Jackie Thompson traveled from North Carolina with her wife Karen and mother Jean. This once in a lifetime trip to NZ was timed to celebrate major milestone birthdays (50, 60 & 80 respectively).
They broke their journey down under in Sydney, Australia for a few days before continuing on to Queenstown; where they explored the town and gardens before being joined by their Road Trip driver/guide Constance.
While in the South Island they took the picturesque drive out to Glenorchy, stopping for walks at Bob’s Cove, Bennett’s Bluff, the Lagoon boardwalk and the Routeburn Track.
They spent time wandering around the Chinese Mining Settlement and Arrow River in Arrowtown after checking out the Shotover Jet, Kawarau Bungy and Gibbston Valley Winery.
From there the trio moved to Te Anau and enjoyed a day trip into the magnificent Milford Sound. The rain also held off long enough for them to enjoy walks at Mirror Lakes, Lake Gunn and The Chasm.
While in Te Anau they did an exceptional glow worm cave tour and visited a bird sanctuary to see the rare and endangered Takahe before their late afternoon flight to Auckland.
The North Island leg saw the trio vacate NZ’s largest city after a walk around the botanic gardens the following morning. They drove along the Seabird Coast making their way to lunch in Thames, an historic gold-mining town.
They continued on to Coromandel Town where they experienced the quirkyness of NZ potter Barry Brickell at Driving Creek Railway before heading over the hill to stay in Whitianga.
The next day was spent exploring some of the stunning beaches on the Coromandel Peninsula, including a kayak trip at Hahei to Cathedral Cove, lunch at Hot Water Beach and a tasting at Purangi Wines at Cooks Beach.
Onward travel the next day saw the ladies check out Whangamata, a surfing beach town and Martha’s Mine in Waihi. They took a walk in the scenic Karangahake Gorge, while in Paeroa they sampled an iconic lemon soda, L&P (world famous in NZ) then they enjoyed lunch at the Te Aroha Domain, home to the world’s only hot soda water geyser.
With a brief stop at Hobbiton, to see what all the fuss was about the trio based themselves in Rotorua for the next five days to enjoy the sights at leisure.
This included a twilight glow-worm kayak, walks around the Waimangu Valley and Wai-o-Tapu Geothermal Parks, a farm show and tour at the Agrodome, visits to Wingspan (NZ Falcon) and the National Kiwi Hatchery to learn about NZ’s native birds, zip lining in a rainforest, a treetop canopy walk in the Redwood Forest, the Skyline Gondola, a Volcanic Hills wine tasting, a luxury spa experience at Wai-Ariki and let’s not forget the shopping, phew!
Like all good things, they sadly come to an end. The last day saw the ladies make their way back to Auckland via Taupo, taking in the Aratiatia Rapids and Huka Falls as well as lunch. They broke the journey north with another stop at the famed Hamilton Gardens then it was time to say Harae Ra (farewell).
