Thankfully immigration wasn't too crowded, so we cleared customs and hopped into a taxi within an hour of landing. After checking in, we grabbed a metro across the water so I could show Eric where I...
Blog posts from NZ 2015
One day in Sydney!
Since we had never visited Sydney on our previous Australia trip, we took this opportunity to see as much as we could in our two nights and one very full day. We arrived late Sunday evening, taking...
Auckland wineries: Warkworth region
Our first choice for the day, Mahurangi River, was not open due to a private function, so we headed to Brick Bay. This is quite the site, with sculptures, gardens, sheep and a very modern building...
Auckland wineries: Henderson and Kumeu regions
Wednesday After landing in Auckland and checking into our hotel, we took a 30 minute drive up to Babich Wines. Being a Wednesday afternoon it was not busy; in fact, the tasting room was empty! Once...
Auckland: restaurants
Wednesday Didas Wine Lounge - Located across the street from our hotel, this wine bar made an easy spot for our first dinner in Auckland. For round 1 we couldn't skip the Spanish classics of patatas...
Auckland: viewpoints (Mt Eden and Mt Victoria)
Many of the tourist guides tout Mt. Eden as a great view of Auckland, and an interesting way to see a volcano caldera. It's a fairly easy drive up to a parking lot at the top, or you can park at the...
New Zealand: Hamilton Gardens
After stopping for a few waterfalls, we continued on to the famous Hamilton Gardens. We were pleasantly surprised at the free parking and free entry to the gardens. Once inside we found a garden map...
Auckland: Waitakere Ranges and Hunua Ranges
The weather around Auckland was quite unsettled when we visited in March, with rain and sun trading places intermittently and causing us to skip a few of our planned hikes. However, we did get to...
Auckland: where we stayed
For our four nights in the Auckland area we stayed at the Abaco on Jervois, and we quite enjoyed our stay. We had an executive studio room on the second floor with lots of space, including a...
New Zealand – Christchurch
Christchurch was our entry and departure point for the South Island, so we spent one night on each end in the city. First night: Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport We arrived near midnight and after...
New Zealand – Clay Cliffs and return to Christchurch
On our drive from Christchurch to Wanaka we passed a sign pointing toward the Clay Cliffs near the town of Omarama. We wrote a note to ourselves to remember them as a possible stopping point on our...
Central Otago wineries
Our first stop in central Otago was Chard Farm, a charming tasting room on a hill above the highway. Just across the road is a old suspension bridge with bungee jumpers over the Kawarau Gorge....
New Zealand – Te Anau lodging and food
After quite a lot of driving and many, many sheep, we arrived at the Te Anau Lodge around 6pm, just beating a rain storm. We stayed in the Bishop's Retreat which was a stand alone building next to...
Drive to Milford Sound
Since we were starting in the afternoon due to the Doubtful Sound cruise, we needed to prioritize which sights we would visit before it became too dark to hike. Along the drive we decided our first...
New Zealand – Doubtful Sound Cruise with Real Journeys
Hoping for good weather, we booked the 8am cruise with Real Journeys online 13 hours prior to departure. It was a bit pricey but it's the only way to see Doubtful Sound so we decided to splurge....
New Zealand – Crown Range Pass
The sunrise in Wanaka was absolutely STUNNING on Saturday morning. Eric snuck out to take these photos behind the B&B before we filled up on a delicious breakfast. After packing up we headed...
New Zealand – Wanaka
We positioned ourselves in Wanaka both coming from and heading back to Christchurch. For simplicity's sake we decided to stay at the same B&B both times and we're glad we did. Suzy and Caroline...
New Zealand – Route 6 drive to Haast Beach
For our first day in Wanaka we decided to head north for views of Lake Hawea and Lake Wanaka, then on through the lush Haast Pass. Thankfully there were numerous pull-outs which let us enjoy some...
Our Itinerary
2023 Trips
San Diego (Jan)
Orlando (Feb)
Richmond, VA (Apr)
Northern Italy (Apr)
NC Mountains (May)
Long Island (Jul)
Wisconsin (Aug)
Chicago (Aug)
Bordeaux + Rugby World Cup (Sep)
Castilla y León (Sep)
Seychelles (Nov)
Willamette Valley (Dec)
2022 Trips
Florida (Feb)
NC Mountains (Apr)
Washington DC (Apr)
Valencia, Spain (May)
Hilton Head, SC (May)
Pacific NW (Jun)
Long Island (Jul)
Florida (Sept)
Chicago (Sept)
Poland (Sept)
NC Mountains (Nov)
Euro Xmas Markets (Dec)