New Zealand January 2026

 

Jan 1 2026

Day 39

Happy New Year from NZ! One of the first countries in the world to start the new year.

Last day in Christchurch visiting all the family followed by an extremely uneventful house party of games night til the wee hours of the morning.

Morning trip to visit mum in laws resting place and off on the highway to Lake Tekapo a few hours south.

Lunch, more wool shopping, waterfall hike with a wrong turn and an extra 30 minutes of elevation and cardio which ultimately provided us with more exercise than we wanted but definitely needed.

Rolling hills and low mountains with a third straight day of rain showers and storms, but we rolled into Fairlie NZ near Lake Tekapo and found our amazing little motel room and some top notch Chinese food before watching some tv and reading before calling it a night.

Jan 2 2026 - Day 40

Pancake with PB/Jam for brekkie and out the door in the pouring rain. Filled up with cheap gas and headed to Lake Tekapo.

The rain stopped right before we discovered the massive fields of purple and pink Lupins. The most fragrant smell I’ve ever experienced.

Down the hill to the lake with its beautiful azure blue colors.

Stopped to check out the lake, the Good Shepherd ‘ancient stone church’ (circa 1935…)

Did some shopping and headed to the Lake Tekapo Springs - an outdoor hot pool resort where we spent the day in and out of pools, reading books in between the intermittent showers and trying to make the clock slow down a little as we try to squeeze every possible minute of NZ summer holiday before returning to Canada next week.

Jan 3/2026/41

Out the door in the pouring rain down the highway a couple hours and finally some sunny breaks.

Every 5 minutes of winding road gives you a new mountain range view with hillsides covered in cattle, sheep and completely unrecognizable plant life.

But now - LUPINS EVERYWHERE! So colorful.

Stopped a few places for breaks and shopping and ended up at a Lavender farm - lavender everywhere - and a million worker bees as well. Very interesting!

15 minutes down the road Lakes Hawea and Wanaka and thousands of tourists flocking to the beaches and shops this first Saturday in January.

Quick bit of shopping and another hour down the road to Queenstown.

The super steep drop from the mountains down to the ocean was absolutely unreal. Video is minimal compared to the actual views you see everyday.

50000 people plus another 10000 tourists on weekends. $100 grocery shop. Checked into the hotel. Parked for free on the steepest street I’ve ever driven on in my life. Did some laundry. Toured around docks and shops.

Krista made spaghetti/meat sauce/salad and a giant pot of prawns for 11 of us after her two sisters and family rolled in a couple hours later.

Time to relax and go for a walk and watch the sunset. Busy 3 days of activities and thank goodness the sun is shining bright again at last. 

Jan 4/2026/42

We have an amazing view on the waterfront but it was slightly overshadowed by the live band playing till after 1am under our window yesterday lol.

Huge breakfast of French toast, pancakes and bacon for 11 in the hostel. Delicious coffees and hot chocolates.

Did some shopping then off to our river speedboat rides. Super warm weather. SO MUCH FUN!!!!

Lunch and ice creams. More shopping. Groceries.

Chicken and shrimp fajitas for 11 in the hostel dining room (saving us a fortune!)

Card games and tv.

Great day! 

Jan 5/43

A couple pieces of toast and down the road half an hour to the Bungee Jump to watch niece Sienna and nephew Lucas each do a couple jumps - one swan dive and one back fall.

They both did amazing and we all had fun watching!

Stopped in Arrowtown to retrieve my hat and glasses I left in a shop yesterday.

Back to our hostel for a quick sandwich before heading to the waterfront for Darren’s Hydro Attack experience.

A two person shark boat that seals completely that zips along the water back and forth like a floating Bobsled, tips on one side for a bit then the other side for a bit then submerses 6ft under water with only a snorkel post remaining above water until you shoot straight out of the water and smack down.

Repeat for 20 minutes and try your absolute hardest not to barf. 

GOOD TIMES! lol

Took an hour to get my land legs back and was pretty queasy for a while.

A WORLD FAMOUS FERG BURGER and fries made it all better. Had to share with Krista as the half pound monster rivalled Fuddruckers.

A two hour hike around the area was just top notch with a beautiful sunny day.

Watched the nieces for a couple hours so their mum could do some shopping.

Another huge communal supper of kabobs, salad and rice saving us a fortune.

Couple more hours out and about enjoying the sunset before calling it a night.

Off on more adventures tomorrow.

Jan 6/44

One last walk on the beach with a coffee and last minute visits with the immense heaps of Krista’s family before inhaling a piece of toast and on the road!! Freedom!!! 

Incredible scenery driving by along Lake Wakatipu, quick stop at The Hunny Shop in Glaston for coffees and into Te Anau.

We drove up to the observation peak to survey the entire valley, countryside and lake to plan out our stay.

Down into town. Power shopping for souvenirs and clothing.

Rented E-bikes for 2 hours as bike saddles were made out of titanium and our derrières couldn’t take more than that.

Biked hard for a couple hours and didn’t need the E part as very little elevation in the main area.

Checked into our awesome second Hostel hotel that had everything we needed.

Out for an amazing supper at Fat Duck Gastropub - top pub in NZ in 2025. Indoors was fully booked so we ate outdoors and enjoyed the fresh air. Lamb shoulder for K and Seafood Linguine for D.

Thankfully the dude in the Oilers hoodie moved indoors and didn’t ruin my appetite. 

Phenomenal meal and went in to the pub to thank buddy for not ruining my appetite as a Flames fan.  We had a good laugh and chatted for a while. From Stony Plain and he went to school with cousin in law Trevor Wilhauk of Smokehouse Brewery in Spruce Grove. Small World.

Home for a bit of tv before bed as tomorrow’s adventure is pretty extensive.

Jan 6/44

One last walk on the beach with a coffee and last minute visits with the immense heaps of Krista’s family before inhaling a piece of toast and on the road!! Freedom!!! 

Incredible scenery driving by along Lake Wakatipu, quick stop at The Hunny Shop in Glaston for coffees and into Te Anau.

We drove up to the observation peak to survey the entire valley, countryside and lake to plan out our stay.

Down into town. Power shopping for souvenirs and clothing.

Rented E-bikes for 2 hours as bike saddles were made out of titanium and our derrières couldn’t take more than that.

Biked hard for a couple hours and didn’t need the E part as very little elevation in the main area.

Checked into our awesome second Hostel hotel that had everything we needed.

Out for an amazing supper at Fat Duck Gastropub - top pub in NZ in 2025. Indoors was fully booked so we ate outdoors and enjoyed the fresh air. Lamb shoulder for K and Seafood Linguine for D.

Thankfully the dude in the Oilers hoodie moved indoors and didn’t ruin my appetite. 

Phenomenal meal and went in to the pub to thank buddy for not ruining my appetite as a Flames fan.  We had a good laugh and chatted for a while. From Stony Plain and he went to school with cousin in law Trevor Wilhauk of Smokehouse Brewery in Spruce Grove. Small World.

Home for a bit of tv before bed as tomorrow’s adventure is pretty extensive.

You haven’t seen green - til you’ve seen New Zealand.

You haven’t seen ferns - til you’ve seen New Zealand.

You haven’t seen sheep - til you’ve seen New Zealand.

You haven’t seen low lying clouds socked into mountain ranges- til you’ve seen New Zealand.

You haven’t seen waterfalls - til you’ve travelled by joss as t through the Sounds and Fjords of New Zealand.

You haven’t seen absolute postcards on steroids every 60 seconds of driving or hiking - til you’ve seen New Zealand.

If you’re still mobile and enjoy walking/hiking/biking, New Zealand is the place to be. The kindest people - the

Fun Facts on the tour.

Top 10 m of water is fresh from the rainfall off the mountains and the rest is saltwater beneath it.

Deer are considered pests so if you have a license to carry a weapon, you are allowed to hunt any and as many deer as you want at all times

Run traps and possum traps everywhere because of the invasive species nature and how they decimate the flightless birds of New Zealand

Watching everyone bob and weave and dance as the fjord turned into the Tasman sea and the boat rose and fell many metres was quite the experience.

Parked the boat for 10 minutes beneath the waterfalls and enjoyed the ‘Sounds’ of silence - the waterfalls falling into the fjord, birds and a bit of wildlife. It was quite serene for a few brief moments before heading back to the docks.

Jan 7/45

What do you do when you can’t get a wink of rest in a small noisy hotel room? You get up and golf. At 6am. When it’s dark. Cause there’s only a few more days of summer on holidays.

SPECTACULAR COURSE! Elevation. Immaculate Greens. $40!!!

I had to literally run the last 9 holes after each shot in order to get back to the hotel by 9am to shower and leave for our tour. Grabbed breakfast at the grocery store and at Ferry 1 by 10. Into the Sounds for 45 minutes and lots of explanations about the boat, the geography, climate, animals etc.

At the end of the first Sound, we took large buses for 45 minutes to the next ferry stop and got on a huge boat. 3 hour return trip into the Tasman Sea and back with some serious waves before heading back.

Literally saw a thousand waterfalls as it had been raining hard for a couple days. Sadly no sun and spectacular views under a blue sky, but HOLY WATERFALLS BATMAN.

I haven’t seen that many in my entire life let alone in 3 hours. Holy Moley!

Headed back to the buses, 2nd ferry and home to beautiful sunny skies and light wind.

Phenomenal Italian pasta supper and sunset and home to bed for a long day of driving tomorrow.

Praying for a decent night of sleep for the first time in 3 weeks. 

Jan 8/46

Great sleep. Yay for drugs.

Eggs Benedict sharing and 2 coffees to go headed 6 hours SE to Dunedin.

First atop suspension bridge and underground limestone cave. Cave too dark and intense without proper caving gear and headlamps/boots so we only went in 50 feet. SO

DARK!

Headed for the southern most tip of New Zealand at Sterling Point in Bluff New Zealand. Amazing automated washroom was cool! See the video.

Incredible views out into the ocean from both the cliffs and the wonderful Oyster Cave restaurant where we spent a fortune on lunch.

Back into the car and another huge drive to the eastern coast and Nugget Point Lighthouse by mid afternoon. Very rainy this afternoon so lots of sightseeing from the car with a quick stop at a beach cafe for tea and a lava cake for my better half.

Another hour and into Dunedin where we will stay for two nights. Our ‘Beach Motel’ is very poorly advertised lol.

We headed into the city square for some amazing Mexican food and margaritas at Amigos restaurant and then stumbled onto a live comedy show with one of Darren’s favourites - JIMMY CARR! All the way from the UK!! 2 hour show from 930-1130pm. Fantastic fun. Sleeping In Tomorrow for sure!

Jan 9/10-47/48

Sunshine at last! Time to tour Dunedin! Up to Larnach Castle - too expensive and too many tourists as the cruise ship is in town.

Drove around the cliff sides an seasides for a couple hours enjoying the views before a quick lunch and then hiked up the steepest street in the world! Baldwin Street!

Darren drove it up and down but Krista bailed lol.

Next stop - Beach Tunnel Trail - a winding path dropping hundreds of metres from the hillside to the beach below with a steep stained tunnel through the hill to get there at the bottom.

We celebrated with a couple cold drinks and chips while reading our book enjoying the last bits of sunshine before the clouds/rain inevitably rolled in and poured from 7pm right through the next day. No ocean sunsets for us. Some tv and reading and off to bed.

Saturday morning packing and off to church at St Joseph’s Cathedral before heading downtown to do some last minute shopping!!?? Why do we keep going into souvenir shops!!? 

Toured the Dunedin Train Station and Farmers Markets before trekking back up the steep hills to our free parking and serious workout before heading off to the Airport.

2800kms in 18 days in NZ as we bid adieu to our little Hyundai Kona. One of my favourite days of any holiday is handing back the keys of the rental car - especially in countries where I had to drive on the left side of the road!

Flight on time. Not too much turbulence. Bags arrived! Yay! Did i say that I bought too much stuff in NZ and had to buy a new suitcase off marketplace from a lady in a sketchy neighbourhood? Yep. Did that.

Auckland Airport Hotel brand new. Post office pub had phenomenal Mojitos and chips. Braided ribs yum too. Back to the hotel to crush the new Jack Reacher novel and a quick nap in our last hotel.

Sunday Jan 11 - Day 49

Well we are in the Auckland airport enjoying the lounge for an hour before starting our marathon trip home.

2pm departure for 13 hour flight to Vancouver. 2 hour layover and then arrive back in Calgary at 1030 am STILL SUNDAY! Our Sunday will technically be 44 hours long !

Thank goodness our 20 years of saving Aeroplan points will grace us with Premium Economy for my first trip ever. Really looking forward to it.