Queenstown is where our New Zealand adventure began (well--after the 24 hours of plane rides!). As you can see, it was picture perfect. We rode a gondola for a sky-high view, explored the beautiful Queenstown gardens, and settled into our campervan home.
From Queenstown we drove to Fjordlands National Park. This section of our trip included famed Milford Sound, but some lesser-known treasures really captured our hearts. Here we were grateful for rock beach campsites, moss carpets, cheeky Kia parrots, and the crispest reflecting lake.
Wanaka was a must-see due to the Instagram-famous Wanaka Tree. We snapped plenty of pictures there, but also enjoyed a distillery tour and a hike above the resort town.
Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park will forever be known for the hike of one million stairs. Our legs nearly fell off! It was also where we saw an avalanche (!!!) and our favorite camping spot of the trip.
We decided to visit Tekapo for its dark sky reserve. It is home to the southernmost observatory in the world. Thanks to a beautifully surreal experience and the help of an astrophotographer, you can see the brilliance of the night sky from Mount John Observatory. Not kidding--this is really what it looked like!
After a very long car ride up the island, we enjoyed a beachy change of scenery at Abel Tasman. Sea kayaking and octo-star-fish on the golden coast rounded out the South Island portion of our trip.
We met up with dear friends Jordan and Meghan to hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. The 13-mile hike was ADDED to with a climb up Mount Doom (i.e. excited LotR fans have no idea what they're getting into). Beautiful views greeted us every step of the trek.
Rotorua's geothermal activity has long been cherished by the indigenous Maori tribes. We enjoyed the colorful, bubbling pools, towering redwood forest, and chance encounters with two black swans.
Nerd life = complete.
New Zealand is oft-touted as the adventure capital of the world. We went with it, and abseiled 500m into glow worm caves!
The last stop of our trip was to Meghan and Jordan's (and Tank the dog's!) home in Auckland. We visited a New Zealand winery, futilely searched for kiwis at the Auckland Zoo, and truly enjoyed quality time with wonderful friends.
After a lot of poking around on the internet, Matt and I decided to rent a campervan for our Kiwi adventure. While not a popular concept in the U.S. (yet), it is all the rage in New Zealand. Almost like renting a car, renting a campervan just adds a kitchenette and a bed to the package. This gave us amazing freedom to come and go as we pleased--no hotel reservations to make, lunch on the go while driving, etc. In theory, it was also going to save us money...but we'll just say be prepared to spend a similar amount as you would for a hotel.
What ended up being our favorite part of van life was the chance to stay IN New Zealand's natural beauty. From rock beaches to glacier-covered mountains to sandy marinas, our campervan let us be at the center of it all. In fact, we're looking at getting our own campervan to drive around North America. We are converts!
Here are some pics of our campervan, our stunning campsite views, and a full endorsement of going outside your comfort zone when planning your next trip. You might find something you love!
