A family trip to New Zealand in Winter

travel

Jul 31

Despite living in Melbourne, we’d had never been to the snow or ever visited New Zealand despite it being just a 3 hour flight. So with Covid lockdowns truly out of the way, we plan a trip to the South Island of New Zealand with a friend.

We fly into Christchurch and with a plan to drive down to Queenstown, stopping along the way. At Christchurch, we spend the day visiting Riverside Market, taking the Christchurch tram around the city, and do some grocery shopping for the upcoming days. In many ways, it’s the perfect way to settle in before the next few days of long drives.

First stop on our tour of the South Island is Lake Tekapo. On the way, we stop by the highly recommended Farilie Bakehouse and boy, did it live up to it’s reputation. The salmon pie was truly life changing - till this day I’m still trying to figure out how they didn’t overcook the salmon within a pie.

As we drive into Lake Tekapo, everyone in the car exclaims WOAHHH in unison as the majestic blue lake presents itself in all her glory. Till today I still chuckle at the memory of that - something I hope I will hold onto till the day I die. The kids finally get to have their first taste of snow, as we head to Tekapo Springs Snow Tube Park for a bit of tobbogan fun. As we wake up the next morning, we realised it snowed overnight and there’s a blanket of fresh white powder all around the neighbourhood. The kids exclaim in delight “It snowed! It snowed!” and even the adults are just as excited. I’m guessing this is what Christmas morning in the Northern hemisphere must feel like.

The drive from Lake Tekapo to Wanaka is truly memorable and something I would highly recommend. We were lucky enough to have a combination of snow, rain and sun, so much so that it felt like we were going through landscapes of different countries. I’m not a big fan of driving long distances but this was a sight for sore eyes.

We stop at Wanaka for a much needed lunch break at the Big Fig Wanaka - a homey deli style bistro with a seasonal offering of slow-cooked meat dishes with plenty of vibrant vegetarian fare and stunning salads.

Our remaining 4 days are in Queenstown. Queenstown is both quaint and yet majestic - the town centre is encompassed by the surrounding mountains. Coronet Peak is just a mere 20 minutes from the city centre, which is where we head for another day of snow with tobbgan rides and building snowmen. We take turns to watch the kids and go to the Queenstown Onsens - the spectacular view while sitting a bath of hot water in winter is truly a restorative experience - I would definitely recommend booking this as early as you can. This is definitely the closest thing in the southern hemisphere to an outdoor onsen experience in Japan.

Our flight to Milford Sound is cancelled twice because of bad weather - which is a bit of a bummer, so it leaves us with an unplanned free day. We decide on a whim to buy some local seafood from Harbour Fish to cook for dinner. The disappointment of the cancelled flight to Milford Sound quickly fades as it turns out to be one of the best days of the trip. We grab lunch from the famous Fergburger and head to Wilsons Bay. The kids throw stones along the lake and watch the ducks while we enjoy the magnificent views. For dinner, we have a home cooked meal with the local seafood we had bought earlier and quickly realise how special New Zealand Salmon is - and it’s no wonder that top Japanese restaurants in Australia use New Zealand Salmon instead of Australian Salmon. The fish itself has a beautiful taste, and has a wonderful pink hue even when cooked (we later learn Australian Salmon is dyed and that’s why it turns white inside when cooked).

Our final meal before the airport is at Sherwood, where the food is very much focused on foraging local produce - a wonderful way to end our trip.
We leave Queenstown truly inspired and refreshed, with plans to come back to visit again in the near future to visit Milford Sound - hopefully in Autumn.