Archive for ‘New Zealand’

The Ultimate 14-Day New Zealand South Island Itinerary

The Ultimate 14-Day New Zealand South Island Itinerary

When you travel to the South Island of New Zealand, one thing that you will never be in short supply of is amazing things to see and do.  For that reason, planning a trip to the South Island can be a little bit intimidating.  No one wants to plan the dream trip of a lifetime to an amazing destination like New Zealand’s South Island only to get back home and realize you missed a can’t miss destination or adventure.  Trust me, I have traveled to enough places in my lifetime and experienced enough regrets at missing out on things that I can tell you it is not a great feeling.  Yet fear not, because, with this guide, I have you covered.
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The Essential Queenstown New Zealand Travel Guide

The Essential Queenstown New Zealand Travel Guide

If you are an outdoor adventure enthusiast, there may be no location on Earth that is better suited to fulfill your dreams than the city of Queenstown on New Zealand’s South Island.  Widely regarded to be the “Adventure Capital of the World”, every year Queenstown attracts millions of tourists from throughout the world who flock to the city to test their mettle bungy jumping, skydiving, jetboat riding, canyon swinging, downhill mountain bike riding, and a myriad of other amazing outdoor adventures.  Around every corner in the city it seems is the headquarters of another adventure activity.  
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Mount Cook – Aoraki National Park Guide

Mount Cook – Aoraki National Park Guide

New Zealand has an abundance of breathtaking national parklands, especially on the country’s South Island.  This is what has made the South Island of New Zealand one of the top destinations for travel photographers and travel adventurers from around the world.  Out of all of the beautiful parklands the country has, the most well-known may be the stunning Aoraki\Mount Cook National Park.  In addition to being the home of Mount Cook, which is New Zealand’s tallest mountain, it is also home to the Tasman Glacier, which is the largest glacier in New Zealand.  
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Lake Tekapo Guide for Visitors to New Zealand’s South Island

Lake Tekapo Guide for Visitors to New Zealand’s South Island

New Zealand’s South Island is full of amazing and beautiful landscapes.  With stunning mountains and crystal blue, glacially-fed lakes, there isn’t a shortage of breathtaking scenery.  While Lake Tekapo may not have the notoriety that some of the more well-known spots on the South Island have, it isn’t for a lack of beauty.  On the contrary, it happens to be one of the South Island’s most beautiful landscapes. 

As the second-largest of three parallel lakes located along the north side of the Mackenzie Basin, Lake Tekapo, as well as the small town by the same name, are enveloped by some of the prettiest snow-capped peaks in the Southern Alps.  The waters of the lake, which are fed by glaciers that originate high within the surrounding mountain peaks, is a beautiful color of blue that is a trademark of glacially-fed bodies of water. 
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Guide to Franz Josef and Fox Glacier New Zealand Helicopter Tours and Hikes

Guide to Franz Josef and Fox Glacier New Zealand Helicopter Tours and Hikes

There are a lot of amazing adventures to be had on New Zealand’s South Island.  Milford Sound and the Milford Track is something that every traveler should experience, the city of Wanaka is home to quite a few of New Zealand’s most infamous hiking tracks, and the city of Queenstown is known across the globe as the “adventure capital of the world”.  However, none of these adventure locations in New Zealand are quite as unique or as special as the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers on the west coast of the South Island.
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The Essential Wanaka New Zealand Guide

The Essential Wanaka New Zealand Guide

There are a lot of incredibly beautiful places on New Zealand’s South Island, but few other places on the island can match the number of incredible hikes and visa viewpoints that you will find in the Wanaka area.  Located on the shores of Lake Wanaka, which sits just at the foot of the stunning mountains of Mount Aspiring National Park, the city could not have been placed in a more beautiful area.  This is why travelers from around the world flock to New Zealand each year to enjoy the beautiful views and amazing hikes in and around this wonderful city.
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New Zealand Passport, VISA, Customs, and Immunization Requirements for Visitors

New Zealand Passport, VISA, Customs, and Immunization Requirements for Visitors

If you are traveling to New Zealand from outside of the country, you should be aware of the passport, VISA, and immunization requirements before planning your travel.  If you do not meet the requirements, you will be denied entry into New Zealand.  This is not something that I would wait until the last minute to take care of as you might not have enough time to sort out any issues at the last minute should you run into them.

To assist you in making sure you meet the necessary requirements to visit New Zealand, I have outlined all of the requirements you need to be concerned about in this article.  Furthermore, I have also created the handy checklist I linked below for you to use as a point of reference and to track all of the requirements as you meet them.
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Complete Guide for Hiking the Isthmus Peak – The Best Alternative to Hiking Roy’s Peak in Wanaka

Complete Guide for Hiking the Isthmus Peak – The Best Alternative to Hiking Roy’s Peak in Wanaka

The area surrounding the city of Wanaka on New Zealand’s South Island is known for its incredible hiking tracks.  After all, with two of the South Island’s prettiest lakes and the stunning Mount Aspiring National Park right at the doorstep, the landscapes in the area are beyond fantastic.  When it comes to these incredible hiking tracks, the infamous Roy’s Peak Track gets most of the attention. 

However, many people that visit the Wanaka area don’t realize that there is an equally incredible hike located on the north side of Wanaka as well.  While it doesn’t get nearly the amount of publicity that the Roy’s Peak Track gets, the Isthmus Track delivers equally exceptional views and typically has far smaller crowds to contend with than Roy’s Peak.
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The Essential Milford Sound Travel Guide for Visitors to New Zealand

The Essential Milford Sound Travel Guide for Visitors to New Zealand

Rudyard Kipling, the acclaimed writer of the jungle book and travel adventurer, once called it the Eighth Wonder of the World.  That is a sentiment that is shared by almost everyone who visits Milford Sound on New Zealand’s South Island.  Famous for its towering mountains that meet the ocean to form one of the most beautiful ocean sounds that you will find on this planet, Milford Sound continues to attract droves of tourists each year.
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