You know when you are so backlogged at work and you've come to the realisation that you'll never be able to catch up, Yeah, thats me with blogging. I've been so blessed and have done so much in the recent months that I just simply dont have the time to sit down and pen things down any longer. It's a shame really for I love writing things down.
It's just you know, life goes on.
Magnar at Akaroa, New Zealand
Magnar and I had a wonderful time in New Zealand last December, and if you didn't already know we spent a little over 3 weeks driving around South Island before spending 4 days over in Auckland and Waiheke in the North Island.
Truth be told, I was a little underwhelmed by the so called "beauty" of New Zealand. Yes, I know I am going to get a lot of haters from that comment, but I maybe have set myself up with too high of an expectation and New Zealand didn't quite deliver.
Don't get me wrong, it is beautiful in New Zealand, the waters were this beautiful turquoise blue, the streets are clean, everything runs close to perfect, but is it THE most beautiful place in the world? Maybe not? Maybe I think so because I already am living in the most beautiful place on earth? Maybe I'm biased? I don't know.
New Zealand was pretty, but lacked the dramatic landscapes, in addition to that most of the country is just countrysides, I personally felt like you had to travel to those points on the map to experience the "beauty" we see on Google Images. And sometimes, you have to travel far. Otherwise you'll just be driving for miles and miles of farmlands.
Before I get slapped for saying these things, please dont get me wrong, I feel extremely blessed to have been able to see New Zealand. I feel privileged to have been able to experience so much, horse back riding, dolphin swimming, mountain hiking amongst other fun cool things I've done.
New Zealand doesn't disappoint there, there is SO MUCH activities you can do. Most of the activities we joined ran efficiently and we never felt like we were ever in any danger. You could really fling yourself off any thing in New Zealand.
Even better, they don't usually cost too much. Ziplining in Waiheke 150 NZD, Swimming with Dolphins in Akaroa, 150 NZD
Ziplining Waiheke Island
Another thing that New Zealand does amazingly well, is their options made available to different budgets, we mainly stayed in the various YHA's around New Zealand, and they are so fantastic. It truly deserves a post on it's own.
Budget wise, Magnar and I spend more than I maybe had anticipated? I can do a budget breakdown if I find time for it a little later. Our biggest surprise is actually seeing the cost of food. You maybe would assume that being an agricultural country brings cheaper food, but that is not the case here. In comparison to it's neighbour Australia (which in our opinion is the food mecca), the food in New Zealand is mediocre if that. We found it hard to get good food, and when we did we are sometimes appalled by their prices. It is not unusual to fork out 60 NZD for breakfast, 80 NZD for lunch and anywhere between 100-150 NZD for dinner.
Because of that Magnar and I resulted to cook most of our food at the YHA.
80 NZD lunches.
The people in New Zealand are wonderful, extremely friendly so no complains there! I especially liked the culture of preserving their Maori heritage, and if I ever return to that part of the world, I think I'll try and visit the Polynesian Islands for their history I found is truly magnificent
Waiheke Island
Would we go back?
Nja. Not right away. We didn't get the longing to return right away like we did with Melbourne. It was so nice to be able to have experienced it nonetheless.
I'll keep posting snippets from the trip, so stay tuned!
x Lisa