New Zealand abounds with opportunities for excursions – you could participate in a different one each day for weeks and not do them all: bungy jumping, jet skiing, horse back riding, boat cruising… …There are gondola rides, bike tours, paddle boarding, historic train trips,  hikes on glaciers and ice climbing, helicopter tours, aqua biking, river surfing and rafting, rock climbing, whale watching, fishing, zip lining, panning...

A visit to Fox and Franz Josef glaciers is a great way to chill out, literally. They are melting rapidly though, so head there sooner rather than later! A friend told me not to bother going if you can’t see them by helicopter, and although it’s truly the best way to view them, it’s still worth going even if you don’t go up in the sky.That being said, I did opt for a helicopter flight as one of my few special excursions...

One of the best ways to see New Zealand is on foot. The country is full of fabulous “tracks,” or what many people call hiking trails. When you head out in your hiking boots, it’s called “tramping.” There are countless day hikes, but if you have the time and are more ambitious, you can keep tramping for several days. My first hike was in the north of the South Island on the Queen Charlotte Track, not too far from...

When you think about wine in New Zealand, mostly Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir come to mind. New Zealander’s do make other lovely wines, however I have to admit I love their SB’s and Pinots, and had fun exploring 3 of the wine regions on the South Island, including Canterbury/Waipara, Marlborough, and Central Otago. Heading north out of Christchurch on my way to Blenheim, a town in the heart of the Marlborough region, I first...

Scenically speaking, New Zealand has one of the most stunning series of landscapes I’ve ever seen. It’s hard to know where to start and there’s a lot to share! But I want to begin with the city where I started out, one that is struggling to recover, even 4 years after several devastating earthquakes shook it to its core. Then I’ll give you a brief overview of the counter-clockwise loop I took around the South Island over...