Breaking Rules in New Zealand

New Zealand: a beautiful, distant, perfect country that most people only dream of visiting. #travelgoals. This trip was interesting because I broke one of my all-time travel rules: no group tours. They are usually expensive, offer less freedom, and leave you stuck with weird people for many days. No thanks. Jon and I had taken several road trips prior to this, and we really enjoy renting a car, making our own plans, and going at our own pace.

Our trip to the South Island of New Zealand was planned for October 2015. Unfortunately, this was a very hectic time of our lives. We were living in Singapore, and the few months before this were full of getting engaged, going to Uganda, Myanmar, and Thailand, wedding planning, having engagement parties, and packing up my fiancé to move back to the US (I stayed in Singapore a few more months to wrap up some work and research and *traveling*). It's safe to say our NZ trip snuck up on us, and we were too mentally and emotionally exhausted to care. Therefore, I broke my rule and booked a tour so we could just ride, relax, and spend quality time together before Jon moved.

It was a long trip, and since you guys don't have all day, I’ll just hit the highlights. It was spring there (they are in the Southern Hemisphere, so our seasons are opposite). We flew into Christchurch and took a couple days to ourselves. We went on a winery tour booked through Viator.com that was really fun and cheap! The next day, we were picked up by the tour bus to hit the road for a week to cover most of the South Island. Here's a map of our route from the tour company's site:

I must say, we picked the right tour to go with (if you ABSOLUTELY MUST take a tour). It was called Top Deck and was for ages 18-35ish. We were with mostly Australians and a few study abroad students, and everyone was chill and friendly. Right out of the gate, we went to one of the most desirable locations in the South Island: Fox Glacier. It was stunning, and they had amazing activity options for all budgets: hike the area on your own (free), hike the glacier (moderate), or a helicopter ride to the peak of the glacier (not cheap)! Jon and I had done a glacier hike in Iceland 6 months prior, so we decided to splurge and take the helicopter ride. It was one of the absolute coolest things I have ever done (and that's saying alot). Being in a helicopter is insanely cool, but add in beautiful views of snow-covered glaciers and rivers and landing on the peak and walking around ---- it was breathtaking. Unforgettable.

(Told ya!)

Next, I'll fast forward to what me and my husband consider the coolest city in the world: Queenstown. It’s a cute, hipster, laid-back resort town, with every activity you could think of and amazing food! What sticks out about this stop is the Canyon Swing, a 109m modified bungee jump that ends in a giant swinging motion over a river. Click here learn more about it. You can jump off any way you want: forward, backward, upside down, off a chair, with a teddy bear, you name it. We loved it so much that we did it twice: first, of course I chose a crazy position (upside down and arms up), and then jumped forward in tandem with Jon the second time (shout out to my rockstar hubby who is afraid of heights but absolutely crushed this!). Talk about adrenaline!!!

The other must-do in Queenstown is eat at Fergburger: long queues, amazing burgers, and spiked hot apple cider! It's worth the wait, so don’t be discouraged by the long lines. Queenstown, in all its' hipster glory, is also known for their tattoo shops. Jon had been wanting one for a while, so on a rainy afternoon with nothing else to do, he decided to get one there. No big deal.

From there, we headed down to the southwest tip of the South Island to Milford Sound, unofficially called the 8^th Wonder of the World. We did a nature cruise, which of course was beautiful, but the previous adrenaline activities in Queenstown overshadowed this stop. I'm not doing this stop justice, so maybe we should go back and see it again (hint hint Jon). Definitely look it up here if you haven’t heard of/seen a fjord! The next day, as we headed back up towards Christchurch, we stopped to cycle around a small historic town called Arrowtown. It was some much-needed physical exercise after days of indulgence and gluttony, plus I had a gnarly bike wreck that almost threw me off a cliff. Clutch! Then we moved up to Lake Ohau for our last night with the group (cue the excessive goodbye party) with views of Mt Cook and famous Lake Tekapo, and a stop at a sheep farm (so cute!!!!). Overall, it was a very balanced and inspiring trip with scenery that is better than you can imagine. I think it'll always be our life goal to move there one day (a girl can dream can’t she?).

View of Lake Tekapo (no filter)

Although our initial plan was to rent a car and make most of these stops ourselves (which is totally doable and would be a blast!), our personal lives made the convenience and ease of this tour very appealing. This trip was a little more fancy than frugal, but....  final decision: It was worth breaking my own rule! Email me if you’re interested in visiting New Zealand or need help mapping out your own route. It isn't the cheapest trip, but this is a trip of a lifetime, will make you the envy of your friends, and will fuel your gratefulness and wanderlust! (Stay tuned for more budget friendly destinations soon).

One thing I wish we had done in NZ: I wish we could have taken an extra day or two to stop explore Kaikoura, a town North of Christchurch (on the east coast) with great marine life and activities (think whale watching, swimming with seals, and dolphins, etc.). Next time! 😉

PS: I will try to post each week on the weekends (unless I'm gone traveling). Be sure to follow me by email below or on Instagram: @fancybutfrugaltravel

XOXO