Our holiday in New Zealand was wonderful and we enjoyed every day. There were some experiences, however, which were special and made our trip even more memorable. Here, in no particular order, are my 10 best things about New Zealand.
1. Best Meal We celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary at Fox Glacier and asked the locals for a dinner recommendation. They sent us to the Matheson Café on the shores of Lake Matheson in the Westland National Park. The food was superb – New Zealand lamb and salmon with freshly steamed greens, followed by chocolate and Baileys cheesecake and homemade ice cream, and the service was excellent. It was the perfect way to end a lovely day.
2. Best View Our apartment at The Sunset Motel at Fox Glacier had a floor to ceiling glass wall facing on to the mountains and this was what we saw every morning! If you’re looking for a comfortable self-contained unit in Fox that’s not on the highway, this is the place to stay.
3. Best Ride We did a half day heli-hike with Fox Glacier Guiding. The helicopter ride up to into the remotest parts of the glacier wasn’t just a quick pick-up and drop-off, but a magnificent journey past the town and over the glacier to its highest reaches before swooping back past Victoria Falls and landing on the ice. The pilot made sure his six passengers all had plenty of camera time and he gave a running commentary during the flight. It was a fantastic way to start our day.
4. Best Experience Our heli-hike experience was amazing and the absolute highlight was the time we spent in an ice cave. The entrance was tiny; we had to make our way down with only a knotted rope and our crampons for support. (My descent was more of an uncontrolled slide than a climb, and for a few seconds Mr ET thought my crampons were heading for his face!) Once inside the feeling was eerie and at the same time awe-inspiring. I felt like a true mountaineer, especially when I had to climb back out again.
5. Best Museum The Lakes District Museum in Arrowtown is located in the old Bank of New Zealand on Buckingham St. It’s much more than a simple collection of local items and recollections; the history of the Māori, the first European settlers and the goldminers who came to Arrowtown is told in interactive displays, photographs and original texts which bring to life their colourful stories. There’s also an art gallery which presents beautiful local works and historical displays.
6. Best Bed We stayed one night in Picton before travelling on the Interislander Ferry to Wellington. This was one of only two nights for which we hadn’t booked accommodation and we were dismayed to find that almost every hotel and B&B had No Vacancy signs. Eventually we found the Mercure Picton Marlborough Sounds which still had vacancies. The price quoted was reasonable but the desk clerk was very apologetic because the room had a round bed! For us at this stage any bed would have done, so a round bed wasn’t a problem. It was colossal and comfortable – what more could we have asked for?
7. Best Beach Ohope Beach on the east coast of the North Island is an 11 kilometre stretch of pristine sand and clear water with views to White Island, a live volcano 48 kilometres off shore. It has been voted “New Zealand’s Best Beach” so we’re not alone in recommending Ohope Beach as a must- see addition to your itinerary.
8. Best Baguettes I am not fond of baguettes – to me they are just long pieces of crust. This may seem sacrilegious to lovers of this French staple and for that I apologise. But at La Boucherie du Village in Akaroa I was converted. We bought baguettes freshly baked on the premises and hot out of the oven. They were truly spectacular! They also had a vast range of New Zealand meat and we bought our dinner there – delicious.
9. Best Shower And now we come to the most important best of the best: the shower. We stayed in six self-contained units in the three weeks we were in New Zealand and the showers in five of them were terrible. To be more specific the problem was with the shower heads. Some had so little water pressure that I had to run around the shower cubicle trying to catch the drops. A couple had difficulty maintaining a water temperature that was warm enough for long enough. The one shower that had great water pressure did not have a door which meant that the whole bathroom got wet, not just me. The 5 Diamond Belmont Lodge at Porirua had a faultless shower head – perfect pressure and temperature. The rest of our studio unit was really nice too but the shower was superb.
10. Best Destination We’ve had several overseas holidays and our trip to New Zealand ranks among our favourites. From Australia the flight to most other countries is very long and tiring, but it’s a just three hour flight to Christchurch. As usual, we spent a longer time in fewer places and saw everything we wanted to in each area. Even so, we’ve only been to a small part of this beautiful country and we will definitely be returning again soon. For us, New Zealand is the best destination of all!
I began to think it was all going to be Fox Glacier, to which I’ve never been but will go now, but I see you’ve been to Porirua! What were you doing there ????????
I do like the idea of a round bed but can see that it might come with risks?
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The day we went from Picton to Wellington on the Interislander we decided to just head north till we were out of Wellington. And Porirua is where we stopped for the night. That bed was so large there was no chance of rolling out of it!
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The one good thing about Porirua 🙂
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The bed was in Picton, the amazing shower was in Porirua. It probably wasn’t such an extraordinary shower but the others were so bad…
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Am I getting confused over the P’s and the b’s? 🙂
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You definitely should go to Fox Glacier and do the heli-hike. I could easily have written 10 things about it.
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Don’t worry it’s top of my NZ to do list.
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The food looks lovely – and the ice cave looks like a great adventure. Bit scary going down inside the ice…
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It was an amazing adventure and yes a little scary, but well worth it.
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What an adventure – culinary delights, caving adventure and beautiful surroundings. Do you know how deep the cave was?
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It wasn’t very deep, probably about 4 metres down from the entrance. It was an awesome experience.
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An amazing post, Carol. I was right there with you. What a delightful 30th anniversary except for smelling badly all the time, of course. Showers by droplets just don’t do the trick! 🙂
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I am going for the dessert.
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If you’re a lover of Bailey’s I can highly recommend it!
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Reblogged this on The Worlds top 10 of Anything and Everything!!! and commented:
Today is Sunday which means it is guest post day! Today’s post is from ‘The Eternal Traveller’ and brings us a nice blog about the joys of New Zealand, so I hope you enjoy it and show it as much love as you do my own top 10′s. But if you think you can do better or interested in doing the same please drop me an E-Mail: turtle4578588@gmail.com But until then here is today’s….
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Thanks for reblogging Russell!
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What a well rounded and informational post. New Zealand sounds amazing and I am glad I could get a feel for what it is like since I will probably never get there myself.
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It is a lovely country and the scenery is fabulous. I’m glad you enjoyed my post.
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Oh man… that cheesecake!!! That ice cave thing would have given me the heebie jeebies, though. Hats off!
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Yes, the cheesecake was divine. I was determined to go down into the ice cave. It was a once in a lifetime experience.
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Excellent blog. I have had the opportunity of visit there three times. Ivan
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Thanks Ivan. We’re hoping to go back soon.
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That is a wonderful view, and the salmon looks delicious!
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It was delicious! Everywhere we went the views were spectacular but this particular one was special.
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Simply awesome!
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Thanks! We had an awesome holiday.
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Did you completely change your layout? Thought I was in the wrong place at first. Oh, and love everything about New Zealand. 🙂
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No, it’s just a different type of story. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
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Love to go there.
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You definitely should!
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What a great ambassadress you are for New Zealand. 🙂
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Thanks! We did have a wonderful holiday there and we hope to visit again one day sooner rather than later.
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When it is a bit warmer. 🙂
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Yes, I think so! It was January when we were there and the weather was perfect.
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I should probably have read this post before I went to NZ for the first time in December, but as most of your tips are for the south island I don’t appear to have missed much. Phew! And I shall definitely put that motel and restaurant on the list for my next visit! But I think I shall skip the ice cave 😉
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The ice cave was one of the best parts of the whole trip. I did wonder at one stage if I was going to get out again. It was tricky!
Thanks for following. I hope you enjoy reading my stories.
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I am such a foodie! That lamb and salmon was breathtaking. Yummy!
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It was absolutely delicious.
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We often visit relatives in NZ ..its got the real pristine beaches and wonderful stories of Maori tradition about things on the beach and use of water and fishing
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It is a stunningly beautiful place to visit. How lucky you are to have relatives there.
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Beautiful New Zealand. No snakes no dangerous animals. Love your ice cave photo. Thanks for sharing this.
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The ice cave was an amazing adventure. We have all the dangerous creatures here in Australia!
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Humans are the most dangerous ones i believe. 🙂 I enjoyed reading your writings. Thanks for sharing them.
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You might be surprised!! I’m glad you enjoyed dropping by.
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I’ll drop by and read from time to time. Thanks again.
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You’ll be welcome any time.
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Beautiful! Seems that you had a lot of adventure 🙂
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We sure did Mariam.
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Fabulous photos of one of the world’s most photogenic countries! Thanks for sharing!
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Thank you, Henry. We loved New Zealand and will definitely visit again.
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Enjoyed your post about our home country. Ohope beach is where we spent many good times as children and adults.
Suz
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Thanks Suz. We loved NZ and hope to return again soon to explore some more.
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Yes we are heading home soon for a few weeks in October 🙂 Enjoy your travels.
Suz
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Wow. Great post. I have never been there and now I am glad that You presented it with beautiful photos. Thank You.
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I’m pleased you enjoyed it, Matti. It’s a beautiful country.
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I was often told if you want to see the world’s scenery, go to New Zealand. I wasn’t disappointed, especially with the south island. Sooo beautiful.
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It really is gorgeous. We would love to return for a longer trip.
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This is a great wrap-up about the best of New Zealand, Carol. The helicopter ride, that beautiful beach, the round bed (!), and those showers, especially important at the end of the day. I love it!
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Thank you, Cathy. The round bed was certainly a novelty.
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I’m sure. Plus, as you said, it was a bed, and beds seemed to be in short supply! I’d take any shaped bed as long as I could stretch out!
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Oh, we had a bed every night but not quite like this one.
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I can imagine! Oh, I noticed you said you were “dismayed to find that almost every hotel and B&B had No Vacancy signs. Eventually we found the Mercure Picton Marlborough Sounds which still had vacancies.” That’s why I mentioned the elusive beds. 🙂
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That makes sense. We were beginning to think we would have to drive further. 😮
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There is always that option, for sure, but sometimes you’re so tired that prospect seems overwhelming. I’m just glad you found that fun round bed. 🙂
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I have to say, it does look like paradise on earth. 🙂 🙂 And now you’ve found me a baguette shop…. how to resist? Perhaps I should focus on the Algarve first.
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New Zealand is wonderful, Jo. You would enjoy it very much.
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I agree whole heartedly with you I LOVE NZ and lived there for 37 years. I still have 2 offspring over there so go back quite often. But now love Australia even more…
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Both are very easy to love!
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💕😄
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Loved this post as it brought back memories of when I was in NZ back in 1985. I would love to return one day. 🙂
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We would like to go again too. There is a lot we have yet to see.
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For a smallish country (compared to Oz), NZ really has a lot to offer a traveller.
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We are in the early stages of planning a trip to New Zealand in 2021. Thanks for these helpful suggestions!
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You’ll love it! Happy planning.
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New Zealand has to be one of the most beautiful countries across the globe. We had been there 4 years back and the photos make me nostalgic. Thank you for sharing the helpful article. 😊
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I agree! I’m hoping we visit again soon and for us it’s only three hours away.
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That’s awesome!
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I think that New Zealand is really a beautiful place to have your self-relaxed and just get lost in the beauty of nature .It is definitely on my bucket list.
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There is so much stunning scenery. I hope you get to visit one day Darina.
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