New Zealand, South Island

I didn't know what to expect from New Zealand.  Basically, since we're in the middle of "The Year Down Under", we might as well hop over to New Zealand and check it out.  Seriously, sorry Kiwis, but NZ was never on my radar.  I heard it's also left out of a lot of maps, too.

Now that I've been there, I've finally seen the error in my ways.  There has never been a more perfect place for me to visit! Adventure, nature, beauty, amazing people and did I say adventure?  This was my husband's birthday trip so we made sure all the good stuff was on the itinerary.  This blog post is basically our itinerary for the week.  Following blogs will have more detail on the activities.

Day one was a travel day, so our first stop on Day two was Canyoning with Canyoning Queenstown.  I usually call it Canyoneering, but I think they like to shorten words here in NZ (pronounced en zed) like their Aussie mates.  This amazing day was topped off by a meal at the iconic and always busy Fergburger.  This was followed by a ride on the Shotover Jet boat to help us digest.

Day three was a bike through the Gibbston Valley wine country using the self guided option with Fork and Pedal.

Day four was rainy, so it was the perfect travel day.  We drove to Te Anau, the city on the way to Milford Sound.  We walked around the quaint little town and, enjoyed the ziplining in the park and a delicious pasta and pizza dinner.  We opted out of doing the Glow Worm cave.  I'm sure it's cool and all, but they don't allow cameras and I've seen the videos.  So, I'm good with that.

Day five was Milford Sound, which everyone told us is not really a sound, but a fjord.  It was beautiful and the waterfalls were plentiful thanks to the rain the day before.  We took a cruise and checked out the underwater observatory.  It was a very scenic ride back as well.  We drove back through Queenstown and headed up to the town of Wanaka.

Day six we wanted to hike.  There are many walking tracks around the area, but we narrowed it down to a choice of two,  the Roys Peak hike or the Rob Roy Glacier hike.  Roys Peak is a treeless hike up a mountain through pasture and a fire trail, but there is a spot where people queue to get the most instagrammed picture in NZ.  I didn't feel like being part of that crowd, so we opted for the Rob Roy Glacier hike.  We were so happy with that choice.

That evening Brian and I went out for a drink and played some pool.  On our last game we bet that if I won, I would get to go bungy jumping the following day.  Guess what! I won! I really need to be careful what I wish for.  So, the next day, day seven we drove back down to Queenstown and on our way there, we stopped at AJ Hackett's Bridge Bungy and I did it!!

After that, I needed to add to my dosage of adrenaline that day so took the Skyline Gondola up to Bob's Peak and raced a few times down the luge.  It was a perfect day.  The weather was warm and the sun was out, and of course the view was gorgeous.  We even stopped at the Stratosfare restaurant to drink in the brews and views.

Finally, that evening Brian wanted to get back to the pool table.  Luckily, our hotel was walking distance to Harry's Pool Bar.  We ended up sharing a table with a bunch of guys that taught us a new game that allowed all of us to play.  It was called Killer.  We had a blast playing the game and hanging out with the locals.

Day 8 was a travel day back home.  Thank you New Zealand for the most amazing time.  Time to head back to relax on the beach and give my adrenal glands a good rest.