Ecotourism in New Zealand

We were on the bus and out of Queenstown before the sun came up. Our tour guide was Irish and exactly the kind of person you'd expect to move to Queenstown, the adventure sport capital of the world: an adrenaline junkie. He says his next adventure will be paragliding through one of the mountain passes we passed on our way to Milford Sound. We drove the Milford Highway, one of the most scenic drives in the world, or so I've been told. It definitely lived up to its reputation: it was gorgeous. We stopped at a few places on the 3-4 hour drive from Queenstown to Milford, including the mirror lakes, the valley of a mountain range, and a rain forest. Here are some pictures from the drive to Milford. Milford sound was beautiful. Even though it was a cold, rainy day, it was still so incredible. I alternated between warming up inside the ferry and wantering the decks taking pictures and taking it all in. At one point, the ferry puts the bow of the ship into one of the fa...

The flight from Nelson to Queenstown was very easy with a stop in Christchurch on the way. Flying in through the Southern Alps was breathtaking and the amazing view begin as soon as you step onto the Tarmac. It is so much colder in Queenstown, and it snowed my first night there. Definitely wished I had packed my winter coat. Needless to say, I decided to stay in my first night there to stay warm. The next morning, I got some advice from the front desk of my hostel and did the Queenstown Hill walk. It was another baby mountain, and I don't think my legs have been or ever will be as strong as 3 weeks hiking mountains and volcanoes have made them. I met a girl from Sydney, Jeanette, who was also traveling by herself, about halfway up the hill. We had a mini photo shoot on the top of the hill. We both agreed that the hardest part about traveling alone is that there isn't always someone to take your picture, so it was nice to have a photographer and to help a fellow solo traveler....

On the Queen's birthday, I interviewed Amanda Pearson, a Tourism Sustainability Executive.  She focuses on making Auckland a great place to live, work, and visit by working with tourism businesses. She tries to spotlight the industries that are doing a good job and using them as a model for other businesses. RIght now, they are focusing on improving the bay because the Americas cup is being hosted in Auckland. Cleaning up the bay will present Auckland in a better light to tourists and help the environment. I didn’t notice if the water looked dirty or filled with trash while I was in Auckland, but I did see dolphins swimming in the bay, which is a good sign.  After talking with Amanda, I checked out the exhibit at the Nelson museum about the impact of humans on the environment. It was the People's choice photo competition, and the photos were breath taking and powerful. There were scenes like a king fisher perched on a sewage drain, presumably looking for his next meal in the...

Joanne, the woman from Texas I met at Nelson airport, picked me up from my hostel in Nelson and we drove to Able Tasman national park, Kaiteriteri beach to be more exact. We had a nice brunch by the water and walked a long the beach for awhile. We could see Maori canoes taking tourists around the bay. It would have been a lovely spot to sit on the beach and swim in the water if it were warmer. We drove through winding, steep hills with a drop off usually along one side of the road to the trail that takes us down to split apple rock. Split apple rock is . . . well, a rock that looks like a split apple. It is little ways off of a small beach that is mostly flooded at high tide. We got there during low tide, so we were able to walk along the beach and see the rock from different angles. There was also some black sand on the beach, which I had never seen in person before. Next, we drove a little further through Able Tasman and found a beautiful beach to walk along with green mo...

My next day in Nelson was a chilly one. It was 40 degrees Fahrenheit in the morning, and got up to about 50 degrees. I walked (briskly) to the Saturday market, where lots of vendors had set up shop. I strolled through the art stalls and eyed the food booths, but ultimately decided against buying anything. I walked to the center of NZ trail, which goes through some "hills" which are really more like mountains. I swear everyday is leg day in NZ The view from the center of NZ monument was spectacular, and I spent most of the day warming up by getting lost in the hills. Literally. I got lost. Thankfully, I found a trail again and managed to find my way back to town before dark. I was again surprised at how clean and trash free the trails were. I don't think I even saw a cigarette butt. It was a beautiful hike in the fall weather. I stopped at a cute cafe and got some tea that came in an actual tea cup with saucer to warm up. That evening the inconsiderate roommate had left ...

Windy Wellington struck again when I tried to fly from Wellington to Nelson. Wellington is located at the bottom of the North island and Nelson is near the top of the South island. I was almost blown over trying to walk into Wellington airport. The wind was so bad that day that no flights landed or left the airport past 11 am. I had to return to the hostel I was staying at, but luckily I got the last bed in the hostel. My flight was rescheduled for early the next morning, so I had breakfast at the airport. The wind was much better this time. I should mention that there was zero security for my flight. I walked into the airport and straight to my gate. No one even asked to see ID. I kept thinking I was doing something wrong, but that is just the way they do things. It was definitely odd, being American where no matter how far you're going you need to walk through a metal detector, take off your shoes, have your bags scanned, etc. I liked the change of pace. On the flight I sat n...