Let’s continue our 2 weeks trip. I finished my latest post with the fact that our helihike was cancelled. We decided to leave Fox Glacier and enjoy the rest of our journey. The first stop was at Franz Joseph Glacier. We really wanted to see one. As I mentioned before, there was a big flood in New Zealand not long before and the bridge in Franz Joseph was washed away. They have a brand new one, however the scenery looked apocalyptic and most of the roads were still under construction and had only 1 lane.
It’s only a short walk from the carpark to the glacier. Unfortunately you could walk half of the track as mostly it’s dangerous and had a high risk of flood, but you still have a good view. On the way there are a lot of waterfalls and the riverbank is enormous. Well, 100 years ago the glacier was there, and now it’s only just a small piece and there is a possibility it will totally disappear in 30-40 years. I am glad I saw it, but was still sad about the helihike cancellation. Not the same….
It was a bit rainy – west coast is always rainy, it looks like you are driving through a jungle, then you arrive at the mountains. Even before the glacier it’s like a jungle. So weird. Another sad thing is, the whole glacier was covered with ashes. Yes, ashes from the bush-fire in Australia. This was the 2nd of January… 2020 started strong and it’s still going…
Okay, let’s cheer up! We had an amazing time! We continued our trip to Hokitika. It was still dripping down, so we didn’t spend much time in town. I found a freecamping by a restaurant bit off town. You need to register at the bar, but you can stay there for free and use the facilities. On Campermate I saw a note, there are glowworms close by. Luckily we found a lamp in our rented car and headed to the cave. There is a small sign next to it so it’s easy to find, just need to follow the road. However, as soon as we arrived there we saw a tiny cave entrance. We were not brave enough to go in, as we didn’t have any idea what was waiting on the other side. We waited… A small girl and her mom came in 5 mins and of course we followed them inside – they could take down the possible spiderwebs etc hahaha. It was not a cave! You just need to enter a small hole, but you actually end up in the forest. So creepy, but so nice with all the glowworms around. It was worth going there! There is another spot to see glowworms in Hokitika, that is by the main road. However you can only see them at nighttime as it’s an open cave, not like in Waipu.
The parking lot by the restaurant was like a western movie. There were a lot of different kind of people, but we survived the night. We woke up and headed to Hokitika Gorge. Unfortunately as we were after rain the water was not as blue as we would love to see it, but it was a really nice hike.
We stopped at Westport and at an old mine, had a short walk and drove to Hanmer Spring. We decided we needed a chill day, so we visited the Aqua Park in Hanmer Spring. Again, as it was Christmas Holidays it was packed with families and kids. I would love to say how much the ticket was, but as I am very late with this post (2 years) I lost my notes. 😦
Hanmer Spring is a very popular place during holiday and again you can spend a lot of money there! You can book rafting, jet boat trips, quad tours and the list is going on. During my stay in New Zealand I booked most of the experiences through bookme.co.nz. I highly recommend this site as they have all the activities collected there at a very reasonable price.
I contacted my friend who lived close to Hanmer – I really had friends all around the country – and he invited us over for bbq and offered us to stay for the night. We even slept in a bed after 1,5 week camping in the car. 🙂
Next day was my birthday and we had a whalewatch booked in Kaikoura. I mean, where else could I celebrate my birthday, than in my favourite place in the world?! We checked in to the camping I stayed before with Sullivan, the one with the hotpools and walked to the centrer to grab some lunch. It was a waste hahaha :D. We headed to the whale watch center to have the second best activities we booked and hopefully this one was not canceled. The weather was not on our side. I decided to take a seasick pill just in case (1,5 hour before departure).
We got on the boat and after 10 minutes I can’t remember much, just that I felt very hot and from that point I was looking at the bottom of a white bag. I saw Mati Mati – a spermwhale- for like 2 seconds. I told my friend to please take pictures and videos, I will go and die somewhere. There was a sight of an other whale, so at full speed the captain drove there, however we just missed it. We went back to see Mati Mati one more time – again I could barely stand up so for me it was a quick glance from the seat and from my white bag – yeah whale there, good, can we leave? 😀
As soon as we reached mainland I was very happy, told the crew: ‘What a birthday!’ and they all felt so bad for me… 😀 Even the busride back to the center was a nightmare. Somehow we made it back to the camping and I slept till the next morning. If you need more info on the whalewatch experience, please contact my friend, she really enjoyed it! 😀
In Kaikoura there is a freecamp next to the beach on the peninsula. I really wanted to spend the next night there, but it has only 6 or 10 spots and only for self contained cars so you have to be very quick. We drove there in the morning and secured our place. As we were passing we saw people on surfboards and sups heading one direction. There was a pod of dolphins playing in the water like 40 meters from the shore. I LOVE THIS TOWN! We managed to get a parking spot in the freecamping. 🙂
If you are in Kaikoura there is a must place! You need to eat at the Seafood Kiosk. Best crayfish ever. It’s located on the peninsula, right next to the camping.
We headed for a walk around the peninsula. This was the first time for my friend to see seals and for me? I missed them so much. One more very important thing, you always have to keep one eye on the sea! Especially in Kaikoura!! While we were walking I spotted something – there were 3 orcas hunting seals! Again, f*ck National Geography, this is real life! Not long after all the whale watching boats arrived – and of course the sea was sooooooo smooooooth. Not fair, but what could I do.
We headed back to the car, cooked some dinner, enjoyed the view. We had amazing neighbor as he offered us some crayfish he just cooked. You never say no for food, especially crayfish! We went to see the sunset with the seals – and even the boattrip was a failure for me, this was one of my best birthdays!
Next morning we headed back to Christchurch as we had to give Barry back. I told my friend, keep your eye on the sea as it’s very easy to spot dolphins. 2 minutes later we saw a huge pod of dolphins playing in the water. Of course we had to stop!
I am actually shocked how vivid these memories even after 2 years – and I am a bit crying while writing this post. New Zealand, you are really truly amazing! In this note, the borders are opening on the 1st May 2022, however it might not be the best to go there for wintertime, as when I was in Kaikoura it was summer on paper but I had to wear my wintercoat. It might be me, I am always freezing.
Back to the trip, so we headed to Christchurch, where we said bye to Barry. We booked one night in a hostel and had a walk in town. We visited the Botanic Garden – not sure why I go places like this with my hayfever.
Next morning we flew back to Auckland, collected Sullivan and headed to Coromandel. I hope you know that I would take my friend to my second favourite place in New Zealand…
We stopped at the best view point and went camping by New Chum Beach. Earl’s Place! Highly recommend it if you are in the area. The view is amazing and Earl is a character. 🙂
In the morning we headed to New Chum Beach, and finally in the north island we had summer again. You need to climb up to the small hill for the best view. It’s a bit steep and tricky, so don’t do it if it is raining!
The next stop… I think you all know: Cathedral Cove! It was quite packed with people as we still went there during the summer break. This was the first time I took the boat back to the city. Again, I would love to say how much the ride costs, but I can’t remember.
My friend had the Waitomo caving experience booked for the next day, so we couldn’t stay long at Coromandel. We drove down as much as we could and stayed at Opal Hot Springs and Holiday Park in Okauia.
Next morning we drove to Hamilton and visited the gardens. My friends were in the area so it was really nice to catch up with them! Sabina, Liam I hope we will meet soon! Get ready as the borders open I might go and visit you in Australia. 🙂
We dropped off my friend at Waitomo – as I already did the cave tour and it was a lifetime experience, but I knew I would not climb that ladder again in wellies, so I skipped this time. Instead, we went to see some caves and waterfalls with @chewypineapple.
Unfortunately our 2 weeks trip came to the end, we headed back to Auckland, spend the night there and my friend left the next day to the airport. I spent one more day in Auckland to catch up with my friends and headed back to Hawkes bay to work my a** off… -I hoped I can go to Tahiti on my way back to Europe… Long story short: covid hit, all my plans and tickets were canceled and I was stuck in New Zealand.-
I drove more than 2000 km in 2 weeks, but it totally worth it and I would definitely would do it again!
I hope these post will be useful for anybody visiting New Zealand. I tried to show my friend most of it and I think what we could see and enjoy in 2 weeks we max it out! 🙂 For more pictures visit my insta page: evi_4
Evi around the world 