The Land of the Long White Cloud
This trip of a lifetime has been many years in the making. I am not ashamed to say that after watching the incredible scenery in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy, I started planning this trip to New Zealand. The country realised they had a tourism cash-cow too - check out their very enticing and user-friendly www.newzealand.com/travel - I spent many hours poring over this website.
So where to begin? We toured as much of the country as we possibly could by rental car - starting out from Auckland in the north, making our way south, crossing from the North Island to the South Island by ferry, driving down the West Coast of the South Island, to Queenstown. From Queenstown, we took a coach up to Christchurch and then flew domestically from Christchurch back to Auckland. The scenery did not disappoint - once we got out of Auckland, the views were amazing, the rivers and lakes pristine. Most of the time, you will have these views all to yourself as well - which is what happens when there is only a population of 4 million. Compared to 10 million sheep and 17 million possums! The landscape was incredibly varied too for a fairly compact country - volcanoes, rainforests, mountains, lakes, coastal sea views. Lots of winding roads, hairpin bends up and down mountains.
So where to begin? We toured as much of the country as we possibly could by rental car - starting out from Auckland in the north, making our way south, crossing from the North Island to the South Island by ferry, driving down the West Coast of the South Island, to Queenstown. From Queenstown, we took a coach up to Christchurch and then flew domestically from Christchurch back to Auckland. The scenery did not disappoint - once we got out of Auckland, the views were amazing, the rivers and lakes pristine. Most of the time, you will have these views all to yourself as well - which is what happens when there is only a population of 4 million. Compared to 10 million sheep and 17 million possums! The landscape was incredibly varied too for a fairly compact country - volcanoes, rainforests, mountains, lakes, coastal sea views. Lots of winding roads, hairpin bends up and down mountains.
So sit back and enjoy the next few entries as I take you through our 17-day adventure...
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