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Quick NZ Trip ❤️
  • Jacqueline Wills
  • Bart Wills

Quick NZ Trip ❤️

A 11-day adventure by Jacqueline & Bart Read more
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  • Trip start
    February 21, 2025
    Quick NZ Trip ❤️
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    BNE to CHC

    February 21 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    After an early start this morning, I'm now waiting to board at Brisbane Airport, heading to Christchurch to meet Bart. He's been there for a week already, enjoying a motorbike tour with Ultimate Adventure Moto. Excited for a week ahead of re-exploring the South Island together!Read more

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    Lake Tekapo

    February 22 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Yesterday, I arrived at the Adventure Moto depot about 20 minutes before the group returned, it was great to watch them all roll in with their bikes covered in dust even though they’d just driven through a thunderstorm on their way back to Christchurch. They had pulled up and put on rain jackets but even so Bart was freezing by the time they arrived back. I couldn’t help but feel for the young guy who had to wash all 17 bikes today 😬.

    This morning, after Bart had to repack all of his things, we made our way to Lake Tekapo, stopping at the Ashburton Aviation Museum and then at Geraldine for lunch. We got to Lake Tekapo by mid-afternoon, and the unit we’d booked had a washing machine, so we were able to wash all of Bart’s clothes without having to hunt down a laundromat.

    I absolutely love Lake Tekapo. Every time we pass through, it feels a bit different. I do prefer it when there’s snow on the surrounding mountains, but the color of the water is just stunning at any time of the year.    Read more

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    Wanaka

    February 23 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    This morning, we left Tekapo and headed to Wanaka. The drive past Lake Pukaki was stunning, though the clouds were so low they obscured Mount Cook.

    We passed the Clay Cliffs, but since we were in a tiny Suzuki Swift, we decided it wasn’t the best idea to take the 9km dirt road to reach them. You can still see them quite clearly from the main road though. The drive through Lindis Pass was as beautiful as always.

    Wanaka was buzzing — we were surprised at how busy it was. After checking into our accommodation for the next two nights, we went for a walk and grabbed some lunch.

    A quick stop at the information center changed my plans for tomorrow 🙄. I’d been really excited about doing the Rob Roy Glacier walk, but found out that you need to ensure your rental vehicle is allowed to access the road, and it needs to be a high-clearance vehicle 🤦🏽‍♀️. So, I switched gears and found some nearby hikes closer to Wanaka. Tomorrow, we'll be doing the Rocky Mountain and Diamond Lake walk in the morning. Then in the afternoon, we booked Bart a shooting experience at a local rifle range, which he’s super excited about, seeing that he will get to shoot semi and fully automatic rifles that you normally couldn't 😄.

    We took a walk to see the famous Wanaka Tree and then just had a relaxing afternoon.

    To top off the day, we had a video call with Banksia (and Jamin & Talecia). At first, she had no idea what was going on, but seeing her made my night ❤️.    Read more

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    Rocky Mountain hike & Real Guns!

    February 24 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    After a quick breakfast, we made our way to the base of Rocky Mountain for our morning hike. The trail definitely lived up to its name with several rocky sections. The view from the top was absolutely stunning. We were so glad we started early because as we descended, the parking lot was packed and we saw so many people heading up!

    Next, we drove along the road to see if we could make it to the top of Treble cone, but the mountain was closed off. Still, we got to enjoy watching paragliders coming in—it was the perfect day for it.

    We then decided to head toward a spot we’d seen from the top of Rocky Mountain. After a few kilometers of rocky, unsealed road, we reached a fork where the road turned towards where we wanted to head but it was private—dang! We didn’t let that stop us, so instead we continued straight on through the ruts (poor little Suzuki!) until we reached the river. Bart was quite convinced the Suzuki could handle the sand, but thankfully he didn’t risk it. Even though he thought I was being the fun police, though!

    Since we finished our walk faster than expected, we had more time, so decided to head to Arrowtown. When Bart visited last week, they made it there in just over half an hour. But, of course, we ended up stuck behind slow drivers and for roadworks, so it took us a full hour! By the time we got there, it was so packed it just wasn't worth stopping! We drove around, and Bart pointed out where they had been the week before, then headed back up the winding road toward Wanaka and the Real Guns rifle range.

    Real Guns was a blast! Bart had only two others in his group, both police officers. As usual, he was a natural. When they got to shotguns, he hit every clay target except the second last one, so 9 from 10 was pretty impressive. He made it look easy, so when the others had their turn, I think they expected it to be just as effortless. The lady only hit 2 out of 10, and her partner got 4, so I was pretty impressed by Bart. After the 22 and shotgun, we had the option to pay extra to try other guns, including up to a 50-caliber.

    Bart chose to shoot a Remington 700 in .308 caliber, and nailed it! They start relatively close at 200m then got further out! Out of six shots, he hit his first five managing a 335m hit — I think he surprised himself! He had an absolute blast.

    Overall, it turned out to be a fantastic day, even though we didn’t get to do the glacier walk.    Read more

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    Wanaka to Fox Glacier (via Haast Pass)

    February 25 in New Zealand ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

    We woke up to a very overcast sky, and after checking the forecast, we realized we were heading straight into rain! After Bart worked his Tetris magic on the Suzuki with our luggage, we set off toward Haast Pass, stopping at Lake Hawea first for breakfast. The sky ahead was absolutely incredible, and we could see that we were driving right into a whiteout.

    The rain hit just as we reached the end of Lake Wanaka, so there was no point stopping at the Haast Pass lookout—visibility was zero! Bart did stop for me at both Fantail Falls and Thunder Creek Falls, though, and I ran down the walkway to snap a quick photo before dashing back to the car. At Thunder Creek Falls, two busloads of tourists were just getting back on their buses as we arrived, but I managed to be so fast that we slipped out in front of them! Score!

    I'm sure Haast Pass would be breathtaking if the mountains were visible, but I had to settle for Bart describing how stunning it looked and how lucky they were to have perfect weather when they passed through last week 🙄😂

    Before leaving, we had checked that the road was open, so I was surprised when we saw signs halfway through saying the road between Haast and Fox Glacier would be closed from 12:30 to 4:00 PM (due to a landslide). Apparently, they’ve been closing the road on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Luckily, we had left Wanaka early and arrived in Fox by 12:30 PM.

    With the rain coming down hard, there wasn’t much we could do except get some work done this afternoon. I’d hoped for a walk if the weather cleared, but that wasn’t happening!

    The forecast says it will be clear tomorrow, so here's hoping. We’ll find out if our heli-hike is on at 8:20 AM tomorrow 🤞    Read more

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    Fox Glacier

    February 26 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Today was amazing! When we woke up, it was still really foggy, and at check-in, they told us they were still deciding whether the glacier trip would happen. I was glad we were the second group scheduled to go up.

    We headed across the road for breakfast and returned at our designated time. After the safety briefing, we were given waterproof pants, jackets, socks, boots, gloves plus a waterproof bag to carry any personal items. Then, we were off!

    Our group of 16 required four helicopter trips to get everyone to the glacier. Once we arrived, we split into two groups of eight. Side note: I love helicopters! On the way up, the pilot dropped the helicopter in sideways between two peaks, which was incredible. The 6-minute flight felt way too short.

    Once we all had our crampons on, we started our hike up the glacier. The sun hadn’t reached the mountain ridge yet, so everything had a beautiful blue hue. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as cold as I expected—I'd brought a jacket, but didn’t need it. Bart ended up taking his off during the hike.

    The pace was pretty slow, and our guide had to stop occasionally to break up the ice with his pick due to yesterday’s rain. We got to explore some crevices and small caves. Water was flowing everywhere. When the sun finally rose, it warmed up quickly.

    We filled our water bottles with glacier water, which we just finished off—sadly, it’s gone now!

    Before we knew it, it was time to head back down to our helicopter flight back.

    Afterward, we stopped at Lake Matheson for lunch, and I took a quick walk around the lake. Honestly, it wasn’t worth it—the clouds had rolled in, hiding Mt. Cook, so the usual reflections in the lake were nowhere to be seen, and the lake itself wasn’t very visible either. Most of the walk was through rainforest, which reminded me of Tasmania’s trails.

    Next, we headed to Franz Josef for the night, and we ended up in the nicest accommodation we’ve had so far!    Read more

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    Hokitika

    February 27 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Last night's accommodation at Franz Josef Oasis was by far the best we've had on this trip. It even included a complimentary breakfast, and it was such a treat to have muesli and toast for a change! 😄

    Before leaving Franz Josef, I couldn’t resist heading out to see the glacier. So, Bart kindly drove us back to the glacier car park.

    We took the short walk to the viewing platform, and then I ventured off on the additional tracks to Sentinel Rock and Peters Pool while Bart waited patiently in the car. Good thing he had a few YouTube videos saved for entertainment! 😄

    Afterward, we made our way to Hokitika for lunch, then headed out to Hokitika Gorge. I don't understand how they work out their walk times! It said the walk out to the "beach" (swimming area at the gorge), but we did the return trip in just 40 minutes! I get that we walk fast, but seriously! So far on most of the walks you can usually almost halve their estimated times.

    The water in the gorge is stunning, such a beautiful color, and definitely worth the walk. It will be even better once the second swing bridge is repaired so you can do the full circuit.

    We arrived at our final accommodation at Hokitika Beach, only to discover there was no WiFi... 🙄 but thankfully, it finally came back online.

    Tomorrow, we’re heading over Arthur's Pass to wrap up our quick loop of the South Island.    Read more

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    Arthurs Pass

    February 28 in New Zealand ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Today was our final day of our holiday, we headed off relatively early towards Arthur's Pass.

    The scenery was spectacular as usual and the little township of Arthur's Pass was super quaint. I hadn't even thought about doing any walks today but when we saw all the cars parked Bart pulled in for me to have a look. There was a waterfall walk that said it was 1km (it ended up being 1km each way 😄). Bart said he'd seen enough waterfalls so was happy to wait in the car. Admittedly I did say it was only 1km, which is what I thought!

    So dressed in my jeans and Frankie's (not exactly hiking wear!) I headed off, it ended up being pretty much 1km primarily made up of stairs 😂 when I was heading up a family coming back down looked at what I was wearing and said umm there are a lot of stairs! I smiled and waved and told them that was totally fine and continued on. Which then made me count them. There ended up being 397 steps.

    We then continued towards Methven and got stuck in some serious road works! The traffic control lady came along after we'd been waiting for at least 5 minutes to tell us there was at least another 15 minute wait. At least that gave me the opportunity to get out of the car and grab some photos 🤗

    We stopped at Sheffield for one of their famous pies for lunch and then continued to Methven where Bart dropped me off and he continued on to Christchurch to drop the car off and then head home tomorrow morning.

    The ladies on the committee arrived just as Bart was leaving so I was able to give them a hand unpacking which kept us busy for the rest of the afternoon.    Read more

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    Heading home

    March 3 in New Zealand ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    After a beautiful weekend with about 70 ladies I had another early morning but very much looking forward to getting home and seeing our little Banksia today.

    I certainly need to catch up on some sleep at some point 😄Read more

    Trip end
    March 3, 2025
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