New Zealand in a Nut Shell

New Zealand was an amazing place. It reminded me a lot of home in BC Canada which was good because 10 months into traveling I have been quite homesick at times. It was a good time to visit as the weather was lovely but my allergies hated the spring time flowers. We only had enough time to visit parts of South Island NZ but it is supposed to be the most impressive in a natural sense. I would definitely go back and spend a month on each island if I can get the chance in the future.

We rented a campervan which was pretty darn comfortable after living in the land crusier for 10 months. It was worth the extra money as it did rain at night a few times and it was nice to be able to cook and do dishes inside. Also being able to have more space to hang out inside was a big plus. Still, the cruiser was better for Aussi.

My favorite spot of all was Wharariki Beach in Golden Bay. The giant rock arches were spectacular. I could sit there all day to admire them. The trail there takes you through rolling green hills packed with tiny sheep. The you come across sand dunes that you cross to get to the beach. There were a few seals rolling around in the sand. We decided to explore the area. We found tiny paths all over the place. We went a lot farther than anyone else that day and we were rewarded with views that stunned us. We sat for an hour just taking it all in. Where we parked there was a horse hanging around that fell in love with Francis. He watched our van for us in exchange for some cuddling time.

My second favorite spot was Mt Cook which is NZ's highest peak. The Edmond Hillary Alpine Center is there. Very informative and a must do if you visit. We watch 5 movies at the planitarium which were all pretty good. Francis took a 10 hour hike to get closer to the peak. He loves trails and mountain climbing so it was good for him to get out there. He made a friend named Lester on the trail. We spent two days there because it was just so impressive.

We were able to visit two glaciers. Franz Josef glacier was the first one. I took a short walk to a pool of water to view the glacier. Francis took two more demanding walks to see it closer up. The second one we saw was Fox glacier where we took a walk together to the glacier. I preferred Fox glacier. I thought it was beautiful and the river and pools of water were a beautiful ice color.

We splurged on a plane trip from Wanaka to Milford Sound in Fjordland National Park. I am not a fan of heights or small places but I faced my fear and away we went. You can really feel every tiny gust of wind in a plane that small. Just sayin. The views were amazing. The mountain ranges, glaciers, ocean and fjords were out of this world. It was definitely worth doing but I'm not sure I'm in a hurry to get on another 6 passenger plane anytime soon. The flight took us to Milford Sound to the famous Mitre Peak where we took a boat ride which went right under a stunning waterfall. So fun!

When we bought our plane tickets they gave us free tickets to a place in Wanaka called "Puzzle World". I finally got to achieve one of my life goals of doing a giant maze. It was so ridiculously fun. I laughed my ass off the entire time. There was a lot of optical illusions to check out and a whole room of puzzles that reminded me of Grandpa.

Another great rock formation to visit was the Pancake Rocks. Layers of rock stacked ontop of eachother right along the ocean. I found it really interesting.

The seals at Kaikoura were totally awesome. About an hour north of there we saw road signs that said "Seal Colony next 4 Km". Sure enough there was probably about 80 of them. They were playing and jumping in and out of the water. I loved seeing them so close but undisturbed.

The last place we visited was a film scene from Lord of the Rings. Francis really wanted to go there so we went. I haven't seen the movie yet ( waiting for hobbit ) but BF said he could picture the battle scene while we were there.

We did some unplanned cherry picking for fun. Not paid but we still love to do it once in awhile as that is how we met afterall. We ate the cherries up quick as they were so delicious!

2 weeks was just not enough. We didn't get to do everything we had hoped but we did enough to be satisfied.. for now.