Our itinerary in the South Island was as follows:
January 10th: Long driving day. We head straight west from the port town of Picton, stopping at the shore of Lake Rotoiti, which is full of swimmers and pleasure boaters. We continue west, reaching the opposite coast around 5 PM. We have dinner and ice cream at the Punakaiki Cafe, and complete a brief walk through the Pancake Rocks at sunset. We drive south along the coast toward the glaciated Westlands, stopping to watch the sunset disappear behind the horizon. We reach Fox Glacier at 11 PM.
January 11th: Mom and I are awake at 4 AM to catch sunrise at nearby Lake Matheson. In the dark, we make our way around the lakeside path by phone light and photograph the sun coming up over the Southern Alps. We go home to nap and have breakfast; Evelyn and Dad return to the lake later in the morning while I sleep in the car. We next visit Fox Valley; Dad, Evelyn, and I walk up to the face of Fox Glacier. After lunch, we drive south and east through the Haast Valley, stopping to see two waterfalls in the mountain pass. We arrive in Wanaka around 6 PM; I climb to the summit of Mt. Iron and afterward join everyone else for dinner at a Korean restaurant. We photograph sunset at the famous Lonely Tree on Lake Wanaka's southwestern shore.
January 12th: We drive from Wanaka to Queenstown, stopping for a panorama in the Crown Range Mountains. We pass Queenstown and continue to Glenorchy, stopping roadside at Bennett's Bluff for a gorgeous view of Lake Wakatipu below us. In Glenorchy, we eat lunch at a Chinese dumpling and noodle house (!) and complete a 2-mile walk along the Glenorchy Lagoon boardwalk. Back in Queenstown, we walk along the shore of Lake Wakatipu and eat gelato and Japanese food for dinner. Originally planned to take a tram ride up to Bob's Peak to catch sunset, but decided not to in light of incoming rain.
January 13th: We drive south from Queenstown along Lake Wakatipu, stopping for photos on the ski slopes in The Remarkables. We drive along Lake Wakatipu and stop at a sheep farm, where the proprietors entertain us with a herding display. We grab lunch at the Five Rivers Cafe near Mossburn, where Mom shops for souvenirs while we play with the alpaca/goat/pygmy horse petting zoo outside. We take a brief walk in the red bog pine of the Wilderness Reserve; at Te Anau, we walk along the lake and visit the Te Anau Bird Sanctuary, where we see a pair of the ultra-endangered flightless takahē. We settle in by mid-afternoon; Mom and Dad go for groceries, and Mom grills lamb chops and broccoli/cauliflower florets for dinner.
January 14th: We set off north through the Fiordlands; I nearly forget my camera. We stop roadside for photos in Eglinton Valley and at the Mirror Lakes. We complete a 5-mile, steep climbing hike from The Divide to Key Summit; at the top, we walk the alpine trail and take in sweeping views of the surrounding mountain amphitheatre. We continue northwest through the Homer Pass Tunnel, arriving in Milford Sound in the mid-afternoon. We eat lunch and ice cream, and after a break, take a 90-minute boat ride through Milford Sound and out to the Tasman Sea. With the sun setting, we drive back to Te Anau and have a Chinese dinner featuring very nice stir-fried venison.
January 15th: Rainy day. We drive east from Te Anau toward Dunedin, stopping for brunch at a cute cafe in the town of Gore. We take a detour to the south coast to see the Nugget Point Lighthouse; it is drizzling the whole time, but the rain lets up enough for us to walk along the sea cliffs to the lighthouse. Brief, 3-mile stretch of gravel road before the lighthouse. In Dunedin, we find that I have accidentally booked a tiny trailer park hut with no bathroom. Mom nearly blows an aneurysm before swiftly re-booking us into the nicest hotel of our entire trip. We have dinner in the lobby - delicious steaks and grilled jumbo prawn.
January 16th: We head north from Dunedin, visiting the limestone Elephant Rocks near Duntroon, where we get lunch at the Flying Pig Cafe (nice bathrooms with wooden seats!). Afterwards, a long drive to Aoraki; we stop roadside to admire Lake Pukaki, which is perfectly reflecting the overcast sky. As we near Aoraki and Hooker Valley, rain sets in; the mountain summits are almost totally obscured. Mom stays in the car while Dad, Evelyn, and I walk a portion of the Hooker Valley track with our ponchos on. We drive back south along the lake and turn east again, stopping in Tekapo around dinnertime. Another trailer park, but this time a nicer cabin with a bathroom and actual bedsheets. Ducks walking around outside on our porch. We grab dinner (Chinese again) and passionfruit ice cream bars (again), and stop by the very popular, very lovely Church of the Good Shepherd near sunset.
January 17th: We head first to the nearby Mt. John Observatory for sweeping views of Lake Tekapo and the town below us. Driving east, we stop for burgers and ice cream freshly mixed with fruit at the Geraldine Orchard Farmshop and Cafe. After lunch, I drive us north to the Ashburton Lakes area; we take a 15-mile stretch of gravel road through the Hakatere Conservation Area to reach Mt. Sunday, the filming site of Edoras in Lord of the Rings. We do a 2-mile hike up to the summit and gaze out at the Erewhon Flats (Helm's Deep). Afterward, we drive back out and continue north to Springfield, a 1-restaurant, 2-motel community between Christchurch and Arthur's Pass. We eat a dinner of steak and fries.
January 18th: A rainy day. Original plan was to drive up to Arthur's Pass and hike a bit before continuing to trip terminus in Christchurch; we scrap this and head directly toward Christchurch, stopping first at Southern Alpacas, an alpaca-breeding farm owned by Nic Cooper, who generously agreed to give us all a tour when I emailed him earlier in the trip. Feeding alpacas in the rain. He sells incredibly well-priced products from his own alpacas! Mom buys an alpaca wool comforter; I buy Jane an alpaca scarf and a pair of long socks. In Christchurch, we eat Japanese lunch, and I rest while the family goes shopping at the New Brighton Pier.
January 19th: Morning flight out of Christchurch to Auckland, and then on toward Los Angeles via Tahiti.
