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Remote and Beautiful New Zealand

Beyond Imagination

Julie Register

It is no wonder filmmakers chose New Zealand’s stunning locations to create the Thirteen Realms for the adventure-fantasy film Willow and Middle Earth for The Lord of the Rings. According to Elijah Wood who played Frodo Baggins in the movie, “New Zealand is Middle Earth. It has every geological formation and geographical landscape you can imagine…and some you can’t.” Rugged mountains, glaciers, active volcanoes, bubbling mud, soaring geysers, bucolic pastures, rolling hills, sandy beaches and magnificent fiords are just a few. Most of these natural features have been relatively “unimproved” so you see them at their pristine best. Even better, you don’t have to share them with enormous crowds of people. While New Zealand is remote to most of the world, once you get there, the diverse sights are never more than a day or so away by car or short flight.

I toured New Zealand with HOME AT FIRST’s "Welcome Home" program. They designed a custom itinerary that allowed us to see as much of the country as possible in the short time we had available. HOME AT FIRST arranged for our flight from LA, short inter- and intra-island flights, rental cars and provided maps and a schedule. The itinerary took us through fabulous scenery and stops at interesting attractions during the day and very nice lodgings with delicious meals each night. An added bonus was the very favorable exchange rate for US travelers: 1 US Dollar ~ 2.35 New Zealand Dollar which has remained essentially unchanged for almost a year. With the backbone of the trip arranged, we were free to explore on our own. Here are some highlights:

Swim with wild pods of dolphins in the Bay of Islands, North Island)	Soak in hot mineral pools on Lake Rotorua on the North Island.)	Walk near active geysers at Te Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve near Rotorua on the North Island.)
Learn about the aboriginal culture at a Maori Hangi Feast near Rotorua on the North Island.)	View of the Tasman Bay from the Kina Peninsula, South Island near Nelson)	Kaiteriteri Beach South Island near Nelson on the South Island.

While I visited a spa on Kaiteriteri Beach and the Kina Peninsula on the South Island near Nelson, one of our group headed for a kayak trip in the Abel Tasman National Park. This is the smallest national park in New Zealand protecting 23,000 hectares of the most natural stretch of easily accessible and remarkably beautiful coastline in New Zealand.

While I enjoyed my tour of Milford Sound (this was the most crowded activity I took part in), two others of our group headed for The Hollyford Track. More about The Hollyford Track follows written by one of our group of New Zealand travelers, Ron Fahnestock.

Photographs © Julie Register, spas.about.com

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Home at First

Phone: (800) 523-5842 USA (toll-free)
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