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Hokitika Gorge, New Zealand
The water truly was this gorgeous stunning color, made milky by a combination of glacial runoff and the sediment of the rocks and stones found in the gorge. It was a mesmerizing pool of beauty.
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Crossing the Cook Straight with Sounds Air: New Zealand
Kia ora, friends, and let me tell you a little about the Cook Strait! The Cook Strait is the body of water separating the North and South islands of New Zealand. It is well known for many things, but two particular facts stick out in my mind: it’s one of the most beautiful ferry crossings in the world, but it’s also one of the roughest ferry crossings in the world. As we planned our honeymoon in December 2017, Matt and I decided that we absolutely had to do the ferry crossing, since all the guidebooks labeled it a “New Zealand must-do.” The ferry crossing goes from Wellington in the North…
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Swimming with Wild Dolphins in Bay of Plenty, New Zealand
On Day 4 of our December 2017 honeymoon, we woke up extra early so that we could be at the marina by 8am to meet our ship captain for our next adventure: swimming with wild dolphins. As soon as we located our captain, Paul, he informed us that no one else had booked the tour that day, so we would have the boat to ourselves! The boat itself was lovely—a large catamaran with a cabin area inside and a large bow in the front for us to sit and enjoy the views. We pulled out of the harbor around 8:30am and headed straight towards the open ocean. Matt and I…
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Queenstown to Christchurch, New Zealand
We woke up on our last day in New Zealand with mixed feelings. The day before us stretched out like rays of sunshine greeting our faces, long and promising. As we grabbed a quick breakfast at a local Ranfurly cafe and packed the car, we kept asking each other, “will you miss it?” Yes. We will miss it. The feeling of stepping back in time to another world when we took our first walk down to the beach of Cathedral Cove. The feeling of my mind going blank and emotions bubbling to the surface as I saw the glowworms light up the Waitomo cave. The feeling of warming our tired…
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Queenstown and Glenorchy, New Zealand
Our horseback ride took us out into “high country,” along the banks of the beautiful blue Rees River, to the base of the mountains, and into green, purple, pink, and white fields of lupins so high they touched my calves.
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Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand
The glacier is constantly moving, so each day, the Glacier Guides have to carve, pick, and navigate new paths through the terrain.
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South Island, New Zealand
On our first morning in the South Island, we woke up bright and early in order to catch a cab to Picton to retrieve our rental car from the ferry terminal. To make a long story short, the cab ride lasted about 30 minutes and cost us $105NZD. Our cab driver also took us to the wrong rental car location, so we had to walk quite a bit with our luggage to find the correct pick-up spot; when we finally did, we grabbed the keys to another Toyota Corolla and zoomed out of town as quickly as possible. Picton is a small fishing village on the northern tip of the…
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Martinborough, New Zealand
On the twelfth day of our adventure, we woke up in the morning with the sad prospect that today was our last day in the North Island, as we had a flight to the South Island at 5pm that evening. Wanting to toast goodbye to the gorgeous North, we decided to head to wine country in Wairarapa, situated about an hour east of Wellington. This drive consisted of another pass through the Rimutakas, and since it was such a beautiful day in the mountains, we stepped out of the car at a lookout point and went on a short hike to reach this beautiful vantage point: Before we came to…
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Weta Cave, Wellington, New Zealand
On the day after Christmas, we woke up to the discovery that it was Boxing Day, a term that we Americans only partially recognized as a British holiday of some sort. Our hotel clerk quickly informed us that Boxing Day was a public holiday in New Zealand, where the stores run huge sales and people get out and shop. Wellington, which had been a ghost town the day before, was now a madhouse of people. For those familiar with the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, you will recognize Wellington as the hub of production for the cast and crew in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Wellington is home to the…
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Putangirua Pinnacles, New Zealand
The walking track guide didn’t give much instruction other than “follow the stream,” and since New Zealand is currently in the midst of a super long drought, that was easier said than done. Several times we lost our way and had to double-back on the path to make sure we didn’t get lost in the middle of the mountains.
