New Zealand Untamed Landscapes: Honeymoon 2019
I was debating putting this post down since we arrived home. I gave myself a week back at work and a weekend to recharge and try to wake up. I have to laugh a little because typically when I come home from a wonderful trip, I am usually a smidge depressed for awhile. I observe the life and country of another land, get immersed in their culture and then depart before I can consider losing my passport and trying to stay. Ah, the life of a world traveler.
New Zealand is a land of true beauty, many parts of it, are untouched by tourists, and holds vast landscapes of sweeping trees and mountains. The Maori people who live in the Maori village there are kind, and they protect their land very well. They made us a hengi feast and cooked it in the geothermal hot spring ground. Kind of like if America had a 'nature's slow cooker.' The food cooks all day and you can simply leave it covered and in the ground, where inset boards will be lowered down to cook the food.
We also went to a Kiwi home hosted dinner which featured for Matt, Dawn, Rob, and myself, a cute retired couple who had traveled the world and who maintain a gorgeous home garden and abode. They invited pure joy and full hearts as we traipsed around their place, drinking wine and discussing life. Dinner featured mutton, which I had never tried, (delicious if I might add) garden veggies, and a corn bread like dessert with ice cream. Lynn couldn't stop feeding us! It was as if my grandma were still alive once more, feeding me constantly, but filling my soul with so much love and warmth. I broke every rule in the book by hugging them goodbye. I had just only met them for an evening, and here I was hugging them as if I had known them for years.
Matt and I started in Queenstown, but stayed outside of it, because the tour started there, so we went to Glenorchy, Arrowtown had Mt. Cook Salmon, hiked around Lake Te Anu, went to a farmers market near town and stayed in a vrbo in Kelvin Heights. We went to two wineries, one of which called Chard Farms, which had a delicious Reisling. The home we stayed in could have been built for an army, it was huge, a chateau as it were. I lost myself there, just staring at the lakefront drinking coffee in the mornings. We caught famous pictures of lupin everywhere and the dark sky reserve in the day and the sunset, just to capture it all. We went bungee jumping at Aj Hackett Kawaru Bridge. Highly recommend it! No overthinking allowed.
We picked up the tour on the 16th, and started in Queenstown, visited Milford Sound, spent a free day, where Matt and I simply wandered the square and took a breath. We had spent five days prior to the tour arrival, so we had to pace ourselves. We then traveled to Fox Glacier, stopped at Mrs. Jones Fruit Barn, Wanaka, Thunder Falls, and Knight’s Point. Then we went on to the stunning Lake Mattheson and Punakaiki resort with the foamy sea waves and breathtaking sunset. Enjoyed the gushing sea waves at Pancake Rock and Cape Foulwind and the entertaining seals. Abel Tasman national park and Motueka visit was memorable as the park had hiking trails for miles and beach stretching for days with sparking water, you had to stop and wade in it looking for seashells.
We went wine tasting in Marlborough aka home of Savignon Blanc (Savi B) and took a ferry onto Wellington. I participated in a training exercise to liven up our tired tour group. We walked and saw the sights of windy Wellington and what the historical Te Papa museum had to offer before exploring the city on foot at the start of the holiday season, such a pleasure to see. I enjoyed the singing and dancing troup on stage in the square, and the street tacos!
Volcanic mountains, Huka falls, and the sulfuric smells of Rotorua greeted us as we took part in Maori culture for the night as I mentioned above. Redwood forest, Whaka Maori thermal village, Kiwi birds, and shopping in downtown Rotorua, among many other activities marked our time there, as well has mud bath and geothermal hot spring some of us went to. Funny, yet relaxing experience. Remember, no touching your eyes (I guess that was more to myself lol) with the mud. We stopped at the Glowworm grotto, which was magical and so worth going to. It was like being on a Disney ride in the caves. On our last day of the trip with the tour grip, we toured Waheike Island and some took a free day, then we had a beloved yet sad farewell dinner. Our tour guide Ben was phenomenal, organized, qorky, and passionate about his work, and he has a heart of gold. I enjoyed getting to know him and also fun fact, learning more about Steve Irwin, whom he worked for.
Matt and I drove up the coast after visting Hobbitown the next day, which was a trip down memory lane. After watching all those Lord of the Rings movies, and to experience it all in person complete with a complimentary drink, and as the first tour group of the day, it was truly ideal. Peter Jackson although odd for having the most expensive tree prop on set, still a genius. We spent one night in Hahei beach resort, saw Cathedral Cove, and I sat in the hot pools at the Hahei beach. Snorkeling was a bust as visibilty was poor that day, but the sunrise that morning was really something.
We spent out last night in Auckland, high rise room, 19th floor, watching the sunset, relaxing, and saying goodbye to the most amazing honeymoon trip and set of memories and friends we had just made, and to prepare for the long haul home. We recommend this incredible country to anyone and certainly encourage people to travel. Education First Go Ahead tours is who we went with, and are happy we did that, as well as not hold back once. We ate out a lot, bought a few souvenirs, and took way too many pictures! Do it. Go somewhere, anywhere, but home. See it for yourself.
New Zealand is a land of true beauty, many parts of it, are untouched by tourists, and holds vast landscapes of sweeping trees and mountains. The Maori people who live in the Maori village there are kind, and they protect their land very well. They made us a hengi feast and cooked it in the geothermal hot spring ground. Kind of like if America had a 'nature's slow cooker.' The food cooks all day and you can simply leave it covered and in the ground, where inset boards will be lowered down to cook the food.
We also went to a Kiwi home hosted dinner which featured for Matt, Dawn, Rob, and myself, a cute retired couple who had traveled the world and who maintain a gorgeous home garden and abode. They invited pure joy and full hearts as we traipsed around their place, drinking wine and discussing life. Dinner featured mutton, which I had never tried, (delicious if I might add) garden veggies, and a corn bread like dessert with ice cream. Lynn couldn't stop feeding us! It was as if my grandma were still alive once more, feeding me constantly, but filling my soul with so much love and warmth. I broke every rule in the book by hugging them goodbye. I had just only met them for an evening, and here I was hugging them as if I had known them for years.
Matt and I started in Queenstown, but stayed outside of it, because the tour started there, so we went to Glenorchy, Arrowtown had Mt. Cook Salmon, hiked around Lake Te Anu, went to a farmers market near town and stayed in a vrbo in Kelvin Heights. We went to two wineries, one of which called Chard Farms, which had a delicious Reisling. The home we stayed in could have been built for an army, it was huge, a chateau as it were. I lost myself there, just staring at the lakefront drinking coffee in the mornings. We caught famous pictures of lupin everywhere and the dark sky reserve in the day and the sunset, just to capture it all. We went bungee jumping at Aj Hackett Kawaru Bridge. Highly recommend it! No overthinking allowed.
We picked up the tour on the 16th, and started in Queenstown, visited Milford Sound, spent a free day, where Matt and I simply wandered the square and took a breath. We had spent five days prior to the tour arrival, so we had to pace ourselves. We then traveled to Fox Glacier, stopped at Mrs. Jones Fruit Barn, Wanaka, Thunder Falls, and Knight’s Point. Then we went on to the stunning Lake Mattheson and Punakaiki resort with the foamy sea waves and breathtaking sunset. Enjoyed the gushing sea waves at Pancake Rock and Cape Foulwind and the entertaining seals. Abel Tasman national park and Motueka visit was memorable as the park had hiking trails for miles and beach stretching for days with sparking water, you had to stop and wade in it looking for seashells.
We went wine tasting in Marlborough aka home of Savignon Blanc (Savi B) and took a ferry onto Wellington. I participated in a training exercise to liven up our tired tour group. We walked and saw the sights of windy Wellington and what the historical Te Papa museum had to offer before exploring the city on foot at the start of the holiday season, such a pleasure to see. I enjoyed the singing and dancing troup on stage in the square, and the street tacos!
Volcanic mountains, Huka falls, and the sulfuric smells of Rotorua greeted us as we took part in Maori culture for the night as I mentioned above. Redwood forest, Whaka Maori thermal village, Kiwi birds, and shopping in downtown Rotorua, among many other activities marked our time there, as well has mud bath and geothermal hot spring some of us went to. Funny, yet relaxing experience. Remember, no touching your eyes (I guess that was more to myself lol) with the mud. We stopped at the Glowworm grotto, which was magical and so worth going to. It was like being on a Disney ride in the caves. On our last day of the trip with the tour grip, we toured Waheike Island and some took a free day, then we had a beloved yet sad farewell dinner. Our tour guide Ben was phenomenal, organized, qorky, and passionate about his work, and he has a heart of gold. I enjoyed getting to know him and also fun fact, learning more about Steve Irwin, whom he worked for.
Matt and I drove up the coast after visting Hobbitown the next day, which was a trip down memory lane. After watching all those Lord of the Rings movies, and to experience it all in person complete with a complimentary drink, and as the first tour group of the day, it was truly ideal. Peter Jackson although odd for having the most expensive tree prop on set, still a genius. We spent one night in Hahei beach resort, saw Cathedral Cove, and I sat in the hot pools at the Hahei beach. Snorkeling was a bust as visibilty was poor that day, but the sunrise that morning was really something.
We spent out last night in Auckland, high rise room, 19th floor, watching the sunset, relaxing, and saying goodbye to the most amazing honeymoon trip and set of memories and friends we had just made, and to prepare for the long haul home. We recommend this incredible country to anyone and certainly encourage people to travel. Education First Go Ahead tours is who we went with, and are happy we did that, as well as not hold back once. We ate out a lot, bought a few souvenirs, and took way too many pictures! Do it. Go somewhere, anywhere, but home. See it for yourself.
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