Archives for January 2023

In October of 2021, while at the First Descents‘ annual gala, I soberly (I was in the middle of regrowing my liver and not allowed to drink) bid on a package for six to New Zealand. I knew very little about New Zealand except that they speak English, are close-ish to Australia, and a very long flight from the U.S. It wasn’t on my radar (or my husband’s) as a place to visit. We woke up the next morning and Nick asked, “What did you do?”

To be honest, planning the vacation ended up being a bit stressful. We were coming off of the pandemic and the place we purchased the package from closed permanently so it was a scramble to find an alternative. We were offered spots all over the world, but by that point, after researching New Zealand more, we were very excited to explore there. Thankfully, we were able to work something out with Platinum Queenstown Luxury Villas. They (the accommodations and staff) were delightful. Two couples were joining us and one couple had to back out at the last minute.

Nick did a ton of research and after a planning session with the other couple (Tops and Katniss), we determined a loose itinerary with most of the items below. We were relieved to learn we had a similar vacation style to Tops and Katniss which included both relaxing and adventurous plans but not too packed of a schedule. Thankfully, they did their homework on restaurants which Nick and I don’t typically do. We were pleasantly surprised with the cuisine there and ate out of our comfort zones at times, which would not have happened with the two of us.

I was devastated to check the weather before leaving and see that it was expected to rain every single day we were there. I hoped it was like Colorado meteorology, which is actually a joke and impossible to really predict. It was! We ended up having great weather. It rained two of the days we were in Queenstown. I don’t really remember it raining our second week except when we were in Auckland.

Because of weather, we ended up playing Tetris a bit. For example, we were set to go to Milford Sound (fly/cruise/fly) on Monday, Oct 31, but they cancelled our flight due to weather there. However, the weather in Queenstown was gorgeous, so we moved our Thursday hike to Monday. Thursday ended up being rainy in Queenstown, so we were so glad we’d been flexible. Nick and I then went to Milford Sound during Week 2 via Wanaka.

In the end, it was an unforgettable experience with our friends. New Zealand is magical and there’s no other word to describe it. The people, the food, the adventure, the landscape. Every single day we were blown away by the scenery and activities. It was the perfect blend of adventure and recharging. The only thing we’d change would be to stay way longer, but that is not always possible. We had two full weeks leaving the U.S. on October 26, 2022 and arriving in New Zealand on October 28. We left New Zealand on November 11 and arrived in the U.S. on November 11.

Here is our full itinerary:

Week 1

Friday, Oct 28

Itinerary:
Arrival – 11:15am
Checked in to Platinum Queenstown Luxury Villas in Queenstown (this was about a 15 minute walk into town and felt safe even in the dark, the views were ridiculous, and the front desk was extremely helpful)
Walked into town for lunch at Fergburger and a wander to get acclimated to town
Drinks at Beech Tree Craft Beer: sat outside under a tin roof while it rained, loved it
Dinner at Bombay Palace

Notes:
We had very low expectations of our first day, and we ended up having great energy and packing a lot in! It’s definitely worth having a lowkey day in Queenstown as there is so much to explore. The town is adorable and the Gardens Trail is beautiful. We were excited to have more time here to be able to hit up Fergburger again. We were blown away the whole week by the cuisine!

Pictures: view from our villa

Saturday, Oct 29

Itinerary:
Queenstown Market in the morning: it was super cute and lots of great things to shop for
Queenstown Gardens Trail: trail starts right next to the market
Drove to Arrowtown: very cute town with great shops
Lunch at The Dishery: OMG it was sooo good – try the Wild Rice salad
Drove to Gibbston Valley Winery for a flight of wine
Stopped by the grocery store on our way home to stock up on dinner for the night and lunches for the week

Notes:
The market only runs on Saturday morning! I got a beautiful mug from Esper (check out her booth). The rest of our day was not our original itinerary, but it was a pretty dreary, rainy day, so we shifted things around.

Picture: taken from Queenstown Gardens Trail

Sunday, Oct 30

Itinerary:
Nevis Swing @ 8:40a (pre-booked): ~$285 USD for two
Lunch at Yonder: ordered the Bubble & Squeak and added grilled halloumi – super yum
Hiked Queenstown Hill: 3 mi hike, 2-3 hours RT, ridiculous views
Happy hour at Pig & Whistle Pub
Dinner at Paddy Gaddy: an Asian fusion restaurant with yummy drinks and the best calamari I’ve ever eaten

Notes:
Holy shit. This was an incredible experience. We purchased tickets ahead of time for the swing. I paid for pictures and video for myself. Nick and I jumped together, so it worked out well because all of the pictures/video would have been the same. Here is the actual video.
The hike was stunning. It was challenging but doable. Incredible views. If you only have time for one hike and aren’t an advanced hiker, I’d recommend this over Ben Lomond.

 
Pictures: Nevis Swing and view from Queenstown Hill

Monday, Oct 31

Itinerary:
Ben Lomond Hike: we took the gondola up (highly recommended because you’re about to get your steps in), 8.7 mi hike, 6-8 hours RT (it took us 6; 3-4 hours RT if you go to the saddle), the most incredible views I’ve ever seen (says the girl from CO), we ate a packed lunch right before the hike to the summit
Queenstown Luge: this was our reward for after our hike, we purchased our gondola lift + 3 luge runs each (which was just enough for me)
Blue Kanu: great food and drinks, food was great for sharing

Notes:
I have a torn ACL and could not have done this hike without my knee brace or hiking poles. It’s a tough hike, but 100% worth the panoramic views.

Pictures: summit views from Ben Lomond hike

Tuesday, Nov 1

Itinerary:
Shotover Jet @ 10a (pre-booked): ~$160 USD for two
Picnic lunch by a beautiful lake
Glenorchy: wandered about town, walked to the boatshed near the wharf, did the Glenorchy Lagoon Scenic Walk
Drove to Paradise: nothing particular to drive to, just took in beautiful views and endless sheep
Dinner at Fogo Brazilian BBQ: very good!

Notes:
The Shotover Jet paralleled the Nevis Swing in terms adventure. As my husband said, “It’s a fucking speed boat down the river, mate.” Legendary. We also splurged on the video and don’t regret it. Our friend’s mom is from Brazil, otherwise we would have never tried Fogo if it was just us. I’m not a big meat eater but this was amazing. I ordered off the menu and the others got the full experience. I was quite pleased with the food and so glad we tried it. The owner, John Aiden, was a sweet Irish man who spent a lot of time telling us stories about life and the food.

 
Pictures: Shotover Jet and the Glenorchy boatshed

Wednesday, Nov 2

Itinerary:
Lunch at Sandfly: delightful
Te Anau Glowworm Caves @ 2-4:15pm (pre-booked): ~$115 USD for two
Te Anau Bird Sanctuary: not necessarily something I’d seek out, but it was free and right there so worth stopping in
Winnies Gourmet Pizza for dinner: the best gluten free pizza I’ve ever eaten

Notes:
The caves were very cool. We took a ferry to get there and spent about an hour in the caves – unlike anything I’d ever seen before!

Thursday, Nov 3

Itinerary:
Breakfast at Balls & Bangles: not great for gluten free but everyone else was quite satisfied
Shopped in Queenstown: if you’re a crystal lover, go to Hettie’s Rock & Crystal Shop
Onsen Cedar-lined Hot Tubs (pre-booked the day before): this was the perfect way to end our week in Queenstown, tubs are private, reservation includes a drink and snack, and it overlooks the Shotover River
Takeout at Thai Cuisine

Notes:
This was an ideal last day. We got to explore Queenstown one last time and the hot tubs were a nice reward after all of our adventures. We ordered takeout so we could spend the evening packing up for the next week’s adventures!

Picture: Onsen Hot Tub Time Machine

Week Two
We split from our friends for the second week. They rented a camper van and toured the south island.

Friday, Nov 4

Itinerary:
Drove from Queenstown to Franz Joseph and gawked at Lake Hawea on the way
Checked in to Rainforest in Franz Josef
Dinner at the Rainforest restaurant
Hot Tub (our hotel had a private hot tub)

Notes:
While we would have loved another night at the Rainforest because it was a cool hotel, one night was enough. We were only there to hike the Franz Josef glacier. Thankfully, the day we hiked was the first day it was safe to go in two weeks, so we really lucked out. It was a long way to drive for one activity, but it was absolutely worth it (says the girl who didn’t drive).

Picture: Lake Hawea

Saturday, Nov 5

Itinerary:
Franz Josef Glacier Heli-Hike (pre-booked): ~$325 USD for two
Drove to Wanaka and checked in to Lakeside Apartments
Dinner at Big Fig: great healthy food, and I ordered a lunch for the next day

Notes:
Franz Josef Glavier was unreal. It was amazing going from a rainforest into a glacier in the same morning. We really lucked out with weather. Our tour guide was great, and we will never forget the day! I have a torn ACL so I wore a brace just to be safe, but the hike was not very strenuous. Our views from the Lakeside Apartments were stunning. We’d drink wine on the patio overlooking the lake with the mountains in the background while the sunset behind them. Did not get old.

Pictures: hiking Franz Josef Glacier (first two) and the sunset view from our Wanaka lodging

Sunday, Nov 6

Itinerary:
Milford Sound – Fly/Cruise/Fly – Southern Alps Air (pre-booked): ~$700 USD for two, we brought lunch in a backpack
Wanaka Lavender Farm: we spent about two hours here wandering the grounds and enjoying some tea. Very darling and worth the visit!
Dinner at Francesca’s Italian Kitchen: we had our own little pod outdoor and it was so yummy

Notes:
We were supposed to do Milford Sound from Queenstown the week prior but couldn’t due to weather. We decided to see if we could go from Wanaka, and we are SO GLAD we did. This was the #1 thing on every list we researched of cannot miss. We had perfect weather, and even the pilot was taking pictures and he’d flown the route hundreds of times. We saw dolphins, penguins, and a baby seal. It was just incredible. This was easily one of the greatest weekends of our lives, probably second behind our wedding.

Pictures: Flying to Milford Sound and cruising Milford Sound

Monday, Nov 7

Itinerary:
Walked to see That Wanaka Tree: beautiful walk and tree
Lunch with our friends! We bumped into them and were able to grab a bite with them.
Drove to Lake Tekapo (gawked at Lake Pukaki on the way) and checked in to Ultimate View
Dinner at TLV Restaurant & Bar: super good
Dark Sky Project Summit Experience at 11:30p (pre-booked): ~$130 USD for two

Notes:
Lake Tekapo is a dark sky reserve town, meaning the town has restrictions with lights. At sundown, if your lights are on indoors, you’re required to shut the blinds/curtains. It was really cool as we got to go to the observatory on Mt John and look through some gigantic telescopes to see the moon, Mars, Jupiter, star clusters and some galaxies far far way.

Pictures: That Wanaka Tree and Lake Pukaki

Tuesday, Nov 8

Itinerary:
Breakfast at The Greedy Cow Cafe: delicious
Walked around Lake Tekapo and to the Church of the Good Shepherd
Hiked Tasman Glacier View & Blue Lakes in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park and visited the visitor centre: easy hike with (shocking) beautiful views and the visitor centre was really neat
Dinner at Mackenzies Cafe Bar & Grill: it was good and I enjoyed the wine!
Lunar Eclipse: we happened to be in the dark sky reserve town where all the homes have gigantic windows the night of a lunar eclipse

Notes:
Lake Tekapo is a very small town so there is not much to see in the town, but it is darling. The church is a beautiful photo op set near the lake (visited in the evening and during the day)! We stayed there two evenings and took a drive to see the Tasman Glacier and Blue Lakes in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park during our full day there. Try to time your visit around a lunar eclipse ;).

Pictures: Church of the Good Shepherd (close up and from our lodging) and Tasman Glacier View hike

Wednesday, Nov 9

Itinerary:
Drove back to Queenstown for flight to Auckland
Had time to grab lunch again at Fergburger (yum)
3p flight to Auckland
Checked in to M Social Hotel
Dinner with Nick’s cousins at the Conservatory

Notes:
Auckland was pretty but also another big city, so it you’re limited on time, it can be missed. Nick has a cousin there and since we were flying in and out of Auckland, it was perfect for us to end our trip here for two nights.

Pictures: Fergburger YUM and Auckland at night

Thursday, Nov 10

Itinerary:
Took ferry to Waiheke Island and walked into town (~20 mins)
Lunch at Sol Bar & Cafe (beautiful views)
Rented ebikes and visited the Mudbrick Vineyard, Cable Bay Vineyard, and Big Oneroa Beach
Dinner at Odettes Eatery with Nick’s cousin + fiancé: it was delicious!

Notes:
I ended up getting a weird, brief bug so we had a super delayed start to this day and were only able to stop at two wineries. It was a beautiful island!

Pictures: Big Oneroa Beach and Auckland from the ferry

Friday, Nov 11

Itinerary:
Walked around Auckland to shops and Albert Park
Ubered to airport around 2:00p for evening flight back to the U.S.

Notes:
When I crawled into our own bed, I had done 25 hours of standing in that day according to my Apple watch.

Pictures: Albert Park and my overachievement

All Lodging
With the exception of our stay in Queenstown, all lodging was booked through Booking.com (.yeah).

Platinum Queenstown Luxury Villas in Queenstown
Rainforest in Franz Josef
Lakeside Apartments in Wanaka
Ultimate View in Lake Tekapo
M Social Hotel in Auckland

My Packing List
I was quite pleased with my packing skills :)! We had laundry in Queenstown and Wanaka, which helped. I also used packing cubes from Eddie Bauer which were perfect for my hiking boots, underwear, and electronics.