Queenstown & Down
We're really getting in the swing of things down here in New Zealand. Over the past couple weeks, we've visited the Silver Peaks for a power backpacking excursion and Queenstown for a little city shopping.
The Silver In These Near Hills.
After our success on the Kepler Track, Meredith and I wanted to keep the good backpacking mojo flowing-and put our newly purchased hut passes to good use- but we weren't quite ready to line up another big trip. Thankfully, in New Zealand, a good hike is never far away. A coworker of mine recommended we check out the Silver Peaks wilderness, which for a reserve that's just 15 minutes north of Dunedin is startlingly rugged, uncrowded, and secluded. It seemed like just the place to do a quick overnight trip.
The seclusion and lack of traffic made themselves known early on the trip as we had more trouble finding a place right in our own backyard than we've had to find anything else thus far. So much so that some bad directions from Google Maps and a few questionable decisions later we found ourselves stuck in the mud in the middle of a sheep paddock and waving down some friendly farmers for a tow out. Thus we learned a valuable New Zealand lesson, not everything on the map is there on the ground.
Once we got pulled out and got some proper directions we shot right up to the start of the trail. There's not enough traffic in the area for a real trailhead so we just left the car off the side of a logging road and put the packs on. From there we embarked on a true Kiwi hiking experience.
The Silver Peaks are not a high mountain range, but they are steep, rugged and covered in thick bush and slippery mud. For all that, they offer incredible vistas out to the ocean both east and south of Dunedin (with some handy mountains blocking the view to town to help you feel extra remote). Pair that with the fact that we were the only people on the trail, and this was shaping up to be quite the adventure.
Our plan was a simple out and back to the aptly named Jubilee Hut, under 10 km each way, just enough to have a little fun. Sounds easy enough right? The trail began by winding along through thick, overhanging bushes as we climbed higher into the mountains before we passed up onto the more exposed (more silver you could say) peaks. It seemed to be a cakewalk of a day until we came across the final ridge and upon the ominously named "Devil's staircase".
I've wondered quite a bit in recent days how many Devil's Staircases there are in the world, and which one is the most difficult to contend with. Well, this one certainly makes a strong case for itself. After a day of winding along gently sloping ridges and over low peaks the trail plunged seemingly straight down a steep valley wall, all the while Jubilee Hut shone proudly hanging up on the far side. The angle of the trail must deter most hikers because not only did things get steep, they also got pretty undeveloped with a fair amount of bushwhacking to be done. Nonetheless, with some careful negotiation and sore feet, we arrived at Jubilee (both physically and metaphorically).
One of the reasons we were interested in an obscure out and back trip like this was to see if we liked backpacking more than car camping, given the right conditions. Jubilee may well have been the ideal conditions. It's a small hut (10 bunks all in one room with the kitchen and lounge) but quite new, with good facilities and killer views up several valleys. That we were the only people in the joint was just the cherry on top.
The next morning we awoke to a significant change in the weather; low clouds had moved in overnight and began a slow drizzle in the early hours. We didn't mind much though as we had no firm agenda and the low clouds made for some very cool views up the valleys. It was awesome to feel a world away in a place that's so close to home.
Once the rains passed we hit the trail, appreciating cool temps and misty views along the way. About halfway up the Devil's Staircase we hit cloud level and started one of the most otherworldly stretches of hiking I've ever experienced. You see, Silver Peaks is known for its rugged vistas but also for its wind-sculpted rock outcroppings (the locals call them obelisks, even though they're all naturally carved). So, as we hiked along one strange and foreboding rock formation after the next loomed out of the mist as we trekked our way through the still silence of the clouds. It's the sort of outdoor experience you can't really plan or pay for, and after all that we still made it home in time for lunch.
Not bad for a week of sticking around the new hometown.
Feels Like Home.
While we are loving our new city we do know that we won't want to spend the whole year down here in Dunedin. So we're taking a proactive approach and doing a little city shopping here on the South Island to see what other towns have to offer. A natural place to start, if only to check it off the list, was the adrenaline (and tourist) capital of New Zealand, Queenstown.
As is becoming the norm on our longer trips we took off Sunday morning and headed off inland. In a straight shot, Queenstown is only about 3 hours away (it is in the same Otago region after all) but we really weren't in any rush and central Otago is actually Rohan, so we decided to take a longer route. We turned off the beaten path out into farms and rolling hills, quintessential tussock, and stony outcroppings soon surrounded us. It turned out to be a bit of an adventure to get to the actual LOTR shooting locations, as while all the landscape around us looked like Rohan the film crew needed big panoramas without any roads off in the distance. A few closed roads and an encounter with Meredith's new bearded farmhand crush later we reached the lake where several scenes were filmed (you'll recognize it in the pictures). It was pretty interesting to see shanties built around a lake in such a remote area without much to offer, but there they were, living the New Zealand countryside dream.
That evening we headed off to the quiet town (if you can even call it a town) of St. Bathans, which readily supplied a nice camping spot and a photogenic lake (Blue Lake for the curious) for a quick morning stroll. From there we hopped on the highway to complete our journey checking out the mountain towns of Alexandra and Cromwell on the way. From Cromwell (which we loved for its small-town vibe and killer lakeside locale) things take a turn for the scenic as the road heads up the Kawarau Valley, the mountains rise up, vineyards cover every inch of arable land, as the river carves an ever-deepening gorge below. We had hopes of finding the shooting location for the Pillars Of The Argonath scene, but had to settle for watching some bungee jumpers just down river from the spot as the depth of the gorge makes it pretty inaccessible. The bungee jumping operation, however, was just a little taste of what was waiting in Queenstown, it was thrill-focused and very well run, but completely tourist centered and expensive as hell. At $260 a jump we decided to keep our wallets in check for now.
Once past the gorge, it was just a quick jaunt into the heart of Queenstown, a bustling outdoor mecca that represents the core of the South Island to many tourists. It's nestled up in the mountains right along the shore of the stunning Lake Wakatipu with views up to drastic, bare peaks in every direction. It's a busy resort town with more luxury packed in than we've seen anywhere else in the country. Take Frisco make it a bit bigger, right on the lake, move the mountains a little closer in, add a dash of Aspen flash thrown in for good measure, and you've got Queenstown. Basically, it felt like home.
We quickly learned that there is no real offseason in Queenstown its low elevation means that town dries out and gets relatively warm well before the ski season wraps up. We arrived mid-week, early spring and town was absolutely hopping. What can you expect for a place where you can ski, mountain bike and swim in the lake all in one day? We battled the traffic and grabbed some lunch downtown, where we learned that the bar scene has most ski towns beat by a long shot. After a quick stroll around the Queen's Gardens overlooking the lake, it was time to jet out and find our camping spot just outside of town.
Since Queenstown, naturally, is insanely expensive to stay in we were psyched to make the nearby, and incredibly scenic, Moke Lake our home for the next couple nights. Just 20 minutes away from all the bustle and congestion of town the campsite was welcome refuge sitting on a small lake ringed by mountains. It was so pleasant that we actually stayed two nights there, that's a first!
From Moke we packed up and headed out the next morning towards the small town of Glenorchy for another of New Zealand's most iconic drive. From Queenstown the highway dips, swerves, and teeters on the edge of the lake as the mountains rise up and grow more drastic all the way. It's dubbed the "road to paradise" for a reason (pay no attention to the fact that there's a little township called Paradise along the way). It was a stunning drive but paled in comparison to what we had on deck next, a powerhouse day hike on the Routeburn Track.
Routeburn is another of New Zealand's great walks and like Kepler is known for its high mountain scenery. The whole area is ripe for extended backpacking trips with countless fiords and hanging valleys in every direction, even if the Routeburn itself does get a bit overrun. With no packs to hold us back, we took off like lightning and made short work of the distance to the first hut. It's amazing how fast you can hike with just a daypack. The trail switched back and forth through unspoiled beech forest offering only brief glimpses up to the towering peaks all around. That was until we hit the first hut where the forest gave way and offered jaw-dropping views up three different glacier-carved valleys.
Since we'd made such mince-meat of a whole day's worth of backpacking trail we decided to push on and tackle the climb to Routeburn Falls Hut. We left the open valley floor and wound our way up to perhaps the most audacious hut in New Zealand. It's a Great Walks hut so of course, it's large and well equipped, but the audacity of the hut lies in where it sits. Perched on the edge of a cliff with its namesake Routeburn Falls rushing right by and plunging into the valley below the hut offers spectacular views down the valley. Once more we were treated to the benefit of springtime runoff as every cliff face seemed to have a waterfall streaming off it. Overall, not a bad spot for lunch.
Also at Routeburn Falls, we had our first peek at the infamous lodges for the guided "Ultimate Hikes" that have brought a whole new dimension to the Milford and Routeburn Tracks in recent years. Basically, they took these iconic hikes and pimped them out with upscale lodges and made it so that (for a couple extra grand) you can do a multi-day trek with just a daypack. The lodge at the falls did not disappoint. It was a sprawling complex located right next door to the DOC hut, and from what we could see looked pretty swanky inside. That said, we left feeling like not having to cook, clean, or haul packs would take a bit of the adventure out of the trip and would result in a lot of downtime in the lodge each day. I'm sure I'd be singing a very different tune if I could actually afford one of those trips though.
The next morning we began a busy day as Queenstowners with a steep, yet rewarding, hike up Queenstown Hill to overlook the town and surrounding mountains. We then tried on some of the local "Mexican" fare only to continue to be disappointed once again in our hunt for good Mexican (I don't blame the chefs, legit Mexican ingredients are next to impossible to come by down here), took a stroll around historic, nearby Arrowtown, and took a dip in the cleansing waters of Lake Wakatipu. It's funny how we're staring to feel like 72 degrees is super hot and calls for a dip in a high mountain lake.
Since we were city shopping we decided to pony up and stay one night in town to get a little bit better feel for the nightlife in Queenstown. It felt a whole lot like Vail, with touristy places clearing out early and the local holdouts filling right up even on a Wednesday night. That said, we had some killer cocktails and saw how a good life could be made in Queenstown. In the end though, we've got a couple more spots we need to check out before we decide where to hang our hats next.
Our Route:
Tips For Prospective NZ Travelers:
- In hindsight, this is quite obvious but in New Zealand there are many paper roads (read: not real roads) that show up on Google Maps if you ask it for specific, obscure directions that you need to watch out for. You may need to cross farm gates occasionally, but if it looks like you're going into a paddock, you probably are. Consider rethinking your route.
- AA membership does not cover getting your car stuck, just be aware if you're thinking that's a plus of membership. It's not.
- Related to the above, many roads in New Zealand are seasonal and may be closed due to winter weather or to let ewes lamb. Just be ready to revise your route when you run into inconvenient closures, also I've been surprised at out-there, backcountry roads I've been able to find closure information on just by googling.
- Moke Lake is the silver bullet spot you're looking for to camp close to Queenstown. It may be $13pp but that beats any price in town by a long shot, plus it's beautiful...all just 20 minutes away.
- Not sure why you'd choose the Routeburn Flats Hut over the Falls Hut, but the Falls Hut is far superior and seriously audacious in its construction.
- There's not really a meaningful off-season for Queenstown (yes, Christmas will be the busiest), if you go it will be hopping, just be prepared.
Into Misted Mountains
After settling into our new home we struck out westward into Fiordland National Park to some of New Zealand's most staggering scenery.
Horses, seals, penguins, and fiords oh my!
After a week of settling into our new hometown, we were ready to hit the road once more, and it was Meredith's birthday to boot. As such I wanted to line up an unforgettable trip on the far side of the South Island to get involved with some of the most iconic landscapes in all of New Zealand, in the aptly named Fiordland National Park. The park itself is an absolute wonder, one of the largest national parks in the world (and by far the largest in New Zealand) it covers the entire Southwest corner of the country, all of which was sculpted by glaciers in the last ice age. Think Norwegian coastline, only less cold.
So we packed up our trusty RAV and struck west across the island. The heart of Fiordland is a small town called Te Anau, which is about 4 hours drive from Dunedin. Given the surprise nature of our agenda, we didn't head straight there and instead opted for a night of camping beside the Mavora Lakes about half an hour out of town. Boy, did that pay off. Mavora Lakes will likely be one of the best car camping spots we encounter, you can tell it's good when the camp is occupied by Kiwis rather than rented campervans. These two lakes are surrounded on almost every side by peaks rising above bush line. The lakes are also home to the most instantly recognizable LOTR filming location we've seen thus far, Nen Hithoel, the place where Frodo and Sam split off and row away at the end of the first movie. See pictures above for movie/real-life accuracy. So we found ourselves a camping spot on the shores of the crystalline lake and had a proper birthday dinner under the stars.
The next day we were packed up and out early for the first real surprise of the birthday trip, a morning horse trek outside of Te Anau overlooking the stunning mountains of Fiordland. We saddled up on a (lucky for us) private trek with the Kiwi equivalent of John Wayne, who just happened to realize that making money off of horse-crazy tourists is more profitable than raising sheep in his neck of the woods. The sheep he kept were mostly for decoration. The horses, thankfully for me, didn't need much input from their riders and took us on a lovely cruise over hills and around small ponds treating us to truly epic views at every turn. One particularly breathtaking view looked directly up Mount Luxmore, the centerpiece of the world-famous Kepler Track, our guide kindly pointed out that it's actually a good time of year to do the hike since the snow is melted but the masses haven't quite shown up for summer yet. So our morning horse trek planted the seed for our next adventure.
With a bit of soreness in the thighs, we dismounted and headed into Te Anau for lunch. The town sits beside Lake Te Anau (one of the country's largest) and is just about as picturesque as one could imagine. After a viewing of the jaw-dropping Fiordland On Film (basically 30 minutes of helicopter-shot footage of the inaccessible parts of the park) we hopped in the car and headed north along the lake on the hunt for a campsite.
Unbeknownst to Meredith our destination the next day was the iconic Milford Sound so we made camp at a large site up the highway to Milford. Past the northern tip of Lake Te Anau you enter the Eglinton Valley, a glacier-carved (of course) affair with soaring walls that mixed in beautifully with low hanging rain clouds. It was a great place to stay and an even better place to wake up in as we watched rainbows form all around as rays of sun slipped through the morning mists. But it was all just a taste of what was to come.
Milford Sound, if you don't already know, is one of New Zealand's largest tourist attractions. It is the only fiord accessible by road and for all the hustle-and-bustle going in and of there these days it will always be a truly iconic landmark. For us, the drive in was half the experience. Entering Milford will never be done justice in words, all I can do is liken it to driving into Zion National Park. It goes like this: the scenery is incredible, you drive through a scary old tunnel, and then you pop out into a canyon of such incredible scale it's all you can do to keep the car on the road and your jaw off the steering wheel.
A less enlightened version of me would have been very content with the stunning drive to and from Milford. But that version of me wouldn't have taken a sightseeing cruise on the sound itself. Having had the experience I can tell you a cruise is absolutely requisite if you're in this part of the world. This was the second part of Meredith's surprise birthday trip, and we were actually able to score a sweet last minute deal on a cruise that needed to fill seats. Suffice to say it may have been the best 80 dollars I have ever spent.
We wound up cruising with Mitre Peak who operate the smallest regular tour boats on the sound, there was plenty of space and a crew who was seemingly just there to gape up at the scenery alongside you. Out on the sound, all signs of humanity melt away. Mountains pitch down from snowcapped peaks high above bush line right down to the sea. Milford winds its way back and forth from the township out to sea, and each turn is stacked with views more impressive than the last. Wildlife? They have that too, in droves. Seal colonies to dolphins surfing off the bow of the boat to our first successful penguin spotting of our trip!
At the end of our cruise, we were awe-struck, giddy, and a little concerned we had gone too epic too early. Worried, that other scenery simply wouldn't hold up to the staggering scale of Milford. Well, the natural cure for that worry is to hatch an even better plan for the next week...
In before the rush.
Following our recent bout of inspiringly good weather in Fiordland we returned home to reprovision and gear up for an early-season attempt of the Kepler Track. This track is one of New Zealand's "Great Walks" (basically a series of epic multi-day, hut-based trips around the islands) and according to many Kiwis is actually the best. It certainly was the most intentionally built to be a flagship. To mark the centennial of the country's parks program they built this track as a 4-day adventure that does a handy loop right from the Te Anau Visitor's Center. It climbs up and around the mighty Mount Luxmore spending almost half of its length circling above treeline. So we thought it sounded like a perfect first backpacking experience for Meredith.
The trick was timing. Kepler is an extremely popular hike and the huts along the route book early and can be very expensive. However, because we were still in the off-season normal rules went out the window. In the winter the huts are cheap and first-come-first-served, but you take your own risks with weather and avalanche danger in the high country. Factors that at least for us, this late in the off-season proved to be a little overblown. Nonetheless, we called Anja the friendly German DOC worker at the Visitor's Center pretty much every day to get the latest weather reports. The weather held for us and operation Off-Season Kepler was a go.
We loaded our packs a bit more decadently than I'm accustomed to while backpacking for a couple reasons. 1, using the hut system is awesome so things like tents, sleeping pads, and water filters (a concept my desert-hiking self is still struggling to come to terms with) got to stay behind. And 2, Mere wanted to prove what a boss she is by taking a full-size, fully-loaded pack on her first expedition. So we had a little extra space for things like wine and fancy cheese, the camping high-life did not end when the hiking began.
Day one on the Kepler is actually when most of the climbing is done on the track. You take off from the dam on the southern tip of Lake Te Anau and begin your morning with a lazy walk on a glorified sidewalk of a path through the beech forests by the lake until you reach the Brod Bay campground for a bite of lunch. The truly lazy can actually skip this part by taking a water taxi across the lake, but where's the fun in that?
From Brod Bay, you head straight up the mountain. Winding your way through the dense beech forest can actually be a little disheartening because while you're constantly climbing it's tough to actually get a sense of how much elevation you've gained. Meredith quickly learned that the best way to power through was to hike to the beat of (variably) 'Staying Alive' and 'Another One Bites The Dust'. With good climbing techniques in hand and good weather on your side, we powered our way up the hill in surprisingly good time to the most stark and stunning treeline I've ever seen. In Fiordland at about 950 meters the trees, bushes, and ferns stop all at once giving ways to sweeping vistas across the lakes and peaks of the park. It really was a sight to behold. I am now thoroughly convinced that this crazy low treeline (950 meters is about 3,100 feet) is actually New Zealand tourism's greatest asset. These mountains wouldn't be quite so stunning if they were all covered in trees to their peaks.
From treeline, it was just a quick jaunt over open ridges to the Luxmore Hut. Arguably the New Zealand hut systems premier edifice. Holding about 50 bunks and a huge kitchen/common room it really felt more like the world's most scenic hostel with its views over the lake. A feeling aided by the fact that we were far from the only people getting in before the track went on-season. We shared the hut with a host hikers from all over, including our first hiking companions Tim and Daniel, a Kiwi and Brazilian duo from Auckland out doing a bit of exploring in their own backyard.
If day one gave Meredith a misconceived notion about pack weight, day two gave her bad intel on how early backpacking expeditions typically strike out in the morning. Due to some early swirling storms we slept in and had a lazy breakfast and hit the trail around 10:30, not my normal course of action as people who hike with me well know. Be that as it may, it was perfectly timed because we got nothing but blue skies and light breezes on New Zealand's bellwether day of hiking.
You see, day two on the Kepler is the crossing that wraps around the summit of Mount Luxmore and down into an adjacent hanging valley. It is the section where winter traveling and weather can be the most precarious, so we were mighty thankful that the skies were clear of clouds and the track was clear of snow. With the bulk of the climbing behind us, we were treated to a stunning day with views that our pictures will certainly fail to do justice to at every turn. We made such good time at the outset we even took a side trip to summit Mount Luxmore (at 1,472 meters high we were out there baggin' 14ers baby! Pay no attention the fact that, that translates to 4,830 feet). This side trip also brought on our closest encounter with the local Kea- smart as hell, mischevious high mountain parrots- who broke into my pack for some snacks but had the courtesy to stay around for a photo shoot afterward. The worst you'll ever hear locals say about the Kea is that they're 'cheeky-as', sure cheeky enough to steal your shoes and hold them ransom for nibbles of your scroggin.
After a stunner of a day wrapping around the mountain, we took our final break in the ridiculously positioned Hanging Valley Shelter. It clung to a knife ridge and looked squarely at the long track down to the next hut on the valley floor thousands of feet below. The descent was honestly more brutal than the climb the day before but fortunately, most of the crowd had turned back at Luxmore Hut so there was no rush to scurry down the mountain.
While Kepler may be designed as a four-day trek it is doable in three if you're willing to get creative. That was our plan, however, it did mean that we had about 22 kilometers to cover on day three, fortunately, the trail mellowed considerably that day as it simply wound down a valley to the nearby Lake Manapouri. We got up and at it early and made great time hitting the next hut on the track just a little after noon. When we got there we saw the value of staying a third night as the hut sits right by the lake with a beautiful beach available for all weary hikers. If we had been doing the trek in summer this would've been a great place to stop and have a beachy afternoon.
Nevertheless, we soldiered on the extra hour or so to the first exit point on the track alongside our hiking companions Tim and Daniel. We ended our first epic trek crossing the beautiful Rainbow Reach suspension bridge with weary feet, new friends, and big ol' grins on our faces. A quick hitchhike back to Te Anau put us back just in time for some celebratory pizza and beers to mark a hike well done.
Our Route:
Tips For Potential New Zealand Travelers:
- Straight up, you can't go to Milford Sound and not do a cruise. We got an easy deal and I think it was the best $80 (for two) that I've ever spent.
- If you're looking for a campsite on the way up to Milford Sound save yourself some driving around and go straight to the Cascade Creek site. It's the best, has great facilities and even better views.
- Thinking about doing a lot of backpacking using the wondrous New Zealand hut system? Buy a DOC Backcountry Hut Pass right away. It's 90 NZD for 6 months of unlimited use of most DOC huts (doesn't apply to most 'Great Walk' huts in season, but there's still a ton to be enjoyed), so you'll offset that quickly with huts averaging $15 a night.
- Take the advice you get from DOC workers with a grain of salt, they have an incentive to get you to do the Great Walks in season. They won't recommend many other awesome routes, and may overhype dangers of doing the walks off-season.
*Disclaimer: This is just in our experience. We did the Kepler Track about a week before the season and were heavily warned of "moderate" avalanche danger...there was literally no snow on or around the entire track. - Looking for post-hike pizza in Te Anau? Ristorante Pizzeria Paradiso is what you're looking for, don't bother with anything else.
Welcome, This Is Our Farmhouse
After our epic-country spanning road trip we did a little local journeying and settled into a farmhouse by the sea.
Can't find a place to live? Screw it, go camping.
In all honesty, house hunting did not (at first) go terribly smoothly in our new hometown of Dunedin. Perhaps it was excessively optimistic to think that people would be trying to fill rooms mid-term in a college town. So, after several uninspiring days of hunting and burning money at Airbnbs, we decided to do what we do best and take to the country.
Thankfully, Meredith was chomping at the bit to one-up my kick-off road trip planning and laid out a stellar four-day trip around our new backyard. Whatsmore, thanks to lessons hard-learned on the road down here, and a little help from the awesome blog Fresh Off The Grid (seriously if you're going car camping check these guys out), she was also able to seriously step up our campsite culinary game.
So off we headed deep into the heart of Southland to likely the most remote campsite we will be able to access by car, Piano Flats. It was a stunning site, isolated, surrounded by lofty peaks, banked by a crystalline stream, and absolutely fucking overrun with sandflies. Surprisingly, this was our first encounter with the little bitches (we've since learned that the carnivorous ones are the females so yeah, bitches.) and we were caught completely unprepared. Hence we learned an invaluable NZ lesson: bring good bug spray with you everywhere you go.
On the optimistic side, sandflies: don't make noise when they fly around, don't have any interest in your food, don't hurt when they bite, and go to bed at night. On the negative side: they're everywhere, they want to eat you alive, and according to Maori legend they were created by the goddess of the underworld to remind people of their own mortality (a theory we now wholeheartedly endorse).
On the whole sandflies and rain had us beating a speedy retreat from an otherwise epic camping site to head back to Gore (the apparent 'Brown Trout Capital Of The World') to arm ourselves for these new conditions and regroup before we headed to our next spot on the Dunsdale Reserve.
Dunsdale in many ways embodies the beauty of camping in New Zealand to this day. A beautiful, isolated spot, hiking options right by, no fees, and not another soul to be found. It's this ease of access to peaceful isolation that I think will have us constantly heading back into the wilderness all throughout our time down here.
From Dunsdale we headed the scenic way south through an area that's mostly off the beaten track despite being basically on Dunedin's back doorstep, called The Catlins. This wildlife reserve encompasses some of the country's densest temperate rainforest and actually surrounds the southernmost tip of the island. We were a little early on the season for The Catlins so we got an especially solid dose of the RAINforest aspect, but the beauty was inescapable.
We saw the scenic vistas on Porpoise Bay, hiked the many-tiered McLean Falls, got very familiar with the small town of Owaka (and it's chief tourist attraction Teapot Land), checked out the seals at Nugget point, and proved the value of a New Zealand Automotive Association membership. It was an awesome couple of days, as I'm sure you'll see in the pictures, but most of all we're excited to head back in the heart of summer to see a whole new side of this remote area.
Our house, in the middle of a farm.
In all, it seems as though taking a quick camping trip was just the right balm for our lack of housing burn. Upon returning to Dunedin we trekked out to a suburb called Portobello on the Otago Peninsula to a farmhouse with which we promptly fell in love with and immediately moved into.
Otago Peninsula itself is a sight to behold. Dramatic green hills wind into Otago Harbor with remote beaches and endless rare wildlife from Dunedin to the albatross colony at Tairoa Head. Portobello township lies about 3/4 of the way out, and as my boss warned me ahead of time it takes about twice as long as you would think to drive into town on this side of the harbor. That's because the drive out is an absolute hoot. Two lanes barely 5 feet above the surf, winding back and forth along the shoreline. I'm sure we'll eventually get sick of it, but not quite yet.
We moved into an old farmhouse right on the water just outside of the Portobello township with a northlander named Gavin. He's a 28-year-old physics doctoral candidate at the University of Otago, and as we like to say he's 28 going on 68. The man could not be a more classic farm man if he tried, but goddamn if he doesn't know how to keep a nice home.
The home itself is simple. Heated by a log-burning stove, with windows facing the harbor, and positively surrounded by flocks of sheep (the lambs of which you may have seen in recent videos) it is a New Zealand farmhouse to the umpteenth degree. Classical music plays over the radio as the sun streams in through the large windows. A place more given to reading, drawing, and making large meals than it is to watching TV or browsing the internet, it is undoubtedly a peaceful place to live.
Tourists In Our Own Hometown.
With our first proper time off since landing in New Zealand Meredith and I decided it was time to give traveling a bit of a break. So, we played tourist in our new hometown. That meant doing the classics like visiting the public art gallery, having wine and cheese night in the botanic gardens, taking a million pictures at the famous Tunnel Beach, driving the world's steepest paved street (holy shit they weren't kidding, we were legitimately concerned the RAV might not make it up), and spending a good deal of time exploring the coves and vistas of the Otago Peninsula.
But we also did some local exploring while we had the time. We visited the nearby Waipori Falls and the neighboring town of Mosgiel. Suffice to say, while coastal Otago may feature prominently in many guidebooks it is a striking, and stunning place to call home.
Our Route
Tips For Prospective New Zealand Travelers
- You've heard it before. Sandflies are here, they are a problem, don't get caught out without insect repellant.
- If you're buying repellant in NZ pharmacies are the places to look, rather than grocery stores or gas stations (bonus: they'll also have anti-itch cream if you ignored tip #1).
- The bucolic green grass of many campsites is tempting for Colorado campers like us, but these fields aren't always the best spots. Look for elevated patches under trees to stay dry.
- Joining the AA (New Zealand Automotive Association) will save you if you're driving around an old beater like us. Buck up and spend the money, their response time is insanely fast even in remote areas.
- If you'd like to get a New Zealand drivers license while you're down here so you don't have to carry around your passport to get drinks make sure it was issued more than 2 years ago, otherwise you'll need to get a copy of your driving history from the DMV (aka. a living nightmare).
As Far South As South Goes
We kicked off our New Zealand adventure with a trip to the south, the deep south. All the way from Auckland to Dunedin.
A Few Days In Auckland To Get Us Started
Our adventure began with likely the easiest international flight we will ever experience, no joke. Meredith will be sure to expound on the virtues of the Air New Zealand Sky Couch to all within earshot, for good reason. We slept a solid 9 hours of the flight, leaving just enough time to drink a few free Steinlagers, watch a movie and fill out our customs forms. The funny thing about flying around the world, at least this way, is that between sleeping on the plane and a 6 AM arrival time, you weirdly wind up back on the right schedule.
The first 5 days off the plane were to be spent in Auckland with two major points on the agenda: sightseeing, and (somewhat more critically) car shopping. On day one we really proved that while Auckland may have unparalleled levels of suburban sprawl you really can walk around most of downtown in one day. We shacked up with the Airbnb hostus-with-the-mostus, Phil. A designer whose company and trendy place in Grey Lynn made us question why we were in such a rush to get out of the city. On our sightseeing adventures, we got some good time down by the harbor, checked out some sweet art galleries (including the stunning Toi o Tamaki gallery with Phil), and (unsurprisingly) fell in love with the Ponsonby neighborhood- Auckland's RiNo Arts District (TM).
Unfortunately, a good portion of our time in Auckland was spent in used-car-buying hell. We spent a truly unseemly amount of time learning the city's transit system as we visited far-flung suburbs around the area on the hunt for my ever-sought-after Toyota RAV4. I'll spare you the nitty-gritty details, but after rounds of test driving and mechanic inspections we bought a beautiful, cerulean 1995 RAV; we named her Baarbra Ann, and she has yet to miss a beat.
With our new whip loaded up with our heaps of bags (how exactly does one pack for a year of traveling?), it was time to bid the big-city adieu and begin our trek south.
A Verdant Route Down The North Island
First stop, naturally, for any new kiwi explorers. Hobbiton. Yes because we had to, and yes because it was awesome, but also because we weren't sure we'd make it back that far north in our travels. The movie set is just an hour south of the city so it made a pretty good first stop. They have that place running like a clock. Coach buses cart tours on the half hour to the guided jaunt around all the hobbit holes, where you sadly learn that, yes, it is just a movie set. Not much more than a bunch of round doors stuck in the hills. For all that, though there were great touches around every corner, and we got to learn how much of dick Sir Peter Jackson really is on set (Meredith says "he's just PARTICULAR!"). At the end of the tour, they bring you into the immaculately done Green Dragon Inn for a pint of their exclusively brewed beer. We stepped into the inn right as it started pissing down rain, which really added a nice touch to the experience.
Our first night out of the city we decided to ease into the whole camping thing and stayed at the Waikite Hot Springs outside of Rotorua. A mistake, it was not. Turns out September really is winter still in New Zealand and things got a bit chilly. Luckily our tent was pitched next to steaming pools for us to chase away the chill in.
The next day we took a true turn off the beaten track as we headed through Te Urewera (Maori for 'burnt penis', no joke) National Park. This little escapade took us into some of the North Islands highest mountains and past a truly spectacular lake. It also took us far away from sealed roads, into the depths of an unreal hailstorm, and into a full appreciation for our trusty new 4wd whip. I foolishly had thought we might actually be able to camp up there, but the reality of weather sent us quickly scurrying for lower elevations. In all, we wound up at the gorgeous Lake Tutira Campground (arguably the best campsite we've visited) where we got to look back at the snowy mountains rather than sleep in them. Let's chalk that up as a win.
From Tutira we blazed trail south through Hawke's Bay and down to the southern tip of the North Island. After a quick visit to the Martinborough wine region, we headed to the Putanguira Pinnacles. Ya know, the place where Aragorn walked into the mountain to meet the army of the dead? Yeah, we were picking camping spots based on LOTR filming locations - what of it?! It was a cool spot where we earned a healthy amount of respect for the amount movie magic can accomplish (read: it looked nothing like the movie). It all kind of paled in comparison to the next day though where we went to the true southern tip at Cape Palliser and Meredith had a chance to enter seal nirvana with the local colony. It's not every day you get to see seal pups splashing around in a tide pool, the lighthouse in the background was just for bonus scenery points. After that, it was off to lunch in Rivendell (shooting location) where we gained even more respect for movie magic and a fair bit of wonder at the NZ governments willingness to say "Sure Peter, you can cut all those trees down for that shot". Basically, it was sightseeing until we headed to our Airbnb in Wellington.
Wellington, well what can I say? Meredith will tell you it's like if Seattle and San Francisco had a kid, but that kid was a little person. We loved the harbor town in the short time we were there, and we'll likely head back at some point. Very scenic, very hilly, with a ton to see and do in a very small space. We headed out to the (kind of bogus) Weta Workshop tour to get even more of our LOTR nerd on. But even the guide there pointed us in the right direction to Te Papa, The Museum Of New Zealand, where the latest exhibit Gallipoli was causing quite a stir.
Us uneducated yanks quickly learned that Gallipoli was kind of the breaking point for New Zealand and Australia from the British Empire during World War I. Where poor decision-making by British generals cost thousands of Kiwi and Aussie lives in an ultimately pointless, and failed, campaign. To bring this story to life the team at Weta took stories from the battle and recreated the soldiers in stunning detail. And at three times human size. In each room , you'd marvel at these physically larger than life sculptures as their story was told. Even for two people who'd never even heard of the battle it was a powerful experience, and the best museum exhibit either of us had ever seen.
We filled the rest of our time in Wellington sampling local craft brews, putting the finishing touches on our camping supplies and getting ready to take the ferry south.
Sunny Days On The South Island
The Cook Strait ferry crossing is quite the experience in itself. We booked on the early morning sail and arrived with Baabs loaded before the sun was up. The ferries are huge so they'd spent hours before loading passenger cars putting a line of semis onto the parking decks. We just zipped right on and headed up to the passenger deck for the crossing. We luckily got a very calm day with only enough clouds to add a little visual interest to the view. The crossing takes 3.5 hours and only a little more than an hour of which is actually out in the straight, turns out it's not that far between the islands and ambitious folk swim it like the English Channel. The rest was spent navigating the lovely Wellington Harbor, and more notably cruising the awesome Marlborough Sounds to Picton.
After stocking up in Picton we headed into Marlborogh Sounds National Park proper for a doosy of a drive and some spectacular views. Getting anywhere in the sounds takes way longer than one might think when looking at a map, as the roads wind endlessly down the walls of the glacier-carved sounds. Not that we minded, the views around every bend were unreal. Unfortunately, after a clear morning, a heavy storm moved in which sent us running to a backpackers hostel. On the plus side, we wound up in the lovely Mistletoe Bay with a whole house to ourselves and a fire to cozy up by as we thanked our lucky stars that we decided not to brave the rain.
The next day would likely be the most stunning drive of our road trip south. From all the way up in the sounds (basically the northernmost tip of the island) across the Southern Alps and down to the little mountain town of Hanmer Springs. The morning was spent traversing the famous vineyards of the Marlborough region as they reached higher and higher into the hills. A quick lunch at some roadside falls, and we drove up and over the range nearly all the way to snow line before heading to Hanmer for a little warmer camping.
In the morning we got back on the road and strategically took the scenic inland route avoiding Christchurch for more epic vistas of the snowy mountains and VERY Rohan-ish plains. We were really putting the pedal to the metal in trying to keep to our timeline, so mostly we were driving, soaking in the sights, and making pages of notes on trips we would make once we had our home-base setup.
Finally, after two weeks on the road, we arrived at our new hometown of Dunedin, Otago. A college town at the end of the incredibly scenic Otago Harbor near the southern tip of the island. It's a fun town surrounded by stunning (albeit cold) beaches and rolling hills, plus it puts us in a great place to venture around the South Island on long-weekend trips.
So, that's the plan. Work a couple days in a row and then get out of dodge, taking 3-4 day trips to every corner of the island. We'll be taking plenty of pictures along the way and my goal is to keep you updated about every two weeks with where we've gone and what we've seen. More to come very soon!
Our Route
Tips For Prospective NZ Travelers
In case (by some miracle) you stumbled upon my blog and are traveling to New Zealand, here are some insights we've learned along the way:
- If you're on a Working-Holiday Visa, really all you need in hand is your visa to get through customs. Even then it's all computerized so you might not even need that much.
- In customs, you'll hear that they want to take a look at your camping equipment. Declare it all, even if they bring it in for further inspection it only takes like 20 minutes. Also, pack it so it's easy to take out.
- Ubers are WAY cheaper than taxis here, at least in Auckland and Wellington where they currently operate.
- Kiwi Bank will let you open an account from them while overseas, and while it is a pain in the ass it's actually easier than doing it once you're here and have no permanent address. Sidenote: Kiwi Bank is a branch of the NZ postal service so all their branches are in Post Shops, it's weird but actually really convenient.
- When you do need to have items sent to you while you're moving around you can do counter delivery at NZ Post Shops. It works quite well actually. I did it to get my ownership paperwork for the car, worked like a charm. You can even pick a post shop for a place you will be and just roll in when you arrive.
- It takes way longer than you'd think to drive anywhere. Add 1.5-2 hours to any day-long drive from the Google Maps estimate.
- Related, download all of NZ map data to your offline Google Maps while you have wifi. You won't have service in many places.
- September is still winter down here, it will be rainy and pretty cold. Duh.