10-Day Getaway in New Zealand’s South Island

New Zealand’s South Island is a great travel location. Here’s a breakdown of some of the awesome places which you should visit!

📍 Christchurch: Usually a quick stop by before your adventures

- Christchurch Gondola (NZD 35 per person)

Great panoramic views of the city, Lyttelton Harbour, and beyond. Gaze at the snow-capped Southern Alps, sprawling Canterbury Plains and the sparkling waters of Pegasus Bay and the Pacific Ocean. A great family-friendly spot to explore.

- Hagley Park

Come here during spring season for the sakura blossoms!

📍 Lake Tekapo and Mount Cook: Mackenzie region is the best place for stargazing and it’s also coined the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Reserve, the largest gold reserve in the world at 4,367 square kilometres.

- Tekapo

Visit the Church of the Good Shepherd and take a stroll along Lake Tekapo. Stay a night or two to do some stargazing! It’s a small town where most restaurants and shops are within 5-10 mins walk.

- Mount Cook

If you ever visit Mt Cook, highly recommend the Hermitage Hotel which has a good view of Mount cook (depends on the weather too).

Head over to the visitor center to get more info about the trails which you can hike! There’s the famous Hooker Valley trail.

📍 Queenstown: One of the most beautiful town in South Island, this can be your home base for a few explorations. Here’s where we went~

- Glenorchy and Paradise

Booked a tour with Pure Glenorchy and we explored Glenorchy and Paradise! Highly recommend this tour as Pure Glenorchy has special access to one of the farms which was used for the Lord of The Rings film.

- Milford Sound

MUST VISIT! Enough said. Best is to book a cruise tour, that way you and your family can take in the views on the way there~

📍 Franz Josef: Stay a night or two to explore the Franz Josef Glacier and visit Lake Matheson.

- Franz Josef Glacier Walk

Franz Josef Glacier can be observed here, it’s a short walk before you reach the observatory where you get a breathtaking view of Franz Josef Glacier.

- Lake Matheson

If you have some time, do visit Lake Matheson as it features the Mirror Like lakes. Do note that you will need to take a roughly 45 minutes walk before you reach the view points but it’s totally worth it.

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