Straying the South Island

Like most Kiwis I have travelled the world but not seen much of my own backyard! I was lucky to travel the North Island on a Stray bus earlier this year and after having an amazing time I was desperate to do it again but this time around the South Island! I thought it time I get on an orange bus again and 'get off the South Islands beaten track' to complete what is known as Stray's Ron pass. The Ron covers pretty much the whole of the South Island including our little but spectacular Stewart Island and hits some of the most rural and unique areas of New Zealand!

During my travels on Stray's Ron pass I saw seals, sea lions, Kiwis, penguins, whales, dolphins, rare birds, greenstone, glaciers, fiords, sounds, amazing beaches, snowy mountains, rear NZ flora and fauna. I was also lucky enough to participate in some of the many amazing activities along the way such as whale watching, bike riding, bone carving, sailing, glacier hikes, bungy jumps, swings and some great walking treks. I was also able to share my journey with some amazing people I met on the Stray bus from all over the world and also meet some of the most down to earth Kiwis New Zealand has to offer.

Our South Island adventure started in New Zealand's garden city, Christchurch, I love the art culture that exuberates through this city, a laidback feeling with local buskers and musicians flocking to the city centre to entertain passerbys. This is a pretty city and what's nice is that in a matter of 20 to 30 minutes we were in a totally different atmosphere, surrounded by gorgeous crystal clear lakes and mountains!

From Christchurch we headed up the east coast to a quaint seaside settlement of Kaikoura. There a large range of eco tourism orientated activities to do in Kaikoura, we had the option to choose from whale watching, dolphin swimming and fishing! Having swam with dolphins before I was really keen on seeing some whales so we hopped on whale watch Kaikoura and set of on a two hour whale hunt, during this time we were lucky to see about 4 sperm whales, albatross, seals and rare birds whilst learning a lot about the local marine life and its inhabitants. Whales are such amazing mammals and so graceful! Kaikouras has some stunning coast that offer a unique combination of ocean and mountains which we viewed during our cruise.

On the drive up the east coast we saw numerous seals fluttering about in groups on the sea edge, such cute and peaceful creatures however I discovered after seeing a seal brawl you don't want to get on their bad side!

After our short but sweet stay in Kaikoura we headed to Picton through New Zealand's wine region Blenheim. During the drive through Blenheim we were surrounded by vineyards which started getting our palettes craving for some wine! We stopped off at Hunters Vineyard for wine tasting, for a mere $5 we could taste a dozen wines, ranging from Rieslings to Pinots, yum yum!

After this delicious stop we left Blenheim slightly light headed to make our way to the quaint town of Picton on the top of New Zealand's South Island. This is a great base to explore the Marlborough Sounds and the popular Queen Charlotte track, unfortunately the one night we were there the rain was not on our side but we were lucky to have a few hours sunshine. Our cozy accommodation at the Picton Villa had bikes for use which we rode around the small town, this was followed by a relaxing soak in the massive jacuzzi at the Villa.

The following day we were picked up by a new bus load of people and a new driver, Bagginz. Our next stop was one of my favourite, Abel Tasman! Abel Tasman National Park is unbelievably breathtaking, for a North Island girl the mixture of bush, beach and mountains was so different to anywhere I had seen in the North Island, so pristine and untouched.

I was fortunate to view the National Park by sail, walk and air! A group of us jumped on a catamaran with Abel Tasman Sailing Adventures and sailed for a couple of two hours to Anchorage. Upon arrival to Anchorage I was gobsmacked by the beauty that stood in front of my eyes! I had never seen such a stunning beach in New Zealand before. I can only imagine what it would be like in the summer! From Anchorage we trekked back through the National Park to Marahau, it took us a good 3 hours and was well worth it. That night we had an awesome group barbecue meal, my responsibility was the Kumara mash and I must say I did a good job, it was a favoured selection on the table! We then all grouped together and had a good laugh around the bonfire.

After Abel Tasman we headed to Barrytown, on the way to Barrytown we passed through Westport, Cape Foulwind and Punakaiki to see the great Pancake Rocks. I began visualising maple syrup pouring down the side of the rocks as they literally do look like stacks of pancakes piled on top of each other! Yum!

On our way down the West Coast and through alot of the South Island we stopped off at many great points to take pictures and check out the land, one of spot was an amazing West Coast beach where we were lucky to see a local panning for gold, he explained the process and showed us many of his unique treasures found only on New Zealand's west coast.

I was so excited to get to Barrytown, this remote town on the west coast that I had heard so much about such as bone and jade carving, brazilian waxing and party antics. Baggins gave us a 'big black sacks' theme so the group and I had bought rolls of black rubbish bags in Motueka to make our party frocks out of.

It's surprising what you can do with some tape, scissors, trash bags, paint and a bit of creativity! We all had a ball getting ready and had an extremely entertaining night which included table dancing, stripping, beer, drinking games and general good time fun. No rest for the wicked, our big night was followed by an early morning wake up call to partake in a unique cultural experience, bone carving. This was a unique activity we participated in and learnt a lot about, we were all surprised at how awesome our designs came out as well!

The next stop was something I had been looking forward to for a long time prior to my trip, the amazing Franz Josef glacier. I was so excited to do a full day guided hike up the glacier. It was wonderful to see something so incredible exists in my own backyard, just a long stretch of thickened ice mass filled with stunning formations.

From the base the glacier looked very large but after a full day hike up a good portion of it, it was really interesting to see what and how much of it we had just conquered! It was incredibly refreshing in the midst of the glacier and absolutely stunning.

That night we stayed at Rainforest Retreat, located in the centre of Franz Josef Village, muscled in between bush with gorgeous mountains surrounding. Rainforest Retreat was a lush place to stay and they had a lovely restaurant and bar where we all sat down for a nice meal and partook in a group pool competition of which I came 2nd out of 44 people! Much to my amazement!

On our way to our next unique stop Makarora we passed through the lovely Haast pass, driving down the West Coast and through the South Island in general I was in total amazement of the breathtaking scenery! It was absolutely stunning and I was so proud to come from such a beautiful country. Makarora was a unique stop and our accommodation was surrounded by majestic snow capped mountains. There we splurged out and had lamb shanks for dinner with a pint of beer whilst watching the All Blacks vs Wales game. Yay the All Blacks won!

Our next stop Wanaka is a popular stop off for Stray travellers and upon arrival I could see why, it's absolutely gorgeous and so pristine. I just ended up sitting in front of Lake Wanaka Lake in awe of the scenery surrounding me.

Following Wanaka we made our way to Queenstown, Queenstown was the spot Stray travellers had heard and read a lot about, if people had saved money along the way it was to spend it here, everyone was most excited to engage in some adventure activities during there stay in Queenstown, the most popular being AJ Hackett's Nevis bungy, at 134m high it's the highest bungy in Australasia and third highest in the world!

Some would think you'd be mad to jump of the Nevis or any bridge/ledge for that matter but everyone has a thrill seeker inside and this town is the place where they come out to play. The Stray bus travellers did a range of AJ Hackett jumps and swings such as the Kawarau bridge bungy (world's first bungy station), the Arc (worlds highest swing) and the Nevis. I did all 3 and all I can say is I was on such a high for about three days!

Queenstown is such a hip town, you can't help but feel the coolness upon arrival, people walking the streets in there ski/snow board gears with their boards on their shoulders.

It's also a very pretty town and like alot of the South Island it's surrounded by stunning snow capped mountains.

There is an endless supply of things to see and do in Queenstown, the list is never ending and depending on what you are into there is something for everyone.

We hit Coronet Peakfor a day of snowboarding and as a first time snowboarder I thought it best I have some lessons. For around $160 you can get a full day pass, a two way bus pass to and from the mountain, boots, board and ski gear. Regardless of the hard work and pain from a few hard falls snowboarding was definitely a favourite activity of mine.

Queenstown is a very transient town, people are coming in for a few days to a few weeks or they are staying to find work so there is a constant excitement that fills the town. There is no need to wait till the weekend to have a good night out in Queenstown as it goes off seven nights a week! We stayed at the lovely Nomads, this is an awesome hostel that offers a vast range of great facilities and activities for all to participate in, we joined in on some blindfolded bar crawls and it was allot of fun! Some of the few neat bars and clubs I visited included World Bar, Revolver and Winnies.

Following our 2 nights in Queenstown we hopped on a new Stray bus with some of our current travellers and some new travellers and of course a new Stray driver Rob. This was the final leg of our tour and it was the Deep South! We had an early six am start and headed to Bluff to catch a ferry to Stewart Island. We decided to hire a rental car called 'Wild Cat' upon our arrival in Stewart Island, you also have the option of hiring scooters which is great as the island is small enough to get around the whole of it in a day and also do some walks. We did a number scenic short walks which were spread all over the island, there are also adventurous kayaking trips, fishing, and various other tourism activities available.

That night we stayed in the small city of Invercargill and the following day we headed into Fiordland, stopping off in Te Anau to book our Real Journey's cruise through the amazing Milford Sound. Known as one of the wettest inhabited places in New Zealand and the world it's made up of temporary and permanent waterfalls falling down the many vigorous mountains and cliffs, some reaching a thousand metres in length. Lush rainforests cling to cliffs and sometimes seals, penguins, dolphins and whales frequent the waters. It was absolutely stunning!

Our last night's stay was at Gunn's Camp in the stunning Hollyford Valley, this is a great place to stay if you are keen to explore the Fiordland area and get involved in some of New Zealand's greatest walks such as the Hollyford and the Routeburn tracks, that are close by. We stayed in historic cabins with wood stoves and that night we all had a group meal and told ghost stories around the wood fire. Gunn's Camp was one of my favourite accommodation places just for its uniqueness, it was so basic, different and surrounded by sheer beauty, what more could you ask for!

The nearer to the end of our journey the sadder I became, I was having such a great time on the Stray bus, I met a number of incredible people that I shared my journey with and I had seen and done so much in the space of a couple of weeks. I was so happy I finally got to see my own backyard and what an amazing back yard it is!