Into Mordor
A last minute trip to the South Island of New Zealand.
By Chelsa Christensen
In September 2016 I bought a roundtrip ticket to New Zealand departing March 2017. I had 6 months to plan for those two weeks. And by the time I left I had created an obsessively detailed map with every highlight and travel time, but I had not booked a single hotel, Airbnb or campsite.
One of the greatest joys in life is what we learn when we let go of expectations and just live; to go with whatever feels right instead of what is safe, to pursue a general direction infused with chaos.
Mount Cook, South Island
It was the first time I was going out of the country in years and it was a dream destination.
Even though I didn’t book any campsites, I did book a Jucy van for the south island. Costly but a great experience.
We left from Los Angeles, my now ex-husband and I, who had agreed to follow my plan in exchange for mountains and beer. We landed in Auckland 13 hours later.
This trip was when landscape photography was only a hobby, so my focus was quality time spent, not concerned with overusing my camera. Some photos are just screen grabs from GoPro footage.
Our domestic flight from Auckland to Queenstown got delayed, so by the time we got to our Jucy van, it was early evening. He mistakenly let me drive the first block. On the opposite side of the road, as well as the steering wheel on the opposite side of the car, we are lucky to be alive. I laughed, he didn’t. After switching, we hurried to a grocery store to stock up on food and water. This is where I first saw the Kiwi shoeless culture. Barefeet everywhere. Germs be damned, apparently.
Without a set plan, we decided our first stop was Wanaka. I attempted to book a campsite online, but I struggled with internet connection and payment.
Let me tell you something about the roads in NZ. They are like the Indiana Jones ride. Bumpy, narrow and aggressively twisted. Barf-worthy.
Driving up a mountain in pitch dark, while taking insane turns, was a strange way to welcome ourselves here. We made it to the campsite and worried they were closed. Luckily these facilities have staff at all hours. The place is Lake Outlet Holiday Park and I highly recommend it. While my online reservation never went through, they had availability so we parked the van in a spot and passed out.
Since it was so dark out, and we had traveled so long, I slept pretty hard. The very early morning light woke me. I opened up the van door and squealed with joy. We had no clue we were parked above Lake Wanaka. That sunrise is one I’ll never forget. I felt I was exactly where I was supposed to be.
Lake Wanaka
We looked at our map and decided to hike to Rob Roy Glacier that day. The drive was pure magic. New Zealand is full of rolling hills, animals and mountains. We grabbed our daypacks and set off, learning quickly the hike itself was out of a movie. All the Jurassic Park vibes. Arriving at the glacier mid-day was a terrible idea for heat and lighting. We went down to the glacial river to cool off and eat. The hike down brutalized my feet, so we walked in the numbingly cold glacial water at the bottom.
On our way back to town we saw a sign for the Wanaka tree. We headed there and unfortunately the tide at this time was quite low, so the tree was not submerged. It was still beautiful.
Later that evening we got our first taste of what these campsites are like. Dinner and shower time brings all the travelers back to camp. Pretty much just an outdoor hostel. You share the kitchen, bathrooms and common spaces with others. You get to meet people from all over the world.
The next day we headed to Haast Pass to chase waterfalls and the blue pools. It was pretty easy to find some with signs everywhere. All the water is incredibly clear, beautiful and cold.
We decided we loved Lake Wanaka, so we went back to that same camp for another night.
The next morning we headed up to Mount Cook. The fog had rolled in and given the area an eerie feel.
We found the campsite and saw no signs of any campers at all. We headed to the Mount Cook/Hooker trail. What an awesome name.
As we hiked I saw a bride and groom taking extravagant wedding photos. I hurried and snapped a random shot. It turned out to be a photo I still love. The entire hike felt otherworldly due to the overcast mood. The water appeared milky and the famous Mount Cook peak was covered in fog. The Glacier at the end was unreal. We sat and ate and then got lucky as the sky cleared and the sun came out. There was Mount Cook. We had sunshine the whole hike down, which completely changed the feeling of the landscape.
As we got back to camp, so did everyone else. It was popping off. The shower lines were long and the kitchen was crowded. The whole bunch of us in the common room bonded over the movie Flight. You didn’t need to speak English to be entertained by Denzel Washington and his drug problem. Since the shower lines were still so long, we gave up and took a baby wipe bath.
The next day we headed south and hit up the campsite in Wanaka for a quick shower, then drove through Queenstown to Te Anau, since it was close to our next destination. This place felt very cozy and the campsite was an older crowd, due to having little cabins to sleep in. We didn’t have anything planned that evening so we signed up to go to a local glowworm cave. I’m so very glad we did this.
Trying to explain the glowworm cave to people still brings tears to my eyes. You feel lucky and timeless to be in this incredibly old cave. To get there, you take a ferry to an island. Once inside the cave system, you get into a boat and they paddle you into the glowworm cave. They ask everyone to be silent during the experience. You look up to these stars, that are actually just maggots that glow, but it doesn’t matter. It just feels so dark and peaceful. The only sounds are the oars of the boat gently paddling. It was magical.
Te Anau Glowworm cave beach
We had booked a kayak tour very early the next morning in Milford Sound, because it was a place I knew I couldn’t miss on this trip. That place is phenomenal. You learn pretty quickly that it was named incorrectly. It’s not a sound, it’s a Fiord. It started raining about 10 minutes into our tour, all I could focus on were the sights, rare penguins, otters, and my terrible paddling skills. I would absolutely do that experience again.
Milford Sound
We went to our next campsite that was in Fiordland National Park, the closest one to Milford Sound. Fiordland is a rainforest. Very wet and abundantly green. The rain kept us in the common room making friends with other travelers.
The next morning we took our time driving out of Fiordland and stopped at some of the pull-offs, including a few waterfalls. The Chasm was a fascinating stop. It is a river on one side of the bridge and an unbelievably steep drop-off that goes under your feet and down the other side. I took photos of this, but the angle and composition truly did not show the depth of what I was seeing.
We then drove to Queenstown and were amazed at the beauty and fun culture. We, of course, ate at the world-famous Fergburger. It was delicious. Down by the lake, we saw a man playing a very old piano on the boardwalk. He was so talented that we bought his CD.
The next morning we woke up and decided it was a good day to face some fears. Bungy jumping in the land it was invented. We took a Gondola up to the AJ Hackett Ledge Bungy. I knew I was going to chicken out if I gave myself time to think, so once I was strapped in and he told me to go, I took off. No thoughts or time. I didn’t even enjoy the amazing view. Jumped right off the platform.
Falling was scarier than I originally thought, it felt like hours instead of seconds. I screamed like a cat getting swung around. I honestly can’t say I would ever do it again, but I’m glad I did it once. After that rush, we decided to calm things down with some friendly Luge races. I'm very competitive so I was getting some air on the hills. I had to win.
Me, ungracefully falling to my death
We went back down to the city and ate at Fergburger again. It’s delicious. There is also a place a few streets away called Patagonia chocolates that has amazing desserts. Highly recommend.
I was extremely sad our time on the south island was over, we barely scratched the surface. When I booked our tickets I figured we would want to split time between the north and south. The next morning we flew back to Auckland, got a car rental and headed to Coromandel. I had looked up beaches and that area seemed tropical and pretty.
We found and booked an Airbnb pretty close to Hot Water Beach, so that was our first stop. It was honestly just as fun as it sounds. Little hot pockets in the sand where it’s geothermal. You’ll be walking along the beach in slightly chilly water and all a sudden your feet are on fire. A lot of people dug pits to sits in like a hot tub. Pretty neato. We went to our Airbnb in Whitianga. Our hosts were an awesome couple, an American woman, married to a Kiwi. It was the perfect little basement apartment.
The next day we decided to book another night at that same Airbnb, so we could stay in the area. We headed to the Hahei beach area. We played in the water down a random cove, then decided to head over to the famous Cathedral Cove. It was pretty but crowded. Worth seeing if you’re nearby.
We spent our second night there and headed the next day to fulfill all of our nerdy dreams.
Hobbiton.
And yes, it’s worth going. The tour was informative, fun and you get to drink beer. Plus I love the movies. I would definitely go again next time I’m in New Zealand.
It was midday when we finished the tour, so we took a recommendation from a Kiwi and headed out to a beach town called Ragland. This was our first and maybe only real mistake on the trip. It was not a place I would recommend going, it seemed like a dirty beach town. I may have the wrong impression, but it gave us some weird vibes. There were no hotels available and the only Airbnb listing in the area had to be approved before you could book. We messaged the host twice and heard nothing. We decided to call it and head out to a different city to find a hotel. On the way out we hit up Bridal Veil falls, which reminded me a lot of something you would see in Oregon.
Bridal Veil Falls
As we drove around looking for service and places to sleep, we decided that we had no interest in staying in the area. We decided our best move was to hike to Mount Doom the next day. I found an Airbnb near it, so we proceeded to drive a few hours to the area. It was a very old, little cabin. The pipes and water smelled funny because the entire area has sulfur. It was pretty close to the Wai-O-Tapu geysers, so no surprise. Neither of us wanted to shower there.
The next morning we woke up early to some pretty cloudy weather. Determined to hike the Tongariro Crossing, or at least make it up to Mount Ngauruhoe (Mount Doom) which is on the way to the crossing we set off. For those of you that are LOTR fans, this is the mountain that Mount Doom was based on. Mt.Ngauruhoe is an active volcano with a perfect, volcanic look to it and volcanic rock everywhere on the hike. The gloomy weather made the hike more mysterious. A few hours in we were stuck in a torrential downpour with very strong winds. Close enough to see Mount Doom, but hypothermic enough to call it quits. A few days prior I had purchased ‘The one Ring to Rule Them All’ at an official jeweler in Queenstown. I knew the nerdiest part of me would regret it forever if I didn’t pull it out. Sauron did not appear with the ring, so we bolted back down the mountain before we died.
Holding The Ring near Mount Doom
As we made it back to the car, totally drenched, the wind and rain stopped and the sun came out.
Like rubbing salt in a wound.
We quickly found an Airbnb in the area, one with less of a sulfur problem, and headed there to dry off and shower. We didn’t have it in us to go see the geysers, so we spent the evening just hanging out and relaxing. The next day we headed to Auckland. This was our last day in New Zealand and I was bummed out. We got an Airbnb right in the middle of the city, I figured it would make our departure easier if we stayed near the airport. It was more of a city than anywhere else, with a typical city mentality and if I am being honest, I was not impressed. I wished we had spent our last day doing something a lot more fun. Our time was over.
I could easily spend months in this country, especially the south island. I don’t regret not having a set plan, it gave us a lot of freedom on our time and how we spent it. If I could give anyone advice it would be to spend more time in the south. Plan on getting car sick and drinking delicious flat whites. Either van camp or tent camp as much as you can, but treat yourself to a few nice beds. Go to Queenstown for sure. Soak it all in. New Zealand was the most magical place and yes, it’s a little pricey compared to some countries, but well worth it.
I can’t wait to go back someday.
Also, I saved the best photo for last. Read the caption.
Chelsa Christensen (IG @chelsa.photo)
Me playing The Beatles to some cows. They loved it
The feeling of timeless immediacy.
