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http://cmtv.com http://newmediatravel.net www.NewZealand.com www.info.com/NewZealandTourist New Zealand is a land made for outdoor adventure travel, everything from hiking, golfing, biking, fly fishing, kayaking and swimming at “hot water” beaches (where the underground water under the sand is so hot from ancient volcanoes that you can dig a hole and have a relaxing outdoor hot tub experience). New Zealand invented modern bungee jumping, and still offers it to tourists. The hiking is spectacular, with glacier and mountain and lake scenery everywhere. One of the most special places is the Coromandel Peninsula, not far from Auckland where you can spend a week or so exploring the mountainous roads, a butterfly garden, some lovely b&b’s or luxury properties where you can arrive by helicopter. New Zealand is where the Maori people first settled, long before Caucasians, and their language and culture is venerated and celebrated here. You can see the “Lord of the Rings” sites in New Zealand, as well as private art collections at peoples’ estates and at hotels serving as the lucky vessel for collectors’ treasures. Spas abound in New Zealand; many set in luxurious settings near lakes and mountains. New Zealand is uncrowded. You’ll never encounter a traffic jam or a line of people waiting for anything in this and of outdoor beauty.
By our standards, “New Zealand” is empty. There are more sheep than people here, leading to a relaxing sense of camaraderie among the few who make it their home. When you visit New Zealand, the locals are so grateful that you’ve made it all the way here, that they are gracious and welcoming.
New Zealand is about using the spectacular setting to be outdoors, as active as you can be. The hikes in New Zealand are the best. New Zealand art is quirky and fun and exists in private and public gardens and hotels designed around personal collections.
New Zealand is the “Maori” people, who settled in the North Island long before others came. Their culture is respected and preserved, with their dances, their handmade giant canoes, and weird welcoming celebrations entertaining for tourists.
New Zealand is “Lord of the Rings,” and you can visit all the sites where the movies were made.
TAGS: New Zealand hiking, New Zealand bungee jumping, New Zealand kayaking, New Zealand golfing, New Zealand biking, Maori culture, Coromandel Peninsula, Lord of the Rings sites New Zealand, hot water beaches New Zealand, New Zealand glaciers, New Zealand spas, North Island New Zealand, South Island New Zealand, Wellington art scene, New Zealand fly fishing.
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Julie Hatfield, freelance travel writer and travelvideopostcard.com contributor, was a Boston Globe reporter for 22 years. She is now a Boston Globe and Boston Courant correspondent, guest blogger for AllThingsCruise.com, writer for Global Traveler Magazine and contributor to passportnewsletter.com, visualtraveltours.com, Met Golfer Magazine and Bay Area News Group She is the Boston and international examiner for Examiner.com, producer of the Sutro Media app “Boston Arts & culture,” writer for Where Boston Guest Book, and an active member of Society of the American Travel Writers.
