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About South Island
New Zealand’s South Island is a land of jaw-dropping contrasts: snow-capped mountains, shining lakes, hidden coves and plunging fjords. It’s like a giant outdoor playground, and however you travel through this Tolkien-worthy landscape - feet, bike or boat - it’ll leave you breathless.
My favourite experience
"Sailing out onto Milford Sound was an extraordinary experience. Our great group of excited people were all stunned into silence by the incredible natural beauty of this immense and truly tranquil area. The waterfalls that cascaded into the waters below were a mixture of salty sea and natural lake water - and every so often we’d spot a penguin. It was a great day out and I definitely couldn’t have left NZ without having seen it." Ben, Lincoln
"Sailing out onto Milford Sound was an extraordinary experience. Our great group of excited people were all stunned into silence by the incredible natural beauty of this immense and truly tranquil area. The waterfalls that cascaded into the waters below were a mixture of salty sea and natural lake water - and every so often we’d spot a penguin. It was a great day out and I definitely couldn’t have left NZ without having seen it." Ben, Lincoln
The weather
New Zealand has a largely temperate climate with minimal fluctuations in temperature. In winter, however, the inland alpine areas of the South Island can be as cold as -10ºC, and there’s hardly any rainfall - perfect for visiting glaciers, mountains, and other bits of scenic beauty. Things are much warmer in the summer - with the coastal spots receiving some very pleasant weather. In fact, most places in New Zealand receive over 2,000 hours of sunshine a year - but anyone off hiking at any time of year needs to be well prepared for all weather conditions.
Perfect picture
A good old hike up the Fox or Franz Joseph Glacier will leave you pumped but in awe of the bright blue icy mega shapes jutting out of the glacier beneath your feet. Spy some super swanky angles and get snap snap snapping away.
Useful info
Clean your mucky shoes and boots before you enter the country! The Kiwis are rightly very protective about their beautiful environment, so you could get into a little trouble if you bring in anyone else’s dirt.
Useless info
Baldwin Street in Dunedin is, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the steepest Street in the world with a maximum gradient of 1 in 2.66 and has a slope of almost 19 degrees. Dunedin is Gaelic for Edinburgh. Doubtful Sound is so named because Captain Cook was “Doubtful” that he could sail out again because of the strong winds
Try before you fly...
Burgers with beetroot, pineapple, fried eggs and jam (ok, so the last one’s a lie). The Kiwi’s like to stuff their burgers with all kinds of weird and wonderful ingredients.
New Zealand has a largely temperate climate with minimal fluctuations in temperature. In winter, however, the inland alpine areas of the South Island can be as cold as -10ºC, and there’s hardly any rainfall - perfect for visiting glaciers, mountains, and other bits of scenic beauty. Things are much warmer in the summer - with the coastal spots receiving some very pleasant weather. In fact, most places in New Zealand receive over 2,000 hours of sunshine a year - but anyone off hiking at any time of year needs to be well prepared for all weather conditions.
Perfect picture
A good old hike up the Fox or Franz Joseph Glacier will leave you pumped but in awe of the bright blue icy mega shapes jutting out of the glacier beneath your feet. Spy some super swanky angles and get snap snap snapping away.
Useful info
Clean your mucky shoes and boots before you enter the country! The Kiwis are rightly very protective about their beautiful environment, so you could get into a little trouble if you bring in anyone else’s dirt.
Useless info
Baldwin Street in Dunedin is, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the steepest Street in the world with a maximum gradient of 1 in 2.66 and has a slope of almost 19 degrees. Dunedin is Gaelic for Edinburgh. Doubtful Sound is so named because Captain Cook was “Doubtful” that he could sail out again because of the strong winds
Try before you fly...
Burgers with beetroot, pineapple, fried eggs and jam (ok, so the last one’s a lie). The Kiwi’s like to stuff their burgers with all kinds of weird and wonderful ingredients.
