My inspiration to travel has always come from my mom because before I even have memories of it, she was packing me up and setting off around the world. While I may not remember some of these trips as clearly because I was so young, it made travel and the desire to adventure run deep in my blood. I was traveling before I could walk/ talk/ photograph and to be honest, truly appreciate what was going on, but as I get older the more I can look back in awe at what my mom did- not just because she took me to cool places, but because she decided that having small children was not a reason to stop traveling. Instead of leaving us behind with a babysitter, she brought us along to share these amazing experiences. Now that I’m able to travel on my own, I try to return the favor as much as possible, so when I travel somewhere new, the first person I invite is usually my mom.

My mom arrived in New Zealand and spent a week solo traveling the North Island (decidedly not enough time) before she flew into Nelson where we had a very happy reunion at the airport. She only had a week and I had to work over the weekend, so I planned a week of exploring the northern half of the south island. Now, it is true that most of the “must-see” places on the south island are in the southern half, but I’ve come to think of the northern half of the south island as very underrated, and here is why:

Day 1: Punakaiki & Arthur’s Pass

We set off from Nelson bright and early the next morning with the intention of our first stop being Punakaiki (pancake rocks). We came across signs for the Buller Gorge Swing Bridge over the Buller River, and decided to get out and stretch our legs. For $10 each we got to cross a (in my opinion) terrifying swing bridge that was absolutely beautiful (once I opened my eyes) and certainly a good way to wake me up. On the far side of the swing bridge were lots of walks you could take, but since we were just starting out on a long day of driving and sight seeing, we opted for one that was meant to take 15 minutes… well, with photo stops it ended up taking closer to half an hour, but what’s the point if you don’t have the photos to prove it, right? The walk was beautiful and a great spot to stretch our legs before getting back into the car and continuing on to Punakaiki.

Driving down the west coast is every bit as incredible as I imagined, with the rocky shoreline giving way to pristine beaches. We were constantly pulling over to the side of the road to take pictures and waiting to get the perfect wave curl or the biggest splash as it crashed against the rock islands just off the shore. As we got farther along, we could see the rocks starting to change and sure enough, the town of Punakaiki was just around the corner! The parking lot was across from the entrance to the site and next to a cheeky restaurant that claims “Pancakes rock at Pancake Rocks.” Pancake rocks are a scientific marvel because scientists are still not sure exactly what caused the rocks to form this way, but they look exactly how they sound- like pancakes stacked on top of one another. We didn’t get there at high tide when there are also some amazing blow-holes, but there were still very impressive wave pools crashing against the rocks below. The park is set up very conveniently with a winding path that has overlooks to check out the pancake rock formations and blowholes below. It is all very picturesque… although the wind makes it a little hard to get your hair to cooperate.

Once we were satisfied that no pancake rock was left unturned, we continued on our way to cut through Arthurs Pass National Park in the direction of Christchurch. The drive down the coast quickly changed into the dark green forest of the inland route. Beaches were replaced by forests and the ocean was replaced by vast rivers. Arthur’s Pass was where my mom had her first Kea experience, and what an experience it was. We stopped at the viaduct lookout and as she was trying to take a picture of a pretty little bird when a Kea strutted out from behind a rock as confident as can be to see what the humans were doing. In our haste to get out of the car and get pictures of him (or her, who knows?), I left my car window wide open and it was only moments before the bird flew up and landed on the door peering into the wide open window to see if we brought him any food. While I was freaking out that he was going to fly in the car and help himself, my mom was finding the whole situation hilarious. We had to wait a little while as he hung out on top of the car before we could move on, but he was too cute for us to really mind.

As I’ve mentioned, I have driven through Arthur’s Pass quite a few times back and forth between the two ski areas I’ve been working at, but this time we were able to stop and do a short hike. Again, because of limited time (and at this point, daylight hours), we did the Devils Punchbowl Waterfall Hike. I didn’t realize that this hike was pretty much straight uphill with about a million man-made stairs, but my mom was a trooper and we made it to the waterfall just as the last of the sun was still hitting it, creating a beautiful rainbow against the spray. The waterfall was stunning and absolutely worth the little bit of pain it took to get up there. From the carpark we were a little over two hours away from the Christchurch airport where we were picking up my boyfriend, Bennett that evening.

We made it there no problem and spent the first night of our brief road trip at the Amross Motor Lodge about 15 minutes from the airport.

Day 2: Kaikoura

After what I would consider a leisurely morning, we left the hotel around 10am to set off for Kaikoura along the coastal road. The difference between the two coasts was immediately apparent, and instead of winding along the hillside, the road was almost a “real” highway- as in it was relatively smooth and straight. When we came into Kaikoura, the view over the bright blue ocean with its white capped waves and beyond to the snow-capped peaks in the background were captivating. Despite the obvious contrast between ocean and mountain, everything was in beautiful harmony.

We decided that a whale watching cruise was the call, despite the amazing sounding trips to kayak with the seals or hector dolphins, whale watching scenic flights and other various wildlife excursions. Really there were just too many enticing options to choose from. We lucked out and walked into the information center about 10 minutes before the last whale watching tour started and they assured us we would have enough time to make it onto the boat. Whale Watch Kaikoura advertises a 99% success rate of seeing a whale, and they absolutely delivered. We saw two different whales, and the crew was incredibly knowledgeable. They even warned us as the whale was about to dive so we could all get the classic “waving whale tail” picture. While the boat went around looking for surfacing whales, they showed videos and pictures of all the whales that frequent the area. The whole trip was about three hours and the thrill of seeing whales made time fly by. Even as someone who gets extremely motion sick, I can say that this was an undeniably amazing experience.

We left Kaikoura around 5pm continuing north and as we drove we spotted lots of seals all over the rocks in the ocean next to the highway. We drove about another hour and a half to a friends farm near Blenheim where we would spend the night.

Day 3: Marlborough & Picton

After a morning walk around my friends’ sheep farm to look at all the baby lambs, we headed out to Picton, which is the northern most town in the south island and is nestled at the start of the Marlborough Sounds. The town of Picton is a quaint sea-side town with lots of little shops and cafes next to a marina. This is also the town where you catch the ferry across the sound to Wellington in the north island. After a bite to eat and a wander through some shops, we decided on a little hike in the Victoria Domain to overlook the sound. The helpful people at the information center pointed us on our way to the Snout Track which would take us to the Queen Charlotte view point. The hike was a steady uphill climb through the brush on a well marked track that frequently peeked out over the sound where you could see the boats, including the giant ferries passing through. The view from the top was beautiful, but I imagine would have been nicer on a more clear day.

When we got back to the car we set off towards the Marlborough wine region back near Blenheim. We decided to start at Cloudy Bay winery for a tasting, and luckily got there at 3:55pm because what we didn’t realize was that most of the wineries close between 4 and 4:30. Cloudy Bay closed at 4, but they were nice enough to still let us do a tasting of their Sauvignon Blanc (what the region is known for) and their Pinot Noir. The ladies were also very nice and recommended the winery across the street that didn’t close until 4:30 (we got there at 4:15) for our next and last tasting. The Allan Scott winery had a beautiful little restaurant with outdoor seating in a small, well-maintained garden and you went down into a little room with a bar for the tasting. Here we tried four different wines that were also specific to the region. After our tasting, we purchased a few bottles to enjoy later and then started on our way back to St. Arnaud to stay at the Alpine Lodge for the next three nights.

Day 4: Nelson Market & Lake Rotoiti

So while I actually had to work this day, I sent my mom and boyfriend off to find the Nelson Market that I have been dying to go to, but unfortunately have never gotten to because it is only on Saturdays when I am always working. The market is something like your typical flea market with lots of booths selling everything from produce to hand crafted wood-work, to wool creations, to jewelry. It has been highly recommended by everyone I have met here, and my mom raved about it, so although I haven’t actually been there, I can say that it is a must-do if you’re in Nelson on a Saturday!

This was also the day that they went and did a little hiking (and swimming…) around Lake Rototiti. Now, I definitely don’t recommend swimming… only my boyfriend is crazy enough to jump into this freezing cold lake, but remember the eels I mentioned in my previous post about Lake Rotoiti….? Yikes.

Day 5: Skiing at Rainbow Ski Field

Skiing!! I got to share the mountain I’ve been skiing all season with both Bennett and my mom. This happened to be my last day of work and the big Club Champs ski race, so there was certainly a lot going on, but the bright blue skies full of sunshine made for a perfect day of spring skiing. Rainbow will always have a special place in my heart because of this whole season, but I can definitely say that if you like mountains that were made for real skiers, you will love Rainbow. It is certainly not a big, flashy resort, and there is no “apres ski” to be found, but the skiing is just solid, no-nonsense, fun terrain with some incredible views to be found. It’s a true skiers ski field.

Day 6: Golden Bay

The two passions in my family have always been skiing and horse back riding. Therefore, I could not pass up the opportunity to surprise my mom with a horse back ride in Golden Bay. If you’re considering following this itinerary at some point, I would highly recommend doing the Abel Tasman National Park/ Golden Bay this day. The beaches in this area are some of the most pristine, stunning beaches I have ever seen and there are endless activities to choose from. I booked the three of us a 3 hour ride with a company called Hack ‘n Stay. I’ve done a lot of horse back rides all over the world, and let’s just say, they aren’t all created equal. Now there is a time and place for everything, and I understand the need for “pony rides” where the horses just mindlessly follow each other from years of doing the same thing every single day, but when you have riding experience, those kind of trips just don’t do it for ya. I chose Hack ‘n Stay because everything I read seemed more geared towards riders who had experience, and I was not disappointed at all. While the horses were all well behaved, they were definitely not the “nose-to-tail” trail horses that I feared and our guide, Baerbel was extremely knowledgeable and very eager to teach Bennett, our “least experienced” rider. She even brings her phone along on the ride and takes a ton of pictures to share with you at the end, which was such a nice touch! The ride I chose took us along a path through the woods and then out to the vast beach of Golden Bay. We rode on the beach for a ways and then went over a small portion of road to a large estuary that went all the way out to the ocean again. Those of us more comfortable with speed went and explored the beach a little bit, and were constantly splashing through parts of the winding rivers and the ocean. While it may have been ambitious to book a three hour ride while none of us are in “riding shape” (if you know horses, you know what I’m talking about), we all agreed that it was absolutely worth our sore legs.

After a nice cup of tea at the barn, we headed back to Nelson for the night.

Day 7: Nelson

I didn’t have much planned for this day, but it ended up being a good day of just exploring Nelson. We did some serious damage to our wallets at the Nelson Sheepskin Store where my mom bought lots of great souvenirs, including a beautiful sheepskin rug that she shipped home. On our way to Tahunanui Beach, we saw signs for Natureland Zoo and decided to spend some time in this impressive little zoo. While the whole space was not very big, this zoo does an amazing job of creating habitats for their animals. There were monkeys, lemurs, llamas, pigs, and a bunch of native New Zealand birds including morepork owls and kea! The kea enclosure was particularly great because you actually got to walk in the enclosure with them and see them right up close. While I practically had to drag my mom away from all of the birds, we finished off our day at Tahunanui Beach before I had to take her to the airport. Sadly, our week of touring the northern half of the south island of New Zealand had to come to a close…. but don’t feel too bad for her, she’s off to visit my little sister in Hawaii for a few days, before briefly flying home and then off to Egypt for two and a half months. Really, is it any wonder where my wanderlust comes from?

As for me…. Bennett and I are off on a whirlwind tour of the rest of New Zealand. I hope you’re all prepared to follow along because if anything is for certain, there are many adventures to come.