Kia ora! Earlier this year, I was lucky enough to have the MOST 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. Read the previous blog post here. 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.

In the previous blog, we travelled from Punakaiki to Fox Glacier via Hokitika George.

From there, we checked into our hostel for the night and whipped up some spaghetti for dinner before heading back out the door again. That’s the thing about New Zealand, there is so much to see and only a certain amount of hours in the day, we made sure to get the most out of every single hour that we could.

Lake Matheson

After the delights of Hokitia gorge, I was not expecting to be blown away again by New Zealand’s spectacular nature delights in the same day. But Lake Matheson did not let us down.

After checking the weather forecast (calm and dry), we knew that this was our chance to catch THE sunset at Lake Matheson. We RUSHED around the track for the ultimate view. It was dreamy.

Lake Matheson is a glacial lake, but it is best know for it’s crystal clear reflection of the mountains Aoraki Mount Cook and Mount Tasman and the Southern Alps.

The walk around the entire lake is 4km, but we didn’t actually complete the loop until the following day when Rich and I went on a run around it. I was desperate to see the views again. I also wanted to kick off my “Monday rundays” for the year — I aim to do a run every Monday, in 2024 I completed 26 “Monday rundays“, so in 2025, I am aiming to beat that.

Fox Glacier (from the skies)

The wildest thing I’ve ever done: A Helicopter ride!

We took a helicopter over the mountains, taking in the sights of the glacier, and we even got to get out and stand on it. It was such a surreal experience. It felt green-screened; it was just so white. Incredible.

Back in the day, it would’ve been very easy to walk onto the edge of the glacier. But the glacier, due to climate change, is retreating every year by over a kilometre, which is horrendous. Obviously, the emissions from the helicopter are not going to aid this, but this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us and the only way for us to see the glacier. I promise, no more Heli rides for me. The memories of the views will last a lifetime for me.

It was fantastic! Although I do recommend taking a travel sickness tablet beforehand (lesson learnt…).

Rich had the luxury of riding up front with the pilot, and Mum and I were seated in the back, taking it all in.

Gillespie’s beach to Galway beach

This 12km walk was so worth it for this super remote and private beach — not one person in sight (other than us!). It felt so bizarre to be walking on a beach in the sun and still see the snowy mountain tops.

We also saw Hector Dolphins playing in the waves.

Up next on the road trip was a driving day. But in true Purvis style, we had several stops to break up the long journey (4 and a half hours) to Queenstown.

Keep your eyes peeled for the next blog post to find out more …