New Zealand Day 1 - Aucklandhttps://photos.app.goo.gl/BL6xD9F6n2NX4yGV8
We landed in Auckland at 9:30 AM after a long 15-hour flight from Dallas. We got our baggage and cleared bio-security inspection by declaring outdoor equipment including hiking poles. We had lunch at Ambarsiya vegetarian Punjabi restaurant. We enjoyed the authentic food. We reached our AirBnB around 3 PM. It was a beautiful house with a lot of fruit trees. We got to eat fresh figs and apples. In the evening we went to Auckland Botanical gardens which was a 5 minute walk from our place. We really enjoyed the huge gardens and saw the African, herbs, edible and rose gardens
New Zealand Day 2 - Waitomo
https://photos.app.goo.gl/LH19oqmqdP7VLy73A
We started our day at 8:30 AM and drove from Auckland to Waitomo Caves. We got there by 11 AM. After having our packed lunch, we took a guided walking tour of Ruakuri Cave. Inside, we saw cool stalagmite and stalactite formations. The highlight was the glowworms in the dark areas - our guide explained they were in the larvae stage and used sticky threads (fishing lines) to catch prey. After the walk, we had a snack, then took a boat tour to see more glowworms. On the way back, we stopped at a fruit stand and walked through a kiwi fruit orchard. We got back to our AirBnB near Cambridge and our host Sharon was very nice. We had dinner and enjoyed a beautiful sunset
New Zealand Day 3 - Rotorua
We had a great time at Wai-o-Tapu thermal park near Rotorua. We watched the Lady Knox Geyser erupt in the morning and saw the colorful Champagne Pool, mud pools, sulfur cave and vibrant acidic water. We explored all three walks, including a small waterfall. For lunch, we went to BailwalG vegetarian restaurant and were impressed with the menu variety and enjoyed our meal
New Zealand Day 3 - Hobbiton
It was really an interesting, enjoyable experience to see a real movie set. In 1998, Sir Peter Jackson’s team were searching for the hills and green pastures of Hobbiton™. They found the Alexander farm, a 1,250 acre sheep farm in Waikato. They constructed temporary fixtures for the movie set which was dismantled afterwards. In 2009, they returned to film The Hobbit trilogy, and as negotiated with the Alexander family, Peter left behind the beautiful movie set which has 44
Hobbit Holes. Most of them are facades but in December 2023 they opened a Hobbit house for the visitors with all the details.
The oak tree on the hill above Bag End is fake. The tree is made of fiberglass and its leaves were attached to the tree one-by-one. It was funny to see birds making nests on the tree.
The guided tours are all booked completely well in advance and every 10 minutes there is a bus full of people
New Zealand Day 4 & 5 - Queenstown
We went to Queenstown from Auckland and stayed at an AirBnB with beautiful views of Lake Wakatipu. We cooked dinner and watched a colorful sunset. The next day, we walked to downtown and tried the Luge, a go-kart-like ride powered by gravity going downhill. It was a unique and enjoyable experience. We also took the Gondola and lift chair to the top and rode the Luge down to the chair lift station
New Zealand Day 6 & 7 - Milford Sound
We drove from Queenstown to Milford Road and stopped at Mirror Lake on the way. Our night on a boat at Milford Sound gave us amazing views of the fjord. We were lucky to see dolphins coming from the Tasman Sea and seals on the rocks. The sunrise was beautiful, and we saw many waterfalls. The chef made tasty vegetarian meals, and the captain showed us a video of marine life, including an octopus captured by underwater cameras in the ROV. It was a memorable experience.
New Zealand Day 7 & 8 - Wanaka & Roy's Peak
On the day we reached Wanaka, we went to see the famous Wanaka tree in Lake Wanaka. The next day after much deliberation we decided to try climbing Roys peak with a packed lunch, snacks and plenty of water. The weather was good but a little hot. Roys Peak is one of the most photographed locations in New Zealand. It was a challenging hike of about 8 miles round trip with a steep climb to the top with about 3000 ft of elevation gain. The view of Lake Wanaka and surroundings at the top was breathtaking. We passed many pastures of sheep and cattle on the way. We will cherish the memories of this hike.
New Zealand Day 9 & 10 - Wanaka, Mount Cook and Tekapo
Before leaving Wanaka, we visited the Wanaka tree in Lake Wanaka again and enjoyed optical illusions and other interesting things at the Puzzle world. Navigating through the outdoor maze was fun too. We saw unique limestone formations in the clay cliffs area. We enjoyed beautiful views of Mount Cook from Peter's lookout on Lake Pukaki. Due to high winds our plane to Mount Cook was canceled. We stayed at Mount Cook village. The next day we saw an informative movie in the visitor's center about many mountaineers who have climbed the mountain including Edmond Hilary and the challenges they faced. We couldn't go on any hikes in the area since it was raining heavily. We drove to Tekapo and enjoyed the beautiful views around Lake Tekapo and saw The Church of the Good Shepherd. We saw many black and white sheep during our drive through New Zealand. Turns out, sheep outnumber people almost 5 to 1 in New Zealand!
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