Heyyy, there are other places in New Zealand besides Queenstown

On Sunday, the time had finally come. We left Queenstown behind.

After our last day of work on Friday, we used Saturday as an organizational day. We also met up with two friends of Niklas who were in the same year as him. The two of them were exploring the south of Queenstown, along with two other friends. On Saturday, we spent time together on the Queenstown View Platform. You can take the cable car up the mountain and get an amazing view of Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu. The other four convinced us to join them on a trip to Milford Sound on Sunday. On Sunday morning, they rented a car from Snap and we headed south to Te Anau. After a short stop in Te Anau and at Lake Te Anau, we camped together about 20 minutes past Te Anau on the way to Milford Sound.

There, we had booked a boat tour for the next morning. Milford Sound is located in the north of Fiordland and is probably the most famous fjord in New Zealand. The cruise through Milford Sound started at 8:30 in the morning. Booking the first cruise in the morning has the advantage that it is not crowded yet and you don't have to deal with too many other tourists. But when we left the campsite in the morning around 6:30, it was still pitch dark, foggy, and rainy. No one was really motivated that morning. Luckily, the fog lifted and the rain decreased. It was still very cloudy, but the clouds were not too low. On the way to Milford Sound, we already noticed that it probably wasn't the worst idea to do the cruise in the rain. Waterfalls were falling from the mountains, which you rarely see. In the end, I can't even say if Milford Sound would have been much better in the sun. But with 220 rainy days a year, it's probably hard to catch the sun here. Milford Sound has definitely become one of the most stunning places in New Zealand for me.

After the cruise, we continued south on the same day. We drove to Invercargill on the highway through the interior. We camped in the evening a bit further west on the southern coast near Orepuki. From there, we had a good view of Stewart Island (the "third" island of New Zealand, located south of the South Island). The weather had cleared up a bit, but it was still quite cloudy throughout the day. There was no improvement in sight, as Cyclone Gita was on its way to New Zealand and was expected to hit the West Coast and the northern part of the South Island the next morning. We were glad that we were heading south and could avoid the worst rain and wind. However, we also felt the impact of the strong rain and wind in the south.

We took the third day of our tour through the south very relaxed. After sleeping in late in the morning, the six of us set off to Invercargill to do some shopping. On the way, we made a detour to the swimming pool in Invercargill, mainly just for a warm shower. But in the end, we enjoyed the time in the whirlpool and sauna too much. So we continued to Bluff in the evening, one of the southernmost points of the mainland in the world, before Antarctica. The views were not really spectacular, as New Zealand was still in the grip of the cyclone and the weather didn't really play along. After Bluff, we left Invercargill again for the night. Invercargill is not really worth seeing (there is a reason why the Lonely Planet describes it as "the asshole of the world"). We spent the night in Fortrose right by the water.

The fourth day took us to the Catlins. We drove along a stunning coastal route, passing various viewpoints such as Nugget Point, through the rainforest of the Catlins, and to Curio Bay, where you can see dolphins in the water and, on a good day, swim with dolphins in the wild. But we didn't have any luck. Shortly before Dunedin in Mosgiel, we stopped for the night.

For the next day, we had planned a tour of the Otago Peninsula with our friends, which couldn't have been much better. The weather finally cleared up in the morning, so we drove to the peninsula via Tunnel Beach. We managed to see "Yellow-Eyed Penguins" (one of the rarest species in the world) and "Blue Penguins" (one of the smallest species of penguins in the world) at Allans Beach and Sandfly Bay. I have rarely been so lucky with penguins. But it got even better when we drove to the albatross colony at the end of the peninsula. You could see albatrosses everywhere around the colony. The albatrosses were even flying above the visitor parking lots. A rare spectacle to see the birds with the largest wingspan in the air without paying an entrance fee. Impressive! We all spent the night at the Leahys' place. A great end to an amazing day.

For Saturday, the last day of the four others in Dunedin, we had planned a city tour. In the best weather, we explored Dunedin and the surrounding area together. In the evening, we had rugby tickets for the first season game of the Highlanders. An exciting game ended with a narrow victory for the Highlanders. The stadium had a cool atmosphere. After the game, we went to the bars at the Octagon to party.

The next morning, our friends returned to Queenstown to return the rental car. Niklas and I stayed in Dunedin for a few more days to plan what's next and to have a few days to relax. After we managed to get our car through the New Zealand WOF with only a few repairs in Dunedin, our journey will continue soon. Thanks to the WOF, we spent more time in Dunedin than we wanted. But who can do anything about it.

At the moment, we are still busy planning for the next period, so stay tuned for what we come up with again;) No matter where we go, it will definitely be an exciting time.

But first, here's an overview of our tour:

See you soon

Your Luca