Aotearoa /New Zealand
Land of Adventure - Down Underer
New Zealand
Context
When I first started dating my husband, he and his family took a trip down underer, and when he brought back pictures of the exotic landscapes, I was smitten.
New Zealand then entered into my imagination as a land of enchanting beauty, of towering mountains coupled with gorgeous beaches, of rich Polynesian history and an interesting present.
In November of 2010, Ben and I made our escape to New Zealand, his second time, and my first, as we embarked on a two week drive across the country, that I like to refer to it as our Aotearoad Trip.
I hadn't always wanted to go to New Zealand.
But one trip was not enough. In May 2015, Ben and I were headed to the Cook Islands. When our options included a layover in New Zealand, we knew we had to spend a few days there. And the most obvious place to spend a few days in New Zealand sprang to mind: The North Island's Coromandel Peninsula.
While we weren't blessed with an overabundance of time, we managed to cram a bunch of activities into just three short days. This was our second visit to this area in five years, securing the title of one of our most favorite destinations in all of the world.
Then, in the (Northern Hemisphere's) fall of 2017, we decided to take another trip to New Zealand. This time, we'd spend another two whole weeks here, and having recently recommended the country for my BFF's honeymoon, coupled with our previous travels to the island, we knew what to do. This time, we'd spend a week down in the South Island, with a few days in Queenstown, but the majority of our time near Fiordland National Park, and the second week split between an old fave, the Coromandel, and a new stop, Waiheke Island.
In the fall of 2019, Ben and I headed back to New Zealand, this time for a one week escape to the South Island to our favorite small towns of Te Anau and Manapouri and the beautiful environs of Fiordland National Park.
It's only a matter of time before we head back to our favorite destination in the world. Let me show you why we can't help but be pulled back time and again to this amazing corner of the globe.
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