Once we left Bora Bora (the epitome of paradise) we went to Tahiti for two nights. I feel Tahiti is just a “holding tank” til you get to someplace else, whether you are catching a cruise ship, or going to or from Bora Bora or another island. If you can avoid Tahiti all together I suggest so. It is a depressed, not so happening town.
We flew out of Tahiti and got to Auckland, New Zealand. We were there for only one evening and the following morning.
Great city, and our hotel was across from the harbor. It was way cool. They have a cool sky needle, we went up it to get a great view of the city. They have tons of restaurants walking distance to the harbor, very nice. I would recommend coming to Auckland, we will return at the end of our New Zealand adventure.
After morning breakfast and a nice walk around the harbor we got in the car and drove to Rotorua, Hobbiton bound….
Hobbiton, the movie set is way cool. Cool if you are not a fan, and a must see and do if you are a Hobbit fan. I haven’t seen all the movies, but once I get home, now I want too.
Next day…glowworm caves… We drove several hours to see the Waitomo Worm Caves. I’ve seen pictures and short movies. I would NOT recommend these glowworm caves. My motto: LIVE AND LEARN. You always learn new things when traveling. This LIVE AND LEARN, you were not allowed to take pictures, I will research ANOTHER glowworm cave to go see. If in the area, sure go see this attraction, but do NOT “waste” a beautiful sunny day in New Zealand to drive several hours to see this attraction. Fine if you are in the area, or a rainy day, but do not bother going to this glowworm cave. We did enjoy our drive of the countryside, and it was not a wasted day, BUT I was VERY disappointed.
After that we drove to Auckland domestic airport to get on a plane for Queenstown. We barely made it.They were calling our names. My biggest frustration is rushing. The GPS said 2 hours, it was 3. Another live and learn, as you already know… give yourself extra time. Thank God, we made it. I wasn’t in the mood to be sitting in another airport for a number of hours.
We landed in Queenstown. AMAZING. Snow covered mountains, and it was gorgeous. We rented a car, found our hotel and walked to a cool area on the water. We had a drink and saw a nice sunset, talked to some locals, had a quick bite and called it a night. The next day we were taking a 12 hour long excursion to Milford Sound.
Milford Sound, Fiordland National Park is quite amazing. We took a long beautiful drive from Queenstown to Milford Sound, it was gorgeous. Then we took a ferry ride around the vast Fiord, which is a long narrow deep inlet of the sea between high cliffs, typically formed by submergence of a glaciated valley. It was very mystic, cool, and beautiful. A very humbling experience, so vast, enormous, such a beautiful sight. Then we took the long, gorgeous, picturesque drive back to Queenstown.
Woke up and took a long and gorgeous drive to Franz Joseph Glacier. WOW. Talk about feeling “off the grid”. There is nothing out here but beauty. Today we will adventure around the Glacier.
I need to get this post, posted, so I will add more pictures soon!
