new zealand - road trip

Christchurch, NZ

I got a chance to head over the New Zealand for about 9 days with Kristy, her good friend Simone and Simone's roommate Alicia! We went to the south island, so we arrived in Christchurch, hired (rented) a car, and drove our way down to Queenstown making stops along the way.

We got to Christchurch pretty late, and checked into our motel at about 2 am had a few hours sleep and got picked up by the hire car service. After getting the car rental stuff sorted out we went to check out the town centre... or what was left of it from the earthquakes. The town centre was all fenced off so there wasn't much to see, we had a late start to the morning so we didn't spend much time in Christchurch and we wanted to get to our next destination before the sun went down.

Views along the way to Franz Josef

A stop at a lake on the way

Quick stop at Hokitika

Stop at Hokitika

Our destination for the day was Franz Josef. On the way there we stopped by a lake (can't remember what it's called) and stopped in a town called Hokitika for a little break. We got to Franz Josef just a little bit after the sun went down. Stayed in at the YHA (Youth Hostels Association) for a couple nights there. While we were in Franz Josef we went on the half-day glacier walk which was really cool. There was a short walk through this regenerating rainforest bit it continues on to the glacier valley and then to a bit of the glacier. I really enjoyed how one minute we are in a really green, and lush rainforest and a few minutes later we're next to a massive glacier.

We were told that New Zealand has over 3000 glaciers. The Franz Josef Glacier has changed quite a bit in a year though. Our friend Kristy, who was on the trip with us did the same walk a year ago, around the same time and I saw her photos, and it was so different! There were little ice caves you could walk through. I can't really remember the details of what our guide told us but some of the glacier has broken off and it is steadily retreating and shrinking due to global warming. But it was still a really cool thing to see and do! After the walk we went to the Hot Pools in town, which was included in our trip. We also went out to the local bar for a couple drinks and some food.

Start of the walk - through the regenerating rainforest

Getting started for the trek up to the glacier. We had to put crampons (claw things) on our boots so we wouldn't slip!

On the glacier looking back down at where we came from

Then, we were on the road again..destination Wanaka. We got there at about 3pm and had a late lunch, walked around the town a little bit trying to find some accommodation and after talking to a few people we suggested the idea of driving the 2 hours to Queenstown to stay there for the night because that was our destination the next day anyways. There was also no snow because the snowfall was late coming and so Wanaka was very quiet when we were there. It's a really pretty place and it reminded me of banff a little bit. So after a little chat with the group we decided to head off to Queenstown where we would be staying for the next 5 nights. 

More about Queenstown in the next post!

Wanaka, NZ

Wanaka, NZ

Wanaka - View of the mountains

Town of Wanaka (reminds me of Banff)