New Zealand Roadtrip with a Toddler – the Route

I am at home, Mia is sitting next to me watching cartoons, and I just  can’t believe how extremely lucky I was to spent over a month with her. Just us girls, no daddy, no family, just us. As I’ve been very intense with my Instagram stories, I read through all the feedback. It was such a beautiful feeling to read all your positive comments and the strange ones as well. I just want to write that I went on this journey without over thinking it or without a special preparation. I had no plan where to go and what to do. But it’s all because I’ve been traveling in New Zealand with Tomasz about 9 years ago and I knew how easy it will be. And it was.

Here is our route:

Christchurch – we started here. I picked up Miss Sunshine and had no idea what’s next. I bought all the food I needed, diapers and sat in a cafe to feed Mia with pancakes and figure out my next move. I’ve decided that Lake Tekapo will be just perfect as the first destination. I also found a perfect camping place on a top of a hill, which turned out not to be possible, as you have to book via phone. In the end we slept on a parking spot next to a public toilet. But before that, we had a walk in a breathtaking scenery in Godley Head Park and I happily felt that our journey has started.

This is also the best moment to tell you, that it’s a great idea to get one of the apps, which tell you where is the next camping or free camping, next petrol station, toilet or a beautiful view spot. It i super helpful and includes comments of other travellers, which I read like crazy. It helped me to find the most beautiful free camping and saved me from pushing Miss Sunshine to the next gas station.

You also want to buy a SIM card with internet. You have a choice between Vodaphone, where you have better and more internet or Spark, which has a numerous spots around NZ, where you can get additional 1000mg of internet per day for free. When you’re there, you will understand what it means.

The next morning we bought a few more essentials like Mia’s glasses and a tiny yellow car and we hit the road.

Lake Tekapo – is a beautiful spot, oh wow, so beautiful! But you need to have a proper approach. It was our first stop, we stayed at a paid campground just in front of the lake and it was super comfy. I let Mia make a scene under a shower and she made me walk into an extremely cold lake as she wanted to swim (bath no no no but lake yes yes yes). This kid has no borders at all. She was sitting on a floating raft, playing with water and refused to leave for quite some time. Then a group of teenagers joined us and she could not be happier, even though they totally ignored her. She literally had the time of her life and was trying to convince me to let her jump into the water just like they did – I said no but she kept trying 🙂

In Lake Tekapo there’s a beautiful tiny church, which you want to see as it looks amazing, especially at night with the sky covered with stars. Check online when the moon is down (this is why we came back over here), you will see so many stars that it’s difficult to believe. Also a must is a walk or a drive to the Mt John Observatory, where you have a stunning view on the lake from above and they have a yummy cafe over there as well. I’d definitely suggest walking, but in my case it did not work, as Mia said “stop it!”. We drove and as it’s a private road, you need to pay $8.

Mt. Cook, Aoraki – you have to drive along Lake Pukaki to get to the spot, where you can start tracking. The drive is magnificent (I can use big words over here quite a lot). You will see mountains and the most beautiful lake in New Zealand (I can say it quite a lot over here as well, just accept it) and you will stop each 5 minutes or even more often to take a picture (I did). We made it all the way to a DOC campsite aka Free Camping, the only place you can stay with your campervan and I wanted to go for a walk. Mia emphatically refused, so I’ve decided to go back and make a dinner on a viewpoint to see the sunset. It was so worth it! You can go down to the lake and the beach is beautiful.

After the sunset I started to look for a Freedom camping and I found one perfect over Lake Pukaki.

Lake Pukaki – I think that this lake has the most beautiful colour from all of them. The site – next to Tekapo Canal Road, was perfect. Located on a stony beach just next to a lake, you wake up to a beautiful colour of a water and a view of Mt. Cook. There are fireplaces so most probably you can make a small fire. We did not, as there was a strong wind. The thing about this lake is, that wherever you go, whatever spot around it you’ll choose, it will be beautiful.

Lindis Pass – it’s a pass on a way from Lake Pukaki to Wanaka and wow, this is so beautiful. The colours, the shapes… Just look at the picture. I’ve been trying to take more than one picture, but Mia decided to become an acrobat for an hour, so I’ve been mostly freaking out.

Lake Wanaka – We went there for a walk, you may say. It has some beautiful trekking, but Mia wasn’t interested, so we ended up looking at a famous tree growing in the lake and we had a fast swim (Mia had). It is a beautiful area, but I’s a bigger fan of Lake Pukaki.

Queenstown – that was an adventure. The road between Wanaka and Queenstown was not created for Miss Sunshine and I was driving 10 km/h in a few points. It was a stunning road, just difficult. Queenstown welcomed us with a beautiful light and enormous amount of tourists. I did not like it. You can do some bungee jumping over here, the views are beautiful, it’s just too busy for me. That’s why we stopped for a night in a freedom camping outside of the town. Accidentally my battery died and I had no reception and if it wasn’t for a sweet neighbour, I’d be still standing there. This is how you learn to be talkative during your travels, how you make friends and how you figure out how to start a dead battery.

Mossburn Country Park – we stopped here on our way to Milford Sound. This place is so cool when you travel with kids! They have sheep and llamas and give you food, so kids can feed them. You can imagine Mia’s reaction, it’s an explosion of happiness. I had a dream to live in a small house and own one cow, one ship and three chicks. She made this dream even more vivid.

Milford Sound – wow wow wow. Just look at it. It’s wow! We got there in the evening to watch the sunset. It was almost empty and it felt like we have it only for ourselves. All the tourists come in the morning and leave in the evening, so I do recommend staying overnight at the only one campsite there is. You have to be prepared on hundreds of flies, which will not bite, but sit on every piece of your uncovered body. I saw some people wearing hats and nets – great idea. I definitely recommend sunrise and sunset and a boat cruise. We saw not only a beautiful nature and learned about it from our funny crue, but we also saw dolphins and sea lions. We chose a first Cruze of a day, including a big breakfast, and it was a great choice. Mia did appreciate it. In the area, there’s a lot of Kias who will try to steal your food or anything you have and they can carry. There are especially two points – before and after the tunnel. Go out and play with them, so much fun.

South cost

Straight away we started to drive in the South coast direction with the first stop in Colac Bay, I want to write that this was my most favourite free camping (located on a stone beach), but I would have to repeat myself quite often. Waking up to a colourful sky with soon coffee in my hand and kid sleeping (almost each morning story) was like a dream come true. It was so perfect and empty with turists that I wanted to stay there longer. Obviously I got curious about other possible stops so we left, but on the way out we flirted a bit with a beautiful horse.

Otara – our next stop, where is a beautiful white lighthouse with red door and sea lions sleeping on a beach. You need to take a very short walk, views are spectacular and sea lions just there. You don’t want to come closer than 10m, but hey, it’s only 10m from this magnificent creatures!!! Wow Wow Wow!

Papatowai – we stopped there for a moment as, again, THE VIEW! There’s a green lawn with chilled cows just next to the water. The colours were…

Nugget Point Lighthouse – what a spot! It’s so worth coming here! Mia got wild and it was not kid friendly, so I carried her and except for a phone snap I have no pictures, but what I saw will always stay in my heart. Definitely worth a visit for the sunrise or sunset.

Kaka Point – we stayed here for a night, as it’s close to the Nugget Point Lighthouse and has a very nice beach. We had our breakfast there and then we were running with Mia for an hour or so. She got so tired that she fell asleep within a few minutes and I could drive.

Shag Point – You will see an enormous amount of sea lions over here.

Canibals Beach – again sea lions, what can I say, I like animals. Mia could not be less interested. She kept playing with sand and I kept staring at sea lions. Each one of us did her own thing. I like this beach because not many people come here and it’s like being in your own piece of a beach. With sea lions.

Moeraki – there are penguins! It is so amazing to see a pinguin in a natural environment. I did cry a bit. Mia did not, she was busy climbing up and down three stairs there were.

Moeraki Boulders – we went there to see round rocks on a beach. It was fun. It’s one of these spots where you have no idea what the whole fuss is about, but kids do enjoy it. For the night we went back on a beautiful freedom camping just on a beach (Katiki (north end)). What I love about freedom campings on the South Coast is, that you have all these beautiful locations with almost no tourists around. I could grab my coffee and, yet again, sit on a beach and enjoy the view. If you’re lucky you will see few sea lions and penguins as well. One day I tell Mia about all the encounters I had while she was sleeping.

Clark’s Mill – From Moeraki we started our way back to lakes area, to get to the other side of the island. I saw a sign for an old mill and I’ve decided to go there with Mia, so she can see some cool New Zealand stuff. I ended up on the best festival possible. There were old tractors, ladies wearing dresses from a previous century, the most delicious scones based on a very old recipe, they made some flour by hand, showed me the whole process and for Mia there were all the games. We wanted just to see a mill and we spent there 4 hours. Clark’s Mill is the place to stop.

While driving we had an obligatory stop, as there was a huge fire. For the first time in my life I saw helicopters collecting water from lakes and spreading it above burning fields. I have so much respect for a volunteer fire department. This whole action lasted only for an hour or so, even though the fire spread like crazy. Big respect.

Lake Havea – we came here in the evening, just before the sunset. OMG what a view. We stopped on a DOC freedom camping, where not many people get and, yet again, it was so worth it. We were sitting with Mia in our van, talking about dinosaurs and watching the colours in the sky changing with each minute. We also played with stones, had some pasta and fell asleep being filled with happiness. Lake Havea has a few view spots on a way and you should stop on each one of them, as each one is different. I love to stop just next to a water, and there’s this one stop, where you can do it and have a lunch or breakfast or just a swim. If I could tell you what made Mia happy during our travel, this is one of these things. Staying next to a lake, so she can walk into a water constantly.

Haast – we stopped here for a night, yet again, on a freedom camping located just next to a beach. In the evening I was walking around, playing in sand with Mia (then sleeping in the sand that she brought back) and not realising that we’re being bitten by sand flies. It was a difficult experience, waking up in a night not being able not to scratch. Mia had much more dignity in the whole situation that I did. The next thing I did was to google how to avoid bites. I created a magical mixture, which a woman from a gas station shared with me and it did work. Be alert, sand flies have no marcy. I also have to mention that the road between Lake Have a and Haast is beautiful. You want to stop each kilometre just to look.

Ship Creek – beautiful place to stop for a walk. It’s obviously breathtaking (I’m overusing this world). Of course, there’s a serious sand fly problem, but if you cover yourself well and use a good spray, you don’t need to worry about it. I saw one of the most beautiful sunsets over there and that was also a place where I was freaking out that Mia will be kidnapped by one of the huge waves. She really wanted to swim there and when I said no, she found a new game – how to freak out mama by trying to run into the water.

Lake Paringa – we stopped here for a night, there’s a freedom camping with a beautiful view over a lake. In the morning it was covered with a fog and it felt like you’re in a middle of a horror movie. Still, pretty awesome if you ask me.

Bruce Bay – we stopped here for a morning coffee. The beach is stunning, if you’re lucky, you will see dolphins playing in the waves. There’s a trailer with the best coffee I had in New Zealand.

Franz Josef Glacier – a few years ago I made a trekking over here and it was amazing. This year I took a helicopter flight and it was one of the most amazing things I did in my life. I was standing on a glacier! And Mia as well! We definitely took wrong shoes for this adventure, but who cares. I couldn’t stop thinking about it for a long time and even now, a few weeks later, I have chills. What an experience! If you can, do it. It’s one in a lifetime kind of experience. My 2 year old kid loved it as well, even more, she refused to leave the helicopter when we flew back.

Okarito – is perfect for kayaking. We did not do it, as with Mia it would be a life hazard. Instead, we spend a few hours in a water, on an ankle deep level and in a hut on a pier, which was pretty amazing. Very moody. We’ve been there by ourselves and played as it was our home. I also took  many pictures, as Mia was so creative with each new idea.  I simply loved how it looked. I’d love to have a little house like this one.

Hokitika – lovely town with a  beautiful beach. It was nice to stop there, eat something yummy and visit a local bookstore. There’s a black sand on a beach and we played there with Mia like crazy.

Kumara Junction – just before a turn leading you inside of the land, you need to turn into one of the side roads to get to the beach. It was so beautiful that I could not believe it. I wanted to stay there for longer, so I started to make crepes. The light was perfect, no-one around. A dream stop.

Lake Poerua – I have no idea why I stopped here, I just had a feeling. Lake different that all the others, beautiful. Go there!

Arthur’s Pass – Kia alert! This awesome bird will try to take over everything you own and is small. Even the phone is in danger. It all makes you want to hang out with them even more 😀

The whole Arthur pass is stunning. I had to stop on a way to let 20 cars pass me (I was pretty slow driving up hill) and I met a local man, having a coffee break. I told him that I’ve been traveling in New Zealand for almost 3 weeks and each day I have a feeling that I see something even more beautiful that the day before. He answered that he lives here his own life and still feels like it. This is a whole truth about New Zealand, it will keep a part of your heart forever. We got stuck in a phone booth for an hour as Mia needed to call a few friends, which means playing with a phone. I loved it. Each minute of it.

Lake Pearson has a beautiful Freedom Camping with wild ducks coming for a visit. They want your food and your attention, but mostly your food. Mia chased them away, as she really wanted to be their friend, but they kept coming back to ask for crepes. Life, I suppose. This was also a place where Mia let me make her a pony tail and it stayed on her head for almost 10 minutes. It made me so happy.

We went back to Lake Tekapo to be there when the Moon sets together with the Sun. The night was so dark, that I could see millions of stars. I will always remember it. It was crazy cold, so I took only a few shots. But then I was lying with Mia, she was sleeping and I was looking at the stars. Such an unforgettable thing to do. We also met Miss Sunshine’s twin Daisy and sweet twosometravellers
, who shared some bread with us to feed ducks. I do like to feed ducks. They’re cute. We stayed just next to Lake Alexandria for a night and the next day we drove all the way up to the Lake Tekapo viewpoint. There were no tourists at all, no other cars, just us and Miss Sunshine. The views… OMG… Lake Tekapo has so much to offer. This was a great drive next to a lake. There is that one farm on a way and I was fantasizing about living over there.

We drove to Lake Pukaki next, to make a fire at night, but wind was so strong that we didn’t. It was an area where apparently you could, as it was a big stoney beach, but I didn’t want to risk. So in the end, I was admiring the stars at night.

Wakanui – our last evening with Miss Sunshine we spent in Wakanui, on our way back to Christchurch. The DOC Freedom Camping was beautiful, in a tiny town close buy we found a sweet cafe with fluffy (babycino in NZ way) and breakfast, also a very impressive playground, that Mia took advantage of.

On our way back we had a tiny oil leaking problem, which made our trip even more adventurous, as I had to refill oil in some strange spots, mostly in a middle of nowhere or on a highway. This may be a disadvantage of traveling with an old car, but there’s a countless number of advantages, so I just ignored this small accident. In my heart Miss Sunshine is the best car in the whole world.

I made over 100 videos and I hope to make something out of it soon . I’ve been traveling a lot without Mia before she existed (which I can hardly remember), but this journey was very special. I descovered with a big relief that my kid is the best travel companion in the whole world. Sorry daddy, you’ve been replaced!