The picturesque island nation
New Zealand is one of those few countries I would definitely wish to go back to. The sheer variety of natural landscape packed into ~268,000 sq. kms of land over 2 main islands-North Island and South Island, is amazing. From active/dormant valcanoes to glaciers, from mountain ranges to picturesque fjords, from beautiful sandy beaches to crystal clear and huge lakes, from vast plains to sub-tropical forests, New Zealand has it all. Above all, New Zealand has become synonymous for adventure activities such as ballooning, scuba diving, snorkeling, bungee jumping, zip lining, sky diving, paragliding, parasailing, and so on. Queenstown, in South Island, is known as the adventure capital of the world.
With a population of less than 5million, New Zealand is sparsely populated. On the map, it looks very close to Australia but it is a good 3 hours(approx.) away by flight. The best part of leisure travel in New Zealand is that it is not a big country and you can rent a car and explore the islands at your pace. The itinerary can be planned is such a way that you don’t need to drive for more than 5-6 hours in a day. And that is a huge plus.
New Zealand is ~6.5 hours ahead of India. It is not easy when you are travelling ahead in ahead in time. For the first 2 days, I was waking up at 10am! It starting getting better thereafter.
Auckland is the only major city in New Zealand. Rest are sparsely populated but charming in their own way.
Rotorua, famous for its geothermal activity, is a must see destination.
TranzAlpine is rated among the top rail journeys in the world.
New Zealand is famous for its Adventure activities. Wherever you travel, you will not be far from a selection of activities you can indulge in.
Driving in New Zealand is the best way to see New Zealand, combined with select air/rail journeys.
