Daniel and I had only been to New Zealand once before, this time we were able to experience its beauty so much more. From the day we arrived, we were in awe of the glistening lakes and snow-capped mountains. On our way back from Glenorchy, we witnessed our first sunset overlooking Queenstown and it was just magical. The sky lit up pink and purple behind The Remarkables, and the moon rose in the distance. We sat on the shoreline and cuddled (or huddled as it was pretty cold!) and waited till the pink left the sky and the Queenstown lights shone over the lake. Memories like this are what make travelling so special and I am so thankful for every memory I get to share with Daniel.
It’s not often that you go to a new place and feel like you are on another planet but when we arrived in Milford Sound, that’s how we felt. The cliffs surrounding the water were incredibly light and the water below was crystal clear and reflecting the clear blue sky above. I think what made it feel so special was that there was so little sound. Everything was so quiet, and we were able to appreciate everything and take it all in. We were fortunate enough to be able to take a boat onto the water and experience the beautiful view up close. The took us past a number of waterfalls cascading down the cliffs. The spray, although cold, was so refreshing.
We were blessed with the most gorgeous weather whilst we were travelling around the South Island and this meant we were able to tick off many of our ‘Bucket List’ items. After climbing Franz Joseph Glacier, we made our way around to Mount Cook and were treated with some of the most amazing views either of us has ever seen. The Hooker Valley Track is just jaw-dropping. Every turn provided something new to feast our eyes on.
Along the way, we crossed many boardwalks and suspended footbridges. We really enjoyed these as they swayed as we crossed them! Luckily, I am not afraid of heights! Once we reached the end of the track, we saw Tasman Lake, where shards of glacial ice covered the edge of the aqua blue water. We couldn’t resist picking the ice sheets up, even though they made our fingers numb. I felt like I was a character in Frozen. We stayed here for what seemed like hours just sitting and admiring the view. We soon realised that we were running short on time to get back in daylight as the sun sets early in winter. We made a mad dash back to the car and made it back only a few minutes after sunset.
New Zealand’s South Island is such an underrated beauty and you truly can’t imagine the incredible things you see until you get there. We came back home feeling like we had travelled to another world. We will definitely be back.
