Adventure of the month

I knew my itinerary, devised to maximize my time in New Zealand, was going to be challenging. Every other day, I was jumping on a bus and going somewhere new. Days in between were jam-packed with tours, museums, hikes tramps and visits to other assorted points of interest. The goal, both here and on all my travels, is always to see as much as possible without totally running myself ragged. With that in mind, I decided to end my trip on a chill note. My last two days, before returning to Auckland to catch a flight home, were to be spent relaxing on the beach. From Rotorua, I stopped briefly in Waitomo to see some glow worms . No photos were permitted so you will have to take my word for it that they were hella-cool and reminded me of the glow in the dark stickers I had plastered all over my ceiling as a child.  From there, it was onto the Bay of Islands where I based myself out of Paihia, a laid back beach town with no shortage of bars playing Bob Marley tunes and boat trip ope

1. Walk into a travel office. Any will probably do but I found the people at Rotorua Backpackers super helpful. Figure out what you want to do- easier said than done- and have them create a combo package. This will save you a good amount of money. I opted for the Tamaki Maori Cultural Show ($130), the Wai O Tapu hot springs tour ($82) and a Zorb ($45). Had I purchased each individually, the total would have been $257. The combo price: $175. 2. Kick off your combo. In my case, the first item on the agenda was the Tamaki Cultural Show . It was precisely what I expected: a touristy show with some information about Maori culture followed by a "traditional" meal. Kinda like a luau but with more tongue.

Before going to New Zealand, I met up with my friend and former boss who grew up near Auckland. I wanted him to review my itinerary and tell me what I should add, delete or expand.  As he went down the list, his memories came flooding back. He gushed about the places I'd be visiting. I was going to love Queenstown. (Note: I did.) I shouldn't miss Rotorua and its hot springs.(I didn't) I had to make sure to do a boat trip around the Bay of Islands. (check) Wellington was ok. (Yeah..wait, come again?) It wasn't like he was completely dismissive of New Zealand's capital. After all, it still is a vibrant city with a spectacular harbor. He just didn't seem particularly enthused. Except for when I asked "Is one day enough?" That "Oh, yes!" was mighty enthusiastic. To counter his ennui, and to feel like I was doing adequate research on the topic, I watched What We Do in the Shadows , the hilarious vampire film set in Wellington. At least from

If you are going to New Zealand, you must tramp. Be you young or old, local or visitor, it would be unthinkable not to. Fortunately, the list of opportunities are as extensive as any you will ever see. You have long, short, easy, difficult and everything other kind of tramp in between. To clarify, tramping is Kiwi for hiking/ trekking/ going for long walks outside. When you have a country with such an overabundance of natural beauty and a population that perpetually looks like they just stepped out of a REI catalog, it is to be expected that this would be such a thing. And what a thing it is. From the list of Great Walks , ranging from 2-6 days and covering all kinds of terrain to thousands of shorter options, it feels like everyone is always minutes away from grabbing their walking sticks. Not wanting to feel left out, I decided to do a portion of one of the great walks. Mind you, it would not be any of the ones that involved glaciers or things like "cold weather gear"

When I began putting together an itinerary for New Zealand, I worried that in order to see everything, I would have to waste a lot of time just getting from one place to the next. It's wasn't that the distances were so tremendously great, it is that those pesky Southern Alps turn otherwise short trips into all day affairs. To feel better about this, whenever possible, I tried to incorporate some sightseeing into the trips themselves. For example, to get from Queenstown to Christchurch, instead of taking the regular bus, I booked a tour that went past Mt. Cook, New Zealand's highest mountain. As best I can tell, the most popular ways to explore the Mt. Cook/ Aoraki National Park are via multi-day hikes and/ or helicopter tours. I certainly didn't have the time, fitness or budget for either of these options so I figured a quick drive-by would work just as well.

Day 3 in Queenstown. I woke up sans plans. I did a quick online search through the  list of discounted activities  (Money-saving NZ tip #4 or maybe 5, I'm losing count. Check this site often, you will never know what you will find). The Million Dollar Cruise was available for that morning. I'd heard good things about this easy-going trip on Lake Wakatipu and a sunny day on the water is always good so I booked it. This would keep me busy all morning but I still had the rest of the day to fill. I'd entertained the idea of bungy jumping. Doing it here, where it was invented would be super cool, but if I was going to stick to any kind of budget, it just was not feasible. Instead, I was looking at other, more economical options (ie a 10 km hike, a kiwi sanctuary, tobogganing). At the same time, my loca friend Angela, who had been staying in my apt for Art Basel, was texting me, asking where to leave the key, where to put the recycling, etc. As we covered all the basic housek

Look up any list of New Zealand must-sees and somewhere near the top you will find Milford Sound. In the description, there will usually be someone waxing poetic about the fjord's other-worldly beauty. (ie- from the 100% Pure New Zealand site- Situated on the west coast of the South Island, Milford Sound is a fusion of spectacular natural features with amazing visual cues around every corner; From Explorer James Hingston : ;For thousands of feet upwards the eye looks upon straight cut rocky frontages, not worn smooth by time, or by wind or water, but as sharply defined and as fresh looking in all respects as if riven asunder but yesterday by the stupendous wedges of Titanic Masons. ) You will also find some barely coded language hinting at what you should expect weather-wise. Phrases such as "In any climate.." and "Wet or fine..." clue you in that the chances of you replicating all those sunny Sound pics are precariously slim. That is because Milford Sound

With only 18 days to spend in New Zealand, the sensible thing to do would have been to choose one island- either the North or South- and explore it in depth. The problem is I am not a sensible person. I am FOMO personified and I want to see it all. Therefore, on my third day, I boarded a flight from Auckland (North island) to Queenstown (South island), which made for a crammed and busy schedule. I had only 15 days to bus myself back up to Auckland for the return flight but in the words of Edith Piaf "Non, je ne regrette rien". Queenstown is the kind of place you can fall in love with at first sight. It's an outdoorsy, sun-kissed small town where everyone knows what kombucha is and all the guys wearing Jesus sandals actually look like, well, Jesus. Just walking down the street, you feel healthier for being there. Therefore it should probably come as no surprise that the denizens of this clean-living haven are constantly on the lookout for new ways to nearly off them

How to travel New Zealand on a budget tip #2: Skip the Waiheke wine tours. But-and I can't stress this enough- don't skip Waiheke and/or its wineries. Don't do that!! Really, don't. If your tastes run toward picturesque islands, chill beaches or more vineyards than you can shake a wine glass at, this is a day trip you want to take. All I'm saying is that all those wine tours that all the agencies push are totally unnecessary.  It was my second day in New Zealand and with sleep deprivation behind me and perfect weather ahead of me, I was ready to explore but at $130+ for three wineries,  the  tours seemed a bit pricey. Staying in Auckland, which I had already covered pretty well, also seemed unappealing so I went straight to the port and started asking questions.  Turns out that for $60 , you can get both a r/t trip ferry ticket for the 35 minute ride across the Gulf of Haruki and a voucher for the hop-on/ hop-off bus to get you everywhere you want to go.