South Island

New Zealand is divided into two major islands. Thus far I have only been on the North Island. A the end of March, March 27th be exact, I took the ferry to Picton, the South Island. The ferry ride was spectacular. It was a nice, sunny day. The water was an amazing blue and the green of the small hills was great. I simply loved the landscape.

Picton

I stayed in Picton for one day. There is not much to do in Picton, and while I was there it was just raining, so I couldn't do anything. The hostel was quite cozy, though. I met some cool people in the hostel and ran into familiar faces, too. So I did have a good time there.

Kaikoura

My next stop was Kaikoura. On the way there, I saw some seals on beaches along the road. The first wild seals I ever saw! Kaikoura is a small town right by the ocean. There is not much to do, but it is a nice place to stay for a day or two. I liked the contrast of the ocean on one side and almost 3000m mountains, with snow on the top, on the other.

Dunedin

After two days in Kaikoura, I took the bus to Dunedin. Dunedin is a student town, also right by the ocean. It is quite a cool city. The architecture here is a bit different from other cities. I took the bus to the Otago Peninsula on my first day to see some Royal Albatrosses. That was very special. I got to see some Albatross babies, and one parent had just come back to feed their child, so we got to see it feeding its baby with its beak. I've never seen something like that so close and in the wild. I learned a lot about Albatrosses and I have to say, they are quite amazing birds. Also, the colony I saw is the only colony of Royal Albatrosses in the southern hemisphere! There was a little pathway down to the beach, where I saw some more seals.

On my second day, I went to Baldwin Street, which is the steepest street in the world. And yes, it is quite steep. They even needed stairs for pedestrians to walk, because it was too steep otherwise. It is hard to capture in photos. The slope is an average of 30% with a maximum of 35%. Later that day I met up with a friend I had met previously in Tauranga, and we went with some of her friends back to the Royal Albatross Center, this time to see penguins! All the penguins are out at sea for the day but come back for the night. We waited at dawn. Three penguins came up a little path to their nests. That was very special. They were blue penguins, which are the smallest species of penguins in the world! They are so tiny and cute! Unfortunately, we only saw three other penguins from afar. But seeing at least a few penguins out in the wild was still cool (videos are in the gallery).

The hostel I stayed at in Dunedin was probably the worst so far. I arrived pretty late on my first day, so reception was closed and I didn't see anybody working there. They did leave a note with my room number and all the necessary information. When I looked in my room and found my bed, I saw that there was no blanket on my bed. Now, the south island is quite cold compared to the north island. Especially now, that fall has started. It was around 10°C at night. I had to sleep with a small blanket I had with me but was freezing throughout the night and didn't get much sleep. Thankfully, I did get a full refund for that night. The person sleeping in the bunk under me kept moaning whenever he turned around. At 5 am said person's alarm rang, which he snoozed twice. Eventually, he got up constantly cussing, and got ready for work. The whole hostel was quite dirty, run-down, and old. It also wasn't a typical backpacker hostel. There were some other backpackers, but also a lot of strange people I would usually avoid. Needless to say, I spent as little time as possible in that hostel and was quite happy when my time there was over.

Queenstown

My next destination was Queenstown. Queenstown is a town with a big lake, surrounded by mountains. It is one of the best places to stay if you want to go skiing or other kinds of winter sports. Everybody praises Queenstown and a lot of people want to spend the whole winter there. I was expecting it to be one of the most beautiful places in New Zealand. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. Yes, it is nicely situated at the lake and in between the mountains. But to be honest the Alps are way more spectacular. The water looked nice and crystal clear, I have to give it that. The town is overrun by tourists. Almost every shop offers some spectacular attractions for tourists. It was way too touristy for my taste. Anyways, I made the best of it.

On my first day, I went to the lakeside and had breakfast there. Next, I went up the gondola to one of the nearest mountains. The view was nice.

The next day I was sick, unfortunately, so I didn't get to do anything. I didn't want to do too much right after I was sick, so I relaxed the next day. I just went to the lakeside again and enjoyed the view.

On my last day there, I took a tour of Mofford Sound. Milford Sound is a fiord. It was a 5 hour's drive to get there. On the way, we stopped on several occasions to look at some lakes and mountains. The only annoying thing was, that the driver would constantly talk. I kid you not, on the whole drive, he talked the whole time, except for one hour. I was so relieved when we finally arrived at Milford Sound. There, we took a boat. Milford Sound is surrounded by Mountains, with glaciers on top. When the snow on the mountains melts or it rains a lot of waterfalls appear, making Milford Sound so spectacular. The smallest mountain is 300m, and the tallest is around 3000m. It was quite special to see so many mountains, glaciers, and waterfalls while being on a ship essentially in the ocean.

The next day I was supposed to take a bus toward Fox Glacier. I checked the time the evening before and set my alarm accordingly. However, when I arrived at the bus stop I found out that the bus had left 30min prior. The tour suddenly disappeared from my app and I couldn't find it in my emails, although I had seen it the day before in my app. Anyways. I looked at the other options. Unfortunately, no other bus would leave that day and the cheapest accommodation for that night was 300$ (=200Euro). I decided to take a flight to Wellington instead. I had seen so many glaciers the day before and other than two big glaciers the west coast doesn't have that much to offer, so I was fine with cutting my trip on the South Island short. Also, I wasn't feeling that good throughout my time on the south island. I don't know what it was exactly. But all that made me rather happy to return to Wellington, a city I loved so much.

With that, my time on the South Island came to a sudden end. According to the majority of people, the South Island is supposed to be way prettier than the North Island and one should be careful not to waste too much time on the North Island. I have to say I disagree with that. I find the North Island to be way more beautiful with its amazing beaches and lush forests. I am still glad I went to the South Island. Seeing the wildlife I would have never seen otherwise was especially great. I am very happy to be back on the North Island, though, and I look forward to seeing what else awaits me here.