The Lord of the Rings. That was our first reason for visiting New Zealand. My partner and I are huge Tolkien fans, and have been so since we were teenagers--devouring the books long before the movies every came out. But when we watched The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movies, we looked at each other and decided that one day we needed to go and see this beautiful country for ourselves.
I have never seen land and seascapes as beautiful as New Zealand's. Every place is beautiful, yes, I know that, but New Zealand has a certain pristine, almost otherworldly grandeur. Mystical is a good word for it. No wonder they set Tolkien's fantasy world in this place.
If you are a nature-lover, New Zealand has much to offer. Go glacier trekking, even, if you're feeling particularly adventurous. Or perhaps you can try river rafting--rough and dangerous, but, what a high!
If you're feeling a little bit more mellow and relaxed, I do suggest that you go birding. As someone who grew up seeing only our tiny local brown birds, seeing all sorts of fowl in bare nature never ceases to give me a thrill--such as this little dotterel right here.
New Zealanders are amazingly laid back and relaxed. They don't have the sort of urgent hustling that you see in so many other parts of the world, especially in Asia--like in Hong Kong and Singapore. Where else would you see barefoot folks everywhere--in the supermarket, malls, and even church?
Just make sure when you visit New Zealand that you have enough money on you (or you make funds easily available for yourself via ATM cards). Why? because everything in New Zealand is on the expensive side, maybe because they have to import a lot of stuff. Better to be safe than sorry!
You Must be logged in to post a comment