Off Season Adventures: New Zealand Pt 2

Part 2 of the “See New Zealand on a College Bus” tour picks up on Day 2 in Franz Josef, which is by far by favorite stop so far. Unfortunately, I’m there in early winter and the weather is quick rainy. The #1 thing on my bucket list for New Zealand was a heli-hike, which I had slated for this day but woke up and outside my window it was gray and gloomy.

Karl the Fog seriously stalked me here from SF

I walked to Glacier Guides, only to find out no helicopters were able to take off that day due to inclement weather. I refused to waste a day sitting inside though in this beautiful town, so a couple of us went on a hike in the forest area behind the hostel. The walk there felt like we were in a jungle, only made more green and lush from the rain.

Still chasing waterfalls

We walked up the lower part of a mountain, alongside a flowing river with mini-waterfalls that you couldn’t always see but could definitely hear. We got to these old mining tunnels, which were crazy to walk through.

Ominous or from the set of The Hobbit?

They were so long, there was no light, just a long stone pathway carved out in the mountain. We had to wade through ankle deep, freezing water the whole time but it was worth it because I did get to check something off my NZ bucket list… glowworms!  They were tinier than I thought (i.e. you can’t tell they’re worms), but they coated the ceiling of the tunnel and looked like tiny stars and glowing blue glitter. It’s impossible to get a photo unfortunately, but they were definitely worth the wet trek.

Soaked but worth it!

For lunch, I went into town with a bunch of girls from the UK, where apparently meat pies are a pretty big deal. They had found a place that had them, so I tried a steak pie and understood why they are so popular. The savory meat and gravy with a flaky crust was quite delicious. After lunch we got a shuttle bus out to the start of a hike up to near the edge of the glacier (bypassing everything I’d spent running the day before).

You walk down a trail in this giant valley and every direction you look there’s amazing waterfalls cascading down. The terrain is rocky and mossy, creating a really cool contrast.

Moss "rocks"! Sorry for the Dad joke...

The glacier is in the distance and you can tell it’s there because the ice is actually blue. The whole experience was so beautiful, it felt surreal.

Blue ice (ice baby)

That night I watched the sunset over a nearby airport/field and grabbed Chinese food at King Tiger.

Had to use a panorama to capture this sunset!

I wasn’t sure how the cuisine would be in NZ, but it was actually really tasty since Asia is one of the neighboring continents.

The next day we left Franz Josef super early and took off for the neighboring Fox Glacier. It was a crystal clear morning and as we pulled into town, the driver asked if anyone wanted to go sky diving. I thought, why not, they always say anticipation is the worst part so I might as well just go for it. Three of us walked into Skydive Fox Glacier, a super small operation but clearly professionals. They had photos all of the walls of famous extremists from the likes of Nitro Circus. Everyone who worked there was super nice and calming and before I knew it I was decked out in a purple suit (my lucky color), climbing into a small metal plane with my Argentinian tandem partner Mauro.

This is my excited yet petrified face

Up we went and I was having a nervous hysterical laughing attack. All the sudden the plane door swung open at 13,000 feet. I wrapped my legs around the edge of the plane, leaned up against Mauro.

 

Oh shit, this is about to happen! No going back now.

 The next thing I knew I was falling toward the mountains (apparently most people’s brains black out for the first 10-15 seconds). It’s so hard to describe the experience but it doesn’t feel like you’re falling, it almost feels like you’re snorkeling in the sky. The dead drop only lasts about 60 seconds at this height and goes by super-fast. 

Turns out I fucking love this!

Then the rip cord gets pulled, the parachute expands, you get a little jerked upward, but it’s all good because you know you’re not going to die.  Once you’re floating it doesn’t even feel high anymore compared to what you just went through. Mauro let me grab the handles and steer and we twirled around in circles above the beautiful terrain. 

This is nothing, I got this!

We could see everything from Mt. Cook to the ocean. Apparently Fox Glacier is officially the “2^nd most beautiful skydive in the world.” I did some research and it appears this way on most lists, I think Interlochen must be #1. A huge thanks and so much love to Mauro, who dealt with my insane laughing and was a wonderfully calming presence. This is definitely the kind of person you want to be strapped to when falling out of a plane, plus it doesn’t hurt that he was cute! In a post-adrenaline haze I got back on the bus. The ride was a blur of winding mountain roads, but we stopped at a couple scenic places for photos. One was an epic waterfall at Mount Aspiring National Park.

I would say this is "aspiring"

Then once you get to "The Neck," there's a lot of great lake views.

It's hard to capture NZ beauty on a camera phone

Our end destination that day was the city of Wanaka. It had the same vibes as a ski town in Colorado, with lots of ski bums filling up the shops, bars, and cafes. The town was nestled in the mountains on a beautiful, clear lake. I went for a nice stroll along the lake and saw the most Instagrammed tree in the world, The Lone Tree. It’s pretty funny, because it just looks like a dead tree growing in the water but against the mountain backdrop it felt unique.

#lonetree

That night I got some quality Indian food an stayed at the Wanaka YHA, which was by far the nicest YHA I have ever seen.

In the morning we departed from Wanaka (I could have spent more time there) and went to the weirdest and hilarious Puzzling World, right outside of the city. It’s impossible to describe the “wonderful world of weirdness” so check out the link I included. The outside of the building is home to the world’s largest 3D maze. Depending on the challenge, you could spend anywhere from 30 minutes to well over an hour wandering around it, trying to find the colored towers in each corner.

Intense, but somehow less scary than a corn maze

After that, you can go inside and check out their 5 illusion rooms, which are pretty trippy. My favorite was where the whole room was on a tilt and you felt drunk just standing there. There’s another cool one that has an Alice in Wonderland like quality where you go from feeling very large to very small as you walk across it.

They also have trippy statues. Where does the water come from??

After spending a couple hours there we made our way to Queenstown, first stopping at the home of bungee jumping. You can watch a video on the history of bungee and watch people bungee off the bridge that’s right there. They also have shuttles that will take the more adventures out to the Nevis bungee.

By unanimous consensus, bungee is more scary than skydiving (this is not me)

Our lunch stop was in Arrowtown, which has an adorable downtown area that feels like you’re in a gold rush town from the Wild West. Our driver said the bakery there is a must stop and well-known by all the drivers. I tried a lamb and mint one that was fantastic. All the people from the UK in the group said they were some of the best meat pies they’ve ever had. After that it was under an hour to Queenstown. We were staying in Nomad, which is this massive hostel so check-in was kind of a clusterfuck. I dropped my bags off and a group of us headed up to the gondolas at the base of the mountain to go luging.

Chairlifts wihen there's not snow is confusing

Luging is basically like sledding meets go karts on a mountain side. There were different courses and were super windy, so if you took a corner too fast or hit a hill you could actually get some air (you’re not supposed to do this).

Super scenic luge track

We did the course 4 times and then went to the chalet to grab drinks and watch the sunset. At night the whole bus met up at Red Rock for dinner and a Kiwi Experience bar crawl. Again, I was way too old to be on this but it was entertaining. I stayed out late enough to make it to the Minus 5 Ice Bar, where you get to wear a big furry coat, go down into a bar that’s cooled to be under freezing so all the furniture and bar is made of only ice, and the drinks come in cups made out of ice.

Can I keep the coat?!

It’s a little pricey and the drinks are pretty sweet but it’s a cool experience to try once.

But only the bartenders get awesome hats

After a late night pub crawl, the early morning wake up for Milford Sound was pretty aggressive, but it’s a couple hours outside of the city due to the mountain terrain. Milford Sound isn’t actually a sound, it’s a fjord. So it would only make sense that it is actually located in Fiordland National Park, which is an UNESCO World Heritage site. The park makes up the whole southwest corner of the south island. Upon entry, there’s expansive fields you can stop at for photo opportunities before making it to the heart of the valley, surrounded by epic mountain peaks carved out by glaciers. 

No pano can capture the expansive nature

There’s quick little walks you can do off the main road as well. At one point you get to drive through a long tunnel that goes through the heart of a mountain and that means you are almost at Milford Sound. We boarded a Jucy Cruise that’s a 1.5 hour boat cruise. 

Not a bad place to catch a boat

There’s a lot of waterfalls along the way and the boat will even dip it’s nose under the biggest one, which means everyone on the outside of the boat is getting drenched. 

Waterfalls on waterfalls. I can't even.

There’s also lots of seals hanging out on the rocks along the way. Then it was back on the bus for a 4 hour drive back to Queenstown. Overall, Milford Sound is one of the most beautiful national parks I’ve seen, but be prepared for a lot of driving, only to go sit on a boat. 

Although from the boat you get to see things like this

If there’s options to stay closer to the park, I might recommend it to avoid an aggressive day of driving. Once we were back in the city, we waited in line to get dinner at Fergburger, a food institution in Queenstown. The burgers are delicious and decadent, I got a cheeseburger with brie to stay classic but go a little outside of the American burger offering. All of the ingredients were fresh and flavorful. It was well worth the line!

My last day in Queenstown was more chill, I just wanted to explore more of this beautiful city. There’s a lot of great walking paths along Lake Wakatipu in any direction.

I got in so many steps this trip!

The botanical gardens are on one peninsula that’s particularly scenic and has great 360 views of all the surrounding mountains, aptly named The Remarkables.

Plenty of time to sit on a bench and reflect on the Remarkables

There’s also a big Frisbee golf course in the gardens and they don’t care if you drink beers while you play. There are also some neat art installations around the outside perimeter of the park.

This was my favorite park art!

After that, I went to Nadi Wellness Centre for a yoga class, so I could slowly start to prepare my body for the long journey home. The people who work there were super warm and welcoming. The space is cozy and has a view of the lake.

One room, a fireplace, and a view of the mountains = zen

After that, I walked to the lakefront for lunch at Pier 19, an upscale restaurant featuring local ingredients that had been recommended to me. I had a venison salad that had a well-balanced flavor profile, with nuts, cauliflower, and micro greens.

All salads should be this meaty

Since this is clearly a healthy lunch option, I decided to balance it out with a visit to Cookie Bar, which is right by the Nomad hostel. They have a constant rotation of fresh baked cookies, multiple flavor options, cookie sandwiches, shakes, and a cookie happy hour deal This is a Queenstown institution that should not be missed!

I mean, it even looks fun and delicious. Now imagine the smell of a fresh baked cookie...

The next day was my last day in New Zealand, which was a sad realization (my 6am flight was less than 24 hours away). I separated from the Kiwi Bus crew, as I had mis-planned my loop and been one day short. I booked a $40 express ticked on the Naked Bus (I don't know who comes up with these names), which would take me straight from Queenstown to Christchurch. Thankfully the long midday rest stop was in Lake Tekapo, which was the last Kiwi stop I was missing.

My last taste of epic NZ scenery

I can't comment on what it's like to stay there or what there is to do there, but a long stop by the lake for lunch and photos sufficed for me. There's some historic buildings on the lake that you can go inside and check out.

Since it's so tiny in the last photo...

Pro tips for the Naked Bus 1) download everything you want to watch in offline mode, the wifi is poor and limited 2) it says there's no eating/drinking on the bus but just sit toward the back and no one cares. Otherwise there's not nearly enough stops for snacking. I stayed at the Sudima Hotel attached the airport. It was cheap but nice, with a gym and decent dining menu. If you have an early morning flight, this place is perfect. And then I was off to San Francisco. New Zealand, thank you for the epic wilderness adventure and opportunity to do extreme things I never knew I had in me.