12 day self-drive trip around the South Island of New Zealand, visiting Wanaka, Rob Roy, Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, Queenstown and Milford Sound.
Arrowtown is an historic gold mining town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand.Excellent views from the Crown Range summit lookout with views of Frankton, Lake Wakatipu and Queenstown. It was very windy on the summit.View of Wanaka township and Lake Wanaka from the War Memorial. The drive from Queenstown to Wanaka took about an hour.A day excursion from Wanaka to visit the Rob Roy Glacier. The drive took about 2 hours, lots of dirt road and creek crossings, definitely a dry weather road. We also had to stop for a herd of sheep.Crossing the suspension bridge over the Matukituki River as we start our trek to the Rob Roy Glacier lookout.After a two hour hike we reached the Rob Roy Glacier upper lookout.Puzzling World – WanakaLots of things to see and do at Puzzling WorldBicycle ride around the shores of Lake Wanaka. We hired the fat tyre mountain bikes for 4 hours.Lake WanakaBlue Pools Walk near Makarora on the way to Haast Pass. A short 30 minute walk from the road.Nachos for lunch at the Hard Antler bar & restaurant – HaastFranz Josef GlacierFox GlacierFox GlacierView from our accommodation at QueenstownHorse riding with Ben Lomond horse treks, Moke Lake district, a short drive from QueenstownCharli makes a new friendCharli’s first time riding a horse… and thankfully she didn’t fall off!!Shotover Jet ride – QueenstownCharli had her eyes closed for the first couple of turns then she relaxed a bit and enjoyed the rest of the thrilling ride.View of Queenstown from the Skyline lookoutThe girls had lots of fun on the Skyline Luge Flame bar and grill restaurant, Queenstown. South African owner so forgot about vegetarian options – the rib-eye on the bone was superb.Scenic lookout of Lake Wakatipu looking towards GlenorchyThe wharf at Glenorchy with Mount Bonpland (2,234m) in the backgroundGlenorchy, at the head of Lake Wakatipu, is right in the heart of numerous Lord of the Rings filming locations.Matilda finally gets her Fergburger, which took 50 mins to order. Been there, done that!!Visiting the Glow worm caves at Te Anau. We were very lucky to visit the caves due to the rain (a river runs through the caves), all the tours for the previous day were cancelled.Glow worm caves at Te Anau. No cameras allowed inside, so I used a stock image.Lake Te AnauAt the dock ready for our cruise of Milford Sound, which is a massive fiord in the southwest of New Zealand’s South Island. It’s known for the towering Mitre Peak, rainforests, plus waterfalls like Stirling and Bowen falls, which plummet down its sheer sides.After rain the previous day it turned out partly cloudy for our cruise on the fiord. I had only allowed one full day at Milford Sound so we were very lucky with the weather. Milford Sound is one of the wettest inhabited places on the planet with an average annual rainfall of 7,000mm per year.The fiord is home to fur seal colonies, penguins and dolphins. We saw seals and dolphins but no penguins.Milford SoundSeals relaxing on the rocksMilford SoundA Kea bird inspects a vehicle’s window seal while we wait at the entrance to the Homer tunnelMount Hamilton (1,300m). A lovely sunny day provided great views on the way back to Queenstown from Te Anau.Devils Staircase lookout at Lake Wakatipu. The road follows the lake most of the way for a very scenic drive. It was cloudy and raining when we travelled through this area to Te Anau, thankfully it was sunny when we drove back to Queenstown. The Remarkables mountain range, near QueenstownThe end of our self-drive holiday as we head back to Queenstown
