After a lovely week exploring the greater Auckland area of New Zealand’s North Island, our little crew headed south.

We flew from Auckland to Queenstown, which was easy and inexpensive. As we approached Queenstown, the peaks of snow-covered mountains poked through the clouds and we weaved between the hills. The landing was one of the most dramatic, visually, I’ve ever seen and we were immediately smitten with the jaw-dropping, dramatic landscape. It was about as opposite to the rolling green hills of the North Island as you could get. Because the Queenstown airport is  centrally located, tiny and adorable, it was simple for us to grab our rental car and journey the ten minutes to our next Airbnb.

For those of you skeptical travelers who aren’t sure if visiting the South Island is a necessary part of your New Zealand itinerary, hear me out. I was once one of you.

The country has an unlimited trove of charming and gorgeous places to visit and with just two weeks, going to an airport and dealing with two rental cars seemed, well, like a waste. I was wrong.

The South Island’s dramatic and diverse scenery, its natural wonders and overall jaw-droppingness makes it 1,000,000% worth it. Pinky swear.

For our South Island itinerary, we again tried to balance our desire to see and do a lot with not wanting to feel too taxed or like we were spending all our time in the car. We used Queenstown as a base for three days, to see the city, and get our fill of the Central Otago wine region nearby. Then, we drove about 30 minutes south of Queenstown (the south corner of Lake Watakipu) for another few days, to mostly be closer to Milford Sound. We picked Queenstown specifically because of those highlights, but it turns out we were charmed by the city. It’s almost too beautiful to describe and we all agreed we can see why the billionaire techies of the world build their doomsday compounds here.

For anyone interested in adventure sports, wildlife and wine, Queenstown is a good bet. That covers basically everyone, right?

Rather than provide a daily play-by-play, here is a rundown of our collective highlights. I’m leaving out anywhere that wasn’t up to par or not memorable enough to make it into our notes. The big takeaway here is this: you will be spoiled for options in Queenstown. We personally didn’t find the need to stand in the queue at Fergburger or do a bungy jump at AJ Hackett’s, but you do you. We brazenly walked into restaurants without having done a shred of research and were surprised and delighted many times over.

(A * indicates the number one rated item in the list. Because we’re suckers for a competition.)

Food & Drink

• Blue Kanu – For drinks and apps at the bar. Pan-Asian cuisine can be hit-or-miss usually, but the crispy Sichuan calamari and the salmon poke hit the spot. And the  super friendly bartender recommended we try a bottle of the Terra Sancta Mysterious Diggings Pinot Noir. That tip made us look into dropping by the Terra Sancta tasting room (spoiler alert: it was awesome).
• Hawker and Roll – Casual, Malay-inspired street food spot, mostly to satisfy that dumpling craving. And laksa craving. And an overstuffed, pulled pork wrapped in a roti canai, sandwich craving. It was a very specific craving.
• Taco Medic* – Down a random side street, a hidden gem that we suspect is as good at 11am as it would be at 2am. The Baja taco may have been one of the better tacos we’ve had in years. Good to see the tortilla-making machine sitting right near the griddle. Tacos are best when the corn tortillas are home-made and fresh.
• Fat Badgers – A local favorite with a massive menu. The pizzas are large (20″), cheesy, meaty, and not lacking on the toppings. Our “Fat Badger” pie came with chicken, pepperoni, sausage, peppers, mushrooms, and onions. Restrained it was not. Next time we might order a salad to wash down all the pizza? But honestly, probably not.
• Cookie Time Cookie Bar – We went twice. A local institution you can even find as a snack on domestic Air New Zealand flights. Known for freshly baked cookies in a variety of flavors, and their raw cookie dough ice cream cones. You can literally feel the sugar grit on your teeth, but isn’t that half the point?
• The Fork and Tap, Arrowtown – It felt like we were back in Islington, at our favourite local pub, The Crown. Dark wood dining room, order at the bar, beer and cider on cask, and a delicious rendition of fish and chips. What’s not to love?

Wineries (all in Central Otago)

• Peregrine – Sprawling, the only winery we visited with completely free tastings, though we didn’t love some of the Pinot Noirs compared to our tasting rooms. Maybe that’s why it was one of the few spots where we didn’t take home a bottle.
• Misha’s Vineyard – We were charmed by the tasting room manager and spent upwards of an hour here. It was the first stop of a planned four during the 4 Barrels Wine Walking Tour, though we never made it to stops two, three, or four. Perhaps too much wine tasting at the first stop?
• Mt. Difficulty Wines – Beautiful setting on top of a hill, overlooking the valley. It was a little busy on the day we visited, and it felt a little rushed. Not as personal, but hey, it’s not their fault their tasting room is busy. Regardless, the wines tasted great, especially their dessert wine.
• Terra Sancta* – We tried this wine at Blue Kanu (see above) and added it to our winery list. We want to live here. Or work here. Or just become friends with all the other people who were tasting with us. A little cabin-like tasting room, with an oversized dining table in the middle of the space, where you sit and relax, and some out-going, knowledge person keeps giving you glasses of wine, and each glass tastes better than the last. It’s no surprise that we walked away with a few bottles from here.
• Akarua Wines & Kitchen by Artisan – an impromptu stop on the side of the road, with amazing outdoor restaurant seating with an open-air tasting room in a secluded garden space. It felt very Instagram-y, but not in a depressing kind of way. Though the gaggle of girls next to us who kept saying that “omg…I love tropical Red Bull” didn’t add to the ambience. Thankfully, the wine consumption kept us sane.

Hikes

• Bob’s Cove Track – Literally our first stop on the South Island, straight from the airport, where we gawked at the views and exclaimed about our good fortune. It was a short little walk on the edge of the lake, but it set the tone for the beauty of this area.
• Lake Hayes Trail* – 2.5 hours on a perfect spring morning, making a loop around Lake Hayes on a well-marked walking path. The most healthy we felt our entire vacation.
• The 4 Barrels Wine Walking Tour – Ok, we actually got a little lost on this trail, despite having a map and GPS. It was definitely operator error. After one tasting at Misha’s, and a missed turn, we bailed on the walk and decided to put our focus on eating and drinking copious amounts of grape juice.

Activities (both deserve a *, depending who you ask)

• Milford Sound Boat Tour – there are plenty of outfitters for these tours, but we had some specific needs, like a boat that left after 11am, making the 3-hour drive each way more palatable. We wanted to avoid the larger ships with a crush of tourists. So we opted for the smaller Encounter Nature Cruise, which was right up our alley. The small boat was comfortable, and allowed us to get right up against the cliffs and get totally soaked as we idled underneath hundred foot tall waterfalls. We thought about adding on a kayak tour, but the rough seas and bone-chilling breeze rendered that option undesirable. The drive was intense, with winding roads and panoramic views, though it would be a nightmare if you get car sick.

• Paradise Ziplines – We debated if this was a necessary add to our itinerary, given the cost. But when traveling with a mid-20s gal who liked reminding us of FOMO and YOLO whenever she sensed our hesitation to shell out cash for yet another activity, we took to the zipline on our last day on the South Island. To her credit, zip-lining turned out to be my number one day in the South Island, and worth the splurge. Again, tons of operators,  but we went with Paradise Ziplines. Our first line had us zipping 300m above a river gorge and we were hooked.

Whew! I almost forgot how much we crammed into a week of pretty leisurely travel in New Zealand’s South Island. Many of our vacation highlights were in or around Queenstown, and if any of us become billionaires in the future, our doomsday bunkers will definitely be in the vicinity.