South Island NZ is a smorgasbord of amazing food, wine, views and activities. There’s so much to do. Here’s a small sample to give you some ideas.
Helicopter flight over the Franz Josef glacier
It’s not the cheapest but it’s amazing. You have to be lucky with the weather is notoriously wet on the West Coast but we had an amazing flight. We flew with Glacier Country Helicopters.
Routeburn track
If you can get a space on a Great Walk, I’d definitely recommend it. We did the Routerburn track (more info here) and loved it despite the topsy turvey weather.
Marlborough Wineries
There are lots of options but we found some not super friendly and welcoming. Our favourite was Lawson’s Dry Hills Winery & Cellar Door.
Mount Cook
It’s a beautiful area, and there’s some great walks too (short and long). Be sure to stop at Mount Cook Alpine Salmon.
Marlborough Sound
The Snout Track is a lovely little walk that you can make into a loop. When the weather is nice the views are stunning, and we even saw a pod of dolphins.
Follow it up with some greenlip mussels and seafood chowder in Waikawa or Picton.
Abel Tasman Track
This is another great walk but unlike the others, it’s really easy to do sections. You can get a water taxi up and then walk down. It’s unlike any of the other great walks I’ve done, more of a gross between AU and NZ scenery.
We recommend staying locally somewhere like Riwaka or Motueka. Don’t miss out on the fresh fruit and veggies in the area, and absolutely do try the fresh fruit ice cream. There’s also an amazing little jam and chutney stall on the way into Riwaka which we loved.
Doubtful Sound
Everyone knows about Milford which is lovely (see below) but Doubtful was our highlight. It’s almost a full day affair. If you stay at Possum Lodge near Manapouri you can walk down to the boat too. As with everything in the area, the weather does play a role but even in the worst weather it will still be spectacular. The only option, at least when we booked, was with Real NZ and they did an awesome job: https://www.realnz.com/en/experiences/day-cruises/doubtful-sound-wilderness-cruises/
The Church pub in Manapouri is also a great spot for a pint.
Milford Sound
As we were doing the boat on Milford, we opted for the kayaks on Milfound by recommendation from a friend, and I’m very glad we did. We went with Rosco’s and did the sunriser classic kayak: https://www.roscosmilfordkayaks.com/
Arthur’s Pass
Arthur’s Pass is a small village and has some nice walks, but I personally wouldn’t rush back.
Wanaka
We really enjoyed Wanaka, and that’s lots of nice walks nearby too. We stayed at the Bothy Backpackers – the team here is really fantastic.
I really recommend stopping at the Cardona Hotel on your way between Queenstown and Wanaka. It’s a beautiful old pub, with great beer, coffee and snacks, plus beautiful gardens.
Otago Peninsula
Dunedin itself is nice and worth a wonder, but if you like wildlife, Otago Peninsula is absolutely worth a few days. Even if the weather is wild (like it was for us), it was beautiful. We stayed in a stunning little place called Settlers Cottage.
There’s a cheese shop on the way out of Dunedin that was excellent.
Whitestone Cheese Company
You can find their cheese in Woolies and New World, and they have a deli near Oamaru. It’s 100% worth picking up a piece. My favourite was their Shenley Station Blue. It has a great backstory too.
Oamaru
Oamaru is a little town on the East Coast, and worth a visit. It has some lovely old buildings and shops. It also has a blue penguin policy but please be careful and don’t get in their way while they try to get back to their nests. We saw a lot of that happening. They’re beautiful little creatures and you can join a tour in the evenings to watch them.