New Zealand report with pics

[bedeviledegg]

I really like seeing everyone else's pics of their trips (Brazil, Chicago, etc.) I think the personal pics are so much better than anything else you will find. I just got back from a trip to New Zealand -- hope you guys enjoy the pics and get a chance to visit one of the most amazing places on Earth!

My brother and I decided to go on a trip to NZ about 3 months ago. Found some cheap (relatively cheap) tix and headed off in early November. Each of us packed a backpack for the next two weeks -- that was the extent of our planning. No places to stay, no plan, just our bags, passports, and a few bucks.

The flight over is 12 hours from San Francisco -- so after traveling for a full 24 hours, we step off the plane in Auckland at 4:30 in the morning and the first thing we see is this guy:

In the airport we met a couple of girls who traveled the world and performed a juggling act. They introduced us to a family of 12 (ten kids!) that were the nicest people we have ever met. These kids were amazingly well behaved too. Their goal was to have 15 of 'em!

Driving is awesome there. If you like rally racing, you would love it:

The staple of our trip -- fish and chips:

Crazy Flower:

Coastline:

Waterfall:

Mt. Taranaki (used as Mt. Fuji in The Last Samurai)

The place is like one big national park -- it is almost taken for granted. Just a little sign down a gravel road led to this opening with this waterfall:

Rock formation at Cathedral Cove:

If you headed for the sun, you would hit Australia:

I am by no means a world traveler. If anyone has ever thought "I want to go to NZ" -- just do it, it is too easy not to. The place is perfect for travelers: there are hostels and information sites everywhere, people are amazingly friendly, there is tons to do, and it is not too expensive. Hope you guys like the pics, and I hope that others post theirs. I love these posts.

 

[Horneius_Maximus]

Nice, I hope to go to NZ some time soon.

Looks like you had a good time

 

[CBDTexas]

I'm not a traveler so my question is:

How in the hell did you recover from the jet lag? A 12 hour flight would kill me. Arriving in NZ, did the excitement minimize it? What about when you came back? I'd imagine it hits you harder after the return trip?

Just curious. Looks like an amazing trip, thanks for sharing.

 

[kicksumass]

NZ is definitely on the list. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Macanudo]

Outstanding. I am dying to go to New Zealand. I used to work with a woman who lived there for a couple of months while her husband did a consulting gig. They traveled all over both of the large islands. Some of the pics she had taken were awesome.

 

[bedeviledegg]

Amazingly, jet lag wasn't an issue. Due to the Date Line and such, New Zealand is just 5 hours off of Austin time -- it is a slight issue, but it isn't like day and night are total opposites.

Also, I am young too. I was up for about 36 hours straight before we got to bed -- the flight over landed at 4:30 local time and then we stayed up until that night. I think if I were older that might not have been possible.

 

[DAGMAR]

Who did you book your flight with?

I am trying to go there or Brazil in February and I cant find a good price. These threads are making it hard to decide

 

[YoLaDu]

i will concur with all that has been said here. My vacation to New Zealand was the best travel experience of my life. More beautiful sights and experiences per square mile than you could ever imagine. Beautiful, beautiful country.

Jet lag didn't mess with me too bad either. It's a long flight, but if you leave LA in the evening, you arrive in NZ in the morning. If you catch just a few hours of sleep on the plane, you will be good to go.

 

[YoLaDu]

i know you had only two weeks. Did you get to the South Island?

 

[miguelito]

Awesome.

My wife's cousin went there and got some spectacular pics of some of the mountains there. They are the ones they used in the Lord of the Rings movies. He was interning in Australia at the time, but he said the same things about 'if you want to go to NZ, it's easy.'

 

[bedeviledegg]

No, just did a road trip through the North Island (darn, I guess I have to go back). I hear the South is very different from the north.

I booked the flight through Air New Zealand's site. They were running a special that beat the price I found anywhere else.

 

[YoLaDu]

The South Island has a more rural feel if you can believe that. South Island population is 1million, as compared to the North Island at 3 million.

And The South Island has even more varied and spectacular natural landscapes (Milford Sound, Queenstown, The Glaciers, Mt Cook)

The two "big" cities in the South Island are Christchurch (350,000) and Dunedin (110,000) which don't have the mega city feel that Auckland on the North Island has.

Glad you had a fun trip. Definitely go back and see the South Island, you won't be disappointed.