Oprah once said in an interview that everyone should visit New Zealand once in their lifetime, and now I understand why. As your airplane is landing all you see is miles and miles of lakes and mountains. There are so many beautiful sights that photos don’t do it justice. My boyfriend and I went to New Zealand for his best friend’s wedding. Because we were limited on vacation days we could only take 8 days off, with one day spent on traveling. Since I knew we had a lot of ground to cover, we tried to make the most of a week in New Zealand.
Auckland
We landed in Auckland and the first and only thing I wanted to see was a glowworm cave. Waitomo Glowworm Caves is about 2 hours outside of Auckland. It was discovered in 1887 by two men and it was interesting to learn that they are still family operated by the original explorers. Going on a boat in an underground cave and looking up to see what looks like the night sky is unbelievable. The tour guide also tells guests to stay quiet, which only enhances the experience. After the cave I wanted to see a Kiwi, country national bird, so we stopped at a bird sanctuary. After our long drive back, we grabbed a bite to eat and roamed around the city.
Queenstown
After only a day in Auckland, we headed to Queenstown. This is the adventure capital of the world, and it lives up to that title. There are so many activities you can book that I wish I had more time to spend here. Based on a recommendation we booked a cottage facing the city of Queenstown. The view was spectacular. The first day we just walked around the town and drove up to Glenorchy lookout to see the sunset. For our activity, we decided to book a helicopter and water rafting combo. It was my first experience in a helicopter and was overly excited. The helicopter was a short flight to where we were catching up to the tour group to go water rafting. Flying through the mountains and lakes felt like I was on a ride! The water rafting was just as amazing, seeing the same views from below.
Lake Topeka
This is where the wedding guest were meeting to enjoy a dinner with the happy couple. It was great to seeing familiar faces on a vacation. Lake Topeka, like everywhere else in New Zealand, it is breathtaking. Especially the views from Mt. John Observatory. It was a great place to have morning breakfast with everyone and catch up. Lake Topeka also has a beautiful old church to visit. This place, like the next, is a great place to just relax and enjoy the views.
Mount Cook
As you are driving up to Mount Cook it is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The picture-perfect glacier top mountains and the green valley is unreal. This is where the wedding was taking place. The wedding ceremony views were amazing and the wedding speeches had me in tears. I had never seen my boyfriend friends get so emotional. The next day we did the Tasman Glacier View hike and then joined everyone else to do the Hooker Valley hike. Both of these hikes are a must if you ever visit New Zealand.
Christchurch
Right after the hike, we drove up to Christchurch. I had planned it so we landed on one side of the island, Queenstown, and had to drive to the other side, Christchurch, so we could see as much as the island as possible. The little towns and all the views were worth the time spent on the road. Once we got to the city we flopped on the bed and slept. Hiking and road trips will exhaust anyone. The next day we had breakfast at a hipster cafe and walked around town. We then went to the beach and had few drinks. Unlike all the other cities in New Zealand, this one definitely has a more artsy feel.
Our trip, although short, was incredible. Not only for the experience of seeing these beautiful islands but also spending time with friends and time alone with just my boyfriend and me on the road.
-Denise