New Zealand is being left off of world maps. Maps at Starbucks, maps at the UN, maps at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. Calling this cartographic oversight a tragedy is probably overstating it, but it’s certainly a real shame. New Zealand is not a good country - it's a great one. In fact, its proximity is one of my favourite things about Australia. The landscape is varied and beautiful, the people are friendly, and the wine is excellent. New Zealand Tourism is doing its best to ensure map makers remember New Zealand next time, and I'd like to help the Kiwis make their case by offering a personal account of how much I enjoyed visiting their country in January.
This trip was my fourth to NZ and second to the South Island. Last year, my parents, Linnea, and I spent a week in the Queenstown area. Family came on for this trip too, as Linnea's mom, Nance, joined us for the adventure. For Nance, New Zealand was the last leg of a trip that included time in and around Sydney, Melbourne, and Cairns. Before reuniting with Nance in Queenstown, Linnea and I got dinner with friends, Nick and Lu, who recently moved back home to New Zealand from Melbourne. It was lovely to catch up and, as I always find to be the case when travelling, interesting to see what it's like to be a local.
After a relaxing first evening, we got to work on our itinerary the next day. We drove to Wanaka, a resort town in a picturesque setting on a lake, checked into our charming and well-outfitted Airbnb, and set off for a hike. An hour of dirt road driving later, we had arrived at the trailhead, and after a couple of hours of hiking through lush rainforest, we arrived at Rob Roy Glacier. We had the glacier to ourselves, and the scenery was spectacular.
I have a hard time knowing what to say about locations like this. I'll let the photos speak for themselves.
We spent the following day resting our legs, enjoying Wanaka, and watching Stefon Diggs shock the world with the Minneapolis Miracle. A sidenote: technology is cool. Streaming the Vikings game using the Chromecast on the TV in our Airbnb couldn't have been easier. Another sidenote: that last sentence wouldn't have made any sense 10 years ago.
Next up was a strenuous hike that I insisted Linnea and I tackle. After dropping Nance off at a Wanaka cafe early in the morning, we drove partway around Lake Wanaka to begin the hike to Roy's Peak. And when I say hike, I mean slog. It was difficult. And even worse, it was boring. It was switchback after steep switchback with zero shade and nothing to look at other than a worse version of the view from the top. Thighs burning after a couple of hours of this, we arrived at our very Instagrammable destination. As you can see, the slog was worth it.
By the time we got down from the peak and into town, it wasn't noon yet and we had done what felt like a full day's worth of activities. There's something very satisfying about accomplishing so much before midday. We spent the rest of the afternoon driving to and getting settled in Twizel, which was our base for exploring the Mount Cook area. Our timing for visiting this area was unfortunate. It was cold, foggy, and rainy, which is somewhat typical due to the alpine climate. We began hiking the Hooker Valley Track, an extremely popular trail that affords views of Mount Cook on a nice day, but couldn't see anything worthwhile. We were soaked within a half hour, at which point we turned around. The only silver lining when Mother Nature doesn't cooperate like this is that I have a reason to go back.
The next morning we left Twizel for Christchurch. We made sure to stop along the way because arrival in Christchurch means leaving the mountains behind. Before having a coffee at Astro Cafe at Mount John's Observatory, we enjoyed this view of Lake Tekapo and the surrounding mountains. I don't claim to have been to every cafe in the world, but I have a hard time believing any of them beats this view.
Christchurch is a rebuilding city. Significant damage occurred during an earthquake in 2011, and it still hasn't recovered. We spent the afternoon walking through the city, which was charming despite the relatively recent natural disaster. In fact, some parts of the city have embraced the circumstances, notably a 'container mall' consisting of shops and restaurants operating out of shipping containers. After one night in Christchurch we had to say goodbye to Nance, who was about to begin the long journey back to New Hampshire. Before dropping her off at the airport, we had brunch at a place where fries are delivered to your table via pneumatic tube, which was a delightful distraction. I won't say this was a fitting ending to her trip because nothing else was delivered to us via such unconventional methods, but it was a fun ending to a fun trip.
Linnea and I had a weekend left. We drove from Christchurch to Akaroa, a historic town about 90 minutes southeast of Christchurch. The harbour that Akaroa sits on is home to the rare Hector's dolphin, which was the main reason we chose Akaroa. Our first morning was spent kayaking around the harbour. Pods of dolphins came right up to our kayaks because they thought our splashing paddles were playful. The New Zealand summer sun is very strong, so a morning kayaking in the sun is logically followed by an afternoon avoiding it at our hostel. We stayed at the lovely, unique Onuku Farm Hostel, which offers van sites, tent sites (our accommodation of choice), dorm rooms, and private huts on a beautiful sheep farm. After reading and snoozing in a hammock most of the afternoon, we stretched our legs and took advantage of the farm's hiking trails that double as the home of thousands of sheep. I wonder if these sheep realise how good their view is.
All too soon, we had to fly back to Melbourne. I don't know when I'll visit New Zealand again, but, left off of world maps or not, I'll be back.