March 21, 2020

Adventures From New Zealand’s Mountains to Sea

Pacific Travel Tips & Inspiration

From fern forests to swimming with dolphins, New Zealand is where nature comes to play!

A couple of our adventurers shared photos from their recent journey on New Zealand’s South Island. Looks like they had a blast!

A rocky shoreline under a colorful sunset in New Zealand, with flowers in the foreground and majestic mountains in the background.

The New Zealand: South Island Adventure was a wonderful way to experience one of the most beautiful places in the world up close and personal.

Underwater scene showing two dolphins swimming close to each other with sunlight filtering through the water, capturing the breathtaking beauty that extends from mountains to sea in New Zealand.

After meeting our group and our guides Tony and Pete, we headed up the coast to Kaikoura where we started the trip with an amazing swim—with well over a dozen dolphins! Even our swim guides felt that this was an amazing day. The dolphins surrounded us and didn’t leave. They enjoyed swimming around us, playing, dancing on the water. Clearly a good start to the trip.

Tall tree ferns with wide fronds viewed from below in a lush, green forest setting, framed by the distant New Zealand mountains.

One of the best parts of the journey was learning about what makes New Zealand so unique in the world. Many of the plants and animals we saw are not found anywhere else.

A person wearing a red jacket and carrying a backpack walks across a narrow suspension bridge surrounded by a lush forest, with distant mountains hinting at the breathtaking landscapes of New Zealand.

By day three we were up in Abel Tasman National Park. Following a ferry to a beach, we hiked through the woods and over a mountain or two to get to the beautiful and secluded Awaroa Lodge.

A group of people wearing hats and life jackets paddle yellow kayaks on calm, blue water under a clear New Zealand sky, with majestic mountains in the distance.

The next day was a kayak day where we saw plenty of seals in Shag Harbor.

A serene beach with the words "Farewell Wilderness Travels" and a smiley face drawn in the sand; lush green hills and calm sea are in the background, reminiscent of New Zealand's picturesque landscapes.

It was difficult to leave Abel Tasman, but it was time to head to the wild west coast—a very desolate part of the country with only 14,000 inhabitants and a completely different environment that included the Pancake Rocks.

A wooden bridge stretches over a small stream in a lush forest with large trees and abundant green foliage, inviting adventurers to experience the enchanting landscapes of New Zealand.

Scenic view of Punakaiki's Pancake Rocks with layered limestone formations and lush greenery in the background, nestled between majestic mountains and the shimmering sea, all under a clear blue sky in New Zealand.

As we moved down the coast we were able to hike in a variety of environments, some of which looked like Jurassic Park while others seemed almost futuristic.

A group of people embark on adventures along a gravel trail surrounded by lush greenery and cliffs under a partly cloudy sky, experiencing the breathtaking 'mountains to sea' landscapes of New Zealand.

An overgrown field with tall grass and an old wooden fence under a sunset sky, framed by the distant mountains of New Zealand.

An early start on Day 9 allowed us to hike out to Lake Matheson earlier than anyone else.

There were beautiful sounds as the birds awoke and the reflections were amazing.

The next day we ran into quite the traffic jam on the way to Mt. Aspiring and the Rob Roy glacier.

On the Rob Roy glacier hike we actually saw three different glaciers at different angles and more waterfalls than we could count. Then we stopped for lunch in a field of yellow flowers.

Then it was back over the mountains to the Queenstown area where we stayed at a Central Otago Valley winery, which reminds me that the food and drink on the trip were outstanding, as were our knowledgeable and hospitable guides Pete and Tony. They knew history, culture, flora, fauna—and wine, of course!

The grand finale of the trip was the visit to Fiordland National Park and a night on the water in Milford Sound. Waterfalls everywhere, fresh fish and lobster, and a memory to last a lifetime.