New Zealand
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A New Zealand Adventure
This New Zealand adventure was the last international trip we took before the COVID pandemic (or possibly during the start of it depending on how you look at it). My husband and I traveled to Australia and New Zealand in February 2020 right when COVID was mentioned as a possible threat, but not yet recognized in the United States as a serious one. I recall a distinct memory from our trip when we landed in the Sydney airport and saw many people wearing masks and thought “hmm maybe this is more serious than we are being told…” (more on that later).
A Quick Jaunt Down Under
Australia is a place that is very dear to me as I lived there for 6 months when I studied abroad in the beautiful city of Perth as a college student. Perth, which is in Western Australia is known for some of the most pristine beaches in the world (you can literally exfoliate your skin with the sand there). While living in Perth, I spent about a week in the Eastern cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, but the majority of my time abroad was spent in Western Australia.
On this trip though, our focus was on New Zealand so we spent two nights in Sydney en route to New Zealand. We stayed at the Shangri-la hotel after reading some glowing reviews online. We spent the first day in Sydney hiking along Bondi Beach, which is an iconic beach spot. The next day was spent touring the Sydney opera house and walking around Darling Harbour. I highly recommend touring more than Sydney if you do find yourself planning a trip to Australia as every city has a unique identity and offers something completely different.
The one thing that I never loved about Australia was the food. While there’s a lot of Asian influence infused throughout the cuisine, which I typically enjoy, much of the staple dishes are actually pretty bland and flavorless. My husband who enjoys all his meals slathered in cholula sauce had a hard time getting access to any form of hot sauce. After getting a good sense of what Sydney is all about, we were off to New Zealand!
Kicking off our New Zealand Adventure!
New Zealand consists of a North Island and a South Island. I had done some research beforehand and looked into what each island has to offer and decided we wanted to spend the majority of our trip on the South island as the topography is unrivaled. We flew into Auckland where we stayed at the Cordis hotel for one night. I had read online that while Auckland is a beautiful city, time in New Zealand is best spent exploring the more scenic parts of the country so we only spent one night there on the advice of other blogs and I’m glad we did it that way. We spent our one full day in Auckland walking around the city and going to the observation deck at the Sky Tower. For dinner, we went to Viaduct Harbour where there’s a stretch of outdoor resturants and bars. We had dinner at Frida Cocina Mexicana and Tequila Bar, which was pretty good Mexican food, but we mainly ventured there for the scene and the Frida Kahlo theme.
Queenstown: A place as regal as its name
The next day we took a flight to the South island and landed in Queenstown where we started the more adventurous part of our vacation! We rented a car from the airport (we had read that driving the South island is really the only way to do it). Queenstown is an incredibly scenic place, which offers a plentitude of hikes and has lots of restaurants and shops. We stayed at a hotel a few minutes from the main town called The Rees Hotel. On our first day, we perused the shops in town and took a gondola to the top of the mountain to take in the views. The second day, we embarked on what was described as an “easy” hike, Queenstown hill walk trail, but honestly I would rate it as moderate given it was pretty steep most of the way through. We then spent the evening at Amisfield Winery where we had to make reservations ahead of time. This place is a culinary dream. We enjoyed a 7-course chef’s tasting menu that included dishes like venison, quail, and duck.
Milford Sound Day Cruise
The next day, we embarked on an unforgettable excursion when we took a small plane to Milford Sound/Fiordland National Park often referred to as “the eighth world wonder” and then hopped on a boat to explore the gorgeous Fiords. The experience of getting on this small plane was harrowing, but the views from both the plane and the Milford Sound day cruise are so worth it! The Fiords are like nothing I had ever seen before-monstrous rock formations created by glaciers and waterfalls cascading off cliffsides. This was one of the main highlights of the entire trip and I highly recommend everyone do this!
The next day, we did the one hour drive to Wanaka of course to visit “the most famous tree in the world.” We also stopped at Glenorchy and took in some Lord of The Rings-esque sights (apparently a lot of Lord of the Rings was taped here). Every minute of the drive through these parts of the South Island is breathtaking and surreal. There are a lot of hiking trails, nature preserves and bodies of water such as Lake Hawea and the Blue Pools, which we also stopped at on the way. We took this route as our final destination on our New Zealand adventure was the majestic Mount Cook.
Mount Cook Glacier Hike
We made our way to Mount Cook National Park, which was about a two hour drive from Wanaka. Besides experiencing the Fiords, the Mount Cook glacier hike we embarked on was the most memorable experience of the trip! We stayed in the main Aoraki Mount Cook lodge in Mount Cook as we wanted to be as close to the mountain as possible. The day after we got there, we had booked a helicopter ride, which we took to the Tasman Glacier and then set out on a glacial hike! As you can see in some of the photos below, there is a lot of soot (brownish material) covering the snow, which was a result of the far reaching effects of the Australian forest fires of 2020. Another devastating consequence of climate change is the rapidly melting Tasman Glacier. Since the 1990s, it is estimated that Tasman has been melting about 590 feet per year. As a result, a lake was even formed at the end of the glacier. As parts of the glacier break off and fall into the lake, there are potentially catastrophic repercussions such as the creation of avalanches.
The day after our celestial hike, we started the journey back home. On our uber drive to the airport, our driver coughed and then immediately said “don’t worry, I don’t have COVID-half the country has already been tested for it and we haven’t had a case yet!” I glanced at my husband with a look of concern-little did we know what would await us back home a week later….
New Zealand is an extraordinary place with something to offer everyone. Whether you’re a scuba diver or a nature enthusiast or a fearless adventurer, the diverse terrain of New Zealand accomodates all kinds of visitors. It’s definitely in my top 3 favorite destinations in the world and I feel so lucky to have been able to experience this New Zealand adventure right before the US went into lockdown.
COVID Policies
Notably, New Zealand has often been referred to as “the poster child” with regard to containing COVID and adopting a zero-COVID policy. Prime Minister Jacinda Arden has been lauded for effectively utilizing a science-informed approach since the start of the pandemic. To date, New Zealand reports 53 deaths and about 80% of the country is fully vaccinated. Currently, travel to New Zealand is restricted (as it has been throughout most of the pandemic) and only New Zealand residents are able to enter the country with some exceptions.
Those granted permission to enter the country must be fully vaccinated and present a negative COVID test within 48 hours of travel (this rule also applies to New Zealand citizens). They must then enter into a mandatory quarantine, which was originally 14 days, then decreased to 7 days for vaccinated individuals and then recently increased to 10 days again. Everyone also needs to book their quarantine lodging ahead of time and show proof of this prior to boarding.
https://covid19.who.int/region/wpro/country/nz
https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/new-zealand-travel-covid-19/index.html
