I flew direct from KL - Auckland with MAS (It was miserable but we let that past. You can read my post on my miserable pre-flight Travel Struggles with MAS. From Auckland, we took Air New Zealand down to Dunedin and slowly, move our way up the map before flying to North Island. I will post about North Island soon!
General:
There are basically 3 major supermarkets in New Zealand - Countdown, New World and my personal if not everyone's favourite, Pak n Save. Pak n Save is the cheapest supermarket which in my opinion, is tremendously huge with many varieties including marinated ribs and chicken skewers that taste fab-u-li-cious!
Most hostels/lodge/resorts provide kitchen with utensils for you to cook. Buying groceries and cooking by yourself is always cheaper. Besides, it brings out the vacation mood in you!
Fresh mussels soaked in vinegar.
Avocado spread on lite crackers.
MUST TRY: Fresh Salmon. Marinate the salmon with salt and pepper (The common seasonings in New Zealand's kitchen), heat it up in medium heat over the microwave for about 5 minutes and it will taste amazing! You can also make fluffy scramble eggs using microwave too. Mix as many eggs as you want in a bowl, add in salt and pepper for taste, a little milk will increase the volume of eggs, medium heat over the microwave for about 2 mins for 2 eggs (I prefer my eggs to not be too dry hence, it will have some raw texture which blends with the cooked eggs upon stirring.)
MUST TRY: Puhoi Chocolate Milk (the alternative will be Lewis Road Creamery but Puhoi is still the best!)
Lastly, always search online very good deals! You can opt for Bookme or Grabone.
Dunedin
Dunedin is a student town. My brother resides his past 5 year of studies here hence, he is really familiar with the place. In New Zealand, it is easier to travel with rental cars. You can google for the cheapest car rental available during your travel period. For South Island, we rented from Rent-a-Dent and was satisfied with their service. You can opt for pick up from airport and can easily return the car at airport when you leave.
Attraction(s):
Dunedin's Train Station. Apparently, this place has the highest number of tourist pictures being taken!
Signal Hill. Search for the right sunset time, prepare some really thick clothing (LIKE SERIOUSLY THICK), find a good driver and drive your way up to enjoy the view! I was also informed this place is famous among druggies but don't worry, it is safe and trust me, it's worth the crazy cold!
Tunnel Beach. We were lucky that we manage to spot Mr & Mrs Sea Lion up close! We were there during the summer and as you can see, we were in winter clothing.
World's Steepest Hill. It's not that long to hike up, just take it as an exercise to shed off the fats from the good food you had!!
St Clair. This place is nice to have an evening stroll. It's also a famous beach for surfers.
Dunedin's Food:
Poppa's Pizza opens beyond 5pm so hooray to those who are not used to shops closing SHARP at 5pm. They are known as the best pizza in Dunedin. Well, to me, all the pizzas there are much, much better compared to Domino's back at home. (Just like wantan mee in Malaysia is always the best!)
Governor's Cafe. One of the best brunch place I had in New Zealand. We manage to grab the Buy 1 Free 1 deal online so do your pre-shopping to save!
Queenstown
Accommodation: Reavers Lodge. We had a room to ourselves and an en-suite bathroom. This place has a complete kitchen and is perfect for family with young children. (Not suitable for family with elderly as it requires you to hike up the steep road a little before reaching the place but it has a beautiful view of the city!)
This is the most expensive town to live in apparently and you will know why once you get there. None of the pictures are being "retouched" so yes, it is natural beauty. Hooray Mother Nature!
Attraction(s):
The magnificent Queenstown. You will see this lake at the centre of town with some water sports activities going on during the summer.
En route to Queenstown.
A 1 hr walking trail. Do this walk because...
You will end up with this spectacular view.
Below Zero Ice Bar. We manage to book it online for a NZD 1 for entry + NZD 14 for the cocktails. Worth the shivering experience!
Luge. Yet another offer deal we got online. However, we heard that Rotorua has a better luge experience in terms of excitement but Queenstown is definitely winning on the view!
The ride up to luge down.
There is a Kiwi Bird Park right beside the luge place before you take gondola up if you are interested.
Queenstown's Food:
Ferg Burger, Bakery and Gelato - This is exclusively only available at Queenstown. Prepare to queue for the burgers but trust me, they worth the queue. Best burger I had in New Zealand! Personal favourite is definitely the roast pork belly burger! Yums, I missed it already. :(
Patagonia is also another exclusive cafe only in Queenstown. I personally prefer this gelato over Mrs Ferg's Gelato but my parents prefer Mrs Ferg's so I guess it's really personal preference. Although I didn't manage to try their churros, I heard that their churros is famous too.
Cookie Time's cookies can be easily find at supermarket but just like Famous Amos, the ones from the shop always tastes better!
Milford Sound
As we did not spend a night at Milford Sound, we traveled 10 hours to and from Queenstown just for the 2.5 hours cruise. Although it sounds crazy for a day trip, this is what many bus tours do and it was definitely worth it.
Beautiful Milford Sound. (I was lucky enough to see a few dolphins too!)
En route Milford Sound.
We took the Orange cruise which is one of the nicest cruise around but we got it online for a bargain! Also, it has complimentary fish n chips.
We were super close to the waterfall so prepare to get wet!
And yes, we are lucky with dolphins that day. We saw a group of dolphins in the first half of the cruise and on our way back, there was this playful dolphin vying for attention from our cruise as it was tailing us. Cute thing!
Roxborough
You will pass by Roxborough to and from Dunedin to Queenstown. It is a place with many fruit orchards. Different season, different fruit orchards are open. Do watch out for signs like PYO if you would like Pick Your Own fruits and fruits for the orchards are often cheaper but you will have to observe signs to see if they are selling.
Cherry Orchard. We were lucky to pass by a fruit orchard selling spray free cherries for only NZD 10 for 1 kg of cherries. The owner was really kind to show us around too!
Lake Tekapo
Accommodation: Lake Tekapo Motels & Holiday Park - Private cabin (Lake View). This is one of the best place I've stayed throughout my New Zealand trip. Our cabin faces the lake directly with ducks quacking around and lupins view! There is a bench right in front of your cabin for you to enjoy your BBQ dinner with the famous starry night too.
Attractions:
Lupins by Lake Tekapo. This beautiful tall lupins by the lake view can be found at the famous Church of Good Shepherd and Mackenzie Sheep Dog Statue.
Mt John Observatory. We went there during the day by ourselves and enjoyed a nice tea at Astro Cafe. However, during the night, it is compulsory for you to book an astronomical tour to go up there. As usual, the hill and beach are always colder and windier even during the summer so prepare some warm clothing for yourself.
Tekapo Springs. Down the road from where I was staying was the famous Lake Tekapo Hot Pool which is currently renovating for expansion so you can probably experience their water park and many other new facilities!
Food:
Rocky Road at Astro Cafe. I wanted to try their brownies but it was out. Try your luck perhaps?
KOHAN Japanese Restaurant. This restaurant is super famous hence, do reserve in advance. They have one of the best Japanese bento with reasonable price. Their homemade ice cream are real good too. You wouldn't want to miss this if you are at Lake Tekapo.
Overall, I love New Zealand's as a place and quality of living but I would die for food back home. I was adapting to the chilly supposedly hot summer too. It will be one of my significant life choice if I ever decide to move there permanently!
North Island update soon!
Cause nothing is perfect.
