New Zealand - North Island to South Island Road Trip Itinerary

New Zealand is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited. It seems to have almost everything.. I would want to see and do...

Volcanoes, Mountains, Lakes, Beaches, Glaciers, Hot Springs, Mud Pools, Wineries, Cafes, Dolphins, Whales, Cable Cars, Helicopter Rides, Paragliding, Bungee Jumping (for Sherick)... and lots of delicious Steak!

...No wonder the Hobbits chose to live there! ;)

We visited during Summer in February, and it was sunny and cool, with occasional raindrops. All the accommodations we booked had free parking available. 

I have already written about Wanaka and Picton (The Mailboat Cruise) in my previous posts. I will try to write about the rest of the places in my future posts. In the meantime, here is the itinerary I am very happy to share! :)

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North Island

Day 1 - Auckland

Car Rental - Collect from Auckland Airport - Apex Car Rental New Zealand

Accommodation - Sai Motels - 1 Night

Day 2 - Auckland to Rotorua - 3 Hours

Accommodation - Astray Motel and Backpackers - 1 Night

Day 3 - Rotorua to Taupo - 1 Hour

Accommodation - Blackcurrant Backpackers - 1 Night

Day 4 - Taupo to Wellington - 5 Hours

Accommodation - I would not recommend the place we stayed at - 1 Night

South Island

Day 5 - Wellington to Picton - 3.5 Hours

Ferry - Cross the Cook Strait - Together with the Car - Interislander Ferry

Accommodation - Tombstone Backpackers - 1 Night

Day 6 - Picton to Punakaiki - 4 Hours

Accommodation - Bluewaves Homestay - 1 Night

Day 7 - Punakaiki to Franz Josef - 3 Hours

Accommodation - Perivale Farm Cottage - 2 Nights

Day 8 - Franz Josef

Accommodation - Perivale Farm Cottage - 2 Nights

Day 9 - Franz Josef to Wanaka - 3.5 Hours

Accommodation - Wanaka Bakpaka - 2 Nights

Day 10 - Wanaka

Accommodation - Wanaka Bakpaka - 2 Nights

Day 11 - Wanaka to Queenstown - 1 Hour

Accommodation - No. 70 Studio Accommodation - 3 Nights

Day 12 - Queenstown

Accommodation - No. 70 Studio Accommodation - 3 Nights

Day 13 - Queenstown

Accommodation - No. 70 Studio Accommodation - 3 Nights

Day 14 - Queenstown to Christchurch - 6 Hours

Accommodation - Aalton Motel - 2 Nights

Day 15 - Christchurch

Accommodation - Aalton Motel - 2 Nights

Day 16 - Christchurch

Car Rental - Return at Christchurch Airport - Apex Car Rental New Zealand

Enjoy planning your trip guys! :)

Also check out: The Mailboat Cruise in Picton, Beautiful Wanaka and Tasmania, Australia Itinerary

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References:

Our Budget for 16 Days for 2 Persons sharing the Car and Room
Plane Fare from Singapore - NZD 1,000 x 2 = NZD 2,000
Car Rental and Gas - NZD 1,500
Accommodations - NZD 1,500
Food - NZD 800
Activities - NZD 1,400
(Doubtful Sound Tour, Lord of the Rings Tour, The Mailboat Cruise, Bungee Jump for 1 Person, Glacier Walk for 1 person, and other entrance fees, Excluding Helicopter Ride and Photo Shoot)
Total for 2 Persons = NZD 7,200 / USD 6,000

Accommodations - Please click on the Hotel Names to visit the website
Ferry - www.interislander.co.nz

Car Rental - www.apexrentals.co.nz

Wanaka, New Zealand

Let me show you this place I never knew existed, and am really glad I discovered. 

Wanaka, South Island, New Zealand.

Surrounded by mountains and situated at the southern end of Lake Wanaka, this town of at least 7,000 people.. only.. almost made us decide to migrate to this paradise.

It is 1.25 hours away from Queenstown, but we drove from Franz Josef Glacier which is 3.5 hours away.

Passing by Lake Hawea.. what a beauty!

Almost there, and a rainbow says hello :)

We're here! 

Let's have some fun for a short while at Stuart Landsborough's Puzzling World.

These old men could not take their eyes off me! 

(It doesn't show properly in the picture though.)

At the Hall of Following Faces.

Nature calls.. Taking a dump with the guys.. haha! ;)

At the Roman-Style Toilets.

Time to get lost.. but please do not enter this labyrinth if you have limited time. The achiever in you will just get stressed ;)

At the The Great Maze.

And now.. my dream paradise awaits.

Lake Wanaka and the Southern Alps. 

Yes, this is the town.

Don't you just envy those two? Lying on the sand.. Reading a book..

Waiting for this sunset!

Ok.. the tree blocked my sun.. but it is there, you can see right?! :)

Twilight.. How darkness can be so beautiful!

Good morning!

When we were on our way to Wanaka through the Haast Pass, we passed by a sign that says 

"To Blue Pools"

We did not know what it was, so we didn't stop. When we got to the hostel, we googled pictures of it, and knew we had to go back the next day.

Only a 30 minute drive away.. and here I am, trying to be one with them.. whoever piled up all these rocks :)

The glacier-fed icy cold water in these pools has a distinctive blue colour. 

It is so clear that the swimming trouts look like they are suspended in the air.

The Blue Pools.

Lesson learned - If there's a sign, just stop! Check it out, and have no regrets! 

Now let's go back to town. 

Gosh, it's really so pretty!

Time to have a movie date at their classic Cinema Paradiso.

Where you can choose to sit on.. a car seat inside that yellow car, a lounge chair, a couch, an airplane chair... and eat freshly baked cookies and home made ice cream.

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Back to Lake Wanaka for some precious moments :)

Since we were already engaged, and we knew we would be coming to this amazing location, we hired Swedish photographer Fredrik Larsson for a 2 hour pre-wedding photo shoot.

He would just leave us to cuddle and be natural.. but we were shy.. haha! :P

It was our first time to ride a helicopter, and the reason for our now addiction to helicopters.

Aerial view of the Wanaka township.

Landed at Mt. Roy.

At the peak, overlooking Lake Wanaka.

How can you not be so happy to be here?! :)

Loving every second of this moment.

And now you understand why Wanaka has a special place in my heart :)

Also check out: The Mailboat Cruise in Picton!

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References:

Full Trip Itinerary and Budget - New Zealand - North Island to South Island Road Trip Itinerary

Attraction - www.puzzlingworld.co.nz

Cinema - www.paradiso.net.nz

Car Rental - www.apexrentals.co.nz

Helicopter Charter - www.alpineheli.co.nz

Engagement Photography - www.larsson.co.nz

Summer in Kyoto

Kyoto, Japan.. is.. just love.

Our vacation was supposed to be spent in Osaka, but because Kyoto was just about an hour away by train, we allotted a day for it. However, a day in Kyoto was not enough.. and would never be enough. We went back again on another day. And still, it was not enough. Next time, I will spend at least 4 days in Kyoto!! :)

It was very, very hot on the first day, so we had to be strategic on the places we wanted to see, as the heat made our walks really exhausting. And our regret was, not staying overnight in Kyoto, and missing out on the night scene. 

So here's where our walk started..

The Gion District, the most exclusive geisha district in Japan. 

The streets are lined with well-preserved old-style wooden merchant houses or teahouses, where the geishas, or geikos as they are called in Gion, entertain their patrons.

Unfortunately, we did not see any geiko because we did not stay until the evening. This area would have looked really mesmerising with all the lights and drama at night.

We just kept walking and allowed ourselves to get lost somehow.. As we felt like we were in a movie set location.

Reached Kennin-ji Temple, the oldest Zen temple in Kyoto.

Local people pass by the temple grounds all day long, as it has become part of their regular walkway.

And now at the complex of the Yasaka Shrine, where worshippers frequently drop by to offer prayers to their god of prosperity and health.

Wooden prayer tablets. We did not go inside the shrine itself anymore.

And this is where you wash your hands and mouth to cleanse your body and mind before entering the shrine.

Lunch time.. we ate at this little shop where locals buy take away bento boxes. 

It's hard to go wrong when it comes to food in Japan :)

We then took the bus to the Ginkaku-Ji Temple because it was too hot to walk.

Just a tip - it is really worth it to buy the unlimited one day Kyoto bus ticket.

The path to the temple was lined with souvenir shops, and a LOT of ice cream shops! 

So happy to finally arrive at the Ginkaku-Ji Temple! :)

It is Zen, and also known as the Temple of the Silver Pavilion.

Ok.. I thought we would finally be able to escape the heat.. but no.. ;)

Don't you just love Japanese gardens?! 

They are so pretty in Summer.. I hope I could see them in Spring, Autumn, and Winter when they are even lovelier!

Before moving on to our next stop, we had to cool ourselves for a while.

We tried a few, but this shop served the best Green Tea Ice Cream!

You will pass by this shop on the way to the entrance of the Ginkaku-Ji Temple. So please don't get tempted by all the others you will see before you reach this place! :)

Starting to walk again.. at the Philosopher's Path. 

It is a pedestrian path along a canal lined with cherry trees. A Japanese philosopher used to walk here everyday to meditate, hence the name.

Imagine coming here during Spring with all the cherry blossoms! It would just be heaven!!

Random things along the path.. a Teddy Bear family on a bench, fishing in the canal :)

Shops along the way, and stairs for resting ;)

And restaurants, and benches for resting again ;) 

The walk was only at least 30 minutes, and really beautiful and fascinating.. but the summer heat just made it really exhausting.

A wood carving shop.

There were also a lot of temples and shrines along the way, but we did not check them out anymore. 

We could no longer wait to take the bus to have some aircon, on the way to our next stop! haha! :)

And here we are.. at the Fushimi Inari Taisha.

Inari is their god of rice, and merchants and manufacturers traditionally worshipped him.

The path to the shrine is lined with thousands of Torii (these orange traditional Japanese gates).

Each of the Torii here was donated by a Japanese business.

Also, the ending scene of one of my favourite movies, Memoirs of a Geisha, was filmed here.

This was where the child apprentice, or Maiko, was running through, smiling.

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On our second day in Kyoto, we went to the Arashiyama area.

We decided to take it slow and relax on this day, so we took the Sagano Romantic Train for a scenic ride.. departing from the Torokko Saga Station.

It's an old-fashioned train with wooden benches, and goes through the mountains along the Hozugawa River.

The 7 kilometre journey that passes by a forested ravine takes 25 minutes. 

I could not take a proper picture of the scenery because I was just using my iPhone, and the train was moving. But believe me, the scenery was really fantastic! :)

We alighted at the Torokko Kameoka Station, where Tanuki (Japanese Raccoon Dog) statues greeted us.. How cute is that?! :)

Took the train back to central Arashiyama, and here we are at the Togetsukyo Bridge. 

This bridge has often been used in historical films. It crosses the Hozu River on the west, and the Katsura River on the east. 

And that's my sister :)

Boats for rent.

A cafe by the river. 

And after a loooong walk.. here we are at the very refreshing Bamboo Grove! 

Isn't it enchantingly beautiful?! :) 

Another scene from the movie Memoirs of a Geisha was filmed here.

But now it's time to go. 

I am not done with Kyoto though. I really loved it, and there are still so many things to see. 

I have to visit it again, in another season! :)