While many travelers look up to New Zealand as a destination for breathtaking vistas and exhilarating adventures, not many know that it is also popular for sailboats and yachts. Having more boat per capita than anywhere else in the world, Auckland, the largest city and a major commercial hub of New Zealand earns the name -The City of Sails.

Since the kiwi island lies in the southern hemisphere, the seasons are opposite to those in the northern hemisphere. So, when we visited in October, it was mid Spring in New Zealand displaying a riot of colors all over with cherry and magnolia blossoms, rhododendrons, tulips, daffodils, lillies, lupins, bluebells and a host of wildflowers. Speaking of flowers and gardens, I cannot ignore highlighting the international award-winning themed gardens we visited in Hamilton of New Zealand’s North Island. Spread across a sprawling 54-acre land, the park has many enclosed gardens representing the gardening styles from various parts of the globe.

New Zealand is home to many natural wonders- the glow-worm caves of Waitomo being my favorite. The lush green rolling meadows of Waitomo hide beneath them a labyrinth of underground caves opening up to the surface through sinkholes. Millions of glowworms have made the caves their home, laying bioluminescent larvae on the rocky surface. Sailing over a raft in the underground rivers and streams in the dark caves where no sunlight reaches, looking at the endless stretch of glowing dots, I felt like a kid lost in the magic of Avatar’s Pandora (remember the tree of souls?)

 Another wonderland that I could not miss while in Newzealand was the Bay of Plenty known for its Geothermal Activity. True to its name, the region is plentiful with bubbling mud, steaming waterfalls and lakes, smoking rocks, silica terraces, geysers, hot springs, and fumaroles. Rotorua, a peaceful town located in the Taupo volcanic reserve is the epicenter of all the popular geothermal wonders in the region.

It was a no brainer that I had to visit The Hobbiton while in New Zealand’s North Island. Trust me, if you think that the Hobbiton interests only the fans of Lord of the Rings, you are utterly wrong. Spread across 12 acres of lush greenery in the middle of a vast working sheep farm are numerous hobbit holes dug into the hills. Standing at a vantage point, when I looked at the hobbit village with beautiful gardens, clothes hanging on the laundry lines and smoke coming out of the chimneys,  I half expected a hobbit to spring out of one of the vibrantly colored circular doors screaming fun.

Dramatic cliffs and an iconic arch welcomed us as we entered the Mercury Bay in the Coromandel Peninsula of New Zealand. The  most popular beach named after the beautiful rocky archway called Cathedral Cove is any photographer’s delight. Team it with a clear blue sky, crystal clear aqua colored sea and jutting trees from the peripherals of the cliffs, you have an instant recipe for a spectacle. However, the spectacle I witnessed at the cove was sans the shades of blue, all thanks to the overcast caused by a storm.

That was all the highlights from my rendezvous with New Zealand’s North Island. I shall save the highlights from the South Island for a separate post for the fear that this one would grow unbearably long to read. I shall soon be writing detailed posts about each of the locations I visited across the Kiwi Nation. So, stay tuned and let me know if you enjoyed reading the vignette from my time in New Zealand. While you are at it, why don’t you share a dose of awesomeness with your friends by sharing this post?

Till then, Kia Koa!!