evening in our Spaceship at the very beautiful Moke Lake.

At a beautiful beach on route

Day 2: Queenstown to Te Anau

We left Moke Lake in the morning – after doing a walk around part of the lake – it was very beautiful. We headed into Queenstown for lunch at PJs (another favourite of ours – who do yummy traditional British fish and chips), before setting off for Te Anau. With a few stops along the way including at Garston – NZ’s most inland village – we arrived in Te Anau early evening. We checked into our holiday park (for more details see below) and spent a nice evening here planning the days ahead.

On the road to Milford Sound

Day 3: Milford Sound

We awoke very early (after having an extra hour in bed due to the clocks going back), got ready using the excellent facilities, and set off on the road to Milford Sound in our wonderful Spaceship, Mysteron. I made a quick call to a lovely woman at Mitre Peak Cruises to check there were still spaces on the cruise we had planned to take with them (the 1.35pm) and she informed me there was. Our decision to go to Milford Sound today was partly due to the fact the weather was good and the forecast was also for continued good weather. Last time we had visited Milford Sound – back in 2006 – it was raining heavily with low visibly, and although we really enjoyed the trip we always said we would like to return in better weather. We also previously took that trip to Doubtful Sound (see my old blogpost from Oct for more info) in crazy rain and bad weather, so vowed if we ever did either sound again it would be in better weather. And we were so lucky as the weather was mostly clear blue skies and lots of sun – it was perfect!

Mirror Lakes

The drive down to Milford Sound is just amazing – it really is one of the best drives in the whole of New Zealand! You can drive it in between 2 and 2 and a half hours, but we took nearly 4 hours as there are so many great stops along the way. We visited Mirror Lakes to take some great photos of the reflections of the mountains in the lake and were very lucky the water was so calm. We also stopped at Lake Gunn to do the pretty nature walk there – and took some more photos.

Lake Gunn

We stopped at various places by the side of the road to take in the surrounding beauty, and to take yet more photos! I have taken a few with the spaceship in too – as it is pretty photogenic! The road is quite challenging and many opt to take one of the many coach tours, but we are very independent travellers and loved doing the drive ourselves. It is really a big part of the trip there for us – the scenery along the way is stunning. We headed through the Homer Tunnel – which was fun – and then down the windy zig zag road that takes you down to Milford Sound. We could have spent another few hours on the drive down (easily) but were happy with the stops we took.

Waiting for our boat trip

On arriving at Milford Sound we parked up and ate a quick lunch at the Blue Duck cafe before heading off to the ferry terminal. We took some great photos on the walk up there. We paid for and picked up our boarding passes for the cruise. We decided on taking a cruise with Mitre Peak Cruise – as in our opinion they are the best people to take a cruise with on Milford. The price was $80 per person and the cruise lasted 2 hours.

Out on Milford Sound

They are the same company we took our trip with back in 2006 and it was just as good – if not better – especially because the weather was so much clearer! The main reason for taking a trip with them is the smaller boats – we were on a boat with capacity of 75 but only had just over 30 people so we had loads of space to move around. We just really like the smaller boat trip experience and felt like we had more space to ourselves and could get closer to different parts of the sound. We experienced the ‘big boat’ of Real Journeys on Doubtful and just really prefer the smaller boat experience. We had a wonderful 2 hours out on the sound – with the bright sun shining down and the incredible scenery all around.

Cheeky kea!

After a really wonderful day we then took the drive back up to Te Anau. On the way back we stopped at ‘The Chasm’ where we took a short walk to see an impressive waterfall flowing underneath a bridge. We were also very excited to see a couple of kea in the car park – they especially liked climbing on the cars and took a real liking to ‘Mysteron’ – our Spaceship! I took a few pics of them standing on our spaceship. It was great to see them and they really are quite ‘cheeky’!

Kea meet Mysteron!

We had considered stopping at one of the DOC sites on the way, but after stopping at the toilets partway up the Milford road and being attacked by sandflies (despite using loads of repellant) we thought it would be better to go all the way back. We checked back in at the holiday park and fell asleep pretty early after a tiring day!

Day 4: Te Anau/Lake Mistletoe

We spent a relaxing day today – as my husband is still working for the next 3 weeks – he could catch up on some work. We also had a nice wander around Te Anau and took a drive up to Lake Mistletoe for a nice walk.

Tomorrow we are headed back to the Catlins region that we visited back in October last year and absolutely loved it – so can’t wait to do some more exploring there.

Where we stayed: Te Anau Lake View Holiday park – cost for a powered site is $38 and cabins start from $60. This is a great holiday park – very close to Te Anau town centre, with excellent facilities – including free unlimited hot and high pressured (and very clean) showers! We would definitely recommend staying here.

Where we spent time: Queenstown, Milford Sound, the Milford road, Te Anau

Where we are headed next: Catlins region

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