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New Zealand

febbraio - marzo 2023
My 17 day adventure trip to New Zealand's North and South Island with Intro Travel Group. Leggi altro
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  • 19giorni
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  • 19video
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  • ViaggiatoreNew Zealand
    Giorno 9

    Taupo: Skydive & Hostel Dinner

    5 marzo 2023, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Day 7: Huka Waterfall Hike, Skydive Experience, Pasta Night

    The skydiving HUMMER LIMO picked Sophie, Amy, Paige, Grace, Nic and myself up for our transportation to the airport, where only a few of us (not me) almost chickened out before suiting up. Eventually we were signing our lives away, suiting up, climbing in the plane, reaching 17000 ft, jumping out, screaming, and landing before we could even process it fully. The whole experience was almost over too quickly to even remember doing it. Safe to say that everyone was floating on air the rest of the night, just waiting for the photos and videos to come through.

    Have you ever gone to the store to buy food for a group of people thinking everyone will be hungry, buy and cook said food, only for there to be way too many leftovers? Yeah well that's what happened when I volunteered to cook Aglio E Olio for the entire group. We bought 8 packets of spaghetti for the group, boiled a MASSIVE pot of water, cooked 6 packets, and still had enough to feed everyone else in the hostel! I am never cooking that large of a meal again, but everyone said they loved it, so a win’s a win!    Leggi altro

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  • ViaggiatoreNew Zealand
    Giorno 10

    Auckland

    6 marzo 2023, Nuova Zelanda

    Day 8: Return to Auckland, Night Out

    The group's return to Auckland was a long one that was not looked upon too greatly as the YMCA hostel beds were squeaky and unforgiving, but alas the north island tour was coming to an end. That night was filled with dinner, drinks, Megan signing everyone’s boobs and a live band that kept everyone out late and having a good time. The group even attempted to get Harry Styles to head to the bar after the concert he was playing that night. Alas, he did not show, and we had to say goodbye to our north island friends… or so we thought.Leggi altro

  • ViaggiatoreNew Zealand
    Giorno 11

    Queenstown

    7 marzo 2023, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    Day 9: Fly to Queenstown, Explore the City, Welcome dinner, night out, Meet new faces, Jays Jumper,

    The next day was filled with travel to the south island and the beautiful city of Queenstown. A city that feels like it was designed to bring in two types of people: the extremely rich and backpackers. It gave me strong Colorado Springs vibes, even though I've never been there. We also met the new fresh faces that would be joining us to replace the four we lost. In good fashion, we went out for dinner where I finally found a good glass pint glass (which I nicked of course), and had another night out to welcome the new additions to our group.

    Fresh Faces:
    Jarno - Ned
    Shonna - Scotland
    Aby - GB
    Danielle - GB

    Funny enough, we only ended up losing Amy from the north island members as 3 of them followed us to Queenstown for work and travel before they moved on. Bryony works in one of the Queenstown hotels, Max plans on working/traveling in the city, and Nic came down a day late to travel the south Island.

    This aspect of the night also began the infamous Jays jumper addition to my wardrobe. During the night out, I noticed that Jay had taken off his short sleeve jumper and rested it on one of the chairs for safe keeping. In my tispy nature, I thought it would be funny to put it on and see how long it would take for Jay to notice it was missing. However, when I grabbed the jumper for the first time, I didn't realize just how much I had fallen in love with it. I ended up wearing it the rest of the night after exclaiming how comfortable it was and how much I enjoyed it. Jay ended up parting with it saying that it suited me better despite it being as size XL. I immediately bought him a case of beer as payment. The rest of the trip Jays Jumper and myself were inseparable until the infamous pool night which I shall bring up later.    Leggi altro

  • ViaggiatoreNew Zealand
    Giorno 12

    Queenstown: Explore City

    8 marzo 2023, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Day 10: Morning Walk, Jet Boat Tour, Mountain Hike SkyLine, Ice Bar, Fergburger

    Our second day in Queenstown was very adventurous. In the morning we met one of the other intro travel guides who took us on a walk around Lake Wakatipu while explaining the story of the two lovers and the man's battle against a giant to free and marry his love. The woman was of high noble birth, while the man was a common warrior who was not allowed to marry her. One day a giant came and kidnapped her, and the chief offered her hand in marriage to any man who could return her. Well the man saw his opportunity and sought out the giant. He figured out that the giant always slept during nights where there were winds from the north-west. Therefore, during the next night with those winds and while the giant was sleeping, he snuck into his den, retrieved his love, and then set fire to all land around the giant's den. The giant burned to death in the S shape of Lake Wakatipu. The two lovers were able to marry, and the only thing left of the giant was his heart which is still said to be beating to this day by evidence of the lake's waves.

    After the hike, the group was set for a Jet Boat tour of Lake Wakatipu and the Kawarau River involving many close calls almost hitting various buoys, docks, trees and even a bridge.

    Later a select few of the group decided to go on a hike during the afternoon free time up the Tiki Trail to the top of Bob's Peak for a great view of the city. The 45 min hike brought us to the top of Bob's peak where we were able to take a free gondola ride back to the bottom and evade the $45 fee for a ride up.

    The hike worked up quite an appetite and sweat for its participants. The best solutions at the time seemed to be the -5℃ Ice Bar and the one and only Fergburger, which is famous for having one of the best burgers in all of New Zealand. I gave it 8.5/10. Not the best i've ever had, but still quite delicious.

    Following dinner, the group decided to have a movie night resulting in 10-12 grown adults all singing along to the greatest sequel ever created: Shrek 2. This is also where I was introduced to the unfortunate truth that the rest of the world has better chocolate than the United States and it's not even close.    Leggi altro

  • ViaggiatoreNew Zealand
    Giorno 13

    Fiordland National Park & Milford Sound

    9 marzo 2023, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ 🌧 12 °C

    Day 11: Fiordland National Park, Mirror Lakes, Milford Sound, Te Anau, Meeting Reese

    Day 11 was one of the days I was looking forward to the most. In typical Marc fashion, I wasn't able to sleep the entire bus ride down from Queenstown to Fiordland National Park on our way to Milford sound. It was quite the ride as our Cheeky Kiwi driver Reese quickly became part of the group as all the tour participants enjoyed his fun facts, cheeky sense of humor, and the fact he looked a little like Obi Wan Kenobi. Safe to say, Reese was a hit.

    We stopped several times in our journey to capture photos of the beautiful landscapes of New Zealand including the flat glacial plains leading to dramatic mountain ranges stretching hundreds of miles in each direction, the mirror lakes, rushing waterfalls, and rainforest walks along rushing rapids and rivers.

    Milford Sound: it's hard to figure out exactly how to describe it and the photos don't really do it justice. It's really just an absolutely incredible part of nature that deserves its places as one of the many natural wonders of the world. It's one of those places where you don't want the sun to come out, because the clouds and fog only add to the natural beauty and mystery of the fjord. Fun fact, Milford Sound is not actually a sound as a sound is usually formed by the flooding of a river valley, not a glacial valley. However, the first explorers didn't know glaciers formed the landscape at the time and so proclaimed them sounds. It's really one of those places on earth that has to be seen in person to truly enjoy and understand.    Leggi altro

  • ViaggiatoreNew Zealand
    Giorno 13

    Te Anau

    9 marzo 2023, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Day 11: Fiordland National Park, Mirror Lakes, Milford Sound, Te Anau, Meeting Reese

    The rest of the day involved several more hours of travel and stops along winding roads up and over the mountains and rolling hills of the southern island on our way to our overnight stop in Te Anau. The night involved one of the many night walks the group enjoyed while getting to know the city and exploring each others horoscopes.Leggi altro

  • ViaggiatoreNew Zealand
    Giorno 14

    Te Anau: Morning Photoshoot

    10 marzo 2023, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Day 12: Morning Plunge, Photo Session, LoTR Dress Up/Photo Session, Bird tour, Wine Tasting, Holiday Home detour (Wanaka Hostel Issue), Hot Tub Party

    The next morning was an early one for Grace, Elena and myself. At a cloudy sunrise the three of us decided to go for a polar bear plunge at 6:30am because why not? While several of the group chickened out after hearing what time we were deciding to wake up, the 3 of us bravely battled the cold water until realizing the sun was not rising above the cloud covered mountains. However, the morning was not over as Megan soon joined us in her desire to capture photos at one of the most famous photography points noted on the New Zealand reddit page she follows. It's easy to see why. The photos came out to be AMAZING.Leggi altro

  • ViaggiatoreNew Zealand
    Giorno 14

    Lake Manapouri: LoTR Photo Shoot

    10 marzo 2023, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 11 °C

    Day 12: Morning Plunge, Photo Session, LoTR Dress Up/Photo Session, Bird tour, Wine Tasting, Holiday Home detour (Wanaka Hostel Issue), Hot Tub Party

    The photography sessions did not end that morning, however. After the group walked through a quick trip at a local bird sanctuary, Reese took us to some random beach without telling us much about what was going on. We all piled out of the bus to walk along the random beach confused as to what exactly was going on. THEN, OUT OF NOWHERE, Reese starts pulling costumes, fake beards/wigs, and SWORDS out of the bus. It's safe to say everyone was excited. For the next hour we all took turns taking photos, playing out fight scenes, and enjoying a chance to nerd out over being in New Zealand and getting to dress up in LoTR outfits! Again, I think the photos tell the whole story.

    The photography session was followed with a long bus ride up the country passing various LoTR filming locations as Reese would give us fun facts about the country and the locations. Unfortunately, it was difficult to see a lot of the locations from the road/bus, but it was still fun to imagine the movies playing out right in front of us.    Leggi altro

  • ViaggiatoreNew Zealand
    Giorno 14

    Gibbston Valley Wines

    10 marzo 2023, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Day 12: Morning Plunge, Photo Session, LoTR Dress Up/Photo Session, Bird tour, Wine Tasting, Holiday Home detour (Wanaka Hostel Issue), Hot Tub Party

    The several hour coach trip was interrupted by a great stop at a Vineyard for some wine and cheese tasting before heading up to Wanaka.Leggi altro

  • ViaggiatoreNew Zealand
    Giorno 14

    Wānaka: Holiday Homes

    10 marzo 2023, Nuova Zelanda ⋅ 🌙 14 °C

    Day 12: Morning Plunge, Photo Session, LoTR Dress Up/Photo Session, Bird tour, Wine Tasting, Holiday Home detour (Wanaka Hostel Issue), Hot Tub Party

    Funny story, the Wanaka hostel we were supposed to stay at, canceled our reservation due to an agricultural & farming expo taking place in the city that week. With everything else booked, Intro Travel booked the group two holiday homes outside the city that were an extremely welcomed change of pace from the crowded public hostels. The group immediately took advantage of the luxury homes throwing a pool / hot tub party resulting in many empty bottles of alcohol and a certain author of this page spending the night in the wrong house sleeping on the couch, and waking up to the rest of the group taking photos of him sleeping the next morning. Funny enough, it was the best sleep he got the whole trip.Leggi altro