I found the vibe of the South Island to be mainly mountains and nature. There are far fewer people here and the views are incredible. You can do day hikes, boat trips, see glaciers, and in the winter, you can ski. I loved the North Island, but I feel that after a while, you can do everything there. Maybe you could go somewhere to surf over and over again, but as much as there is to do, I feel like at some point you would feel like you are doing things more than once. South Island, on the other hand, I feel like it is virtually endless. There are so many mountains here and so much to explore in the wilderness. Firstly, you have some wine country near Blenheim, which is located at the north of South Island, not far from Picton, where the ferry from Wellington, North Island, arrives on South Island. In the NW of South Island is Abel Tasman National Park, where you can do hiking, kayaking, see amazing beaches and see sea lions in pools left behind on beaches at low tide. Glaciers like Franz Joseph are in the west, and further south on the west coast are the Fjordlands, which are incredible inlets of water surrounded by mountains. Mount Cook, the largest mountain in NZ, is very picturesque, as are so many other locations. You can visit places like Christchurch in the east of South Island should you want to head to a larger town settlement for a while and everyone’s favourite: Queenstown, which is towards the south of South Island. As with North Island there is plenty to do outside, like skydiving, etc. and you can also see penguins! There are also epic multi-day hikes on South Island where you can stay at huts in the mountains overnight.