New Zealand Travel Wishlist

I’ve shared a travel wishlist recently about other countries I’d love to visit one day. In fact, I’m always thinking about travel and wanting to see something new, so why not make a list of some of the places I would like to see in my own backyard? It’s closer for one, and will fill that sense of wanderlust without requiring me to travel halfway across the world.

Queenstown

I don’t think I’ve ever been to Queenstown. Queenstown in general looks so beautiful, both in winter and summer. I’d love to experience both, and it’s only a one and a half hour flight away. It is super popular all the time though, and not that cheap. So this will take some extra planning, but you can bet I’ll get there.

(Photo by Samuel Ferrara on Unsplash)

Milford Sound is also in Queenstown. Mitre Peak is the highest point I think, and it has lots of waterfalls cascading and plummeting down. It’s meant to be very impressive. It’s also home to colonies of seals, penguins and dolphins. There’s lots of boat tours to do there and everyone who’s been says it’s amazing. So I need to go there.

(Photo by Anderson Aguirre on Unsplash)

Coromandel

Another spot I’ve always wanted to visit. It’s fairly close to Auckland, and while I’ve been there lots of times, we never got up to the Coromandel. It looks amazing! They have the aptly named Hot Water Beach. At low tide, it gets very crowded as everyone digs in the sand and finds bubbling, hot water. I don’t know how hot it gets, but the whole thing just sounds like a lot of fun, and it looks beautiful.

(Photo by Ivan Sanford on Unsplash)

The other main appeal is Cathedral  Cove (Te Whanganui – A – Hei). You can only get to it by foot, boat or kayak. The track is around 2 hours, and takes you past some amazing sights. The Cove itself is just stunning!

(Photo by Tyler Lastovich on Unsplash)

Abel Tasman National Park

Golden beaches, sculptured cliffs and a world-famous coastal track. Just looking at pictures of here make me want to go already. This is located on the north end of the South Island. The coastal track takes a few days, but there are huts along the way that you can book to stay in. You pass natural rock pools, suspension bridges, rivers and waterfalls…plus you may get to see some fur seals! I definitely hope to do this walk one day.

(Photo by Andrea Schaffer on DOC/Creative Commons)

Hokitika Gorge

Another beautiful little spot. Bright turquoise water, that apparently is even brighter in real life. This is home to another great track to wander in, or go for a scenic drive.

(Photo by Josquin Arts via Flickr on 100% Pure New Zealand)

There’s more places I want to see, but I now want to share some of my own photos from around this beautiful country. I’ve already been lucky enough to see lots of incredible places in New Zealand. Just to name a few, here are more places that you should check out if you ever have a chance to visit!

Tongariro Alpine Crossing

One of the great walks of New Zealand, but also one of the shortest taking just 5 hours to complete. Of course there’s extra parts to do if you want to push yourself, but for me, 5 hours was enough. What I got to see during my time there was amazing though!

Waiheke Island

I got to visit this beautiful island off Auckland for my sister’s wedding. They couldn’t have picked a more gorgeous spot!

Pancake Rocks

To be fair, my memories of this place are a little more vague. The last time I’ve been here was 2007, but look at those crazy rock formations!!

Kaikoura

Again, I haven’t been here for a few years (not since 2011), but this coastal town is home to many fur seals. We often visited here for a day trip during our summer holidays down to the South Island.

Maybe I’m just showing off now on how incredibly pretty and diverse our country is, and there’s still so much to see! New Zealand is definitely a bucket-list worthy place to travel to! Even to us living in it, most of us probably haven’t seen half the wonder that’s here.

Is there somewhere in your own home country you’d love to visit?

Angela.

Find me elsewhere:

Instagram                   Pinterest                  YouTube                  Bloglovin’