We found New Zealand (NZ) to be a magical place with lush fields, snow-capped mountains, turquoise lakes and rivers, rugged coastlines, fjords, and glaciers. We began our three week journey in Auckland which is on the North Island and is NZ’s largest city with 1.7 million people. A walking tour led us through interesting gardens, enormous trees, and a bustling downtown area with a little history thrown in. The next day, we took a ferry and docent-led tour to one of the islands off the east coast called Tiritiri Matangi which is a wildlife and bird sanctuary. This lovely island of beautiful birds and green woodlands set the cultural stage for our other stops in NZ. It is a culture that values land and wildlife with a goal of minimizing man’s impact on the environment. It is a “reuse and recycle” mentality that utilizes compostable cups, lids, and containers. There are recycling bins in every park and main street, active tree re-planting, limited boat access to its pristine lakes, and resources dedicated to reestablishing native plant and animal populations. In 3 weeks of driving around both the North and South Islands, we saw virtually no trash, garbage, or roadside litter. It was striking.
From Auckland we traveled to Hobbiton, a bucket list site for me as a longtime Lord of the Rings (LOR) fan. My companions came along for the ride, indulging my tourist fancy for this much-visited location. It was everything I hoped for and more as well, surprising the others with a bit of fun. It is superbly done with gorgeous landscaping, vibrant flowers, and hobbit houses just like the movies. There were some fun anecdotes dropped along the way by our guide that added to the entertainment. We were treated to some ginger beer at the Green Dragon Inn to cap off a very enjoyable afternoon. Marv, who had not seen any of the LOR or Hobbit movies, proceeded to binge watch them all, admitting that he truly thought Hobbiton was very cool! In addition to the pictures below, more Hobbiton pictures can be found at “Hobbiton Pics”.
A stop in Rotorua, led us to experience a bit of exposure to native Maori culture with a morning tour of the Whakarewarea thermal village. It even included corn cooked in the natural hot springs. We spent the evening visiting another village (Te Pa Tu) for some wonderful demonstrations of Maori ceremonies and customs. It was followed by dinner and an entertaining display of singing and dancing. Just for fun, we went on a redwood treetop adventure and experienced the views from suspension bridges high up in the branches of these majestic trees.
In Taupo, we hiked some very cools trails with water of a glacier blue that I hadn’t seen before. Bill and Marv hiked some additional trails while Laurie and I spent an afternoon outside in Wairakei Terraces and Thermal Health Spa. The hot mineral water is drawn into a number of different pools of varying temperatures…and yes, we tried them all. What a relaxing way to enjoy Taupo!
After driving to Wellington, we flew to the South Island. After some exploration of the beautiful city of Christchurch, we drove through the “must-do” Arthur’s Pass. It was a stunning with snowy mountains, lakes, waterfalls and cool rock formations as we headed to the other coast and Hokitika. We took several walks/hikes enroute and took about 1000 photos of the pass. Of course, we stopped for lunch at the famous Sheffield Pie Shop to sample their delicious meat pies accompanied by their sinful cream puffs.
We meandered from Hokitika to Franz Joseph Glacier to Wanaka on our way to Queenstown along the Tasman Sea and through the mountains. It was packed with hikes, walks, picnic lunches with spectacular waterfalls, pristine mountain lakes, and awe-inspiring viewpoints. We even stopped at a lavender farm which was gorgeous with exquisite flowers and gardens. Of course, we had tea with lavender honey and sampled the lavender ice cream.
In Queenstown, we visited parks and wildlife preserves that had real Kiwi birds. Unfortunately, we have no pictures as light is harmful to these unusual, flightless birds. Bill and I took a day trip to Glenorchy. The drive was magnificent and we were blessed with calm waters to get that perfect mountain reflection on the water.
The four of us headed to another bucket list destination: Te Anau and the Fjordland National Park. We started with a very cool boat trip into the caves to see the glowworms which were more beautiful than I anticipated since the worms are actually larvae. It was like seeing the night stars of different colors, just inside the cave. The next day we drove to a boat which took us to a bus which took us to a different boat, for an afternoon tour through Doubtful Sound. Despite the periodic rain showers, the mountains surrounding the fjords was suburb. I am not sure I have ever seen that many waterfalls at one time.
Reluctantly leaving Te Anau, we headed to Dunedin for a short stay. Walking around we saw some terrific street art and ate some delicious seafood. On a boat excursion, we spotted a rare and endangered Northern Royal Albatross in flight, as well as sea lions, fur seals, and other birds. It made the afternoon an unqualified success.
We finished up our sightseeing jaunt with a couple of days in Mount Cook National Park. The Mountain is the highest peak in NZ and has several glaciers on or near it. The photos almost look fake with the snow-capped mountains, the striking aqua of the lake and the blue, blue color of the sky. One of the hikes we took was the Hooker Valley Track hike at Mt Cook and had to be one of the most scenic hikes we have ever taken. It was fun to boot, with three suspension bridges and a well-kept trail ending in a small lake with bits of the glacier floating around. Our departure point in NZ was Christchurch, where we visited the International Antarctic Center and got a great overview of the Antarctic programs and history.
Our trip to NZ was indeed so delightful, a land of enchantment in a way and a visit of a lifetime. Truly it was… “unforgettable in every way.”
