New Zealand
In August, Zach and I got the opportunity to travel to New Zealand for our honeymoon. With the island being in the Southern Hemisphere, it was the tail end of winter during our visit, which had many locals puzzled about our trip-planning skills. Despite the timing, the weather overall was very pleasant.
Auckland
We started off our trip in Auckland. On our first night, we went to the top of the Sky Tower to take in the sight of the city lit up. The views from the top were spectacular and made the fact we were in NZ sink in. Over the next couple of days, we visited The Waitemata Harbour area is a really cool part of town with souvenir shops, rooftop bars, and nice eateries. We took the ferry from the harbor to Waiheke Island to go hiking and ziplining with Flying Fox Ziplines. As we hiked from each zipline, the guides taught us about the efforts by locals to preserve the island and Māori culture. On our last day, we took a day trip to Hobbiton, just a couple of hours outside of the city, with Cheeky Kiwi Tours. Our guide was fantastic. We learned all about the history and production of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films. We loved it. After the tour of Hobbiton, our guide took us off the beaten path to get some authentic NZ ice cream on the way back to Auckland. It was cheap and delicious. For other eats, there are a plethora of Asian fusion restaurants and plenty of boba drink shops. Best Ugly Bagels was a great brekkie spot. Great for those that love a good bagel and millennial vibes. One thing to note, a majority of restaurants and shops do not accept Mastercard. One spot we didn’t make it to was Rangitoto Island, so it’s been added to the list for the next trip.
Christchurch
Despite the fact that parts of the city are still rebuilding from the earthquake, it’s still such a pretty city. It kind of reminded me of a small Colorado Springs. We took the gondola up Port Hills. The views were spectacular! There was also this really dinky ride in the visitors center that was similar to a very short, crappy version of its a small world after all. Or if you’ve seen Gilmore Girls, it reminded me of the weird simulation Taylor puts together to tell the story of Stars Hollow’s history. All that say, take it for a short spin. It was rainy and cold when we went, so the hiking trails were closed, however, they seemed great. If you go during summer, I’d recommend giving them a try. The Cardboard Cathedral is another must-see while visiting. We also did the Christchurch Tramway Dinner Experience. The food was tasty, and the ride was a great way to see the city. While in this region, we went on a wine-tasting tour in Waipara Valley. 10/10 would recommend it even if you aren’t a huge wine person. It was a great way to see the vineyards and meet locals and hear their passion for wine and their local business. For eats, we ate mostly at places on New Regent Street which is the cutest street in Christchurch. We had brekkie at The Caffeine Laboratory located which has incredible coffee and food. We ate dinner one night at The Nook, and it was the best pad thai I’ve ever had.
Queenstown
By far, Queenstown was our favorite spot. We went up the gondola to Bob’s Peak. We did the luge ride at the top which was a 10/10 experience. We only paid to ride twice, but I wish we had paid for additional rides. Bungee jumping is available, however, it was closed while we were visiting. If given the opportunity, I would have likely made myself try it, since Queenstown is the extreme sports capital of the world. The views from the peak were breathtaking. Once we made our way down, we went indoor mini golfing at CaddyShack City Mini Golf because it was raining. It turned out to be the best mini golf course I’ve played. Once the rain let up, we visited the Saturday market in the city center filled with local artisans and their crafts. We finished the day walking along Lake Wakatipu. In warmer weather, it would make a great picnic spot. On our second day here, we went on a tour with Air Milford to Milford Sound aka Middle Earth. It was on the pricy side, but taking a prop plane was worth it for the views and how quickly it got us to there. While here, we opted out of taking a cruise to walk some of the nature trails. This worked out in our favor because we saw a real-life Kiwi bird in the wild. This is practically unheard of because the nation’s bird is endangered. As for food, everyone raves about Fergburger in Queenstown for being the best burger on the island. It was definitely a good burger, but when you’re from the land of Angus burgers, it’s hard for anything to compete. The baked goods and milkshakes at Fergbaker were delicious. Another great spot is Taco Medic. Holy moly, I still dream about their tacos and salsas. We also ate at Winnie’s which is a popular bar/pizza spot, and it was tasty.
Verdict:
We will definitely make our way back to NZ. Hopefully, the next visit will be when the weather is a little bit warmer, so we can enjoy more hiking. Although, I'd love to *try* my luck in skiing in Queenstown someday.