Last month’s Traveling Outside story was about our activities on the North Island of New Zealand. What follows is an account of the last half of our trip touring the South Island. After two weeks of volunteering with the Global Volunteer Network we spent the last two weeks in New Zealand with an open schedule, a rental car, and a long list of places to see. Even with ample time to explore, we didn’t get to half of them.

It was the 31st of December when we sailed into the harbor town of Picton, on the north end of the South Island. We spent the evening drifting around the small town, taking in the festive atmosphere. We fell asleep to exploding fireworks with the knowledge that we were the third place in the world to welcome in the new year. It was quite an honor considering how in Alaska we are one of the last. 

The next day our real adventure began. With a Lonely Planet Travel book in hand, we headed out with plans to drive along the lesser inhabited western coast of the island, stopping at any place that struck our interest. We went sea kayaking in Anchorage bay, rafted class three and four rapids through Buller Gorge, and slept in an oceanside B&B appropriately named, Life’s a Beach. Our welcoming B&B hosts had cute British accents and served us chilled potatoes with fresh fish and steamed vegetables for dinner. Later, in the town of Motueka, we stopped at an unmanned fruit stand that was asking $2.50 for a small basket of strawberries. They were so good I could have cried if I let myself. 

Along the coast there was a place called Pancake Rocks near the village of Punakaiki at Dolomite Point. The layered limestone formations formed clusters of pillars that jutted out of the surf. There were bridges and pathways weaving between them, fitted with stone steps leading through what felt like the ramparts of an ancient castle overlooking the ocean. Waves washed into the tunnels and under the natural bridges directly below where we were standing. The evenly spaced layers and the unique way each pillar was shaped by the erosion of the sea was unlike anything I have ever seen. 

Although we didn’t make it to the more popular destinations, such as the cities of Queenstown and Christchurch, I still felt like we experienced a good sampling of what the South Island has to offer. Basically, every kind of outdoor adventure imaginable is available. If we were to ever make a home in New Zealand, all I would have to do to keep myself from getting homesick would be to visit Franz Josef Glacier, or Lake Rotoiti. The hanging glacier surrounded by cascading waterfalls and the clear blue lake closely framed by sharp mountain peaks were just a few places we saw that looked as if they belonged at home in Alaska.  

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New Zealand Facts

 - The Maori are the indigenous people of New Zealand

 - The Maori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa, which commonly means “long white cloud”

- New Zealand has over 3,100 glaciers

- Located on the South Island, the tallest mountain in New Zealand is Mt. Cook/Aoraki at 3,754 meters (12,316 feet) tall.

 - Aside from a couple spiders, a type of sea slug, some jellyfish, and the usual stinging bees and wasps, New Zealand has hardly any poisonous animals. Quite unlike their neighbors across the Tasman Sea on the continent of Australia who enjoy hundreds of poisonous creatures.