How and what to plan?
Our 15-day itinerary was a good mix of #adventures and relaxing days. We covered 15 lakes, 9 national parks, 5 adventure sports, 5 short tracks (hikes), and 4 one-day tracks. To explore tips and airbnb's where we stayed, please click NZ planning blog.
2 days in North Island (Click the link below for each things to do in each area)
12 days in South Island
Day 4-5 : Explore NZ’s famous Glaciers and Waterfalls - Read Below
Day 8-9 : Undertake the adventures at Mount Cook & Queenstown -- Coming soon
Day 10-11-12 : Southland- Milford, Te Anau -- Coming soon
As much relaxing were the initial days of the trip, the middle leg was filled with oodles of adrenaline! They say NZ as the adventure capital of the world for a reason. One can name an adventure sport and it is available in the country with the best guides and safety measures. Needless to mention with the beauty around!
We decided to go all-in for these adventures. And to come back with no regrets of missing out on a sport; although screaming our hearts, lungs, and bodies out in each one of them. Also, we paid for photos in each one of them so the price of the activity listed below includes the video and photo costs.
Day 4: Heli-hiking the Franz Josef Glaciers
We were highly energized by this day. So far we had driven through easily accessible roads in the country. But the day ahead was indulging in a sport which involved riding a helicopter, wearing a snowsuit, gliding on crampons and balancing on the snow stick, only to find yourself 6000 ft above sea level on a glacier where neither the guide nor you knew what’s beneath!
We picked our stay in the Franz Josef Village, where we had to check-in for the heli-hike. We walked around to a nearby brunch place And then headed to Lake Mapourika, as we had a few hours in between the brunch and heli-hike. There was a nice jetty to the lake with many backpackers kayaking as well. After a few minutes by the lake, we turned back to the village to check-in for the heli-hike.
There are only a couple operators licensed for the heli-hikes – we decided to go with the most popular one “The Helicoper Line”. The check-in started an hour before the hike, where they determined our fitness, body weight, injuries, etc which deemed suitable for the hike. We paid around 320 USD per person which included a snowsuit, carry-on bags, crampons, gloves, socks, hiking shoes. We were given detailed instructions on the not-to-do’s during this hike. Based on the weight and group, we were divided into groups of 5.
Being the lightest in my group, I got lucky for the front seat in the helicopter. The helicopter took off just 5 mins walk away from the check-in center. Here are the glimpses of the helicopter ride to the Franz Joseph Glacier.
Just after landing at the glacier, our group was assigned a guide. Our guide, Amy was from Canada, very adventurous and knew the glaciers really well! I was a bit relaxed to know that we were in good hands. She demonstrated and assisted us in wearing crampons. Post all security checks, we were out on an expedition in the glaciers exploring the nuts and bolts of the blue ice caves. Overall the entire activity will take about half a day.
Post the hike, we visited a popular reflection lake called ‘Lake Matheson’. On a clear sky day and especially at dawn/dusk one can see the reflection of Mount Cook in the lake.
We visited 30 mins prior to sunset to capture a good reflection of the surroundings. You will need about an hour for the entire walk to the lake.
The region is also popular for many other glaciers like Fox Glacier. Although there are tours for hiking Fox as well, we went with Franz Joseph as it was bluer than Fox Glacier. We did a small hike to visit fox glacier that one can get closest too.
After a mesmerizing visit of the glaciers, our dinner was a sumptuous Indian meal at The Indian Kitchen in the Fox Glacier Village. We drove to Haast for about 3 hours for our next Airbnb.
Day 5: Haast’s Best Waterfalls and Pools
Day 5 of the trip was dedicated to exploring the gorgeous waterfalls in the country. We started from the Airbnb in Haast on route 6 and took a pit stop at the following locations. Follow the map link to track through each of the waterfalls.
Roaring Billy waterfalls
Thunder Creek falls
Fantail falls
Each of the waterfalls will involve a short 10-15 min walk to the viewing point. Be prepared with insect repellent at all locations.
The next highlight of the day was a hike to the Blue Pools. This was a 3 km hike via several bridges to the blue pools. The water in these pools is so appealing and blue (as the name suggests) displaying the rocks beneath them.
Continuing further south on route 6, we drove through a scenic drive with Lake Wanaka on the right and Lake Hawea on the right.
There are many lookout points, but my favorite ones are the following:
Boundary Creek Scenic Reserve displays the broken tree sitting in the middle of the lake. If one prefers for a lakeside camping, this is a great place on Lake Wanaka.
Honey & Lavender Farms are a perfect afternoon spot to relish delicious honey ice creams, lavender teas and wander in the lavender farms. The entry to the farms is $5 NZD pp.
~Nomadic Traveller~
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