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New Zealand, a tourist’s dream.

Without a doubt, New Zealand with its beauty and warm hospitality is impressive. New Zealand is a tourist’s dream; it’s safe, strikingly scenic, and always ready to welcome travellers. The inspiring golden beaches curl around quiet bays, towering mountains and mist-cloaked fjords.

New Zealand is famous for awesome landscapes, lofty mountain peaks, glaciers and fascinating blue lakes. Let’s have a look at the adventures that await you in New Zealand.

Adventure Sports

Two New Zealanders invented bungee jumping, and there’s no safer place for you to try out different adventure sports to get your heart racing. Whether it’s skydiving in Queenstown and Wanaka or taking a leap of faith off the Kawarau Bridge, New Zealand is well known for its enthusiasm towards adventure sports.

‘…taking a leap of faith…’

Heli Hikes

Picture being dropped off by a helicopter and then hiking through walls of blue ice! This happens at Fox Glacier and Franz Josef Glacier; two of the few places in the world where you see a tropical forest while staring at a glacier.

‘…dropped off by a helicopter…’

Hobbiton and Lord of the Rings

All over New Zealand there are signs indicating where Lord of the Rings was filmed. This is great for Tolkien fans who want to visit Hobbiton! The producers of Lord of the Rings made Hobbiton on a farm in Matamata on the North Island.

‘…visit Hobbiton…’

Huka Falls

The Huka Falls, the country’s top natural attraction is created by the Waikato River dropping 20 metres through a very narrow gorge, only 15 metres wide. Up to 220,000 litres of water drop through the gorge every second and this is what makes Huka Falls so powerful. The water is an extraordinary shade of blue, due to its rich mineral content.

‘…extraordinary shade of blue…’

Geothermal Activity

New Zealand is well-known for its geothermal activity, and Rotorua is the epicentre of it all. Rotorua is the site of the famous Pōhutu Geyser, the largest in the southern hemisphere; it erupts every hour and is known to reach heights of 100 feet. No matter where you go in Rotorua, you’ll see wisps of steam emerging from under the ground. The hot waters of Rotorua are said to have healing properties for joint pains and ailments like rheumatism; people enjoy soaking their feet in the footbaths of Kuirau Park.

‘…wisps of steam emerging from under the ground…’

Lakes

New Zealand is famous for its gorgeous lakes that offer stunning views!

Lake Matheson is famous for picturesque reflected mirror views of Mount Cook and Mount Tasman. Sunsets and sunrises are gorgeous, they provide natural golden light for the best pictures ever!

Lake Pukaki is famous for its icy blue waters and is especially pretty during lupin season when hundreds of lupins grow on its banks.

Lake Wakatipu, the longest in New Zealand’s is about 80 kilometres and is close to Queenstown. The unusual lightning bolt shape of the lake causes a ‘tide’ or ‘standing wave’, where the waters rise and fall every 25 minutes or so. Local Maori legends say that a huge monster, Matau, lies sleeping at the bottom of the lake and his heartbeat is what causes the tide.

‘…waters rise and fall every 25 minutes or so…’

Lupin Weed

Every year, lupin season brings a rush of beautiful colour to parts of the South Island. They are considered an ‘invasive species’ by the Department of Conservation in New Zealand, but if there’s one stunning weed that New Zealand is famous for, it’s the lupin! The best places to see the lupins in all their glory is Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki!

‘…rush of beautiful colour…’

Maori Culture

Rotorua is the Maori cultural hub of New Zealand. The Mitai Maori Village is an authentic Maori experience that includes the magnificence of the Haka, the Maori war dance. The Haka is also what New Zealand’s rugby team, the All Blacks open every game with.

Get a taste of the famous Hangi, the traditional Maori way of cooking food, especially meats and vegetables, in an underground pit.

‘…witness the magnificence of the Haka…’

National Parks

The pure beauty New Zealand’s National Parks are matchless; especially the wild Abel Tasman Park that borders the Tasman Sea and the glaciers of Mount Cook National Park. The even Mount Taranaki and the Tongariro’s volcanoes, a dual World Heritage site are great climbs. To explore the ice-carved creeks in the Fiordland National Park or hike up to the crystal-clear waters of the Blue Lake in the Nelson Lakes National Park is an unforgettable experience.

The parks have enormous waterfalls cascading down into deep green waters. On sunny days, the waters turn mirror-like, reflecting the forests and cliffs, making it a sight to behold!

‘…the waters reflect the forests and cliffs…’

Rugby and the famous All Blacks

You can’t visit New Zealand and not go to a rugby match. The All Blacks are the national team; the world recognizes them as a top international side. You may not get to watch them live but a domestic super rugby game shows you how passionate they are about their national sport.

‘…shows you how passionate they are…’

Southern Lights

Chasing the Northern Lights is a phenomenon that seems to be on every other person’s bucket list. Not many people know that the Northern Lights’ lesser-known cousin, Aurora Australis, popularly called the Southern Lights, are equally magnificent.

‘…equally magnificent…’

Stargazing

The Mackenzie area is a Dark Sky Reserve, the only one in the southern hemisphere. The region has minimal light and air pollution that makes it perfect for stargazing enthusiasts.

New Zealand’s premier observatory, the Mount John Observatory near Lake Tekapo is home to the country’s most powerful telescope, through which 50 million stars can be seen every night if the weather permits.

‘…50 million stars…’

Whale Watching

Giant Sperm Whales are year-round residents; regularly spotted off the coast of Kaikōura, a beautiful, old whaling town, flanked by snow-capped mountains of the Seaward Kaikōura Range on one side and blue water on the other.

‘…flanked by snow-capped mountains…’

Wines

New Zealand recently became famous for its superior wines, receiving immense international recognition. In Auckland, the nearby Waiheke Island is home to some of New Zealand’s most famous vineyards. A trip to Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne to taste their exceptional Chardonnay and Pinot Gris is enjoyable. Marlborough is home to Sauvignon Blanc, an outstanding wine that catapulted New Zealand to global stardom.

‘…immense international recognition…’

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How are New Zealand emerging from the corona virus pandemic?

New Zealand could be first to become Covid-19 free

On Thursday 11th June 2020, local media in New Zealand reported that the country may become the first to successfully eliminate the novel coronavirus from its territory if no new case is detected in the next eight days.

No COVID-19 case has been reported in the country for 20 consecutive days, with the last one confirmed by officials on May 22. The report said New Zealand will officially be free of the virus if no cases are reported in the next week. Health officials say elimination is reached after 28 days, two incubation periods of no new infections.

‘…one of the first countries in the world…’

After weeks of lockdown, the prime minister of New Zealand Jacinda Ardern danced for joy when she announced restrictions were to be lifted as the country heads towards eliminating the coronavirus.  She announced that all social and economic restrictions except border controls were being lifted because New Zealand was free of the coronavirus, one of the first countries in the world to return to pre-pandemic normality. Public and private events, the retail and hospitality industries and all public transport were allowed to resume.

The prime minister thanked the five million people of New Zealand and said “While the job is not done, there is no denying this is a milestone, thank you, New Zealand. We are confident we have eliminated transmission of the virus in New Zealand for now, but elimination is not a point in time, it is a sustained effort.”

New Zealand people are emerging from the pandemic after 75 days of restrictions which included about seven weeks of a strict lockdown in which most businesses were shut and everyone except essential workers had to stay home. Ardern vowed to eliminate, not merely contain, the virus, which meant stopping transmission for two weeks after the last known case was cleared.

Clear leadership and an engaged public

This news brings bright hope for the world, we believe clear leadership and an engaged public produced this result. The prime minister has received global praise for her leadership during the pandemic.

New Zealand had some advantages in tackling the virus; they had the benefit of time; their first case of coronavirus was confirmed on 28th February 2020, well over a month after the United States confirmed its first case. But the real key to New Zealand’s success appears to be an approach that could be applied anywhere; moving swiftly, testing widely, and relying heavily on good science.

Moving swiftly

Like many countries, New Zealand had models that showed that a potential coronavirus outbreak could be devastating if no action was taken. New Zealand responded relatively fast.

On 14th March 2020 anyone entering the country had to self-isolate for two weeks, it was among the toughest border restrictions in the world. At the time, the country had six cases.

On 19th March 2020 all foreigners were banned from entering the country, there were 28 confirmed cases.

On 23rd March 2020 New Zealand announced that the country was going into lockdown, there were 102 confirmed cases and no deaths.  Non-essential businesses were closed, events and gatherings cancelled and schools closed to all children except those of essential workers. Employers were told to allow working from home where possible, public transport was reserved for essential workers, and discretionary domestic air travel between regions was banned.

Strictest level of lockdown

At midnight on 25th March 2020, New Zealand moved to the strictest level of lockdown, with people being told not to leave home except for essential exercise near the home, while maintaining social distancing.

On 9th April 2020, despite a decline in cases, New Zealand tightened border restrictions so that all citizens and permanent residents arriving in New Zealand were required to spend two weeks quarantined in an approved facility rather than at home.

‘…decisive action…’

Decisive action, going hard and going early, helped to stamp out the worst of the virus.  This strong action was taken for a few reasons.  New Zealand is a key departure route to Pacific Islands and the country has a responsibility to protect its Pacific neighbours and swift actions were taken for the benefit of New Zealanders.

Testing widely

New Zealand ramped up its testing, to the point that they could carry out up to 8,000 tests per day.  To date, New Zealand carried out 424,719 tests.  The real sign that New Zealand’s testing worked is its test positivity rate. A good benchmark is to have at least 10 negative cases for every one positive case confirmed. This means if a state or country carries out testing and comes back with positive cases of around 9% or under, then it’s likely that it is testing well.

‘…one of the highest testing capacities in the world…’

New Zealand’s test positivity rate was around 1%, suggesting that there wasn’t widespread community transmissions slipping under the radar. It was noted in other countries around the world that each person infected with coronavirus infects around 2.5 people. Under New Zealand’s lockdown, that dropped to 0.4, less than half a person infected.  New Zealand now has one of the highest testing capacities in the world.

Relying on good science

“In New Zealand, success has been a wonderful link between good science, and brilliant leadership, and the two together are I think really highly effective,” said Professor Michael Baker, from Otago University’s Public Health Department who throughout the lockdown period, appeared at regular press conferences alongside the president.

The future

Although New Zealand is seen as a success story of the coronavirus crisis, the prime minister has pointed out that the battle against Covid-19 would continue until there is a vaccine.

The one new case

Unfortunately on Monday 6th July the county reported one new case of COVID-19.  The case is a man in his 20s who arrived in New Zealand from London on 4th July via Doha and Sydney. The man was taken straight from Auckland Airport to the quarantine facility as he had symptoms of COVID-19 upon arrival. The Public Health Unit will be interviewing the man to find out more details.

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Top Destinations to travel to after Lockdown

We know it’s important to stay home right now, and we’re thankful to everyone helping us to do so, from those fighting to keep us healthy and safe, the grocery store where we get our essentials, and the hospitality professionals who don’t give up.

‘…amazing places…’

This doesn’t mean we aren’t dreaming of packing our luggage and travelling soon. We dream of visiting favourite places that we’ve been missing or going somewhere we have never been before.  There are so many amazing places that we are dreaming about, we share some of our thoughts with you to get you thinking of popular places you can add to you travel dream list.

Australia

There’s nowhere we’d rather take the plunge than the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland. We’d love to experience scuba diving and snorkelling and maybe meet the incredible marine biologists caring for conservation.

‘…most sought-after destination…’

The Great Barrier Reef has the world’s largest coral reef. It is one of the world’s most sought-after tourist destinations. It’s the perfect place to explore by helicopter, glass-bottom boats and cruise ships. In addition to the incredible, colourful coral reefs, you can soak up the sun on golden beaches, swim with dolphins and whale watch.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica has something for everyone! We look forward to exploring this Central American country with its exotic wildlife and colourful birds. Bordered by Nicaragua, the Caribbean Sea, Panama, the Pacific Ocean and Ecuador, it is paradise on earth. You can bask in the sun on glorious beaches, go zip lining in the jungles and relax in world class spas.

Dubai

For an exceptional holiday where the rich culture and history, adventure, first class shops, dining and entertainment attractions we can’t wait to see Dubai again. There is something for everyone; beautiful beaches, mysterious deserts and heritage sites. The bustling city has a mix of activities for all tastes. Dubai is a must-see vacation destination!

Egypt

The Great Pyramids of Giza are found in Egypt, along with the Great Sphinx of Giza. Built during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, they are truly an incredible sight to behold. The site is located at the edges of the Western Desert, west of the Nile River in the city of Giza, and southwest of the city centre of Cairo. There are some incredible tours on offer where you can ride camels and experience what it was like to live way back.

Hawaii

Known as ‘Heaven on Earth’, the Na Pali Coast of Kauai in Hawaii is jaw-dropping beautiful. The famous Na Pali Coast hike along the Kalalau Trail draws thousands of adventurous tourists every year. You can tour the coast by boat, stop to snorkel and whale watch. Or, if you prefer, you can tour the Na Pali coast by plane or helicopter. A visit to the Na Pali Coast State Park is a must and something you will remember for the rest of your life.

New Zealand

Who wouldn’t want to visit New Zealand located in the South Pacific Ocean? The country is famous in part due to the filming of the movie trilogy Lord of the Rings. New Zealand has so much to offer, from glaciers to beaches, whale-watching and wine tasting. The Māori culture and hospitality is the best experience and famous bungee jumping a blast of fun.

Peru

The ancient ruins in Machu Picchu is a real favourite of ours; Machu Picchu is the site of an ancient 15th century Inca city, high in the Andes of Peru. It is one of the most famous and spectacular sets of ruins in the world. As one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, it receives over one million visitors every year.

Puerto Rico

As soon as we can, we want to visit Puerto Rico. We want to lounge by the pool at historic hotels and sip on classic cocktails while breathing in the fresh air from the ocean. We can’t wait to experience nature at a tropical rainforest!

Rome

Rome is an adventure for any traveller! There’s something about the city that has been inhabited for so long, every corner is an inspiration, from the crumbling marble ruins to the patchwork of medieval apartment buildings and Renaissance churches.

‘…people are meant to visit…’

The commanding Mussolini-era structures feel so lived in and natural; people are meant to visit Rome!

Santorini

Top of our mind is the thought of the bright blue and white skies of Santorini in Greece the ideal destination for travellers who yearn for warm waters, quiet streets, culture, and a touch of luxury. Considered one of the most romantic places in the world, Santorini is a popular wedding destination, it’s a precious gem in the Aegean Sea. Santorini has an active volcano. The last big eruption occurred 3,600 years ago and another is not expected for 16,000 years or so.

Sicily

It’s the beaches, the food, the ancient history, the medieval architecture, and the romantic piazzas overlooking Mt. Etna that we love.  Sicily is a favourite part of Italy loved by many.   The locals remind us that togetherness still exists. We dream of devouring plates of pasta, sipping on cappuccinos, winding through historic towns and plunging coastlines, and soaking in everything that makes Italy perfect.

Tanzania

There are so many amazing places to visit in Africa but Tanzania, the land of game drives is one of our favourites! Wildebeest, hippos, elephants, chimpanzees, giraffes, crocodiles, water birds are just a few of the wildlife we want to see.

‘…palm trees and sleepy coastal villages…’

Tanzania’s Indian Ocean coastline is also popular for its powdery beaches, palm trees and sleepy coastal villages. Mt. Kilimanjaro is a top visitor spot for adventurous climbers who want to scale Africa’s highest peak and the world’s largest free-standing volcano.

Texas

Yes, Texas is on our list, the comfort, tacos, margaritas, and barbeques.  We look forward to exploring and hanging out by the pool in the desert sun. Texas offers peace and relaxation with the perfect balance of nature and the exploration.

Vietnam

A perfect tourism spot is Vietnam, it’s incredibly vibrant, culturally rich and has gorgeous tropical sandy beaches! We long to visit packed street food stalls and hole-in-the-wall restaurants while eating insanely good food elbow to elbow with strangers.

‘…incredibly vibrant, culturally rich…’

And last but not least any beach! We love the beach and water; we can’t wait to spend time lounging on various beaches across the world.  We need to feel the sand between our toes, the sun shining on our faces, and more than anything else, the sound of the ocean.

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