So enjoyable

New Zealand | Mar 1 - Mar 17, 2026

I don't have the words to say how much I enjoyed our trip through New Zealand. Yes, I could have booked everything myself and saved a little money. But Kathrin booked us into wonderful hotels I'd never have considered, and got us on interesting side trips. We were on the Marlborough wine tasting and cruise when we got a call letting us know our 9:30 ferry to Wellington had been canceled. Kathrin quickly got us on an earlier trip with a different cruise line. That alone was worth the extra having an agent cost. We had to get up early, but that was so much better than missing a day in Wellington and our trip to Weta Workshop. Another couple on the cruise were supposed to take the same ferry. They got no notification at all, and the last we saw of them, were still trying to book a ferry. So a big thumbs up to Kathrin.

You don't have to just accept kimkim's suggested itinerary. We swapped a trip to Willowbank Animal Sanctury for the suggested whale watching, and booked a suburban B&B near Zealandia instead of staying at a downtown Wellington hotel.

Highlights of the trip were seeing glow worms in Te Anau, the native birds on Kapiti Island, Weta Workshop, Zealandia, and the Hobbiton movie set. We came home with nearly 6,000 photos. We tried to photograph as many of the native birds as possible.

Don't let the no photography rule scare you away from the Te Anau glow worm cave. You can't get a good photo on a tour anyway. Just enjoy the view.

Milford and Doubtful Sound were pretty, but we didn't see them at their best. We hit a freak rainless period, so the smaller waterfalls and mist weren't there. If you like wildlife, stop at the Te Anau bird sanctuary. The DOC removed some of the birds, but they still have takehe. We took the path along the water and saw several small song birds.

Dunedin was the one bad spot. We got back from the overnight Doubtful Sound Cruise (where they treat you like royalty and the food is delicious and plentiful) about 12:30. By the time we battled the traffic and got to our downtown hotel, it was too late to see anything. On the plus side, we had a fabulous room with a washer and dryer.
We skipped the Otago Peninsula in favor of the Moeraki boulders, arriving about 7 am. We got all the photos we wanted before busloads of tourists arrived and climbed all over the rocks.

Christchurch was lovely. We rode the tram to the Botanic Gardens, where I regreted not taking a zoom lens to photograph the birds. The next day we took the train to Arthur's Pass. The food on the train was excellent, and we enjoyed hiking.

On the way to Blenheim, we visited Willowbanks. It's small but well designed, with a nice assortment of animals. They have heritage farm animals and native New Zealand animals. We didn't manage to see a kea in Fiordland, but saw several there, as well as 3 kiwis.

We did the aforementioned wine tasting and cruise in Blenheim.

I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Weta Workshop in Wellington. Our second day we took the cable car up and walked back through the gardens. Since we were there at 7:30, parking was no problem. We arrived at Zealandia by 9:30. It's a large predator free park in the middle of Wellington. We were struck by the lack of birdsong in New Zealand. Imported predators have nearly wiped out the birds. Zealandia was full of song.

Kapiti Island was even better. The birds were almost deafening, and because they live on a predator free island and are never hunted, they were fairly easy to photograph. We spent the morning in the older reforested area. In midafternoon we moved to the other side, where the lodge and cabins are located. We made the mistake of hiking the Boulder Beach trail. It had just reopened, so maybe we saw it at its worst. The first part is easy. Then you hit rocks and driftwood, and no trail markers. We finally turned around and went back.
The people who run the lodge are so kind. The food was delicious.
That night we did a red light walk and saw two kiwis. We slept in a glamping tent with a fabulous view.

By Tongariro Park we were wearing out. Luckily we stayed at the River Lodge, a beautiful old hose out in the country. Daniel, the landlord, must be the busiest man on earth. He's very outgoing and cheerful, and makes a great breakfast.
We had a nice view of Mt. Ruapehu from the balcony, and walked along the river photographing birds. We did a little hiking to see waterfalls.

We went to the two Waitomo caves that allow photography. One is a small limestone cave with nice formations. The other, Ruakuri has a little of everything; formations, glow worms, and plain walls.

Our last stop was Hobbiton. Depending on what you prefer, the light is better for photography in early morning. We opted for the nightly banquet, where you get 4.5 hours instead of 2.5, and get to see the buildings lit up at night. The food is great, but try to sit at the end of a table. Most of the food is placed there, and at least at our table, nobody passed it around. We had to stay an extra day to get banquet tickets, and it was so worth it. The perfect end to a perfect trip.