3 Minute Travel Guide: Deep South (month 2)

Published:

Countries

Demographics

Majors

Regions


Happy second weekend of May — I am extremely for my mother and love her with my whole heart to support me so far in life. Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers who tirelessly provide their children with a secure, comfortable home and help them grow. Due to interweaving travel agenda, I am only just to write my second guide. This is a further continuation of the series – hopefully it will help you feel prepared for your travels. My experience in the Deep South includes a full bus-tour to Queenstown, Milford Sound, Invercargill, Stewart Island, and Dunedin with many stops in between.

DONโ€™T FORGET TO PACKย lotion. It is surprisingly dry down there; I feel my finger tips were slightly cracked.

BEST LEFT AT HOMEย laptop! One of the best thing about traveling is to submerge yourself in the environment — even without proper internet through a computer.

WHERE TO LIVE ย since I travelled with another friend, we stayed at Airbnbs (cheaper than hostel!). One time though we also stayed in a tent that is hosted by a hostel.

BEST EATSย I had about 3 bowls of seafood chowder over 10 days. Seafood chowder is always packed with fresh oysters, fish chunks, crab sticks, shrimp and cream! (very, very good)

FAVORITE LOCAL ACTIVITYย beautiful walks everywhere – bushwalking full of ferns, clear waters, and amazing skies.

WHERE TO STUDYย no studying on the break! There are times to rest from work – it is important to take care of yourself.

MUST-TRY LOCAL DISHย Furgerburger is dubbed as the best burger in the world – it is honestly very, very good. I don’t know if I will dub it the “best,” but it is in my top 5.

BEST PHOTO OPย Arrowtown has a fantastic view of autumn leaves.

BIGGEST FAILย packing more than I need. I thought it would be soaking wet, but we end up hitting clear weather with slight mist – which means rainbow!

BUY THISย high country lanolin: hand and body cream with vitamin E! It stopped my hands from cracking further.

NOT THATย overpriced clothes in the South Island is not worth it. It is twice or more as expensive as I would like. Always consider second-hand stores there.

MOST INTERESTINGย I visited a nomad camper van shop with very cool trinkets in the van. I especially liked this wired toy where you rotate the handle to make the wire mimic human walking motion.

BEST PARTย the seafood! Freshly fried blue cod is my favorite fish-n-chips I have ever had.

UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTย I saw a very clear starry night with clear skies and one shooting star. I felt extremely small and one with the world.

BEST EVENTย glowworm cave — seeing these sparkling blue lights on a side of the cave walls felt very surreal.

BONUS PRO TIPย stay at airbnbs is a really great way to get to know the locals!

Lauren Liao

<i>Hello in your host country language</i>: Kia Ora <i> University</i>: University of California, San Diego <i>Expected graduation year</i>: 2019 <i>Destination</i>: Wellington, New Zealand <i>Program Provider</i>: UCEAP <i>Major / Minor</i>: Probability and Statistics / Cognitive Science <i>Demographic background</i>: Asian-American <i>Future career aspirations</i>: Collaborative researcher, data scientist, biostatistician <i>Top 3 goals for study abroad</i>: To gain confidence through independent travel as a woman; To learn about cultural diversity in Wellington; To learn about New Zealand culture.