Local road tripping is the new best thing

As soon as we were ‘free’ to travel locally again, we planned a trip to the South Island. Because with the borders closed, local road tripping is the new best thing. Have you heard?

And honestly? It’s been a wonderful excuse to see some more of our own country again. We’re extremely lucky that our backyard in New Zealand is so beautiful.

I’ve got to say, though, that flying to the start of our road trip was a slightly weird experience. The airport was eerily devoid of the usual crowds. And while we were seated at a safe distance from the other travellers on the plane, I still felt slightly uneasy. I wore a mask, but I was one of only 2 people who did which was probably owing to the fact that we don’t have community transmission in New Zealand so it isn’t seen as necessary.

Nelson and the Abel Tasman National Park

So, we flew into Nelson, in the north of the South Island where we started our road trip. And on our first day, we headed out to the Abel Tasman National Park where we boarded a boat to Apple Tree Bay and then hiked along the coast, meeting the boat at the next bay for our return trip. And wow, that place is sensational! The colour of the water, all the trees and ferns… let’s just say it was food for the soul.

And our 3-hour hike was a great taster adventure for this beautiful national park. We plan to visit again in the Summer when we can kayak and swim and have more time to see the rest of the park.

Marlborough Sounds

The next day we drove to the Marlborough Sounds (just north of the South Island in the Cook Strait). The friends who we were staying with, took their boat up and we launched at Picton and then cruised around taking in all that beauty. And wow, this is another place we want to return to – and possibly hire a house on the water next time. New Zealand is seriously beautiful.

And the following day we explored the quaint city of Nelson. It’s the second-oldest city in New Zealand and has lovely heritage sites and fascinating history. We also hiked up the Centre of New Zealand which is a steep walk, but at least you’re rewarded with beautiful views of Nelson from the peak.

Punakaiki and the glow worm caves

Then we hit the road, heading for Punakaiki on the West Coast, where we’d booked a B&B for two nights. We arrived in the late afternoon, settled in and caught the most glorious sunset.

And the next day was my 51st birthday so my husband had organised for us to do some cave rafting and see the glow worms in the amazing caves in Charleston. (I love that man.) If you want to travel on a little train through a rainforest, hike along a river, see the most phenomenal display of glow worms and then white water raft out along the river in a tube – then I’d highly recommend doing this adventure. (There’s a great video of the whole experience over on that site.) It was brilliant and a great way to spend a birthday.

Another great spot we visited on the West Coast was Pancake Rocks. It’s a natural attraction of layers of limestone that has been eroded by water, wind and salt spray to form what looks like layers of pancakes. Seriously good. There is a great walkway around the whole area with great views of the rocks and the blowholes in action at high tide. I would also recommend popping in for a stack of pancakes (the real thing) at the Pancake Rocks Cafe before you leave. Also seriously good.

Fox Glacier

Early the next morning we hit the road again, heading further south for a much-anticipated trip onto Fox glacier. Arriving in town later that morning, we kitted up, flew up there and spent three hours hiking around on the ice. It was out-of-this-world amazing! Side-note: Wearing crampons is a little like wearing high-heels so walking on that ice (even with a pole), was a little unnerving at times, but I overcame my initial nervousness and had the most amazing time. It was nothing short of surreal getting to experience that place.

That night we stayed in the cute village of Franz Josef, and the next morning we made our way along Haast Pass towards Wanaka where we were staying with other friends.

Thankfully the rain held off so we were able to have a pleasant hike to the Blue Pools on our way there. And I’m so pleased we did because I’d been wanting to visit that place for so long. While we were there, we witnessed a brave woman jumping into that icy water! I was in absolute awe of that craziness (while snuggly bundled up in my puffer jacket, gloves, scarf and beanie).

Wanaka

The road trip from the West Coast to Wanaka was spectacular. It was exactly what you think of when you think about road trips. Beautiful scenery, lots of forests, and mountain vistas, lakes and rivers around every corner. It was a real treat to spend that time with my husband in such magnificent surroundings. Because we don’t often get so much quality time together, just the two of us, away from the chores at home.

We hadn’t visited Wanaka for years so driving into the town, we were surprised by how much the place has grown. But boy, was it freezing!

During the five days we were there, we did two amazing hikes (Diamond Lake and Roy’s Peak). We also had a superb lunch at the gorgeous Mt Difficulty (a winery with delicious wines) and went for dinner in town one night. (I can highly recommend the gnocchi at Francesca’s.) Wanaka is very popular for hikers, bikers and skiers (there are a couple of good ski fields close by) and it was quite busy when we were there.

Queenstown

We were flying out of Queenstown, so we finished off our road trip with a drive from Wanaka through Arrowtown (where we stopped for a quick lunch) to the beautiful Queenstown.

And that was the end of our time away – we had the best time on that little road trip getaway. It was such a great stress-reliever after lockdown and a huge treat getting to see more of our beautiful country.

Have you planned or been on a local road trip around your country lately? Is it something you’d be keen to do?

You might also want to read: 10 of the best things to do in Auckland with older visitors

Photo by Nicolas Postiglioni from Pexels

This post may contain affiliate links - if you buy something through these links, I may earn a small affiliate commission, at no extra cost to you. I only feature things I truly love. Thanks for your support.