This past month, me and my husband went to New Zealand for a
vacation. Initially I was jet lagged for a couple of days, but later on got
adjusted to the ever changing Auckland weather and had a great time! (Pictures
to be posted soon)
For those who are not that familiar with New Zealand - It has two
islands: North and South. North Island is more densely populated while South
Island is more sparsely populated. North Island is where more 'business' happens, while South Island is more tourism
oriented. However both the islands are equally beautiful, scenic and have
something for the adventurous people.
Having lived in Auckland, NZ previously, going
back on a vacation to NZ brought back some old memories. I went back after 5
years. A lot had changed in Auckland - for the good of the city I hope! We spent most of our time in Auckland, took a
ferry across the harbor, went to Rangitoto Island, Davenport,
took the train at Britomart to go to Newmarket and Parnell district for some
shopping. I also got a chance to meet up with my university professors during
my visit.
After spending sometime in the North Island-mainly Auckland, we
went to Christchurch and then Queenstown which are located in the South Island.
Christchurch is a beautiful garden city, while Queenstown is absolutely
majestic. Lord of the Rings movie was shot there. There were 'Lord of the
Rings' tours being conducted in Queenstown for a huge price per person (nearly
$350 pp), but I guess for any of those movie fanatics the tour would be
perfectly worth it. From what I had read and heard, the tours were all day
long, and included a trip to the Hobbit village. We however decided to skip the
tour as we were short of time plus really did not want to spend that much money.
We instead most of our time (2 1/2 days in Queenstown) just sightseeing
ourselves, took the gondola for an
amazing view of the city, went for a boat cruise and did some shopping around
the city. We stayed at a place called Rydges in Queenstown. The hotel was
amazing and we had got a nice deal for the 2 night of our stay. Here is a
picture showing the view from our room. It was basically like a 'live' painting
on the wall!
We had a great time overall during our NZ visit, and hope to go
back there soon again!
