New Zealand

New Zealand is absolutely beautiful! This picture gives you only a tiny glimpse of how gorgeous the countryside is in New Zealand. Lake Tarawera is in the middle of the North Island right near Rotorua which was our first stop.

My favorite part about New Zealand so far is the forever changing countryside. We only drove in about a 3 hour radius from Auckland and the landscape changed dramatically. New Zealand has rolling green hills and tons of sheep like Ireland. There are volcanoes, geysers, and boiling mud pools reminiscent of Costa Rica and South America. Then there is the redwood forest similar to Muir Woods near San Francisco along with tropical beaches. Last but not least are the vineyards and the cypress trees which makes you think you are in Italy (and the wine is fantastic)! And that's only part of the North Island.

Since being back I have already bought and watched the first Lord of the Rings movie, and I can't wait to go back and hike on the South Island because that is where most of the filming was done. Right now though I need to go to bed because I am still a bit jet lagged!

Good Night!