Must Sees in New Zealand (in no particular order):
1. Queenstown/Glenorchy - hike to the top of the mountain in Queenstown and drive the hour+ to Glenorchy. You won't be disappointed. And don't forget to get a Ferg Burger!
2. Milford Sound – it’s worth the trek to get down there, even if its pouring rain.
3. Tongariro Crossing – what an awesome hike. It even makes me want to watch those Lord of the Rings movies, so you know it must have been good.
4. Wanaka – an amazing little town! Somewhere I would definitely like to go back and spend more time.
5. Piha Beach, Auckland - this black sand beach knocked my socks off. The drive to get out there also isn't too shabby with standard spectacular New Zealand beauty the whole way.
Lessons Learned:
1. New Zealand almost doesn’t seem real. It is like a magical place with just beautiful scenery absolutely everywhere. Lakes and mountains and beaches and volcanoes – the landscape is breathtaking.
2. There are earthquakes here. Big ones.
3. The food here was so good – everything is fresh and seems like it was picked right out of a garden right before we ate it.
4. Driving here was not quite as easy. It is definitely less touristy and the roads are narrower and in parts more desolate. Planning ahead for gas and stops was important.
5. Going in November/December it was spring time and we did hit a good bit of rain. We still had a great time, but got some good use out of our rain coats!
6. As was the same with Australia, the people here were so great, everyone was willing to help us.
