Traveling the South Island of New Zealand

Karalyn Murphy
Victoria University Wellington, New Zealand

One of the most memorable experiences during my stay in New Zealand is when I and four other Americans decided to use a week of our mid- trimester break to road trip around the South Island. At this time the ones who were driving were getting used to the idea of driving on the left side but We started off flying to Christchurch. Along the way I got the chance to bungee jump off the very first commercial bungee and was able to snowboard at The Remarkables Ski Park.

They were both very amazing experiences that I would love to do again if i had the opportunity. We also learned that most of the roads are very curvy and narrow, important lesson about most towns in New Zealand, most gas stations close around six pm. While driving along the west side to Franz Josef glacier we stopped in a small town to get gas for the rest of our journey, around three more hours, but found that the town was completely shut down. Finally after finding a phone booth, because there was no cell service, and calling the car insurance, one kind man decided to open up his gas station for a small fee in the next town over. From then on we were able to continue the journey and the next day hike on the glacier which was another unique experiences for us. the trip turned out to be great fun and we all enjoyed being able to see the amazing South Island landscape and snow-capped mountains.