If there\u2019s ever a place that that will fill your spirit with awe, let alone your camera\u2019s memory card, it\u2019s this epically diverse wonderland in the South Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One day you can enjoy natural hot springs, and witness geysers and bubbling, hissing geothermal activity, and then on the next find yourself at the foot of a glacier staring up at a bevy of snow-capped mountain peaks, many of which tower above 10,000 feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New Zealand has it all, except maybe smog and congested five-lane freeways. For those that love the outdoors, the land of the native Maori and the proud Kiwi is home to several of the most heralded treks (a multi-day hike) in the world. The Grand Traverse and the Milford Track, both on the South Island, will send you over mountain passes and through national parks that invigorate the body and soothe the soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But don\u2019t feel you have to strap on your hiking boots and schlep through backcountry in order to marvel at this comparatively tiny country\u2019s natural beauty. The majority of the island\u2019s national parks are accessible via car, such as Fjordland National Park on the south island\u2019s southwestern coast. (Fjord: a long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Milford Sound is the most well known fjord, but Doubtful Sound, also the country\u2019s deepest fjord at almost 1,400 feet, has the reputation for being even more beautiful, perhaps in part because of the minimal boat traffic and non-existent aerial tours, giving its visitors a serene quiet to compliment the views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On your way to the coast, don\u2019t forget to stop in Queenstown, the so-called \u201cAdventure Capital of the World\u201d and birthplace of both bungee jumping and jet boating. If you like the outdoors and you happen to be an adrenaline junkie, you may never leave this magical country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you take the plunge and book the lengthy yet rewarding flight from the States, here is some of what you can expect, straight from my memory bank. (I haven\u2019t yet been to the North Island so what you\u2019re about to read is a brief capture of the more verdant South Island):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waterfalls tumbling down from numerous mountaintop lakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wonderfully windy, \u201chow the heck did they build these??\u201d scenic roads carving through lush green scenery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kind-hearted, lively host citizens (also known as \u2018Kiwis\u2019) that love their country, their meat pies (don\u2019t knock it before you\u2019ve tried it) and their rugby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Heli-skiing Heaven: jaw-dropping snow-capped mountain peaks of the Southern Alps<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Turquoise blue lakes with often-barren rocky shores that make you realize you have to get out of your car once again to explore, derailing your attempts to make it to your destination on schedule. Wait\u2026what schedule?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
If there\u2019s ever a place that that will fill your spirit with awe, let alone your camera\u2019s memory card, it\u2019s this epically diverse wonderland in the South Pacific. One day you can enjoy natural hot springs, and witness geysers and bubbling, hissing geothermal activity, and then on the next find yourself at the foot of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":81,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[16],"post_folder":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1168"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1168"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1168\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1169,"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1168\/revisions\/1169"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1168"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andybayon.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=1168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}