DEL.ICIO.USFROM ATLANTA TO NEW ZEALAND
New Zealand: A tourist’s guide to the country
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Planning a trip to New Zealand? Here are a few sights, sounds and flavors that capture the country.
• Spend the night on a farm: Try New Zealand’s version of Southern hospitality by spending the night on a working sheep farm. You’ll get to see sheep shorn and, if you can handle it, enjoy a lamb dinner with mint sauce and veggies the same night. Prices vary, but you can have a memorable visit for as little as $85. Start your search for lodging at www.newzealand.com.
Susan Puckett / spuckett@ajc.com
New Zealand’s version of Southern hospitality is a night on a working sheep farm, where visitors can see sheep being sheared and enjoy a lamb dinner, all for $85.
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• Try hokey pokey ice cream: From wool to wine, New Zealanders love to showcase locally produced goods. Hokey pokey incorporates a local product called golden syrup. Think vanilla with touches of butter brittle and you’ll understand why it ranks second only to vanilla among Kiwis.
• Buy some Paua jewelry: Diners covet abalone found in the cool waters around Aotearoa, New Zealand. But artists crave the mollusk’s smooth Paua shell. Once polished, that fluid blue interior serves as the perfect medium for inexpensive hand-carved earrings, necklaces and pins.
• Cruise Milford Sound: This breathtaking fjord has become a symbol of New Zealand’s unvarnished natural beauty. A day cruise delivers seals sunning on rock ledges and striking mountains that top 4,977 feet. A cruise costs $47.21 with Milford Sound Red Boat Cruises. www.redboats.co.nz.
• Visit Larnach Castle: It’s creepy and it’s kooky, mysterious and a little spooky, thanks to the ghost of original owner William Larnach. Built in 1871, the country’s sole castle overlooks the Otago Harbor roughly 1,000 feet below. Tour the castle, enjoy 35 acres of gardens, have a three-course meal or spend the night in a themed suite at the boutique lodge. www.larnachcastle.co.nz.
• Take a wine tour: Spend the day in Marlborough, New Zealand’s largest wine-producing region. See www.newzealand.com for a list of wineries that offer tours or lodging.
IF YOU GO
About New Zealand
With a population of 4.1 million, New Zealand has two main islands – North Island and South Island. We took a scenic tour of South Island, Queenstown to Christchurch. Mid-December to mid-February is summer in New Zealand.
Getting there
If traveling in February or March, as we did, expect to pay about $1,800 round trip, including taxes, to Queenstown, via Qantas (Australian carrier) from Los Angeles. Price does not include ticket to Los Angeles. Flights also are frequently quoted from San Francisco. Lower group airfares or consolidator (negotiated wholesale) airfares may be available. Buy an Atlanta to West Coast fare separately, rather than an “add-on fare” from Atlanta through the trans-Pacific carrier. Travel time from the West Coast to Auckland is about 13 hours; from Auckland to Queenstown about two hours.
If you choose to cycle
Several tour groups offer this trip; we traveled with the Trip Chicks (www.thetripchicks.com), an Atlanta-based travel agency specializing in fitness and cultural travel in small groups to many overseas destinations. In partnership with Pedal Tours (www.pedaltours.co.nz), an Auckland-based bike outfitter, they will be offering another tour of the South Island Feb. 27-March 11. Cost is $2,879 per person twin land package (based on current exchange rate; airfare additional).
Bungee, paraglide
AJ Hackett Bungy, in Queenstown, is at the top of a cliff. To get there, you can take the gondola or hike. The Ledge Sky Swing costs $120 for adults and $80 for kids ages 10-15. The bungee jump costs $160 for adults, $100 for kids, and includes a T-shirt and gondola pass. DVD and photo packages are available for $45-$80. Photos to prove you made the jump cost $30. E-mail enquiries@bungy.co.nz, or call 011 64-3-442-4007 or 0800-286-495 (within New Zealand). www.bungy.co.nz/index.php/pi_pageid/22. For $195, you can take a tandem paragliding flight from the top of the Skyline Gondola. Reservations recommended. www.paraglide.net.nz
What to eat (and drink)
With its heavy British influence, traditional New Zealand cuisine is largely meat and potatoes, although more contemporary chefs have introduced European and Asian-fusion flavors. Lamb is a specialty — but be warned that Kiwis like theirs on the well-done side. Our favorite bites were the huge and succulent Marlborough green-lipped mussels, simple shellfish and seafood dishes; the national dessert of New Zealand called pavlova — a fruit and whipped cream-filled meringue — and sticky pudding, an ultra-rich moist and spicy cake covered in toffee sauce and whipped cream. Lean venison and ostrich show up frequently on fancier menus; for casual dining, the locals might suggest a meat pie to go from a convenience store, or a hokey pokey ice cream cone. More memorable than the food is the wine — especially Marlborough’s renowned sauvignon blanc. Beer selections are good, too. www.newzealand.com/travel/USA
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