6 Activities to Budget for South Island New Zealand

February 13, 2017 by Alicia Leave a Comment

If there is one thing New Zealand is known for, it is known for having tons of activities ranging from skydiving, bungee jumping, jet boating and more. However, these activities tend to be pricey. Not only due to the amount of safety measures that have to be taken, but I think they know tourists will pay their prices. If you are into the adrenaline rushing activities, there is no shortage of them on the south island so go for it.

However, if you are looking for some fun activities outside of that, maybe a little more family friendly as well, and don’t want to break the bank, check out my list below. I feel that these activities can fit into a budget pretty well. The most expensive is Milford Sound but cruises range in costs from $45-$100 or more. I believe there is something for everyone and if you plan it out (maybe not “on the fly” like me) then I think it can be budgeted for. Regardless, I hope this list helps you to plan out some fun activities for your next trip to the South Island of New Zealand. Also be sure to check out my list of FREE walks.

(Note: all prices listed are for 1 adult, child or student price is usually a few dollars less)

ChristChurch

Quake City ($20)
- A small museum explaining the earthquakes New Zealand gets hit with and the effects of the 2010 and 2011 earthquakes leading to a rebuild of the center city of Christchurch
International Antarctic Centre ($39-59)
- There is an express tour for $39 or the general admission is $59. If you have time before your flight, this is a great place to stop and see. There are lockers to store your bags and it is located across the street from the airport. I was a little iffy on the price but I do believe the $59 was worth it. We spent about 4 hours there, catching the 4D shows, the penguin feeding, riding in the Hagglund and more. I learned more about the scientific research being done in Antarctica and how important it is that we protect that land.

Queenstown

Goldfield’s Mining Center ($25)
- 30 or 60 minute self guide tour, then tour with guide to see demonstration of machine working and learn the history of New Zealand Gold Rush for $25. Then pan for gold yourself.

Milford Sound

Milford sound cruise and 120km drive from Te Anau

If you are driving yourself there, great stops along the 120km road from Te Anau to Milford Sound include:

Elington Valley
Monkey creek – 100% pure water, you can fill your water bottle up in this creek. I have to say I am not really a bottled water fan (I taste the difference) unless necessary. This creek really did taste like bottled water, so it is THAT pure.
The Chasm

Of course if you are visiting Milford Sound, I hope you are taking a cruise, as it is pretty much the way to see Milford Sound. If you google map “Milford Sound” it will say you can’t drive there because it is the water area. You actually have to google map “Milford Sound Cruise” to find it, but since it is one road from Te Anua to Milford Sound, you can’t really get lost.

Cruises range in prices and length, so do some research ahead of time to plan out what you want. It was easiest for us to do a tour bus which is getting into the $200 range per person, but it was worth it with the curvy roads and getting to meet other people traveling. I saw some cruises online that started at $45 and there are deals all the time.

Tips:

Be ready to get wet, rain pants and rain jacket and waterproof shoes would be good. Milford Sound is one of the wettest places on Earth and there is only 1 sunny day in every 10 days approximately. Actually it is bound to rain over 200 days a year there, so be prepared. I had a rain jacket, but got very wet still.

If you are traveling during New Zealand’s winter, be aware that the road may be closed due to snow and ice or rock falls. Be sure to check ahead if possible.

Wanaka

This is a great town to stop in not too far from Queenstown.

Puzzling World ($16 for maze or illusion world, $20 combo pass)
- A place to get geeky. I suggest the combo pass and starting in illusion world. You will walk through a tilted room, see a wall of eyes following you and be puzzled by sculptures. Then take a walk through the 3D maze. Challenge yourself by finding the 4 corners in a specific order. The maze was a blast and it took us about an hour to complete. Then after you can sit in the puzzle room and play a bunch of puzzles they sell in the gift store. You could also just stop by and play in the puzzle room for free if you don’t want to do the other activities.

Hanmer Springs

Thermal Pools and Spa ($24 + $10 for slides)
- If you love waterparks and thermal pools, this is the place to go. You can get BOTH! This is a great family activity too since there are kid areas and then the adults can relax in the sulfur and thermal pools while the kids play (assuming they are old enough to run along on their own). Just $24 gets you access to all the pools. There is even a freshwater lap pool! For an extra $10 you get access to the 3 water slides, one is a tube slide and the others are fast water slides. The water on the slides is even quite warm so it isn’t a big deal to go from the hot thermal pools to the slides. So much fun you will want to spend a few hours here.

Bonus:

Not an activity, but I wanted to include this anyway. If you are heading to Queenstown, make sure to stop in for a bite at FergBurger. The line may take about 20 minutes but worth the wait and gives you time to decide on what you want.

If you are a sweets person, check out Cup and Cake for a cupcake.

I hope you enjoyed this activity guide for the South Island. Be sure to check out my other guides and keep following for more on my travel adventures.

Next up: Melbourne, Australia.

Confessions of a Traveler #1 TOL#65

February 9, 2017 by Alicia Leave a Comment

I’m calling myself a “traveler” after 5 weeks of traveling, I hope that counts. Anyway I had a few random thoughts.

Confession, I don’t have much of a yoga routine. OK I didn’t at home either but I was teaching the last year and that kept me more on my toes. When in the campervan, we were in a different place everyday, didn’t even know how long we would be driving as we planned it as we went. Then it was a bit chilly and rainy every other day so the ground was wet or it was gravel, which is really uncomfortable to practice on by the way. I have felt the difference and know I need to get back to doing a bit of yoga here and there so trying to do what I can.
I probably could have packed half the amount of underwear I brought, though the longest we went without doing laundry was 10 days and it was handy to have many pairs.
After washing my hair with only conditioner for almost a week, my hair was less frizzy, more curly and a bit more oily feeling. I was happy when I finally got to use shampoo at our Airbnb place Saturday.
To add on to the last point, it’s not like shampoo has been totally unavailable. We have been to stores, I just don’t feel like spending the money and conditioner is more important to me because my hair tangles…
Not having a routine is hard, but I keep up with my routine to make breakfast in the morning right away and then washing the dishes and cooking dinner.
When I had fast internet when we first stopped in Christchurch 2 weeks ago, I started the show One Day at a Time on Netflix and love it. I was able to watch 4 more episodes yesterday and enjoyed some down time/internet time.
I got a new camera for my trip and it is fun to have something to learn since I am not working at the moment, so I am learning about the manual settings on the camera and having fun playing with the settings and taking the same photos multiple times.
I’m currently sitting in the airport as I write this, on my way to Melbourne. I am thinking I should do some stretching or yoga before our flight since I have a nice surface (see #1). (edited to add: time flew by and I still didn’t stretch…oops)

Thank Amanda for the link up.

I might continue this as a series throughout the remainder of my trip so I called it #1. Hope you enjoyed the random thoughts. Check out my travel guides of New Zealand from earlier this week as well.

12 Free Walks South Island New Zealand

February 6, 2017 by Alicia Leave a Comment

I was working on my post of what we did on the South island and I realized that many of my favorite places were free walks we did as we drove by. I will have a separate post for some of the paid activities we did as well. If you are going to travel the south island of New Zealand, I highly recommend a campervan or buy a car/van when you arrive if you are traveling longer than a month and have a sleeper in the back. We saw many people who did that. A self contained campervan though is more convenient, just depends on your budget. Oh but be warned, gas is expensive, like over $100 to fill up from nearly empty, so find a buddy or two and split the cost :).

Campervan or car, that is the best way to see as many sights as you can along the way. Here are some of the walks we did to stretch our legs for a bit in between driving. I have them in the order in which we visited as we traveled from Christchurch, going south and then over to the west coast and up the coast back to Christchurch.

Aramoana beach and The Mole walk
- Near the town of Dunedin, take a walk onto The Mole (walkway stretching out into the harbour) to see sea lions and look across the harbour and you may find albatrosses swooping down (they don’t fly unless it is quite windy). You may even see some penguins if you are there at the right time of day.
Tunnel Beach
- Not too far from Dunedin, a popular tourist spot is tunnel beach. Yes there is actually a tunnel down to a rock beach. No swimming though. It is quite a walk downhill then going back uphill, takes about 60 minutes total depending how long you stay down there.
Crown Range Rd
- Located near Queenstown. Apparently this road used to be gravel, but it is now a nice paved road. Drive up to the start of the path. If you are an avid hiker, spend time hiking the path to the top. I believe it was over an hour hike one way? We just walked 10 minutes up the path for a nice view. Great overlook to Queenstown even at the start of the path.
Blue Pools walk
- Located along Mount Aspiring National Park, this is about a 15-20 minute walk that will take you to two Blue Pools. Amazing clear water. You can view from the bridge or even take a short track down to the pools.
Thunder Creek Waterfall
- Not far from the Blue Pools stop on the same road, a quick walk down to this tall waterfall is a must stop if you like waterfalls.
Fox Glacier
- There are helicopter tours to actually walk on Fox Glacier, but we all don’t have $300+ dollars to spare, so if you still want to see the glacier, you can also take the walk. I think the walk was about 60 minutes round trip. Follow the path as there are movements daily and it is important for your safety. Honestly I was just enthralled standing next to the mountains as we walked towards the glacier. I felt so small compared to Earth and nature. It was absolutely stunning though. You may still be 500m from the glacier, but the walk is worth it and free.
Hokitika town and beach
- This little town is fun to stop in. A beautiful beach and coast line. We happened to be there during the weekend of a driftwood competition so we walked the beach and saw all these amazing creations from driftwood and rocks. Also free wifi at the library 24 hours (which you will want since free wifi is hard to come by once you get west).
Tunnel Terrace Track
- Near Hokitika on the West Coast, stop and park your vehicle and take this 20 minute loop track through tunnels carved out for mining and through the forest. Smell the fresh air and stretch your legs if you are on a long drive.
Pancake Rocks Walk
- You can’t drive up the West coast and miss the Pancake Rocks. Layers of mudstone and limestone create these rocks resembling a stack of Pancakes. Thousands of years ago these rocks were buried under the sea and now the sea and weather erodes the stack of pancakes. Overtime, these stacks will make their way back to the sea, but don’t worry, there are plenty to see in this lifetime. Of course, this makes it a great tourist spot not just to see the rocks, but also to eat some pancakes. You can get some pancakes at the café before or after walking down to the pancake rocks.
Truman Track
- This 30 minute or so walk takes you down to a beautiful beach area, though not recommended for swimming due to strong currents. Great stop for some beautiful scenery pictures.
Pelorus Bridge
- Not only is there a great campsite here, but there are also a couple walks. A short 20 minute walk to one waterfall which was apparently featured in the Hobbit movies (with more water than what I saw there – dry season). You can also take a walk down to the river and go for a swim. I will warn that there is a slight current, so I do not recommend it unless you are a strong swimmer. I consider myself to be a strong swimmer, but with the rocks, I didn’t feel that safe and just took a quick dip in. There also are a bunch of sandflies, so bring some bug spray. The river was featured in the Hobbit movies as well.
Conical Hill
- In the town of Hanmer Springs (which was on our way to Christchurch due to route 1 being partly closed from earthquake damage), you will find Conical Hill. It is about a 45-60 minute round trip climb. It is not too steep of a climb up and there are benches along the way to take your time. It offers a beautiful view of Hanmer Springs town and smells of pine (which I love) from all the pine trees.

I hope that this post helps you plan your travels to the South Island of New Zealand. We planned our trip on the fly, so each day we had somewhat of a destination in mind (not hard when you are doing a circle and traveling a single main road) and stopped at interesting places along the way. Some days we made it 50km and others we drove over 200km, depending how long we would spend doing a walk or activity. There are tons of other walks and many hiking trails for those interested in hiking New Zealand. For the most part these are pretty easy walks (except Tunnel Beach, that was quite uphill and steep) and no longer than an hour. I think most would be suitable for family trips as well.

Do you enjoy scenic walks?

What is your favorite part about traveling?

5 Museums to Visit in Philadelphia

October 26, 2016 by Alicia Leave a Comment

Last weekend my parents came to Philadelphia for a visit. My mom is very into history so I knew she would love the historic district of Philadelphia. We spent 2 full days in the historic district and then our last day was spent doing a City Hall tour and walking more of the city. I think we covered quite a bit of ground even though there were many other places we didn’t get time for. Here are some of the museums to visit in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia History Museum

Open Tuesday- Saturday 10:30-4pm

This is a great place to stop to learn about the history of Philadelphia. We started with a video and then that gave us more info about the significant objects we found in each of the rooms. Many people know that Philadelphia was the first settled city but did you know William Penn, the founder of Philadelphia, wanted to name the land sylvania? This land later became known of Pennsylvania. The museum is small but kept my interest which says a lot since I don’t usually enjoy history museums. I loved how they had a toy room of some of the original toy companies in Philadelphia. Sometimes I just want to go back to the basics with toys and our imagination. Definitely worth a visit.

They also have a fun picture frame you can take photos and be featured on the screen next to the frame. We had a little fun.

Fireman’s Hall Museum

Open Tuesday-Saturday 10-5pm

I didn’t know about this museum until my mom mentioned it. This museum doesn’t have an admission but asks for donations to keep it running. From old fire trucks to history of insurances, volunteer firefighters to developing paid firefighters in cities. This museum is a little bit of a walk from the center of the historic area, but great for a quick stop. They even had a room where kids could try on boots and fire jackets.

National Museum of American Jewish History

Open Tuesday-Sunday 10-5pm (Sat and Sun until 5:30)

If you have a few hours free, check out the jewish museum. With 5 floors, the 5th floor changes with the special exhibit area, then you make your way through history starting at the 4th floor when the jews first arrived to America and moving your way through the exhibit and down to the 2nd floor of present day jews in America. One thing I learned here was the presence of jews in film making and how they had to hide their identity by changing their name just to be an actor/actress, but yet they were part of some of the most popular movies like Gone with the Wind.

I would say allow a whole afternoon for this museum if you can. There is a LOT to cover but it is laid out in a comprehensive matter. There are a couple tours a day but be prepared to stay longer than an hour on the tour, more like an hour per floor! We decided to go ahead of the tour and just read and watch the videos in the exhibits.

Ben Franklin Museum

Open Everyday 9-5pm

This is a great museum for kids. I found the exhibits pretty interactive. The museum is only $5 and takes under an hour to go through. I loved all the different interactive puzzles. It is amazing to learn about Ben Franklin and what he did for our country.

Also in the same area as the museum, you will find Ben Franklin’s printing press room and can catch a demonstration of how newspapers were first printed.

Liberty Bell Museum

Open everyday 9-7pm

Of course the Liberty Bell had to make my list. I think everyone should visit the Liberty bell once if they can. There is so much history behind it and Philadelphia has done a great job putting together the exhibit. Admission is free, but I would suggest getting there early before the line is too long.

Other Cool Places to visit

Old City Coffee

Looking for a place to sit down after being on your feet for a while? Check out the old city coffee house. This is a cute place with coffee, tea and giant cookies (which I would have tried had I not already had a donut and cookie right before). They have tables to sit at and hang out for a bit. I had their iced tea which I quickly drank as I was so thirsty after walking around.

Elfreth’s alley

The oldest residential street to walk down. People even still live in these houses! I don’t know if I would want my house to be a tourist attraction but it certainly was a cute little street, around the corner from the Firemen’s Hall museum and not far from Old City coffee. We also happened to be walking down when one person had her home open with a flash cookie sale. You know I couldn’t turn that down and had a ginger orange cookie.

Old City Tavern

Feel like you are going back in history with a dining experience with waitresses in colonial clothing and ordering dishes with recipes that go back to colonial times. After our delicious bread and biscuit basket, I got the special beet salad and the fried tofu. Who knew that tofu was made back in colonial times!? Delicious food and of course there are drinks to try as well.

Philadelphia City Hall Tour

The largest municipal building in America, city hall is worth a tour. Tours are only at 12:30 Monday through Friday so plan accordingly. We got our tickets at 9am and then wandered around the city, grabbed an early lunch and returned for the tour. After a tour of the outside learning how each of the 4 sides have a theme and seeing the amazing sculpture work, we headed inside to see the mayor’s area and then a hearing room and made our way up to the tower. Be prepared to wait as the tower elevator only holds 4 people at a time. The view is worth the wait looking out towards the Ben Franklin parkway and then the other direction towards the Ben Franklin bridge. You stand right below the large 37 foot tall statue of William Penn. You can’t get the best pictures of Penn but it is cool to see.

Have you ever been to Philadelphia?

Do you like learning about History?

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