This deserves your attention ... Our little neighbour has topped a readers' poll of the world's most desirable travel destinations ... for the third year in a row! And before you ask, the survey wasn’t conducted in Christchurch. Its source was the UK travel magazine, Wanderlust.
Why New Zealand? I'm putting it all down to good looks:
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Volcanos - Ngauruhoe, Ruapehu etc (and did you know that
Auckland stands on 52 volcanic cones?)
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Beaches - the coastline is something like 18,000 kilometres long, for heaven's sake. You're never more than 130km from a sandy shore!
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Forests - galore
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Mountains - big, tall, towering, small; they're everywhere
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Geothermal wonders
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Green, green grass, rivers, trees – even green stone
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Blue, blue lakes – every blue under the sun
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Sounds of silence: Milford, Doubtful, Dusky and others
So, DO WE TAKE OUR NEIGHBOUR FOR GRANTED? Heaven forbid. But maybe we ought to look more closely across the Tasman. It’s certainly buzzing over there. I was amazed, the last time I was in the Queenstown area. And on my first visit to the North Island's Tongariro National Park, I was literally awe-struck. What a place! The colours, the volcanos (active, smoking!) the snow and tussock – and views! OMG! – right across the North Island. Hey, now there’s a great Valentine's Day destination! High up on New Zealand’s volcanic plateau, with views to infinity…
Actually, New Zealand’s so narrow that it’s possible to see from coast to coast in a number of places. In Auckland, you can even walk from coast to coast. But the Kiwi coastline that stays in my mind is Cape Reinga, the tip of the North Island. The views are sublime, and there's the astonishing sight of the Tasman Sea meeting the Pacific Ocean. They’re two different colours – bet you didn’t know that – and they collide with a mighty surge. Dramatic and unforgettable. Go there!
To be a UK travel magazine’s top destination three times in a row is surely an indicator that something's right across the Tasman. Good on you, Kiwis!
Anyway, talk again soon. I’m off to catch a Kiwi.
The photo is taken by PhillipC.