21 December 2025 Steps: 16,532 Driving Arthur’s Pass Arthur’s Pass is one of the main alpine routes crossing New Zealand’s South Island, linking the Canterbury Plains on the east coast with the wild West Coast. The drive winds through mountain valleys, river gorges, and native forest, with plenty of short walks and scenic stops along the way. The stretch through Arthur’s Pass National Park is only around 45 kilometres long, but it is slow going in the best way, with so many w

20 December 2025 Steps: 8,327 Today we spent the morning in Lake Tekapo , learning about the astrology, before driving to our accommodation in Arthur’s Pass , via lunch at a lovely town called Geraldine. The Lake Tekapo Dark Sky Experience The Lake Tekapo Dark Sky Experience is an indoor astronomy experience set right by the banks of the lake. The girls were especially excited to do the tour after our disappointment the previous day when our stargazing tour was cancelled due

19 December 2025 Steps: 12,705 We woke up to torrential rain this morning, which meant that we didn’t take many stops along the way to Lake Tekapo . Despite the weather, the drive itself was still stunning, with a varied and ever-changing landscape along the way. We passed through the Otago Region and over Lindis Pass, which is a picturesque mountain pass known for its tussock-covered hills and scattered gold rush ruins. Like much of the South Island we have seen so far, lon

18 December 2025 Steps: 12,233 Today was Granny’s first day with us in New Zealand, and we visited Lake Wanaka , although Susie stayed home as she still isn’t feeling great. She’s trying desperately to get better before we leave Queenstown for the rest of our NZ road trip. The route passes over a stunning mountain range, along a windy switch back road. There are some great viewpoints over the valley and Queenstown in the distance. The Cardrona Hotel As we dropped down into t

17 December 2025 Steps: 11,523 This morning we got up nice and early to drive from Te Anau to Milford sound, for our boat cruise through the fjord. Fun fact: Milford Sound is actually a fjord, not a sound, as it was created by erosion by a glacier, not a river We drove straight to Milford Sound without stopping, and managed to get one of the last free parking spots, but that meant a 20 minute walk to the terminal, which added a bit of unnecessary stress! We probably should ha

16 December 2025 Steps: 5,450 This morning we drove to Te Anau as we have a boat excursion booked for the next day at Milford Sound , and we wanted to split up the four hour drive. As we were heading out of town, we passed the Kawarau bungy site , and we watched a few people bungy jump off the bridge. Not a chance that I would voluntarily do that! Evelyn did seem keen to do the zipline though, so we’ll see if we get time to do that when we are back in Queenstown. Driving to T

15 December 2025 Steps: 10,739 Today we took a short drive from Queenstown to Arrowtown and started with a nice walk along the Arrow River Gorge . The trail followed the river and passed through an old gold mining area , with stone huts and the remains of early settlements tucked into the hillside. Lupins were everywhere and the views over the river were beautiful the whole way along. Arrowtown After the walk we headed into Arrowtown itself. It is a lovely little town with a

14 December 2025 Steps: 13,765 Today was Jessica’s 11th birthday, and her uncle Michael had arranged a special surprise for her as a present. All he mentioned was that it involved taking the gondola to the top of the mountain - but nothing else! Cue the jokes about him getting her a bungee jump for her birthday… The Skyline Luge, Queenstown The views over the lake were incredible, although it soon became obvious what the surprise was as we passed over the tracks where people

13 December 2025 Steps: 7,568 This morning was an early start as we had to catch an Uber to the airport for our flight to Queenstown , New Zealand, and to meet up with Susie's brother Michael that lives there. More Flight Delays We had planned to spend some time in the lounge and grab some food before boarding, but unfortunately things didn’t exactly go to plan. The Virgin bag drop machines weren’t working properly, and it took almost two hours to get through security, which

12 December 2025 Steps: 13,495 Although we had already seen our fair share of koalas at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary a few days earlier, we wanted to try our luck spotting a koala in the wild . It always feels more rewarding when you see an animal in its natural habitat. I started researching “ where is the best place to see koalas in the wild in Brisbane ,” but everywhere we looked seemed to be hit and miss. Koalas don’t move much and tend to sit high up in the trees, whic