http://www.islandreefjob.com/en/#/most-recent/watch/qSUv5fi_g78

As Americans we are all limited by time when traveling and unfortunately our vacation holidays can’t be more akin to the European standard about 6 weeks/year.  If you have 1 week or less, then spend it all on the South Island.  It was a total blessing for our friends to provide this suggestion and I was very thankful. 

Queenstown is so awesome and you are able to gain access to many areas and tons of activities.  If you plan one day in advance for your activities (maybe 2 days in advance on the weekend), then you can pack everything in you could possibly want to do in one week. Some MUST DOs include:

1) Something adventurous (luge, bungy jump, sky dive, off-road 4-wheeling, jet boating, white water rafting, para-gliding, or river surfing).

2) Take in the scenery by going for a hike (there are several trails ranging from easy 1.5 hour hikes - challenging 6 hour hikes) or go for a jog around Lake Wakatipu’s nice gravel trail (both FREE options).

3) Eat well- New Zealand is known for it’s lamb and venison (and the beef was excellent as well), so visit PRIME (right on the harbor) and indulge.  I also recommend to treat yourself to some gelato at Patagonia Chocolates (also on the harbor in Queenstown) – plus they are one of the few places with free wireless internet with the purchase of some gelato!

4) Visit Milford Sound (day trip).  The landscape is truly remarkable and photo-worthy.  If you don’t mind spending the extra money, then try the bus – fly package where you travel there on a bus and travel home on a plane (weather permitting).  **NOTE** Milford Sound is said to be more awesome when it is raining because there are literally hundreds of waterfalls that appear as a result, so if you’re feeling like your options are limited because of the weather… book Milford for that rainy day!

Other ‘can’t miss’ Southern destinations we heard about include: Stewart Island (population ~ 400), Dunedin, and Doubtful Sound.

Christchurch was like any other small city, except it had great Chilli Pesto Bread (thanks Winnie Bagoes!) and good culture with its many cathedrals throughout.  My recommendation when setting up accommodation in a city is to make sure to research day trips nearby.  We were hit with 2 out of 3 full days of rain in our time in Christchurch, which limited our possibilities.  The highlights were definitely the Rugby Super 14 season opening game, Crusaders vs. Brumbies and getting some beach time in Sumner.

Other options we heard were highly regarded when visiting Christchurch was to visit wine country in Marlborough and trying to make it over to the Franz Joseph & Fox Glaciers and Mt. Cook (might require more than a day trip for these).

Auckland is New Zealand’s biggest city and there was more to see than Christchurch, but day trips from Auckland were numerous as well.  We chose to take day trips to Piha to learn how to surf (which was awesome) and to the Bay of Islands (3 hours each way). The weather at the Bay of Islands was horrible and we were stranded with nothing to do but eat, drink, and shop.  I suggest scoping out the 5 day forecast when you arrive in Auckland and make the trip to the Bay of Islands and stay for a couple of nights, so you can enjoy all of the water activities that are available. If the weather does not cooperate, a good alternative is to go Black Water Rafting in Waitomo or Cayoning in Piha (half and full day trips available).

Some suggestions in Auckland include: visiting the Sky Tower (equipped with a hotel, 2 restaurants, and a casino), enjoying the excellent seafood available at the local restaurants, taking a ferry to and hiking one of the many volcanic islands, and visiting War Memorial Museum.  Suggested restaurants include The Occidental and the Harbourside Seafood Bar & Grill.

Another area of interest that other travelers had visited on the North Island was Cape Reinga (the Northern most part of the North Island).

I hope our blog has provided ideas, fun, and a bit of comedy to each of you.  I would be happy to provide additional clarity on any questions you might have or additional recommendations.

Thank you for following us,

Scott

We spent Friday in the town of Paihia in the Bay of Islands, which is the site of the first permanent contact between Maoris and Europeans and also the site of the Treaty of Waitangi. The Treaty of Waitangi was signed on February 6^th 1840 and is New Zealand’s founding document, an agreement between the British government and the Maori.

Unfortunately history was not on our side today and Shawn and I found ourselves walking out of our three hour bus ride in the midst of gale-force winds and torrential downpours. This forecast necessitated every imaginable activity being canceled and we were forced into ducking sideways rain, eating, and souvenir shopping before catching our bus back to Auckland. Despite a few landslides and a turned over police car, the three hour drive back was pretty uneventful.

Shawn and I departed from Auckland at 7:25 this morning to embark on our very first surfing experience.  Upon arrival at Piha, we bundled up in our wetties (wet suits), grabbed a board and a quick 15 minute lesson on the sand, and began to shred!

Well shred might not be the best verb to describe the first hour of our surfing initiation, but after a couple of tumbles we began to understand how important balance was on a surf board.  Shawn and I both had long boards (Shawn’s was the Cadillac of all of the boards) and were both able to ride a few waves more than just a second or two.  The Blue Crush wave ride of the day definitely goes to Shawn.  He hit a swell at its peak and he was immediately thrust into overdrive (our instructor said he easily got to about 40 km/hour) — but he didn’t stop there!  He popped up on the board and cruised it all the way into shore.

After about 2 1/2 hours of surfing our instructors gathered us up and we BBQ’ed up some food to feed the serious hunger we just worked up.

Totally Rad,

Shawn and Scott

Next up:  Bay of Islands

Shawn and I took Auckland by storm on Wednesday by grabbing a map from the crucial information center and decided to guide our own walking tour of the city.  The majority of our time in Auckland has been by the harbor (about 2 blocks from our hostel), so we thought we would see what else Auckland had to offer.

We headed South in the very hilly city of Auckland, went through the University of Auckland campus (which is quite large), took a detour to the Auckland Tennis Arena and watched the Junior International Championships for a wicked price of free-ninety nine!!  We watched an awesome New Zealander bloke (guy) who could not have been more than 16 absolutely torch his Mexican counterpart — I’ll be keeping an eye out at the US and Australian Opens. 

After our detour at the tennis arena we continued our trip into the Auckland Domain (another word for park) and watched some young primary school kids play cricket (despite some serious inquiry, we still have little idea what this sport is all about — what type of sport can actually end in a tie without overtime??)  We continued on (what we thought) was the right track and ended up at the War Memorial Museum and little idea how to find the path, so we headed back to the city.

 On our way back, Shawn and I stopped at New Zealand’s version of the Space Needle, the Sky Tower.  The Sky Tower is the tallest edifice in the Southern Hemisphere reaching a height of 328 meters (1076 feet).  If you look hard at our pictures, you can appreciate its height and also make out a person jumping from the top, which is called ‘controlled base jumping’ and is the Diet Cola of Extreme, so we passed.  The Sky Tower has a casino, a few restaurants, and I believe a hotel or two.

What did we learn about Auckland today?  Well Auckland is built upon about 50 volcanoes dating back thousands of years ago and is one of the few cities in the world to have harbors on two separate major bodies of water.

Too Easy,

Shawn & Scott

Next up: Surf City: Piha

Shawn and I have arrived in Auckland on the North Island.  Auckland is definitely the most urban stop on our journey with 1 million of New Zealand’s 4 million inhabitants.  Some of our plans include learning to surf, hanging out on the West coast beach (Piha) and possibly checking out a few local vineyards.

I wanted to take a moment to clarify the meaning behind “Too Easy.”  New Zealanders have interesting usage of particular words or phrases.  It akin to how Americans abbreviate things and have acronyms for everything.  The phrase, Too Easy can mean pretty much anything from a greeting  to a thank you.  Likewise New Zealanders use similes but drop off the comparative part of the simile, for example “Sweet as” describing something that would be cool or awesome or “Cheap as” describing something that is inexpensive.

Too easy,

Scott

Sunday, February 17th 

After finding a crucial breakfast spot called Mako Cafe and it’s Big Breakfast special, we spent some time hanging out around Town Centre and the Christchurch Cathedral at the Art Market.  They have a giant chess board in the middle of the square with giant chess pieces (about 3-4 feet high).  We enjoyed the weather for a while and just watched a few older men have a battle royal of the wits. 

Afterward, Shawn and I caught a bus to Sumner.  Sumner is a coastal village suburb of Christchurch, about 20 minutes away.  Lucky for us, today was an incredibly georgous day.  We spent the afternoon hanging out on the beach, got a little crispy, and ate lunch at a restaurant overlooking the surf called Poseidon. 

Great weather, great food, and relaxation; it’s what the Kiwi’s would call ‘sweet as.’

Too easy,

Scott

Today was the worst weather that we’ve experienced since being in New Zealand.  Cats and dogs were coming down the night before and all day on Saturday.  It was a struggle just making our way to the cafe to grab lunch.  The whole city seemed to pretty much shut down because of the rain, so Shawn and I decided to catch a movie.  Afterward we grabbed dinner at an excellent Mexican Restaurant called the Flying Burrito and called it a night.

Let’s hope for nicer weather on Saturday.

Too easy,

Scott

Friday, February 15th

Our day began catching our flight from Queenstown to Christchurch, which is not as automatic as a typical flight out of a major airport when it is cloudy and raining because of the towering mountains which surround Queenstown.  The Queenstown airport necessitates pilots to be able to visually execute take offs and landings (with limited use of flight instruments) because of the surrounding terrain and such.  We arrived safe and sound in Christchurch and checked into the second half of our New Zealand adventure.

 After checking into our Hostel, we quickly made our way to the Town Hall to purchase tickets for the evening’s rugby match.  The Super 14 season was kicking off in Chirstchurch at AMI Stadium and Shawn and I were determined to get our hands on some tickets.  Much to our surprise we easily were able to purchase tickets (for cheap too) and we ended up sitting by the 5 meter line near what would be called the end zone in American football.   It had been raining pretty well for the majority of the day so the crowd was not as robust as I would have imagined; get this –the game didn’t even sell out! Equipped with a trusty trash bag, which with a little creativity doubled as a poncho, Shawn and I were ready to bear the elements. 

Despite the rain, I had a great time introducing (and at times explaining) the sport to Shawn and we were excited to watch the Crusaders hand the Australian based Brumbies their first loss of the season, 34-3.

Aside from the rugby, the edible highlight of the day had to be our discovery at a local restaurant named, Winnie Bagoes (http://www.winniebagoespizza.co.nz/default.aspx).  Our waitress suggested we order the Chilli Pesto Bread as a starter and Shawn and I immediately fell in love.  It’s amazing.  It is a round focaccia-type of bread, which is served warm with a pesto sauce and a sweet chilli sauce smothering it over top.  Let’s just say that we ate there for lunch… and dinner.