Contiki 2.0 – complete! What a difference it makes only having a 1-hour flight, as opposed to a 25-hour long haul mission like last time 😉.

I can hear what you’re thinking right now: “What’s a kiwi doing on a New Zealand Contiki tour??”

Well believe it or not, but I’d never been to the South Island before! I know… such an Aucklander. At 23 years old it was slightly embarrassing – but there’s no time like the present!!

I got the idea to do a New Zealand Contiki just after I came back from my first tour in Europe. I’d well and truly caught the travel bug, and this seemed like the perfect solution to quench my travel thirst so soon after my big trip gallivanting around the other side of the world.

I had decided it was time to see more of Kiwi-land. As much as I like to call myself a global citizen, I do think it’s important to get to know your own backyard, too.

And it certainly made it easy not having to carry round a passport or pay for things in a different currency 😉.

Choosing to do a tour meant that:

• I would see the must-see sights and towns in the South Island
• There was no need to organise a group of friends to come with me (which I’d been trying to do for the past 3 or so years)
• My New Years Eve plans were sorted
• I just knew that I’d have a great time on a Contiki! This is the exact one that I did.

So what’s the low-down? Where did we go? What did we do? Glad you asked…

Christchurch

After a quick look around our starting point in Christchurch “the garden city” (including the remains of the Cathedral and Earthquake victims memorial), we set off on the 31st of December, ready for a great NYE!

Franz Josef Glacier

Franz Josef was a small township amongst the mountains with just one bar, so needless to say NYE was packed with pretty much everyone (including many many tourists, of course).

Even though it was a small place, there were loads of things to do, so New Years Day saw me taking a scenic helicopter flight up to the Glacier and playing in the snow (as you do in summer…).

Others went kayaking, quad biking, hiking… a great way to fend off the hangovers.

Queenstown

The Adventure Capital of the World – and for good reason. Pretty much any extreme adventure activity you can think of can be done here. Not to mention it’s absolutely stunning!

We had 4 days to do as much as we could, so I found myself doing the Shotover Jet boat ride, Ziptrek which involved ziplining down a mountain (including the steepest zipline in the world), riding the luge… and I got SO CLOSE to going Skydiving, but unfortunately it was cancelled twice due to wind and/or rain. One day…

In better news, a small group of us had the most incredible half-day trip to Milford Sound (renowned for its beauty and a popular film location spot). We took an 8-seater plane to Milford and enjoyed a 2 hour boat cruise there.

It’s seriously one of the most serene, mystical and magic places on Earth.

Queenstown is also known for its amazing food and wine, and even though I didn’t try waiting in line for over an hour to get a world-famous Ferg Burger, the city is worth visiting just for its chow. Don’t even get me started on the all-you-can-eat buffet at the Skyline Restaurant…

Dunedin

1 night in Dunners, the student city! We took in the must-see spots including Baldwin Street (the steepest residential street in the world), a tour of the Speights Brewery and Alehouse, and a tour of the Cadbury Chocolate Factory (much more up my alley than beer).

Lake Ohau

Our last night on tour was at the picturesque Lake Ohau lodge (in the middle of nowhere). You could see Mount Aoraki (or Mount Cook) from the distance (the largest peak in the Southern Hemisphere). It felt like school camp, in the best way possible. Who needs 5 star hotels when you have the best of mother nature right outside your room? New Zealand is full of hidden or lesser-known gems like these.

During our long bus rides in between towns, we’d have stopovers at postcard locations like Wanaka (Lake Wanaka is stunning) and Oamaru (a beautiful Victorian township). We drove through the most beautiful scenery in the world like Arthur’s Pass (I may be biased as I’m Kiwi, but I think most people would agree anyway).

As much as I want to keep exploring the rest of the world, it’s easy to see that New Zealand has absolutely everything right here:

• Beautiful nature and scenery
• Activities and things to do for everyone of all levels of adventure
• Something for the foodies and wine-lovers
• Super friendly, helpful people (more so in the South Island than in Auckland, even if I must say so myself)

Doing a tour of the South Island has garnered a whole new appreciation for New Zealand. It made me even prouder of our culture, and helped me gain a better understanding of it, too. I’m grateful to live here!

If you want the full ‘experience’ of my adventure, check out my epic trip VIDEO!

Wanna check out a New Zealand Contiki yourself? (you definitely do) Take a look at the range of NZ tours here.

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p.s. This blog post has not been sponsored by Contiki at all, it’s just me sharing my experiences xx