Wellington New Zealand’s capitol sits at the southernmost point of the North Island. It was my last stop on my way back to catch my return flight from Auckland to the US. Two days was enough time to see the primary attractions, especially since Wellington is small and highly walkable. In fact, I didn’t need to rent a car for …

Queenstown Queenstown is known as the adventure capitol of New Zealand. It’s a small city of about 25k permanent residents, but it packs a punch for its size. Choose from canyoning, bungee jumping, ziplining, mountain biking, hiking, sky diving, paragliding, kayaking, or luging. I chose the cheap, free, physically-enduring challenge of hiking the Ben Lomond Summit. Stay at the Sir …

The second leg of my trip took me to the northern reaches of New Zealand’s South Island, where I spanned the regions of Nelson, Tasman, and Marlborough in just two days. I chose this instead of Christchurch because it offered better opportunities to be immersed in nature. With Abel Tasman National Park and the magnificent Queen Charlotte track close by, …