New Zealand Part 1: Breathtaking Country

It's difficut to summarize how amazing New Zealand is with just a few photos and a blog post, but I feel compelled to try. From the moment we stepped off the plane we knew there was something special about the land, the people, and the culture that make up New Zealand. Auckland is a bustling but pristine city filled with kiwis anxious to introduce you to newly crowned knights (we met a "Sir") while insisting that you join them for a pint at the pub. Just a short ferry ride away sits Waiheke Island with its up and coming warm weather vines and amazing restaurants and scenery.









(Mudbrick Restaurant and Vineyard on Waiheke above at left; looking back at Auckland from Waiheke at right; click to enlarge)

Martinborough was our second stop, just inland off the eastern shore of the North Island. A sleepy town with world class pinot vines and wine country restaurants, we stayed in a lovely bungalow at Parehua in between cow pasture and vineyards, and rode our bikes from winery to winery filling our baskets with the best of new world pinots.









(Riding bikes outside Parehua in Martinborough above left; view from our bungalow above right).

After that we drove (on the left side of the road mind you) to Cape Palliser, at the southern tip of the North Island, getting stuck behind a flock of a hundred of New Zealand's 40 million strong sheep, and spent a quick night in Wellington, the capital.

We then took a ferry to the South Island where New Zealand really shines. Our first night was spent in the Bay of Many Coves located within the Marlborough Sounds. The Sounds are hundreds of coves, inlets, and peninsulas within the Cook Strait between the South Pacific Ocean and the Tasman Sea. The Bay of Many Coves Resort was remote as can be, it only accommodates 34 guests and is accessible only by a 30 minute water taxi ride. Our villa was hidden within the bush but still on the crystal waters that make up the coves. See here for YouTube travel video.

Another short drive (keep left) to Marlborough, which produces Sauvignon Blanc that rivals Bordeaux. Here we stayed at Old Saint Mary's Convent, a lovely Victorian convent turned B&B with its own chapel and vineyard. More wine tasting (see Part 2) and bike riding among the vineyards. (Convent, below)
Finally it was off to Queenstown in the Central Otago region, which is arguably NZ's most beautiful area, nestled between glaciers, crystal turquoise lakes, streams containing massive 10 pound trout, more vines, and yes, several Lord of the Rings filming locations. Here we stayed at our favorite place, Pencarrow B&B, owned by a Texan husband and wife team who once travelled the world as the personal pilot and flight attendant for Prince Al-Waleed, the Saudi Arabian Warren Buffet. They were warm, gracious, and generous, and we spent most of our days marvelling at the sights and our nights sitting drinking wine and listening to the stories of our hosts.
(View from our room at Pencarrow of Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown, below left; and hand feeding fallow deer on Lord of the Rings film site [Two Towers, Rohan battle scenes for your nerds out there], below right)









Our trip was nothing short of epic. I wish I wrote down the name of our cabbie in Bermuda from five years ago so I could thank him for planting the seed to travel to this glorious country. New Zealand is the last place on earth that we humans populated and in this case the cliche about saving the best for last is very much true.