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. It was 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.

After leaving Queenstown behind, we made our way to Wanaka and decided to base ourselves there for a couple of nights. First stop? A mandatory detour to Patagonia for another round of their legendary ice cream. We wandered through Wanaka’s outdoor and gift shops, soaked up some sun at Lake Wanaka, before setting up camp at the Albert Town campground.

At the site, we spent quite a while choosing a spot at it was super windy! I think we tried four or five spots before making a decision to sleep in a bit of a dip that was semi-sheltered. Thankfully in the end, it ended up being a super clear and calm night after the sunset.

Rob Roy Glacier

After a full day of rest, we were ready for another adventure and set our sights on hiking to Rob Roy Glacier.

Starting from the Raspberry Creek car park, the 14.5 km return hike led us across swing bridges, through forest, and offered teasing glimpses of the glacier along the way.

As we reached the final viewpoint, the trail rewarded us with a truly incredible sighting of the Rob Roy Glacier.

Of course I had to have a dip (sadly not a swim) on the way back: It was such a beautiful place and the river was very inviting on a warm day after hiking uphill — it would’ve been rude not to.

The next day was a Monday, and in my ambition to kick off the year with a strong start – and hopefully beat my 2024 record of 25 Monday runs – I was determined to stick to my ‘Monday Runday’ routine.

I asked Rich to take me on a 5km run along the Clutha River—and he delivered! We followed it up with a quick dip in the river to cool off, making it a solid start to the day. A run and a swim? That’s a very happy Abi.

With the tent packed down and the car loaded, we hit the road toward Mount Cook—one of my absolute favourite parts of the trip. I can’t wait to share more about it with you in the next blog post. See you there!