In February 2015 we had our fabulous Big Holiday - over 9 weeks in New Zealand and Australia with a short stop-off in Singapore.
We flew into Auckland to start our tour of New Zealand. After 3 nights there we moved on to Rotorua, via a brief stop at Waitomo to visit the extensive caves. While at Rotorua, we also spent a day visiting the nearby film set of Hobbiton. The Maori village experience at Rotorua was a good insight into the early NZ culture. Then we spent a couple of days in Tongariro to undertake a tremendous hike over a couple of amazing mountains. Then down to Wellington to take the Ferry to the South Island staying in Kaiteriteri, for the Abel Tasman National Park. We then drove to Kaikoura on the East side of the Island, hoping to swim with Dolphins. There was a lot of criss-crossing of the South Island to fit in everything we planned to do, as we next drove to Hokitika over Arthur's Pass. Fox Glacier was a very memorable experience followed by a short stay in Queenstown. Milford Sound was another tremendous experience enjoying the rugged beauty of New Zealand. A final long drive across New Zealand took us to the Otago Peninsula to observe the wildlife staying on a remote farm. Finally we drove to the recently devastated Christchurch to fly out to Australia.
In all we spent 3 weeks in New Zealand and we could easily have spent much more time exploring the mountains and coasts of this beautiful country. Oh well, nothing for it but to go back again sometime.