Student Bloggers

I had no idea what to expect when planning a trip around the South Island with my friends. It
was better than I could have ever imagined.

To start, book your flights and plan your trip as soon as you can. If you are studying in
Auckland like myself, you will probably need to fly down to the South Island. Tickets get
more expensive the longer you wait, so it’s most cost effective to book early!
Our plan could have been done slightly better, but it was amazing nonetheless. My friend and
I flew from Auckland to Christchurch on Thursday morning and picked up our camper van.1
We grabbed our first of many meat pies from downtown Christchurch. We then drove down
to Dunedin to pick up our other friend and easily found free street parking for our van right
outside her flat. We spent the night hanging out with friends and exploring Dunedin’s
downtown scene which is pretty robust! We stayed the night and got an early start the next
morning. Before we got on the road, we obviously needed some coffee and breakfast so we
stopped at the Good Earth Café which is the cutest corner café and had some delicious stuff.

After we were prepped with the coffee, we began our trip to Milford Sound. It was about a 5
hour drive from Dunedin. About 2 hours away from Milford, there is just about nothingness.
So if you need water, gas, food, definitely make sure to grab that before that point.
Depending on what time you go, food is not a problem, Milford Sound has a café and gift
shop, but it closes at 4 pm.

Milford Sound:

Parking → There is paid parking by the café/food/bathrooms, but there is also free parking a
little further away. It was about a 15 minute walk from the paid parking and a 25 minute walk
from the ferry. It was a gorgeous walk though.

Ferry → Milford Sound has a 1.5 hour mini cruise to see all the sights. It was about $100
NZD but honestly so worth it and the most efficient way to see everything you need to see. I
believe there is also a hike (that takes about 6 hours), but we were trying to continue on with
our journey so the cruise was definitely the best option. We were on the cruise at 2:45 pm and
the lighting was just perfect. They have free coffee, tea, and cookies!

I can’t even describe how beautiful Milford Sound was. I feel like my jaw was constantly
dropped and my head was on a never-ending swivel because it just got more breathtaking at
every turn. We saw penguins and seals and so many waterfalls. After the cruise, we drove from Milford Sound to Queenstown which was about a 4 hour drive.

Queenstown:

Parking → We arrived after 6 pm and there was a lot on the edge of the town that was free
from 6 pm-9 am. Honestly, I am unsure if we were allowed to sleep there as we did, but we
had no issue with it!

I had heard really great things about Queenstown, and it went far beyond my expectations.
We arrived at night and the town was bustling. Honestly, busier than I had ever seen
Auckland. People were out and about, people were walking around in their ski gear with their
snowboards, it was just such a good vibe. The nightlife was great. We went to the Cowboy
Bar and rode the mechanical bull for $3 NZD. They typically also have a little line dancing
which we didn’t get to see, but I have heard it is super fun. My other favorite stop was
Winnie’s. I believe it is a pizza place turned bar at night. It was full of college aged students
and they played some great music. After a great night, we retreated back to our van, slept,
and woke up early to move the car!

We drove just a few minutes down the road to park by the water and a public bathroom. It
was stunning. Since we had arrived at night, we couldn’t see all the mountains and the water.
It was just perfect. There were people out on boats, people going on morning walks, and it
just felt like a place that had it all. After we got ready, we walked a few minutes back into
town and went to this famous coffee/donut place called Balls and Bangles. The donuts were
absurd (just like the craziest most trendy looking donuts) and the coffee was delicious. Once
we had our coffee, we walked on the water and ran into the Saturday market which was the
best find. There were so many locally made gifts and cute things, I wanted it all. After a walk
through and a little shopping, we went to Fergburger which is a famous burger place in
Queenstown. It was super busy but the line moved fast. The burgers were massive and really
yummy. We brought them down to the waterfront and watched the birds and the boats.
Queenstown is the only place where I wish I had a little more time there, but we had so many
other things to see and do, so around 1 pm we got a move on!

Lake Wanaka:

The Wanaka tree is another famous landmark in the South Island. You are supposed to see it
at high tide, when it is surrounded by water, but our timing didn’t work out that way.
Nonetheless, the landscape was once again breathtaking. The tree was pretty cool too. They
do have a really awesome hike too, but it takes about 6 hours and we didn’t have time for it.

Lake Pukaki:

This stop was not planned but so very necessary. We were driving from Queenstown to Mt.
Cook (about a 3.5 hour drive) and on our way we passed the most beautiful lake called Lake
Pukaki. We arrived just before sunset and I have to say, that is THE time to see it. We drove
back by it the next morning and while it was undeniably beautiful, it was not the same. We continued on and made it to Mt. Cook around 6 pm, just after sunset.

Mt. Cook/Hooker Valley Track:

Parking → Mt. Cook has a campground for self-contained vehicles (aka the camper van)
right by the trailhead for Hooker Valley Track. I believe it was $18 NZD to stay there which
is pretty cheap. I would recommend booking online prior to arrival, just because service can
be spotty. We planned to stay the night, so we had cans of food for dinner. Note that during
the winter, there was no running water on the campground, so make sure you are fully
stocked and prepared.

We spent most of our night just hanging out and being wholesome and doing some
journaling. There were plenty of other camper vans there so it felt safe and like a little
community. Before we went to bed we went to stargaze and it was incredible. The stars in
New Zealand are unlike any other stars I have seen before. You can see the milky way and
you feel like you are immersed in space if you look long enough

In the morning we woke up around 8 am and set out for a little hike down Hooker Valley
Track. It had such gorgeous scenery but of course the highlight is when you arrive at Hooker
Lake, loomed over by Mt. Cook. The lake was icy and calm. We sat there for a while and just
took in the views. On our way back, tons of people were heading towards the lake, so luckily
we beat the crowd! The hike was pretty low difficulty and took us about 3 hours total (but we
also kept stopping for pictures).

A note about Hooker Valley Track: If you go during the winter, the track is quite icy. We had
a bit of a difficult time especially on any downhill portion of the track because we were just
sliding all over the place. It is still so doable, but just make sure you are prepared with good
shoes and clothes!

Lake Tekapo:

We stopped at Tekapo really quickly to grab some lunch, but the lake was just gorgeous. If
you were headed back to Christchurch like us, it was right on the way and hard to miss with
how vast and blue it is.

After Tekapo we drove to Timaru to drop our Dunedin friend at a bus stop to bus back home.
We did a little shopping while we were there and it has a really cute park and main street. I
wouldn’t say it is a must see place, but not a bad stop in the slightest!

Christchurch:
After we said goodbye :( my friend and I drove back to Christchurch around 5:30 pm. The
sunset over the mountains was incredible. When we got to Christchurch we went into the city
center and grabbed dinner at Little High Eatery. It had so many different food options and it
was so good. Definitely on the pricier end for “roughing it” but worth it. Afterwards, we
grabbed some ice cream at Rollickin and that was also so so good. Then we found a lot to
park literally called “freeparkingChristchurch” and settled in there for the night. It was a bit
on the sketchier side but still had plenty of camper vans parked there and it was free! In the
morning we said goodbye to the van and headed back to the airport to take us back home.

Final Notes:
As someone born and raised in New York City, I never in a million years pictured myself
sleeping and living out of a camper van at any point in my life. But I am so glad and grateful
that I was able to.
Some things to note about camper vanning (that’s definitely not a word)…

1. There are public bathrooms EVERYWHERE. It is so awesome. So even though you
   have a toilet in the camper van, there is no need to use it, and it is probably better and
   easier if you can avoid doing so. We didn’t have to use it at all.
2. Know your plan. A lot of the must see spots are hours away from any place to get
   food or water. So make sure you know what your plan is in terms of those necessities
   so that you are prepared for wherever you go/stay. (Meat Pies are super cheap and are
   at every gas station and grocery store… we probably had about 7 each in 5 days)
3. Parking can be a little tough sometimes. We somehow basically parked for free
   everywhere and near the cities, but most of the free campgrounds are farther from the
   city centers. There are plenty of useful apps that can help with this (we used
   CamperMate).
4. There are so many random viewing points for pretty sights that stretch beyond the
   “must-see” places. We pulled over a ton just because we kept spotting things we
   wanted to take a look at, and each was so stunning in their own way.
5. Live in the moment, be safe, and have so much fun! It’s not the most glamorous of
   experiences (we didn’t shower for a few days), but no one cared because we were
   having once in a lifetime experiences.