My 10-Day Journey Through New Zealand: From Majest
Ellie Tieman
Tacoma, WA
Cruise Enthusiast and Leisure Travel Advisor
As a foodie at heart I love finding the best local cuisines and amazing people to share that experience with. I also love cruising to get a taste of unforgettable locations that I will eventually come back to explore in depth. I have been fortunat...
As a foodie at heart I love finding the best local cuisines and amazing people to share that experience with. I also love cruising to get a taste of unforgettable locations that I will eventually come back to explore in depth. I have been fortunate to cruise through Europe and the Mexican Riviera, and I hope I can find a cruise line and destination that best suits your desires. I am excited to help you find the best destination and experience to make your next vacation unforgettable!
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Here to recap my amazing adventure to New Zealand courtesy of Delta Vacations! I can now confidently say I’m a New Zealand expert and would highly recommend this beautiful destination.
Come live vicariously through my extensive jam-packed itinerary over the next 10 days.
On day one after a long flight from LAX to Auckland we took a quick 2 ish hour flight (the longest flight domestically) to Queenstown on the Southern island and were met with stunning mountains on the tarmac.
After enjoying a fantastic lunch on the waterfront, we headed up on the mountains on their Gondola to see the town from up above and rode on their local luge to the bottom. We finished the night at a lovely restaurant down on the wharf and as you know I’m a huge foodie and I can sure tell you the food was so fresh and delicious!
This is also a great mountain for mountain bikers as they have lots of trails and are still extending the options.
Day 2 was by far the most memorable of the trip.
We started off the morning with a glacier helicopter tour up to the mountain range named “the remarkables” and they got their name for a reason! The 360 views of mountains were stunning and I would highly recommend a helicopter tour and the champagne at the top was a great touch!
We then headed off to Aj Hackett Bridge home of where bungy jumping was commercialized. Me and two other brave souls in the group made the jump off the bridge and boy what a thrill! Normally you are by your feet only but because the river was so high they had to reel us back up in the harness.
After a thrilling morning we headed to Kinross Winery to try some local Pinot Noirs which New Zealand recently won the top award in Europe and for good reason!
Finally we headed to a local events space and then to Arrowtown the local gold mining town for dinner.
Day 3 Our last day in Queenstown. We started off the morning with Nomad Safaris with a highlight of the Lord of the Ring Movie shots.
We then ventured to the dart river on a jet boat which is another fabulous activity I high recommend! The views of the mountains from river are stunning and the boats themselves are really neat and can go on as little as 4 inches of water.
After our morning excursions we stopped for a brief lunch and site visit at an ecolodge who pride themselves on full sustainability.
To end our time in Queenstown we sailed on the TSS Earnslaw the oldest and only steamship in the southern hemisphere and it was really cool to watch them shovel coal right below the seating area. The ship took us to this lovely unexpected hidden gem for dinner and we even enjoyed the farm show of shearing sheep and watching the border collies herd them back. Spring is absolutely lovely here and the abundance of baby animals was an added bonus!
Day 4 we said farewell to beautiful Queenstown and took a morning flight to Christchurch. Next time I’m back I would love to spend some days here, but we were off to a beautiful ocean town of Kaikoura about a 2.5 hour drive.
We checked in to the fabulous Sudima hotel with gorgeous waterfront views before heading off to one of the best meals of the trip Hapuku Kitchen.
This experience was a foodie’s paradise. We were graciously welcomed into our hosts’ home to forage for our dinner ingredients as well as help prepare our meal. The free-range chickens are truly free range as their only natural predator is the occasional stray cat.