Kia ora! I’ve just returned from an incredible family trip to New Zealand’s South Island, and I’m excited to share all the incredible adventures that we had along the way. Over the next few blog posts, I’ll be diving into everything you absolutely must have on your New Zealand bucket list. For a bit of context: my brother lives in NZ, so my mum and I travelled over for a family holiday with him packed with hikes, swims, and endless mountain views. This trip marked my second time in this stunning country (after exploring the North Island in December 2022 with my Mum and Dad and brother), and I was beyond excited to come back. Trust me, there’s so much to see and do in New Zealand, I hope this blog helps inspire anyone looking to plan their own trip.

We arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand, on New Year’s Eve, but thanks to my trusty travel companion—jet lag—I couldn’t manage to stay awake past 9pm. So, instead of partying into 2025, we decided to kick start the new year with something a little more our style: a scenic hike in the Port Hills.

Just a short drive from the city centre of Christchurch, we headed to Taylor’s Mistake beach and followed the Godley Head walkway which took us to the headland that hosts an old WW2 coastal military defence.

The coastal defence still features gun emplacements, old military buildings, and tunnels, which were fascinating to explore. It felt like a striking juxtapostition to the stunning coastal scenery surrounding us, yet it really highlighted the importance of defence during WW2 and the lasting impact it had on the landscape.

The views along this coastline were incredible! For the entirety of the walk we had epic sea views and were able to admire the hills all around the coastline, especially when the cloud fully cleared and we could see Whitewash Head, and across Pegasus Bay to the Kaikoura Ranges, and Lyttelton Harbour.

This was a 9km loop and a great start to the mileage that we accumulated over our trip in New Zealand.

We ended the walk in the best way possible—with a refreshing sea swim!

A hike followed by a swim was the perfect way to kick off both the holiday and the new year—start as you mean to go on, right?

Whilst in Christchurch we also visited Quake City, a museum that encapsulates the stories of the people impacted by the Christchurch earthquakes. We also walked the Botanical Gardens on our first evening here in an attempt to fight off the jet lag.

We also had dinner at Two Fat Indians which had such incredible food. If we ever are in the area again, I will be going back.

After having a couple of nights in Christchurch to adjust to the new time zone and gather our senses, we got ready to head to Arthur’s Pass. I can’t wait to share all the adventures from there in my next blog post!

Thanks for reading !