Exploring the South Island (I/IV)

In previous posts, I kind of laid down the foundations of my New Zealand’s adventures. As a reminder:

• We settled down in the Raglan Region, getting accustomed to the island life;
• We wondered around in New Zealand’s big cities and;
• We road-tripped with my cousin on the Coromandel Peninsula.

And now, it’s finally time for the big adventure on the South Island.

So in this long article, I take you for one of the greatest roadtrip I’ve ever made on the South Island. Thereby, I will give you also tips and tricks to make your stay memorable, should you also decide to do so.

So this post will be a little bit denser, with a bit more text.

I am frankly still experimenting with this blog, navigating between different aims:

• Publishing my pictures and getting exposed to a broader audience
• Travel blogging and providing tips and tricks/recommandations
• Crafting a diary where I can open up a bit and share my views/feelings

Additionally, being not a native in English, something you have clearly figured out already if you’ve been around for some time 😉 it is always a dilemma to decide in which language I will publish.

• In English for a large(r) audience, with the risk of being limited stylistically speaking
• In French from a more literary perspective.

Finally, I have no commercial intentions when I publish on this blog.

Unlike Cruizador, where a lot of work on SEO enables me to generate nearly 8 million organic clicks a year, I let this initiative, i.e. Califonzycation, fluctuate according to the algorithms.

So please bear with me, as I am sure that, down the line, I’ll have a better idea of what my audience wants. And publish the right content.

Traveling solo

I know that for many of you guys, traveling solo is a big no-go and might even sound nightmarish.

Additionally, I also know that it is way different for solo female travelers, depending in which part of the world they travel to. Women face often many challenges that men don’t: safety, harassment, etc.

However, I strongly believe that, even if it takes a bit of courage the first time, then you will eventually see tons of upsides to travel solo…and one major drawback, ie. the impossibility to share magical moments with a loved one.

Especially when you have left your partner at home and she’s not here with to enjoy this magnificent scenery with you.

But as a photographer, I see a lot of good in traveling solo

Picture taking requires patience and adaptability, i.e. the capacity to adapt your plans according to the conditions of the moment: lights, weather, etc.

Whilst road-tripping, it’s not unusual for me to stop every 300m to take a snapshot. Especially in countries like New Zealand and/or along coasts, when the point of views are changing so often.

Now if you share the ride with someone who couldn’t care less about picture taking, I can assure you that after the 3rd stop, tensions will arise 🙂

Fostering human interactions just when you feel like it

Another very positive aspect is that you can navigate between moments on your own, when you can be a bit self-centered and meditative, and moments when you can be more social.

But being on your own, it means that you have to be a proactive to foster human contacts. Yet, you can also be a bit picky about the kind of interactions you want to have.

The good thing in New Zealand, if you spend overnight on a camping ground or even in certain motels, you’ll find shared amenities, a.o. a kitchen.

So when you prepare your evening dinner or breakfast, you have a very high chance to meet people from all type of backgrounds, origins or all ages.

And with a simple question as “What have you planed for the day?” you can engage very interesting conversations.

In that regard, I’ve exchanged with super interesting people from all around the world, but also locals, who gave me tips and tricks on things I should definitely add to my todo list, but also things that sounded promising on paper but that could definitely be skipped.

Last but not least, some people have told me that their biggest fear was going to the restaurant on their own. And I can understand that.

Yet, I’ll give you a tip to overcome this fear. I personally bought an e-reader. Probably one of the best purchase I did recently. And like this, eating on your own will not be a problem anymore, if you have some good readings with you.

Letting yourself be absorbed by literature is a great way to stop paying attention to other people’s gaze.

Of course, you could spend your dinner doom scrolling your smartphone. But I find it way more depressing 😉

But in any case, you’ll soon realize that others aren’t really interested in your fate. And that those who have nothing to do but judge you don’t really deserve any consideration.

Program for the week

As mentioned previously, whilst road-tripping, I tend not to have a fix program. This gives me the freedom to decide on the spot and/or to see where the winds/fate take me.

Of course, that is only possible when you travel during less busy times or in less frequented regions of the world.

During high season in New Zealand, i.e. basically from Mid-November to Mi-January, vacancies are limited and rates tend to sky rocket, especially if you book last minute.

Fortunately for me, it was already March. Kids where back to school, and the hordes of tourist had already left.

Yet, I quickly realized that there are always tourists in New Zealand.

However, I did manage to find decent accommodations at relatively decent price…for a solo traveler. One of the other drawback when traveling on your own is that you cannot split any costs 🙂

So for this roadtrip, I booked a one-way flight Auckland-Queenstown. And one night in a hostel in Queenstown. The rest was open, even though I had gathered a list of sights I wanted to see.

Why Queenstown as a starting point?

Well there are two major airports on the South Island, with good connexions/cheap fare: Christchurch and Queenstown.

Whilst browsing for flights online, prices were relatively similar. But what really tipped the scales was the price of the rental cars.

Renting a car in New Zealand is quite pricy to put it mildly. Especially if you’re traveling solo and cannot split those costs.

You can budget around 100-150 USD per day for a compact car.

On top, if you’re not planing to make a loop and to bring the car to the same location where you picked it up, you have to pay a one-way fee that can be pretty hefty.

However, you can look for relocation deals.

That is people who did a one-way trip and dropped the car at a different location. And now the car needs to be brought back.

So some hirers offer you to do the trip for them for free. However, pick-up and drop-off dates might be tight. You can browse deals on this website.

Or if you want to have a bit more leeway, you’ll have to browse the car rental websites or booking portals and see, when you enter your date, if you can get a discount for it.

Personally, I found my deal on Skyscanner’s website that redirected me to an another intermediation portal that did the gig for a local rental agency called APEX Car Rental.

Even if it sounded a bit shady at first, I did my due diligence online and saw that it was legit.

And like this, a very ostentatious Mitsubishi ASX had to be brought back from Queenstown to Christchurch. And I took the job and got a 50% discount on the rental 🙂

Just a noteworthy piece of intel.

Some rental companies require you to have an international drivers licence if yours is not translated into English.

And frankly, I was a bit pissed because it was the first time in my life that I had to provide an international DL. And I had rented car all around the world.

Yet I didn’t have one. So I had to pay on top 70 NZD for something that sounded more like a rip-off. But I didn’t have a choice since the car had already been paid for, and the booking was not refundable! So I was basically f******.

Touching base in Queenstown

The views over the Mountains and the Wakatipu lake I could spot from the plane windows were really impressive. So my idea was to spend the first two nights in Queenstown and then to head towards Wanaka.

The airport was super busy and crowded with tourists, mainly from Asian origins. I discovered later that they New Zealand was highly popular among them and they enjoyed on top direct flights.

So I had to wait quite a bit to get my bag and then another 90min or so to get my rental cars ready.

Once all sorted, I headed straight to the city center to check in my hostel as quickly as possible so that I had then time to explore the city and above all to take the cable car, also known as Queenstown Skyline and to enjoy the 360-view or so over the city and the surroundings.

Note that you have also the option to hike to the top, if you want to save up on the 60NZD the round trip costs.

The effort will take probably 90min of your time and is not super intense.

If you don’t mind the price, yet still fancy some physical activities, there are several trails at the top of the Bob’s peak, in the Ben Lomond Scenic Reserve. Ask at the tourist office for more info.

You can also look in the Lonely Planet. I found the guide to be quite on point, as it favors, for once, mostly the sights and activities you can do in New Zealand, and provide minimum infos about Restaurants and Hotels.

Which I find quite smart tbh. Because restaurants/hotels come and go. Prices fluctuate. And you’ll be better off to look for online deals on dedicated booking platforms.

Back to the discussion, the view from the top is quite nice. Is it worth the 60NZD?

Depends what else you have planed for the week.

Personally, I would not put it on the top of my highlights of that week. Yet I’m still happy I did it.

So if you happen to find yourself nose-to-nose with a white shark, the luge at the top of Bob’s peak may seem a little insipid 😉

The view from the sky deck, Top of the Queenstown Skyline.

After taking a few snapshots at the top, and enjoying the view for an hour or so, I headed back down to wonder a bit around the city.

Yet, I quickly realized that there was not tons of things to see in the city. Queenstown is one of New Zealand’s top spots for ski lovers.

In summer, however, skiing gives way to a variety of outdoor activities such as mountain biking, hiking, paragliding and more.

As for the city center, it’s not overflowing with things to see. There are mainly sports shops, restaurants/cafés and a few luxury boutiques.

The waters of Lake Wakatipu might look welcoming. Though, in Summer, they average 15,8 degrees. So except for a quick dip, you’ll probably not bath for hours.

So after a quick tour of the city center, I decided to take the car and go to another sight mentioned in the Lonely Planet: the Lake Hayes.

There is a nice loop-hike you can do around the lake which will take probably two hours (around 12km). If you have the time, fancy it, it is definitely worth it.

When I was on the spot, there were mainly locals running, walking their dogs, etc.

However, the sun was about to set and I decided to slowly head back to Queenstown.

The day had been quite busy and I was feeling a bit tired. On top, I had the feeling that I had seen enough of the city/surroundings.

So it was time to start planing the next day.

After a quick shower at the hostel, I took my guide and went to a tasty restaurant I had spotted whilst wondering the pedestrian streets earlier in the afternoon.

I was craving for Asian Food and Madame Woo seemed like the place for it.

Nice ambiance, good food, fast and friendly service and reasonable prices for Queenstown. I was quite happy with my choice.

My belly full, and after a little digestive stroll to soak up the nocturnal atmosphere, I set sail for the youth hostel for a restful night’s sleep… or so I thought.

Mixed dorms certainly offer the opportunity to meet new people. But also to share their body odor, especially when they’ve spent the day on the mountain bike and skipped the shower. And the snoring…

But I’ve heard that travel shapes youth…

Despite of the loud noises, my eyes were slowly closing. So this will mark the end of this post.

But I’ll see you in my next post for the next part of the adventures…

Stay tuned

The next part of the South Island Adventures can be found -> here <-