NEW ZEALAND
13-Days Itinerary - South Island
Part 2: Day 5 to Day 8
Hello fellow traveller!
New Zealand comprises two major landmasses – North Island and South Island. Over here we will be covering the most exciting parts of the South Island. New Zealand adds an adventure twist to nature. A country of stunning and diverse natural beauty: jagged mountains, rolling pasture land, steep fiords, pristine trout-filled lakes, raging rivers, scenic beaches
This will be Part 2 of the 3 posts that will bring around New Zealand South Island. We’ve created a custom google map and an excel file of all the places covered here. From there, you will able to see the duration it takes to travel from one location to the other. Of course, you can tweak the itineraries to your own preferences. Please request it in the “Contact” section and we will send it over to you.
Make sure to read this post: New Zealand (General Info) to get background of what to expect in New Zealand.
Day 5: Drive to Te Anau and Glow worm cave
Today, we will be leaving the lovely Queenstown and head towards the South for Te Anau. Te Anau is the perfect town to base yourself from to visit Milford Sound.
Devil’s staircase lookout point
Remember to stop by the Devil’s staircase lookout point for a photo opportunity of Lake Wakatipu.
Glow Worm Cave
The Glow Worm Cave tour begins with a cruise to the western shores of Lake Te Anau. Upon arrival at the cave, there will be a guide to bring you around the cave and deep in the cave you will be taken by a small boat to witness the amazing glittering display of the glow worms.
Te Anau Airbnb
Te Anau is the gateway to Fiordland National Park and Milford Sound. So take a stroll outside the Airbnb, head towards Lake Te Anau, which is just around the corner of the Airbnb. You will definitely love the calm atmosphere of this town.
Day 6: Key Summit Track and Milford Sound Cruise
Eglinton Valley
On the way to the Key Summit track, stop by Eglinton Valley for a short while to enjoy the view.
Key Summit Track
The Key Summit Track is a “low effort, high reward” hike. The whole journey up and down is only 3 hours and you get spectacular view throughout the whole hike, especially at the top.
Just park your car at The Divide carpark (as shown in the google map), follow the sign in photo 1. Even though it says Routeburn Track and you might read from other website that Routeburn Track takes about 3-4 days. Key Summit Track is actually just a small part of Routeburn Track. So follow the sign and you will walk through vegetation as seen in photo 2. After about 30mins, you will slowly emerge out of the vegetation and see mountain peaks and open view.
When you see the pond in photo 4, it will be another 30mins walk to the top, just follow the sign in photo 5.
Please see New Zealand (General Info) for what you need to prepare for hiking in NZ.
Milford Sound Cruise
The drive to Milford Sound itself the one of the most scenic drive in NZ. One of the most popular way to experience Milford Sound is taking the cruise ride. There are different cruise companies and duration to choose from. We went with the company called GoOrange and the 2 hrs cruise.
Day 7: Drive to Wanaka and Lavender Farm
Crown Range Road
Today we will be leaving the beautiful Te Anau and head toward Wanaka. We will pass by Queenstown again and going by the Crown Range Road to get to Wanaka.
Allow some time to stop at the lookout point which we pin on the google map to admire the road zigzags up to the Crown Terrace and from there you can look down to Arrowtown in the Arrow Valley, and across to the Remarkables Range.
Wanaka Lavender Farm
In NZ, you have to come and meet the farm animals. At the lavender farm, besides enjoying the fragrance of the lavender, you get to meet alpacas, sheeps, cow, chickens, mini ponies, pig and beehives.
Visit their website here. They have a nice gift shop which sells lavender infused beauty products and honey.
Wanaka Tree
Towards the sunset timing, head over to the famous #Thatwanakatree. There will be many tourists taking photo of this lonely tree. And you will soon realise why this spot is so instagram worthy. The backdrop of the wanaka lake is simply breathtaking.
Wanaka Airbnb
Our 3rd Airbnb, nice and cosy in the town of Wanaka. There is a hot tub outside the house where you can chill and enjoy a glass of wine.
Day 8: Roy’s Peak
We set aside one whole day for Roy’s Peak because it takes around 6-7 hours to hike this track. With that amount effort, you will be rewarded with spectacular views.
The hike starts at the sign in the first photo. The track is well treaded and easy to walk along, but always at a constant incline.
Around 3 hours into the hike, you will probably see people queuing up to take photo at viewpoint, as seen in the 3rd photo. We will not recommend queuing up, because it takes up time, depending on the queue.
So we will recommend continuing to hike up to the very top of Roy’s Peak, just follow the sign on the 4th photo. It will take another 30 mins. The 6th photo is the view that you will get at the top, it’s incredibly beautiful.
Head over to New Zealand (General Info) to get some ideas what to prepare for hiking in NZ.