Every corner is different: volcanoes, crater lakes, lava plateaus, majestic mountains, geysers, geothermal wonders, greenery, glaciers, sheep, more sheep, Mount Doom and other Lord of the Rings references, etc.
Over a month in late January 2018, I road tripped nearly the entire country via Transfercar, a rental company aggregator for car relocation (AKA you get the car for free up to 7 days – read more about the simple process here).
Here are some highlights of the journey. For all experiences along the way, check BookMe for cheaper prices.
Queenstown
The journey began here in an Airbnb with a balcony overlooking Lake Wakatipu — and a lovely host with a wealth of travel stories herself.
Bungee jumped with AJ Hackett. Found a good discount on BookMe for the ledge swing bungee: $83 NZD instead of $165+ NZD. If you’re not keen on diving head first either (go figure, I’ve been skydiving three times and loved it), fear not, as it’s essentially a gigantic flying swing while you’re in a harness.
Queenstown has so much to offer that I didn’t get to do, too: zipline tours, Lake Wakatipu cruises, 4WD off-road adventures, ATVs, wine tasting, etc. In winter, snowboarding and skiing are huge.
Milford Sound
I drove from Queenstown on a day trip. Yes, a 4 hour drive each way, but I had only one day, and was determined to experience it. You should stay longer and go kayaking.
Keep a lookout for Kea in the various turnouts you’ll want to stop in anyway to appreciate your surroundings. They’re cheeky alpine parrots only found in New Zealand. I drove through many clouds and intermittent rain.
Milford Sound was far bigger than I imagined. It had stopped raining but the purple grayness pervaded.
Within 10 minutes of arriving, though, I watched as the clouds began to part for the first time in hours, and blue started to peek through...
Looking to the right of the above photo, the below photo was taken, only 10 minutes later.
Lake Wanaka
Explored twice — firstly as yet another day trip from Queenstown, and then once while heading north for good. You’ll wind up well-paved and incredibly fun roads. Many of the view points along the way are spectacular, particularly Lake Hawea.
Stop at Blue Pools, an easy 1.5km walk from the parking lot with stunningly clear water. Strongly recommend to wear long sleeves, pants, and closed toed shoes if you don’t want the relentless sand flies to land on literally any available skin.
Franz Josef Glacier
Check out the 2.5km valley walk — follow instructions here.
Before 2008, you could safely hike by yourself to the glacier with proper equipment. Sadly, this now requires a helicopter landing to accomplish due to glacial recession. Book it at least a week out.
Even though you can’t go right up to the glacier in the valley walk, it’s still mesmerizing.
And now for the North Island…
Rotorua and Redwoods
Tons of geothermal activity — yes, the town does smell rather sulphuric. Explore Kuirau Park, and visit Kerosene Creek 30 minutes south if you’re looking to swim.
The Living Maori Village has bubbling mud pools and the 30 meter tall Pohutu Geyser.
My personal favorite: the Redwoods in Whakarewarewa Forest. I did the Quarry outlook track (green track, 4.8km / 3mi), and it was a nice walk through the forest — only with Redwoods at the beginning, actually.
Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Still one of my very favorite hikes [as I update this writing 5 years later]. Throughout the 19.4km / 12 miles, you’ll traverse almost every terrain: a swamp-like start, climb up “devil’s staircase” to a mountain (Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings), continue along volcanic terrain until you reach the Red Crater Summit at 1,886m / 6,188ft, slip-slide down the scoria until you reach the emerald lakes for a lunch break, hike past the sulphurous steam vents, descend down into the valley, and finally, finish with a walk in a forest alongside river rapids.
Check out their website on how to best accomplish this hike. You’ll need to arrange a shuttle as well as it’s a one-way track — find that info here. There is limited parking at the end (Ketetahi Rd.), so you may want to book a return shuttle instead of just a morning one. I did so through BookMe again.
That absolutely isn’t all — but it is for now.