New Zealand Landscape Review

New Zealand Landscape Dream Land

New Zealand Landscape

New Zealand Landscape Beautiful Place

New Zealand Landscape Dream Place

We had a wonderful two week vacation in New Zealand that taught us one important lesson -- that two weeks was not enough to see all of New Zealand. Of course, most people already knew this, especially the Europeans who were taking a month (at minimum) to see the country, but we didn't. Sadly, this meant we had to pass on some classic sights (Queenstown, Milford Sound, Otago Peninsula, Mt. Aspiring National Park, Abel Tasman National Park?.alas, the list itself is a two-week vacation!) that we had high on our list of things to see. But, on the bright side, the parts of the country we did see were fantastic and now we have an excuse to get back.
The scope of our vacation, which shrank gradually over time and at each of the many construction projects we encountered, went from Auckland through Tongariro to Wellington on the North Island and from Picton through Nelson Lakes down to Fox Glacier on the West Coast, then from the Banks Peninsula and Christchurch through Kaikoura and Blenheim back to Picton on South Island's east coast. The highlights were walking Tongariro Crossing, helicoptering the glaciers, kayaking with the dolphins and hiking with the seals. What a great trip!