There are soo many great things to do in the South Island of New Zealand. Here’s my top 10!

Kaikoura

This is one of the best places in the world to go crayfishing. After reading a few travel blogs, I came across the highly recommended Gerard who ownes the company Koura Bay fishing charters. Depending on how much time you have, you can go crayfishing and try to catch some fish. Afterwards, Gerard welcomes you back to his house to show you how to cook your freshly caught crayfish. This is a great way to meet other travellers who have also spend the day out fishing.

Doubtful Sound

Whilst in the South Island, you have to check out the Fjords of either the famous and easily accessible-by-road ‘Milford Sound’ or the lesser known gem ‘Doubtful Sound’ only accessible by boat.

By saving up the pennies, we left our small campervan for a luxury overnight cruise to Doubtful Sound.

The iconic pictures of the fjords really do live up to the reality. We sadly experienced cold, wet weather during our trip however the weather did actually make the area seem even more dramatic with hanging mist and thundering waterfalls. Don’t be deterred from going no matter what weather is thrown your way! It didn’t defer us from kayaking around the boat, fishing for crayfish and even seeing wild dolphins interact with the boat.

Baldwin Street

Walk up the steepest residential street according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Located in the residential suburb of North East Valley of Dunedin, this road will have you puffing by the time you reach the top but it’s well worth the effort. Shame on you, if you take the easiest option and drive up!

Larnach Castle

I have to admit, I had pretty low expectations before arriving but was absolutely blown away by this place! As New Zealand’s only castle, it was very grand and the extensive grounds were themed around Alice in Wonderland. I always love when a place is themed and you can see careful thought has gone into making the whole area an ‘experience’. Each section of the gardens had a statue from the story, so its great fun to hunt out and talk about what characters we hadn’t yet seen and some were really hard to spot such as the stone cheshire cat found up a tree that a member of staff kindly pointed out to me!

Queenstown

This town is raved about by all travellers you bump into and the question always is,`what did you do in Queenstown?’ As we only had an afternoon there we packed in as much as possible by enjoying the gondala ride up the hill called Bob’s Peak and luging a few times down it. Highly recommended!

If your looking for something more adventurous, there are lots of things to do, such as the highest canyon bungy swing but be warned, the activities are very expensive so check online for deals or combos.

Stewart Island

The small island south of the South Island of New Zealand, is called ‘Stewart Island’. You can catch a ferry from Bluff, south of Invercargill to the island which takes about 1 hour. Be warned this water is known to be choppy, so make sure you bring your sea sickness tablets just in case you need them. I have to say, I felt pretty rough on the journey over 🙁

Once you arrive, you have the opportunity to go on some great short that are well sign posted. Along the way on our walk, we saw exotic parrots busy eating and numerous ferns as we walked through the rainforest.

There are several longer walks available and accommodation to suit all needs on the island. When you are back in the harbour, make sure to stay alert as you might just spot a penguin swim past like we did!

Blue Penguins

The best place we found to see the smallest penguins in the world was at the Royal Albatross Centre. After visiting the centre, it provided a huge wealth of information and pictures about the penguins in preparation for meeting them after dusk later that day. As a massive penguin fan, I was rather excited to see them!

We arrived after dark and with a Maori greeting from the guide, we waited to spot them. We soon saw dark shapes moving towards the shore, before emerging out of the sea in rafts of tens and twenties. The penguin chicks that were still in their burrows, seemed to know their parents would soon be returning so they all started chirping away to guide them back to their nests to feed them after a busy day fishing.

To see so many penguins and to get so close to them was a magical moment and I enjoyed every second!

Moeraki Boulders

These bolders are very large spherical stones, on Koekohe Beach, near Moeraki, on the Otago coast. It is a strange sight to see groups of varying sizes of boulders, along a beach and no one seems to know how they got there! You can walk around them or climb over them to marvel at them and take unique pictures of this strange place and slightly eerie place.

Christchurch

The largest city in the south island is full of interesting places to visit. Haunted by the earthquake that took down numerous buildings and loss of life, this city has been busy rebuilding.  We jumped on a city tour bus to get our bearings and learn more interesting facts about this city. Make sure to check out Re:start to grab some delicious food. Also get lost in the fascinating  Canterbury Museum if the weather takes a turn for the worst.

Dunedin

For all those chocolate lovers out there, a trip to Dunedin would not be complete unless you visit Cadbury’s world. It is much smaller than the Birmingham, UK parent site but still a great place to enjoy a tour around. It includes seeing one tonne of chocolate fall, in the largest chocolate waterfall.  Guaranteed to put a small on everyone’s face!

Franz Josef Glacier

A visit to the South Island would not be complete unless you visit one of their glaciers. We booked the Ice Explorer at Franz Josef and after an excited built up to going, alas the weather had turned and our trip was cancelled. Boo hoo!

From reviewing other peoples photos and videos, apart from being highly jealous, it should be a must on your hit-list.

If you are lucky enough to go up, then after your cold walk around the glacier, you will be pleased to hear that there is a hot pool at Franz Josef and not just that, it’s a rainforest hot pool! Entrance is included for free as part of your ticket.

What are you waiting for, go now…!