We have been back a few weeks already, but in July we went to New Zealand for a skiing trip. We flew directly into Queenstown on the South Island. This is a lovely town on lake Wakatipu with lots of nice restaurants. The temperature in the village is close to 0 and all the bars, restaurants and hotels have wood fires to warm yourself. From the town you can drive towards the ski fields "Coronet Peak" and "The Remarkables". Skiing was good with enough snow, but the ski areas are a lot smaller than in Europe. But there is a lot more to do besides skiing. on two days we went for drives in the beautiful countryside. We came across a few locations where the Lord of the Rings movies were shot, but you wouldn't recognise them easily.
One day we drove to Milford Sound, a fiord 300km from Queenstown. They advise you not to drive because its a long drive on narrow winding roads. So we wanted to fly into Milford Sound, but due to the strong winds flights were cancelled. So we hopped in the car at 8am and drove anyway. Once you arrive you have to take a boat tour (otherwise you cannot see much of the Fiord). We took the Encounter-cruise, a smaller boat that gets more upclose to the nature and the water.
Dolphins alongside the boat
The South Island is definitely a place to go back to (in Summer?) !
