"Did you visit Hobbiton?" That's the single most-asked question I received after visiting New Zealand. Sorry to disappoint, but the answer is no. The sweeping views of snow-capped mountains and blue lakes piqued my interest more than manmade movie sets, so we ended up spending more time exploring South Island and its rich diverse natural landscapes. Hobbits will have to wait for another time.
Traveling to an English-speaking country always puts my mind at ease. When you're thousands of miles from home, having one fewer thing to worry about is always a plus. Thinking about driving on the left side of the road though, gave me quite a bit of stress. Stress that turned out to be completely unfounded. After landing at Queenstown airport and picking up our car, it took a mere ten minutes to adjust to driving on the left. The only thing that occasionally tripped me up was mixing up the windshield wipers and the turn signal - that always gave me a jump.
The first destination we visited was Queenstown, one of the more populous and touristy cities on the south island. Touristy, because of the sheer number of signs written in Chinese hung on souvenir shop windows. Seeing all those signs took a little charm out of the town, but Queenstown had ample charm to begin with. Fall colors were just starting to appear, and it gave the city an extra pop of color, especially when juxtaposed with the idyllic blue waters of the lakefront beach. Make sure you grab a burger at Fergburger and some gelato at Patagonia Chocolates for what I think is probably the quintessential Queenstown experience.
For most visitors, Fiordland National Park is the main attraction on the south island. The scenic drive through this park consists of many different points of interests. Some worth stopping at and some not. At the end of the drive lies arguably the most popular attraction in New Zealand: Milford Sound. This area offers a sweeping panoramic view of peaks rising straight up over the ocean. The cruises offered here are well worth the money as they really let you take in the grandeur of the area and see waterfalls you wouldn't be able to otherwise see. Also, as we were waiting for the sunset, it was far better to be on a boat away from the shore than to risk getting bitten by swarms of sandflies on the beach.
After Milford Sound, we began our journey north.
Our last major destination and the highlight of our south island journey, was Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park. Fronted by a large glacial lake named Lake Pukaki, the mountain range was an impressive sight to behold as it slowly materialized into view. Just when you think you’ve seen the best view of the wall of rock and ice, you end up making more stops shortly after. Prior to this segment of our journey, we were severely missing snow-packed mountains. This really scratched that itch.
In the park itself, if there's one hike you must do, it should be the Hooker Valley trail (or track, as New Zealanders put it). It's a very well-maintained trail with great views of the Hooker river and surrounding peaks, culminating with a picturesque view of the namesake Mt Cook, the tallest peak in New Zealand. We timed our hike to reach the end by sunset, which was a great decision as the temperature was not blistering hot and the crowd definitely thinned out by the end of the day.
After days of driving through sheep fields, scenic landscapes, and hitting up various grocery stores to check out the local cider micro-brewing scene, we said goodbye to the South Island and headed north. There were a ton of places we missed out on, but we left knowing that we will definitely return in the future, perhaps during a season when the mountains have more snow on them.