🇳🇿 NZ South Island Road Trip PLOG

🚗 Lake Tekapo → Mount Cook: "The ‘Wow’ Highway" Scenic drive alert! Every turn served glacier views and turquoise lakes—"We stopped 10 times for photos!" 📸💙 Hikes conquered: Glacier Track ❄️ (icy close-ups!) Hooker Valley 🌉 (*3 swing bridges + epic Cook views*) 🍣 Post-hike reward: Mt. Cook Alpine Salmon Farm – "Freshest sashimi of our lives!" 🐟 🐧 Oamaru: Penguin Parade Mission Blue penguin vigil: Waited 1.5 freezing hours at sunset... SUCCESS! Spotted 2 waddling cuties 🥹 Must-eat: That bakery (Pic 7) – "Croissants so good, we bought extras!" 🥐 Pro tip: Pack hot cocoa + patience – penguins run on island time. 🏰 Dunedin Detours 1️⃣ Larnach Castle – "Banker’s 1870s fantasy mansion!" (Spoiler: scandalous backstory 😲) 2️⃣ Lookout pitstop – Golden-hour views over Otago Peninsula 🌅 3️⃣ Dinner at Rising Sun – "Dumplings so juicy, we licked the plate!" 🥟 #NZRoadTripMagic #PenguinPatience #CastlesAndCarbLoads