After spending around four months in the North Island, I was up and ready to move over to New Zealand’s South Island (and ended up working and staying there for nearly a year before moving back to the North Island for the remaining two months of my New Zealand Working Holiday program).
My plan was to drive all the way down to the bottom of South Island through the East Coast, stopping at various places of interest and hiking/tramping spots, then head up inland to settle down near Queenstown, as it is the nearest middle point to many hiking spots I plan to go.
Ferry Between New Zealand’s North And South Island
To travel between North Island and South Island, you can either take a flight or take a ferry. There are only two passenger ferry operators that run between North (Wellington) and South Island (Picton) across Cook Strait: Interislander and Bluebridge. For the both times I traveled between the islands, I took Interislander because I am using my Top 10 Membership to receive a 15% discount for my ferry fares.
The nights before my ferry departure, I stayed in The Cambridge Hotel in Wellington (free street parking from 8pm to 8am), and the very cozy Tombstone Motel (free onsite parking, free breakfast with freshly baked scones!) in Picton, where they are just a few minutes drive to the ferry terminal.
If you are going to take the ferry to travel between North and South Island with a vehicle, I recommend signing up for Top 10 Membership to get discounts for your ferry booking. The membership grants you 15-17% discount on your Interislander Ferry fare (subject to change). While the two-year membership cost me $55 to sign up, I received a total of $70 discount from the two ferry bookings I made. In addition, there are various membership benefits with Top 10, such as discounts and free gifts from tours, activities and restaurants. You also get discounts when staying at the Top 10 Holiday Parks. However, if you are not planning to take the ferry more than once, or if you are taking the ferry without a car, you can skip this membership.
Magnificent views from the top deck of the ship:
Remember to take some windproof or warm jackets with you to keep the cold from stopping you enjoying the precious views!
Kaikoura - Whales, Dolphins, Seals & Crayfish!
Kaikoura was my first stop when I set foot in the South Island. It is a small coastal town known for its ocean wildlife (including the resident sperm whales!).
I spent three days in Kaikoura, staying in Dusky Lodge & Backpackers for a couple nights. It has good views from the rooftop lounge and it’s just a stone throw away from the beautiful rocky beach.
Kaikoura Seal Colony
[Photos above: A random seal landed at the shore as I was on my way to the main seal colony viewing area]
Just 10 minutes walk from my accommodation is the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway, where you can walk the beach route to the observation site of Kaikoura Seal Colony.
Sunbathing seals are scattered around the coast. Make sure to respect the wildlife and not to disturb or to wander too close (at least 20 meters away) to them.
The main site of the large Kaikoura seal colony.
You may also find many seabird colonies. Please do not approach them as they may be nesting.
After stopping at Whalers Bay, I took the track up the hill to do a return loop to the Kaikoura Peninsula Walkway exit.
Whale bones by the roadside along the coast.
Kaikoura Means Eat Crayfish, Literally!
With the name of the place literally called “Eat Crayfish” in Maori, you can’t skip the seafood abundance town of Kaikoura without savoring the signature crayfish. I first planned to try the crayfish at the famous Kaikoura Seafood BBQ Kiosk, but it was closed on Christmas so I went to Cods & Crayfish instead, who serves awesome fresh seafood!
Kaikoura Whale Watching - Resident Sperm Whales, Migrating Humpback Whales, Dusky Dolphins And More Aquatic Wildlife
Whale Watch Kaikoura offers ethical whale watching tours (respecting wildlife by keeping a distance and limiting the number of vessels around wildlife). Thanks to the usually deep undersea canyon close to Kaikoura, the ocean near the town is a frequent spot for the deep-sea-hunting resident sperm whales to surface for a breather between their hunt for giant squids.
During my tour, we did not manage to encounter the resident sperm whale but with some luck, we stumbled upon a migrating humpback whale!
A group of Dusky Dolphins swimming along with the humpback whale.
Pods of dusky dolphins. They are a unique species of dolphins found only in the southern hemisphere.
Fins sticking out of the water. The boat crew said it’s a sawfish. Depending on your luck, you may also encounter other migratory birds and sea creatures, such as the huge royal albatross and killer whales.
Mount Sunday - Edoras!
While Mount Sunday is located deep in the mountainous inland region, far away from the east coast, I decided to include this place because it can only be accessed from the east coast roads.
If you are a fan of The Lord of the Rings, you definitely have to visit Mount Sunday as it is a significant filming location of the movie. You might instantly recognise this place as Edoras, the capital of Rohan!
It’s a less than 20 minutes hike to the top of Mount Sunday via poles guided track.
Now imagine yourself standing on the peak of Edoras, these are the wonderful panorama views you could see:
In April to June, you might be able to spot spawning Chinook salmon excavating eggs nests around the stream gravel below the swing bridge near the base of Mount Sunday.
Oamaru - The Penguin Town
The second east coast town I stopped at is Oamaru, just for a night. I stayed at the classic and comfortable Empire Hotel Backpackers.
The reason for me to stay in Oamaru is the smallest species of penguins in the world! This town is famed for the New Zealand native Blue Penguins sightings, who return to the land from sea at dusk.
While you can buy a pretty costly ticket to the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony grandstand viewing deck, where the majority of the penguins will make their way onto the beach, 10-15 meters away from the viewing deck, it is not necessary in order to spot blue penguins. Very often, some penguins go stray in their path back to their burrow (yes, these penguins dig burrows and nest in it) and swim up onto the nearby land instead.
What looked like a huge group of penguins from afar, are actually pied shags (aquatic birds) resting on the deck of Sumpter Wharf.
The best spots to spot stray blue penguins coming up to the shore are near the penguin crossing sign. I waited in the dark for a few hours and managed to spot some penguins arriving from the shore and cautiously crossing the road to their colony. Please give them space, be quiet, and not use flash photography or you could cause a lot of stress to these wild penguins.
After I had enough penguin sightings, I headed back to my accommodation at midnight. Surprisingly, I saw more active blue penguins wandering around the empty streets and dark alleys!
Moeraki Boulders Beach
On my way to the next town leaving Oamaru, I stopped by the Moeraki Boulders Beach.
The beach features the fascinating 4 million years old sphere-shape boulders on the sand. They were exposed and fell off the eroding mudstone cliff over the years.
The beach is a good spot to watch the sunrise. It also provides photography opportunities around these uniquely shaped rocks.
This one looks like a meteor landed onto the sand, creating a crater around it.
Fur Seal Viewing Walk
On the way further South, I visited the Fur Seal Viewing Walk at Shag Point.
Dunedin
Next, I stopped by the city of Dunedin for a couple points of interest.
Baldwin Street - The Steepest Street In The World
After visiting the Longest Place Name In The World, I had to visit Baldwin Street – The Steepest Street In The World. Both are located in New Zealand!
The steepness of the street is no joke! Imagine the daily fuel cost for the residents here to drive their car up into their house.
In order not to cause too much disturbance to the neighborhood, you should park your vehicle at the main road below, and walk up the steepest street on foot (what a workout!).
Great place to have some creative fun.
Tunnel Beach
Tunnel Beach is a beautiful cliff beach, with a historic hand-carved tunnel track you can walk to access the lower part of the beach during low tide. For some reason, I completely forgot about the tunnel so I did not find or walk down into it, but the views on the top were still amazing!
Strong waves constantly crash into the rock cliffs, creating lots of astonishing white water formations.
There’s something alluring about looking out into an endless ocean without any land or vessel in sight.
The Catlins Waterfalls - Purakaunui Falls
Before my final stop at the end of the South Island, I dropped by at the 3-tiered 20 meters Purakaunui Falls. Some of the other waterfalls you can visit around The Catlins are Matai Falls, McLean Falls, Koropuku Falls, and Waipohatu Waterfall.
Bluff - Home Of The Delicious Bluff Oysters (not bluffing!)
Finally, my South Island East Coast road trip ended at the seaport town of Bluff. I stayed at The Eagle, a bar hotel rocking a cool classic vibe, where local seamen often come to chill around the pool table, or even the many slot spinning machines. As a guest I had all-day free pantry food (they’re pretty good, there are muesli, bread, puddings, juice, etc). The food at the bar looks very delicious too.
American hot dog from Let’s Be Frank food truck.
The sought after world class Bluff oyster is harvested in this region. Bluff oyster harvest season is from March to August, where you can find them in stores countrywide. It was the finest oyster I had ever tasted!
After a couple nights of resting, I took a ferry from Bluff to Stewart Island for my next great walk.
Have this guide helped you? Tag @meowtainpeople in your stories & posts!
*Captain Planet passing by* Remember, please take care of our environment, and please don’t destroy the Nature. Leave no trash behind and take back only photos and memories (and also some trash if you can). Walk on the designated path and stay in the middle as much as you can, so that the exposed soil doesn’t spread/corrode further. BE ONE WITH NATURE *flies away*
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