Saturday, December 5, 2015

New Zealand: Queenstown and More

Queenstown was one of those places that as you're traveling in, you can actually picture yourself living in. It was the perfect mix of city and nature. There was the prettiest park with all these families and their kids. People were paddle boarding and boating on the water, it was amazing. We ate at Fergurger which was had the biggest and best burgers around. We loved wandering the little shops. It was such a quaint little town.  
Stopped at the Remarkables Sweet Shop and sampled some chocolates! This picture reminds me of our time in Belgium when we sampled the best chocolates in the world, seriously.
We rode the gondola in Queenstown and went luging up at the top! It was so cool. 
Lyle decided to play with the kids toys. I guess we need one of these when we have kids!
Patagonia Chocolates had the best desserts.
NZ had the coolest birds and animals.
Milford Sound was pretty cloudy that day but that didn't stop us from having fun in the rain.
We stopped at random stops for pictures because NZ is stunning everywhere. Everyone kept telling us the South island was prettier and they were right! 
I have dreamed about skydiving in NZ ever since I read an article about this man skydiving there and how amazing it was. I know you can skydive anywhere but NZ is so breathtaking I wanted this to be the place. It was a fortune. I highly highly recommend picking which adrenaline pumping activity you want to do when you get there because there are so many options. Bungy jumping was an option but they have the highest bungy right near us at home so that made the decision easier. If you can only do it once, do it at the best one! 
Ignore how terribly gross I look here please.
Lake Tekapo is covered in flowers and one of the prettiest lakes I've seen!
This field was actually buzzing with bees so I was freaking out a bit but they didn't bother me at all.
xo Cait

New Zealand: Kaikoura

Kaikoura was one of our favorite places in New Zealand. It was a beautiful little town on the water and the snow capped mountains were stunning. On the way to and in Kaikoura there were seals everywhere. First, we went to this waterfall (yes, another one) but this one was special. Tons of little seal pups were playing in it! They were so close and it was so cool to see them in this natural setting where they were having so much fun. I took about 15 videos here and I didn't want to leave. Even Lyle said that he wasn't expecting it to be this awesome. On the way out I stopped to sit and watch them because they were all along the river and they kept coming up to me, they were so friendly and curious. It was one of the best things we experienced in NZ.
The next day we got up and went whale/dolphin watching. We had gone whale before but it was a completely different experience in NZ. The scenery was breathtaking. Not only did we see one whale, but two. They got so close to us, the pictures don't even do it justice.
These views kill me.
We had the best lunch by the water. Kaikoura Seafood BBQ is worth the hype guys. The Salmon was out of this world. This was the best place to eat in Kaikoura.
The cutest little pup I couldn't stop playing with at the lavender fields.
We went llama trekking. Who knew that was even a thing?! It was so cool to learn about the llamas and see so much of NZ which we probably wouldn't have seen. It included a snack, admission to the Fyffe house and finished at this awesome area where a colony of seals lived. 
The cutest little movie theater!
I could have spent so much more time in Kaikoura with all the different activities and excursions they offered. It is one of the most beautiful little towns in the whole world.
xo Cait