New Zealand is the greatest place on Earth!

Okay, well I can’t really say that because I haven’t been to nearly enough places to warrant such a bold statement. It is however a fantastic place to visit, unlike any other. This is a place where you can push the limits and tempt fate by participating in one of the many adrenaline pumping activities the country has to offer. Some favorites are bungee jumping, luging, zorbing (much like a hamster wheel), sky diving, paragliding or jet-boating. For those of you who view vacation as a relaxing peaceful time New Zealand can offer you that as well. There are a number of wineries to tour, Polynesian and Maori culture to experience, lush gardens, art galleries, museums and beaches.

New Zealand is located at the bottom of the Southern Hemisphere boasting a population of four million people. As you may know the country is full of sheep, something around 44 million to be exact therefore New Zealanders are definitely outnumbered. What is more amazing though is the breathtaking expanse of water and mountains that surround you while visiting the country.

Here’s a taste of what my family and I did on our trip: During our fifteen day visit to New Zealand we had a chance to travel to both the North and South Islands. We began our adventure in Auckland located on the North Island and drove to Rotorua, a rural town full of Maori culture. After that we made our way out to the Waitomo Caves for an incredible cave-tubing adventure which included wet-suits, abseiling into a cave, zip-lining down further into the cave and finally jumping off a 10 meter high rock into freezing cold water with an inner tube! It was by far the coolest thing I have ever done.

Next on the trip was a flight down to the South Island landing in Queenstown. This was my favorite town to visit while on the trip. It is similar to Boulder, Colorado in that the small city center is bustling with people of all ages talking, laughing, shopping, eating and just generally enjoying the active life of the outdoors. Queenstown is surrounded by mountains and bodies of water and the weather is perfect even in the winter because it only snows at the top of the mountains. Queenstown is also very famous for its appearances in American films. Vertical Limit, the Lord of the Rings series and Wolverine are just a few that were filmed there. After that we made our way to Franz Josef to hike on the Franz Josef Glacier. This had to be the second most amazing adventure I have ever experienced. We took a helicopter up to the top of the glacier, geared up with cramps (spikes for our shoes) and began our journey. We had to carve our own path through the glacier because it moves so fast each day that the path from the previous day had already been shifted by nature. From there we drove up and over to Christchurch stopping along the way to take in the scenery. Christchurch is as you would imagine any big city to be, which is why it was my least favorite stop on our journey. Once again we flew back to Auckland and rounded out the trip on the tiny island of Waiheke. This is a quaint beach town with very little to do or see but it was excellent to relax for a few days after all of that adventure and those long road trips.

I would definitely recommend visiting this beautiful adventurous country. If you do plan a trip I would suggest a long one, at least two weeks. The islands are small but there is a lot of ground to cover. Make sure you try anything and everything you can while you’re there in terms of food and activities. Better yet if you can swing it get a four month work VISA and live over there for awhile. You only live once and imagine all of the interesting people you could meet!

--Kristen Hatchman, Event Coordinator