With mountains in the foreground, we got off the ferry in Picton and made our way to Charleston – our first stop. We found a cozy little diner and enjoyed a couple of Steinlagers. We were ready to explore the South Island!
Charleston was on our list because it is home to a large cave system that allows tours. This would be our 2nd cave tour during our travels. Who knew we were so into caves?
After donning our stylish helmets and wetsuits, we headed in! It was a huge cave and a great tour. We learned all about the formations of all the structures and history of the caves. The tour ended at a cave river where we all got in inner tubes and rafted through the pitch black, admiring the glow worms that covered the ceiling. So cool! These pictures were taken by our tour guide on a crappy little digital camera and I find them all hilarious.
From Charleston we headed south along the west coast to experience one of the most scenic drives New Zealand has to offer. It definitely brought us back to our drive along the Pacific Highway on the west coast of the US! We enjoyed the drive, stopping along the way to appreciate the views.
After a couple hours along the coast, we cut inland and ended our night at Hanmer Springs – a popular destination for their natural hot springs. We booked ourselves a private pool and enjoyed a nice long soak after a day on the road.
And back on the road we were! It didn’t work out in our schedule to stay in Christchurch, but we also didn’t want skip in completely. So we found a lovely market hall in the city where we made a pit stop for lunch! I have found that the likelihood of food pictures is correlated to the level of hunger we are experiencing at the time. Too hungry for pics!
On we went along the east coast of the south island. Our next stop was Oamaru where our guidebook pulled us in with the possibility of seeing penguins! We walked around town for a bit where we visited the “Steampunk Headquarters” and a few little shops and cafes. Eventually we made our way to the coast and unfortunately it was not penguin season! But we did come upon some massive seals – such weirdos.
We ended our day on the road in Dunedin where we stayed the night – I had to ask Alex to be sure because we don’t have a single photo from there. But I do remember that we had a couple of beers at a little pub and then ate at a really excellent Thai restaurant. I also bought a super cool sheep skin rug!
We moved on along the coast, taking our time on the back roads and stopping to take things in along the way. These photos are from Curio Bay, where cliffs meet the sea and cattle are grazing along the coast. Beautiful!
We also had to stop at Slope Point – the southernmost land of the southern island of New Zealand. I love landmarks like this!
The driving in the southern island, especially the southern part of the southern island, was really special. There was a lot less traffic and more opportunity for taking country roads allowing for a much more relaxed drive. And there were also sheep EVERYWHERE! We could not believe how many sheep there were – almost 5 sheep to every resident, apparently. These sheep really hit the jackpot, grazing on tall grass with an ocean view.
Our accommodations that evening were in Tuatapere where we found a lodge to stay for the last 4 nights of our time in New Zealand. After only staying one night at each place, we were happy to have a home base for a few days as we continued to explore!
Our first day of exploration was to the fjordlands where we would do a kayaking tour through Doubftul Sound. We got ourselves up at the crack of dawn, hopped on the boat that took us out to the sound, and suited up for a day of spectacular kayaking.
The whole day was incredible. It felt unreal paddling through those channels. The silence was unbeatable and the natural structures towering over us looked so prehistoric. The water was clear enough to spot fish and we saw tons of birds along the way. We ended the day with a dip in the cold waters – how could I pass up a swim in the fjords of New Zealand? What an unforgettable day!
The next few days were very relaxed. Our time was spent reading, driving along the scenic roads, and frequenting the cute little cafe we found not far from our lodge. It felt good to just do a bit of nothing for a couple of days.
We did squeeze in one last beach walk before our time on the island was up. We both couldn’t believe how many spectacular, quiet beaches we have stumbled upon in the last year and a half. I mean, look at this place! And not another soul in sight.
Wandering Between Meals 
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