My wife and I were on a tour, coming to Arrowtown from Queenstown…read more It was named "the most beautiful small town" in New Zealand in the 2020 Keep New Zealand Beautiful awards. It's a settlement founded during the gold rush. There we saw a Chinese settlement, and the huts they lived in. They were invited to come to NZ, but then made to feel unwelcome after they arrived in the 1860s-1870s, then were forced to live in huts on the banks of Bush Creek. We saw some of the huts that they were forced to live in. There was a lot of severe discrimination and isolation. Lots of well-preserved buildings that we could view This town also had 'talking toilets' - a recording tells you that you have only 10 minutes in the stall, and the commode flushes when you either turn on the water to wash your hands, or press a button to open the door. We wandered around the rest of the small town afterwards, but there weren't that much to see.

This is my second visit, and it was interesting to learn that the Chinese immigrated to New Zealand…read morein the 1860s as part of the gold rush. During that period. Most were from poorer areas in China seeking gold to send back to their families. They suffered intense discrimination and were kept separate from other parts of society. The settlement here holds remnants of tiny huts they built and lived in. There was even a general store that catered to the small community. At one point, they also farmed and sold produce to make ends meet. Learning history is always such a big part of travel for me. The rest of Arrowtown is full of shops and restaurants, so it's a great place to visit. It was an easy half-hour bus ride from Queenstown.

We had to stop by this historic bridge not only for the views but also for its place as the first…read morepaid bungy jumping site. We didn't try anything adventurous so just watching others jump or zip line was good enough entertainment for us and many others who stopped by (including an Australian born on the same day as myself and celebrating it in NZ). There was lots of parking for free here as well as a large and modern building that had a cafe and restrooms. Definitely a good stop to add driving between Queenstown and Arrowtown.

We stopped by this bridge mainly to watch people bungee jump, since this is where it all began and…read morewhere the AJ Hackett Bungy company is located. The bridge itself is impressive and clearly well-built. When we arrived, there were around 50 people gathered--some waiting in line to jump, staff assisting, and plenty of spectators just enjoying the show. There are also nearby trails you can walk, but we didn't explore them because it started to rain. Overall, it's a fun and iconic spot to visit if you're in the area, even if you're just watching from the sidelines.

Came for free as part of Waitangi Day, so glad I coincidentally got to go. The boat ride was…read morepeaceful and we got a lesson about the glow worms, which was super interesting. The cave itself was very cool - with waterfalls and a full river inside of it which I've never seen before. The glow worms part was just okay though; I've seen them on North Island before just once, and they were amazing there because the ceiling was full of them. Here, they were not. However, sitting on a boat in the dark inside a cave was a neat experience, and there were patches of glow worms otherwise. Very unique experience. Also got to see the strands glow worms make in order to catch food, that was quite cool too. All in all a unique experience, but I'm not sure I'm willing to pay $80 (USD) for the experience. I'd probably be willing to pay about half of that. Check out the free glow worm caves instead!

The glowworm caves themselves: INCREDIBLE!…read more This is such a unique phenomenon, where worms glow to attract prey and light up the caves like stars in the sky. It was so unique to be able to walk through the cave, and then take a boat ride through the pitch black part of the cave where the glowworms are brightest. Surprisingly, people in our tour group followed the rules and were completely silent and didn't take photos - but anyone that got unlucky with kids on their tour would be a huge bummer. It would honestly be smart to offer one kid tour a day and make the rest adult only. The process of getting there and back is a bit of a haul, and the bugs are crazy bad outside of the cave, which made things a bit uncomfy. The guides were knowledgeable, but they did a big presentation at the end rather than the beginning - it would be nice to know about the glowworms and what we're looking at before going in. In all, I'd have loved more time in the cave and on the boat, but understand they're on time constraints with so many tours. Definitely still a must see in Te Anau!

Brrrr! The famous blue pools were at the top of our list for our trip, and we found out once there…read morethat they have shut down the suspension bridges. This is a huge bummer that I hope they'll fix for the safety of hikers and for tourism, as this is one of the most famous viewpoints in NZ! Instead of the bridges, we hiked to the pebble beach and waded into the water from there. The water is ICE COLD so be prepared for a shock! I highly recommend bringing sandals and clothing/suits you can swim in and then socks and clothes you can change into for the walk back. We dipped into the water a bit but it was frigid, so mainly waded in and out to get some photos and enjoy the views. The view would be so epic from the bridges - I really hope they'll fix them for use!

We went in late June and it was FREEZING, but beautiful. A good-length walk - not too long to get…read moretired, but long enough to make the drive worth it. The forest is gorgeous and the pool at the end make lovely photos. You can climb down to the rocks and see the bridge and pools from a lower angle, too. The suspension bridges on the way there are a fun kind of scary. :)

We cruised through Doubtful Sound today and it went by so fast maybe 30 min and we were done. Very…read morepeaceful and serene but saw no wildlife in the ocean. Less majestic than Milford Sound but still gorgeous and green.

Um...wow. We visited Doubtful Sound at the very end of our trip, and I thought we'd seen it all and…read morewould be numb to the natural beauty of New Zealand by then. We were not. Doubtful Sound is the lesser-visited, even *harder* to get to sister of Milford Sound...and that's exactly why we chose it. In our research, we found that most people go to Milford Sound because it has the iconic view and waterfall, but that it is rather touristy and crowded. We read that Doubtful Sound, though it may not have that iconic photo op, still has amazing fjords and views, and there are less boats on the water - which means more potential wildlife sightings. The path to Doubtful is much longer - even though to Doubtful is too - and includes a bus, a ferry, and another bus: just one way! We figured if we're going to make the trek to one or the other, might as well go all in on Doubtful and the journey it involves. And that paid off tenfold. We boarded the bus, then got to a ferry of what we *thought* were stunning fjords - but we hadn't seen nothing yet. Then, another bus! Through some narrow and steep roads with a hilarious and incredible driver. Finally, we reached our *real* boat experience on the Doubtful Sound. It was a misty morning with fog and clouds hanging onto the fjords, and it was just perfection. The water was glass, the views were unreal, and the boat had glass wall and ceiling interiors to see from inside - but being out on the front of the boat was indescribable. We saw one, maybe two other boats our whole time out there - it felt like we were alone in the world. We pulled up to the most incredible double-waterfall and felt the mist on our faces. We stopped and the tour guide had everyone stay silent for a minute so we could hear the peace and the native birds call. We got to go out into the sea and find a colony of seals with tons of babies and amazing views! Just when we thought we had seen it all: a group of dolphins followed our boat and jumped in our wake, giving us the most epic finale. I could cry thinking about how beautiful Doubtful Sound is. I am certain Milford is absolutely stunning and magical, but for us, the wildlife and peace found at Doubtful was a highlight of our trip.