Sorry, this was a long time coming. At AJK's request, I just compiled this today. Thanks AJK - I've been wanting to do this for a while, so glad you asked. Map and a few pics attached to post. PM me for a link to plenty more pictures.
TRIP REPORT FROM FEBRUARY - MARCH 2014
Day 1 – Sunday (Flying): We flew using AA miles (75k RT per person for my wife and I) from JFK – DFW on AA and then QF from DFW – BNE, arriving Tuesday morning. The flight was long, but with the shades down, and randomly sleeping, eating, and watching movies, without ever knowing when you were supposed to be eating or sleeping, the time went by. We did not attempt to bring in any food with us. They actually brought out dogs to smell us, and our luggage, looking for food, upon landing in Australia. Being as we had nothing to hide, it was entertaining. Oh, and Global Entry works in Australia (although we didn’t get a passport stamp)!
Day 3 – Tuesday (Gold Coast): Upon arriving in BNE, we took a Con-X-Ion shuttle to the Gold Coast, where we had booked the Sheraton Mirage Resort and Spa with Starpoints. We spent the day hanging around the pool/beach. I planned for us to rent scooters and ride along the water, but we were jetlag and lazy. The hotel is stunning, although the pool was in need of some work. Watch out for snakes in the bushes by the pool and those Ibis birds with really long beaks trying to eat your food. We spent the day here mostly due to logistics of getting to NZ using AA miles.
Day 4 – Wednesday (Queenstown): We flew VA from BNE – ZQN. Apparently carry-on bags must be 7kg or less, and our carry-on itself weighed almost that. Due to the time zone change being 3 hours, we didn’t arrive in ZQN until ~4pm. Flying into Queenstown was amazing, coming in low down over the mountains, it was really beautiful. All of our luggage was put through x-ray machines upon arrival, and bio-security took away some honey packets we had with us. They explained in detail the diseases from bees that are not in NZ and are trying to be kept out.
I freaked out when getting into the rental car on the wrong side and thought to myself “Why is the rest of the car on my left, I am going to crash”. Just keep telling yourself “stay left” and you get used to it pretty quickly and begin to wonder why we drive on the right in the US.
The drive from the airport to Queenstown along Lake Wakatipu was mesmerizingly beautiful and we just had to pull over. The lake, and all of the lakes in the Otago region, are crystal blue with glacial water like you’ve never seen in your life – unreal. We headed right over to the Skyline Gondola and Luge. The views from up top are incredible and the luge was fun to go down a few times. We then explored the town which is small, very walkable, and really pretty. Lots of people out, lots of stores to walk around, a beautiful lakefront, etc. We walked into a winery, I believe it was The Winery on Beach St and they happened to have 1 bottle of kosher red wine, the Goose Bay Pinot Noir! Someone had requested they get it in recently and they had 1 left.
We finally hit the road around 9pm, right when it got dark, for the 2-hour drive to Te Anau on dark windy roads, the first time driving on the left. Somehow it worked out. We arrived at the Red Tussock Motel in Te Anau and I ended up waking up the owner so we could get into our room for the night.
Day 5 – Thursday (Doubtful Sound): Waking up with a view of Lake Te Anau was beautiful. We hit the road for the short drive to Manapouri driving alongside fields of sheep. Unfortunately the weather was cloudy with occasional showers, but that is the norm for Fiordland. We took a boat across Lake Manapouri, a bus across Wilmot’s Pass, and then another boat down Doubtful Sound (which is really a fiord, not a sound). We skipped the power station as it didn’t appear too interesting to us. The cruise itself was beautiful and we saw numerous waterfalls, seals, and even were lucky enough to see Fiordland Crested Penguins swimming in the water. Upon reaching the Tasman Sea, the boat was rocking away as we wrapped around the last island and back into the fjord. This was a full day from 11am – 5 or 6pm. Upon our return we headed back to Te Anau, took some pictures by the lake. There was a beautiful double rainbow to end the day (there seemed to be rainbows every other day in New Zealand – stunning!).
Day 6 – Friday (Milford Sound): We packed up our stuff and headed out for the 2 hour drive to Milford Sound. We stopped at Mirror Lakes along the way although it was pretty anticlimactic, especially since the ducks in the water were ruining the effect. The drive through Fiordland is stunning and there were multiple pull-overs to take pictures of the incredible scenery around us. The 2 “Holy crap!” spots to me were Ellington Valley and right outside the Homer Tunnel.
We lucked out with the weather and it was one of the few sunny days Fiordland sees. Once you arrive at Milford Sound, you enter what looks like an airport terminal to board the boat. The sand flies made it difficult to wait for the boat outside, so we waited inside. The cruise along Milford Sound was stunning between the beautiful sunny day, waterfalls, snowcapped peaks, fur seals, etc. The boat went right up to a giant rock covered with sleeping fur seals, right up to a giant waterfall which we could feel, and other beautiful spots. It’s hard to describe the beauty in text, and even many of the pictures don’t do justice for New Zealand in general.
The cruise was around 10:30am-1pm and then we hit the road to Queenstown for Shabbat. We made a few more stops on the way along Lake Wakatipu for pictures. We were in touch with a Chabad rabbi who was trying to start up Chabad in Queenstown and we were supposed to have meals by him. Last minute he had to be in Christchurch for Shabbat. He helped us out though, and had Challah and other items sent from Grey’s Ave Deli to our hotel in Queenstown. He also directed us to meet an Israeli chef at the St. Moritz Hotel (which looks stunning and has incredible views of the lake) who had some Chamin he made together with the Rabbi. We got the Chamin and another bottle of Goose Bay Pinot Noir from the chef, along with the food mailed to us and headed to the Coronation Lodge.
Day 7 – Shabbat (Queenstown): We explored Queenstown, walking through town, along the lake, and through the Queenstown Gardens which are really pretty. When Shabbat ended we headed back into town to purchase some souvenirs (a sheep-skin rug, of course) and then headed to the Minus 5 Ice Bar.
Day 8 – Sunday (Mt. Cook): We rearranged our itinerary shortly before the trip and put Mt. Cook back on it, despite being very out of the way – since we planned to go to Franz Josef Glacier the following day, and this would require driving back towards Queenstown and around the mountain range. In any case, the drive was beautiful and we passed many vineyards and fresh fruit stands. After almost 3 hours of driving, Mt. Cook comes into sight and you say “Oh my god!” It is a beautiful sight! What’s incredible is stopping by Lake Pukaki and taking a picture with the crystal blue glacial water and the huge snowcapped Mt Cook in the background. Unreal! I read that it’s only worth going if it’s going to be a sunny day, and we were fortunate enough to have bright sunshine. We hiked a portion of the Hooker Valley Track which was beautiful, especially walking across the drawbridges over a rushing river with the snowcapped mountain to the side. Vivid colors!
We then headed out for the 5 hour drive to Fox Glacier where we were planning to spend the night. We stopped on the way along Lake Hawea. The sights on the drive were, as always, out of this world. Driving down 2-lane windy roads hugging the side of the mountain, with a cliff to your right, dropping down to Lake Hawea, and while being sunny – some clouds low down, feeling like they’re right above your head.
We suddenly hit a road block around 6:30pm – orange cones set up across the road and an officer who told us that 25km down the road, at Haast Pass, the road would be closing at 7pm for overnight construction. We were informed this was happening for a few weeks already and would be ongoing for months. The officer was surprised that out hotel in Fox Glacier hadn’t informed us of this, and told us the only other way around was to drive ~14 hours back to Christchurch and up and around the other side of the mountains! The road block was conveniently right by a B&B which she was suggesting we spend the night.
After arguing for 10 minutes, at 6:40pm, we decided to go for it. Worst case scenario we got to Haast Pass, couldn’t get through, and had to turn back around to the B&B – there was nothing else for us to do anyways. Somehow we made it. I realize 20 minutes for 25km (15 miles) doesn’t sound difficult, but these were very windy mountain roads, which required you to constantly slow down to 15kmph to go around sharp bends. We had originally planned to stop at the Blue Pools of Haast, but had to skip it.
We stopped at a viewpoint when Route 6 finally hit the ocean. Having hit the West Coast, the scenery on the drive changed drastically. We were now in a heavily wooded rainforest and not surrounded by glacial lakes. We continued until we got to the Rainforest Motel in Fox Glacier where we spent the night.
Day 9 – Monday (Franz Josef): We woke up and headed out to see a beautiful view of a giant glacier – pretty incredible. We drove down the long dirt road to Gillespies Beach, a beautiful black sand beach, with tons of flat rocks, and views of Mt Cook and the glacier behind you.
We then headed over to Franz Josef for the Ice Explorer trek. I can’t recall what I read online, but it had been clear to me there should be no issue with my wife, being in her 5th month of pregnancy, going on the hike. Although she was barely showing, her pregnancy somehow came in conversation as we were checking in, and the woman behind the counter pulls out a laminated piece of paper that says pregnant women aren’t allowed to go on the glacier climbs. After speaking to the manager, and the manager’s manager, they finally allowed us to go after signing an additional waiver.
The hike was great. First time in a helicopter was very cool, and we landed what appeared to be halfway up the glacier. Our guide who went by Froyo was really cool. Parts of the hike were up chiseled out staircases of ice and parts were low grade slopes in the ice. There were a few times when Froyo and his assistant needed to chisel a bit in the ice before we could continue. There was one small ice cave that we came upon and took turns taking pictures in. On the way back down, Froyo let us take pictures holding his ice pick. Overall it was a very cool experience.
We stopped into the Glacier Hot Pools on the way out for a few minutes which was relaxing, and then drove 2 hours up to Greymouth for the night at New River Bluegums B&B. We had a room that was inside the house, which was really nice and with awesome hosts.
Day 10 - Tuesday (Barrytown Knifemaking): This is an all day (9am-5pm) activity run by a middle-aged couple out of their house which was pretty interesting. The husband has quite the sense of humor, and it was overall an entertaining day, with around 15 or so people partaking, who were visiting from all over.
Without getting into too much detail, my wife had started not feeling well and ended up coming down with pneumonia. We spent the next week in Greymouth Hospital and family even flew in from the US to be with us. We had meals overnighted from Greys Ave Deli (Ari at Greys Ave Deli is a true angel) to the hospital for Shabbat, and finally left the hospital a week later on Tuesday afternoon. The day before we managed a short trip to Hokitika as well, saw the beach and a few jade shops.
The kindness that we experienced from the local New Zealanders over the course of this week, from Ari at Greys Ave Deli, the B&B hosts we were by in Greymouth, the nurses and staff in the hospital, to a stranger helping family get a ride to the hospital before Shabbat...there are no words to describe the incredible kindness. I wanted to hug every New Zealander. They are truly amazing people…”Good as Gold!”
Day 17 - Tuesday (Nelson): Finally released from the hospital, my wife was instructed to not fly and take it easy for 10-14 days. I decided we needed to be somewhere warmer and more sunny than Greymouth, so we headed north to Nelson. All the motels were full and we weren’t sure where we’d be spending the night, until we tried AirBnB and found a great apartment by the water.
Day 18-21 - Wednesday-Shabbat (Nelson): We took it easy, spent some time exploring Nelson which is a really pretty city with a beautiful waterfront. Wednesday-Thursday we didn’t go too far. Friday we finally ventured out a bit further. We were trying to locate some more Goose Bay wine. It turns out the vineyards/winery itself was 30 minutes away. On the phone they mentioned that their wine is sold directly to an exporter and they’re not even sure if/where you could buy it locally, but that we could swing by, so we did just that on Friday. Following which we drove over to Kaiteriteri Beach. Talk about a stunning beach! The sand looked like it was colored gold and the water was this beautiful green/blue - perhaps the most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen! (I’ve been around Hawaii, Rio, etc)
I’ll tell one story of the kindness of NZ’ers that took place this day. We had food overnighted once more from Greys Ave Deli for Shabbat. I hadn’t realized the box required signature, as someone else signed for it the week prior in the hospital. This was the first day we finally left the Nelson area and arrived back at 5:45pm to a postcard that we missed our package. The post office closed at 5:30pm. I sped over to the post office in case someone was still there, but no one was. I noticed that they were neighbors with NZ Couriers and walked in to talk to someone and see if there was any way to get our expensive box of Shabbat food that we were going to lose out on.
The lady at NZ Couriers emailed the managers at the post office to ensure whoever would be in on Saturday morning would deliver the box to us, and took the $5 charge from me to pass along as I explained about Shabbat. She mentioned that if the post office was unable to deliver, she would deliver it herself...even though she didn’t work or NZ couriers...even though she was off on Saturday...and even though she didn’t live in the immediate area. Sure enough, she showed up Shabbat morning with our box of food, like it was no big deal. Amazing people.
Day 22 - Sunday (Christchurch): We headed out early for the 6 hour drive to Christchurch in time for family to catch a flight back home. We drove Route 6 and Queen Charlotte Drive through Picton - so picturesque! The entire drive was stunning, with vineyards, mountains, the ocean, etc. At one point we pulled over and saw fur seals, and then as we were driving along near Kaikoura, my wife says “I think I see dolphins!”. I quickly pulled over and we saw a whole pack of ~20 dolphins doing their arcing jumps in the water! Unreal! We made it down to Christchurch and relaxed for the rest of the day at our next AirBnB booking.
Day 23 - Monday (Oamaru): In my quest to see penguins, we decided to drive 3 hours down to Oamaru which is apparently known as the penguin capital of the world. The city itself is really pretty with lots of victorian buildings and an area of a few blocks that is the old part of the city which is really quaint. There’s a beautiful scenic lookout point where you can see all of Oamaru, the ocean, and of course - a rainbow (it might be permanent at this point).
We drove to Bushy Beach, home of the yellow eyed penguins that apparently come ashore 1-2 hours before sunset. It was quite chilly, and there were many of us standing there from the viewing platform high above the beach on the lookout. We ended up seeing 1 yellow eyed-penguin come ashore and be chased off the beach into the wilderness by a fur seal. Not something you see every day.
We then headed to the Little Blue Penguin colony. This is a paid-for event, where you they have a small area of stadium seating and you can watch the groups of little blue penguins swimming in at dusk from their day fishing out at sea. The lighting they use is apparently this special lighting which the penguins can’t see, so they believe it’s dark and there are no humans or animals around that could potentially harm them. It was really an incredible sight watching the groups of these tiny little blue penguins swimming ashore, drying off, and running across to their nests for the night. After this we headed back up to Christchurch to our B&B.
Day 24-25 Tuesday-Wednesday (Christchurch): These 2 days turned out to be the biggest rainstorm Christchurch had seen in some 40 years or so. Roads were flooded - it was a mess. We stayed local, checking out the Quake City exhibit which was interesting; the Re:Start Container Mall which was pretty cool; Riccarton Mall during the height of the storm, which is just a big indoor mall, and New Regent Street, which is a really pretty and colorful street of interesting shops.
Day 26 - Thursday (Flight home): We flew NZ from CHC-SYD, collected our luggage, and checked in for our flight home on QF from SYD-LAX and AA from LAX-JFK. We missed out the 3 days we had planned in Sydney, but will make up for it on a future trip.
Other activities I highly suggest we didn’t end up making it to include checking out Abel Tasman National Park and going on the Kaikoura Dolphin Encounter.
In total, we drove 2336 miles (yes, miles) and took 4000 pictures, and would go back in a heartbeat.
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