New-Zealand, a must see country if you around. The contact with a pristine nature in kiwi land is what bring you down under. It is very recommended to have the driving license in order to really enoy the island as common transport won’t drive you to the best natural spots and following an organised tour is not the best way to be independent…get your campervan for un unforgettable roadtrip!
Queenstown
Tekapo Lake
On the road, typical amazing landscapes from South island. From Christchurch, the biggest city in Southern island, brittish style, the first step our trip is Tekapo lake and its turquoise waters. Of course very cold, you won’t have a swim in there but is very good first stop and the incredible colors of the lake will astonish you, ideal to finally post your no filters hashtags on instagram…
Milford Sound
Our next stop is Miford Sound and the fjords, similar as the ones in Norway but in NZ! We could not admire them totally due to the very bad weather, lot of mist and very cold! I finally got the motivation to go for a kayak session but the water was frozen! Bad luck as we almost saw nothing!
Great nature in NZ!
Queenstown
Then we arrive at Queenstown, the most touristic city in Southern island of New-Zealand with lot of sport activities you can try: skydiving, rafting, jetboat, parasailing, hiking, bungee jumping…) but pretty expensive,,,However how not to be astonished by the ideal situation of the city, nested between snowy mountains, where you can easily go skiing in winter.
Fox Glacier: Hiking !
Finally we arrive in glacier region: Fran Joseph and Fox Glacier. We did a little bit of hiking on this one, very funny! Many people do it, quite a touristic place. Try to come early morning so as to skip the crowd and hike on the glacier alone! However, as everywhere, climate change has some impact and the glacier is melting progressively…
Back to Christchurch
Already the end, back to Christchurh, the city of churches, very british style! It was devastated by several earthquakes the last years and you can still notice the scars here and there in the city. On the way back we visited Arrowtown, a city which recreate the age of golden rush in this region as well as Hokitika, home of jade stone used to create traditional kiwi jewels.
As a conclusion, New-Zealand, very near to Australia, is completely different. A Maori culture still very present and strong (and not only for the rugby!), a colder and windy weather (even in summer!), and jaw-dropping, mountainous and hilly landscapes, used in many movies (not only the Lord of the Rings!)