The North of the South

After leaving Wanaka, we knew we had around 10 days left in the South Island before we crossed over to the Dark Side (the North Island). 

We stopped for a night in Temuka and spent a very cold evening in Timura, trying to catch a glimpse of the world’s smallest Penguin.  We were lucky, we saw two and the kids were finally able to tick the last box on our ‘must-see wildlife in the NZ South Island’ chart.  I should add, it's not easy to photograph a 40cm tall Penguin in the pitch dark with a Huawei P9!

We spent a couple of days in the Nelson Lakes area, at a brand new AirBnB house on Lake Rotoroa then headed on to Malborough Sound for 5 days.  This is the most northern part of the South Island, a beautiful area of mountains and sounds, little villages, winding roads and stunning views.

We had been given the use of a traditional Bach house for 5 days by a lovely couple who host Israelis in their home.  They didn’t have room for all 5 of us so instead they gave us their holiday home just outside the beautiful village of Havelock.

The place was beautiful, the views were amazing, the gift of a home for 5 days was something we won’t forget in a hurry and we hope to return the favour to Wayne and Jane when they visit Israel next year.

We had a brilliant 5 days in the area.

We walked 20km of the Abel Tasmin Walk, enjoying the stunning beach views and turquoise waters.

We climbed the highest mountain in the area, Mt Stokes, which at 1200m had been described to us as the ‘hidden gem’ of New  Zealand, giving breathtaking views of the entire area.  Well, after 3 hours climbing straight up, it was certainly all hidden!  Suffice to say, the 2 hour hike back down wasn’t the most fun after the disappointment at the top.

Another couple of great hikes in the area and our time was up.  We headed to the picturesque town of Picton to catch the 4 hour ferry crossing to Wellington.  We managed to grab some final views of the area, I guess we were trying the savour the last moments on this magical place before leaving. 

And just like that, our 5 weeks on the South Island had come to an end, 5 weeks that far exceeded our expectations and gave us so many truly amazing experiences.  We got back to nature, hiked up mountains, enjoyed boat trips, celebrated 2 birthdays, got close to seals, sea lions, dolphins, penguins and just had a brilliant, brilliant time.

Here’s hoping that the North Island can live up to the standards set by her big brother!