South Island, Here We Come - Hooker Valley Track - Road Trip in South Island NZ

Hooker Valley Track - Road Trip in South Island NZ 

The roaring sound of water got our attention, as the four of us, the Frakarsas, continued walking on the gravelled track. I looked at my husband and asked, "did you hear that?", with an obvious nod. He instantly took his phone and our action camera while saying,"we're getting close to bridge." And there, in front of us, the swing bridge, beautifully and, at the same time frighteningly, stretched over the valley and the river, was waiting for us. Hooker Valley, we're coming!

Hooker Valley at the mid section of our hike

Let’s continue our trip, after visiting Christchurch and Akaroa as well as Lake Tekapo in the South Island, Aotearoa New Zealand. 

Are you ready?

This time, I will share our stories while enjoying Mt. Cook  and Lake Pukaki area, especially Hooker Valley track.

So ..South Island, Here We Come - Hooker Valley Track - Road Trip in South Island NZ.

Mt. Cook is indeed a famous and must-see landmark in the South Island. Its amazing landscapes, with snow-capped mountains, curvy roads frame with clear blue sky and turquoise water lake, has captivated people’s attention and admiration. That includes the Frakarsas.

Even on our way from Twizel to Mr. Cook, we have been swayed by amazing landscapes along the way. As many others, we stopped in the middle of the road and took pictures! Of course while carefully looking at the traffic and make sure we didn't obstruct it!

We are lucky that when we visited the area the weather was friendly. Not too hot nor too summery, yet it was a bit cloudy but still sunny. As we reached the area, we stayed in Twizel ,- approximately 30 minutes from Mt. Cook and 30 minutes to Lake Tekapo. So it is strategically located in  the middle.

We drove early morning to Mt. Cook as we planned to track and hike in Hooker Valley. It takes 3 - 4 hours return from the parking lot or the starting point to Hooker Lake and back. And we had an amazing hike indeed.

my Nadine and the walking stick :)

happy me on the second bridge.. taking photos in the middle of the swinging bridge 

Let’s take a look at the pictures I took along the way.

the second swing bridge we went through

cheers from the four of us..

We passed 3 swing bridges along the way, with roaring rivers and semi-frozen lakes which are a combination of thrilling walk and magically beautiful views. I was a bit scared as we passed the first bridge but then finally got accustomed and felt a lot more relaxed on the next ones.

So that’s our little story about Hooker Valley and wait for more South Island adventures in South Island, Here We Come  - Road Trip in South Island NZ series.

the pristine nature is so overwhelming 

South Island, Here We come - AKAROA - Road Trip in South Island NZ

AKAROA - Road Trip in South Island NZ 

Welcome back to Road Trip in South Island NZ series.

I am way too far from finishing as I only shared a few cities up till now and I do have more on my sleeves. 

This time, I will take you to Akaroa.

Don't forget to get more stories, like the one in Christchurch and Lake Tekapo.

Akaroa is the next city we visited after Christchurch. Well, it's one of the first ones we stopped by on the start of our road trip. 

It took us around 1.5 hour drive from Christchurch to Akaroa. As we left Christchurch rather later then what we have originally planned, we only spent some hours and got our late lunch in Akaroa. 

The war memorial in Akaroa, near the harbour

Akaroa has been famous for being the "New Zealand's only French settlements" - as I quoted from AA Traveller book. As we drove around the city and saw the road sign, we felt like we were no longer in New Zealand as the names are in French. Many cute houses with their gardens reminded us with those petit cities in France, thousands of kilometers away from Aotearoa. As we lived in Geneva, Switzerland - the french part of Suisse,- for more than 4 years, the visit to Akaroa really lives up our wonderful memories while living in Europe.

Along the way to Akaroa, the view is just amazing. The road we took show the turquoise water framed with lush green hills, curvy roads, and blue sky. Truly spectacular. We are looking at Banks Peninsula, famous for the place for penguin colony, from above.

WW: The Good Shepherd Church Lake Tekapo - Road Trip in South Island NZ

Lake Tekapo.

One of the many beautiful lakes we encounter in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Recently, as we explored South Island, enjoying our first Road Trip in South Island, Aotearoa New Zealand, we stopped by at Lake Tekapo’s most famous landmarks, the Church of the Good Shepherd.

This charming small, stone church is beautifully located at one corner of picturesque lake and making it arguably one of the most photographed churches in New Zealand.

Golden hour at The Good Shepherd Church Lake Tekapo

While we visited the area, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to capture this as well. 

Here’s what we got on our 2 nights in Lake Tekapo, taking tons of pictures, literally, in different times, even till pass midnight.

the purple sky

On the first night, we stopped by rather late as we checked in to our hotel in Twizel first before heading here and had dinner. The trip from Twizel to Lake Tekapo takes around 20 minutes. The reason 

Apparently, the church and the church's yard is closed at 8 PM during summer. But we managed to see the yard and also the lake and the surrounding. The church is not open except during its scheduled mass, but if you or your group would like to visit inside or attend the mass, you can definitely be in touch with the church.

So after getting our dinner, we sticked around and waited till dark to get more photos of this place.

Hope you enjoy the photos.

yaaaay we got the star trails...

the picturesque Good Shepherd Church at Lake Tekapo, New Zealand

Enjoying our nite at the Good Shepherd Church Lake Tekapo

Join us on (almost) Wordless Wednesday and have fun with the link

South Island, Here We come - Road Trip in South Island NZ - Christchurch

Welcome to Ōtautahi or Christchurch

Welcome back…

Still on my series of stories about Road Trip in South Island, New Zealand. I know I promised you Lake Tekapo, but apparently I am way from done on sharing about our trip in Ōtautahi or Christchurch and the surroundings area.

Originally, we planned to take tram trip and punting in Avon river as well as checking Christchurch from above through gondola ride. Pretty much the popular tourist destination and activities LOL.

But then, as we arrived there and also met some friends (and the fact that I have taken the tramway tour on my visit to Christchurch back in December 2021), we diverted the plan and ended up exploring riverside market, heading to Castle Hill conservation area, stopping by at An Nur mosque where the Christchurch bombing happened, and exploring the street arts in this beautiful city.

So here’s a little story about our 1 night, 1.5 day in Christchurch.

Enjoy some photos first, shall we?
Some of them are the highlights of our visit in Christchurch and the surroundings.

One of the street arts in Christchurch, Alice in Wonderland...

happy me posing in the Castle Hills Conservation Area

In front of An-Nur Mosque, Christchurch

Queen Victoria Park

As we arrived at CHC, that’s the code for Christchurch in flight, you know we drove straight to Riverside Market to have late lunch and buy yummy tempe and more food in Indo Tempeh restaurant. I shared that in my previous post.

Read : South Island, Here We come - Road Trip in South Island New Zealand

Then after a quick check-in at Crowne Plaza hotel Christchurch and dzuhur break, we continued our journey to Castle Hills conservation area, famous for its incredible rock formations and its importance to the Māori.

Before that, check out my YouTube video for a little room tour in Crowne Plaza hotel Christchurch.

We drove around 1.5 hours from CHC to Castle Hills. It was a bit drizzling and cloudy along the way but as we arrived at this spot, the weather was lovely.

We parked and got to walk to the hills, dotted with astonishing rocks formation while at the same time reading the history of this place. There is a story about the three pou and how this are becomes so important to the Maori. We browsed around the area and took more pictures while admiring the hills, which, according to the information board we read on the spot, used to be seabed million years ago. So, the place where we were standing used to be the place for the sharks! Interesting, isn't it.

The story of three pou..

Nadine posing amongst the rocks

Well, I will stop there as I still have a lot more to share. Stick around and see you on the next stories.

South Island, Here We come - Road Trip in South Island, New Zealand

 Hi, everyone..

It feels like ages since I share some stories and photos here, especially since my family and I have a little break in the South Island of New Zealand in the beginning of 2023.

As I shared this, we have been on the road for quite some times now for our summer break, my first annual leave after moving to Aotearoa, New Zealand. Finally, we get the chance to come back to the South Island after entering this lovely island as we first arrive in New Zealand on November 26th, 2021.  Super excited indeed!

We do have a lot of plans and itineraries prepared as we travel around 11 days.

I shared in my Instagram that we flew from Wellington to Christchurch and started our road trip from there.

So far, we have planned to visit so many cities, among others Christchurch, Akaroa, Fairlie, Lake Tekapo, Mt. Cook, Lake Pukaki, Twizel, Wanaka, Queenstown, Glenorchy, Milford Sound, Te Anau, Manapouri, Riverton, Invercargill, The Caitlins (Slope Point, Curio Bay, McLean Falls, Florence Hills Lookout, Nugget Points Lighthouse, Kaka Point, Balclutha), then Dunedin (where we are going to watch Red Hot Chili Peppers and Post Malone concert YAY!). Milton, Otago, Lanarch Castle and back to Queenstown to fly back to windy Wellington.

Phewww… I know it was a long itinerary but for sure us, the Frakarsas, is super excited and thrilled to continue our adventure. 

Semangaaat dan bismillahirrahmanirahim .. alhamdulillah semua berjalan lancar.

So, South Island, here we come!

I will definitely share our complete story of the Road Trip in South Island, New Zealand. But first, allow me to share some of the highlights of our 11-day trip. One of my favorite destinations is Milford Sound.

the majestic Milford Sound.. with Lady Stirling Fall on the right side

But other cities are amazing as well. 

First, we arrived at Christchurch after flying from Wellington for about 1 hour 15 minutes. Here we stayed one night, picked up our rented car, and explored the city. 

As we landed at Christchurch in the afternoon, we went directly to pick up the car at the airport and headed to the city. First agenda, late lunch! We went to the Riverside Market, having an appointment with Mba Nana, the owner of Indo Tempeh food stall, one of the successful Indonesian entrepreneurs in Christchurch. As the name suggested, Indo Tempeh sells Indonesian delicious cuisines and produces tempe, the famous soy beans cake which has been dubbed as Indonesian traditional food. The Frakarsas is indeed a big fan of it and whenever I find great tempe, wherever I live, I always get them.

collage of our rendezvous with Mba Nana from Indo Tempeh, CHC

After getting our tempe and lunch, we headed to Crowne Plaza Hotel Christchurch to check-in. We only stopped by for a while and then continued the trip to Castle Hill. 

Then, on the next day, Akaroa is our first destination.

Next, Lake Tekapo.


Well, more stories and photos will definitely come, just bear with me okay.
Do you like some of the places I mentioned above?
Which one is your favorite?