New Zealand - South Island!
By Gap 360
Last updated: 13th April 2014
Gap 360's Melissa and Becky share their experience exploring the South Island of New Zealand
After the adventure of the North Island, it was time to explore the beauty of the South Island! For The Lord of the Rings fans, this is where you'll find all the mountain ranges and the forests and lakes and things :-)
Our first stop was Kaiteriteri, where we decided to take it easy and do a little sunbathing whilst the others went kayaking, the same for our next stop Westport! Then it was on to Franz Josef where the fun and adventure kicked up a notch! Franz Josef is home to a massive glacier, which invites lots of different activities, mainly the beautiful and exciting heli-hike. With 2 nights in Franz Josef, it gave the group the rare opportunity to indulge in a few drinks without the early morning wake up call for the bus. Most of the group, including myself, decided to make the most of it, almost forgetting about the 3 hour hike the next day
When it came to the hike, it proved pretty difficult, in our delicate states, but the beauty and the challenge soon had us forgetting our sore heads, and enjoying ourselves again.
A stop in Wanaka after Franz had us chilling in an old school cinema and then it was time for Queenstown, the party and adventure capital! Now the Kiwi bus has a bit of a reputation as being a party bus, a reputation that really comes into it's own in Queenstown! With 4 nights we had plenty of opportunity to go out, sometimes fancy dress, or bar crawl, or many other things! It's not all partying though, this was the place the bungy was invented so it would be a shame not to try it. I ended up doing the 3rd highest bungy in the world, jumping off 134m into a stunning valley, not that we enjoyed the views much!
All in all, it was an amazing experience. If you're travelling alone and worried about meeting people, is definitely recommend the Kiwi bus as it's all like minded people from all over the world who share a passion for travel. It's a great way to get around and not worry about booking accomodation or activities, it's all done for you!
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