One of the most memorable trips taken by any couple would definitely be their honeymoon. At least this holds good for me . Usually honeymoon is a time for newlyweds to relax and enjoy the first few days of their new life. However our perspective was a little different, we wanted to understand each other better and thought the best way to connect was to do something for which both of us can die for “ADVENTURE”.

Before I go any further, a quick brief about me and my wife, both of us are in our mid twenties, from consulting background and a total adventure freak. We got married in February’11 and like any other couple we planned our honeymoon well in advance. After weeks of research on various destinations (climate, hotels, food, activities, budget) we finally decided New Zealand as the place to be for our honeymoon.

Our Itinerary: New Delhi, Auckland,  Waitomo Caves, Rotorua, Wellington, Kaikorua, Christchurch, Mount Cook, Queenstown, Dunedin, Christchurch, New Delhi

A Quick Brief about New Zealand:

Situated in the south western Pacific Ocean, New Zealand is mainly comprised of two main large islands – the North and South Islands. New Zealand is also known as Aotearoa meaning “Land of the long white cloud”.

New Zealand is a country dominated by towering peaks, beautiful sandy beaches, sparkling lakes, and an extraordinary array of flora and fauna because of its isolation from the rest of the world.  Many call it as the land of post cards because of its scenic beauty. New Zealand has a great many outdoor activities (bungee jumping, sky diving, jet boat etc. to name a few) and is a great place to unwind and enjoy life.

About Our Trip:

North Island

Day 1:- Auckland

After 24 hours of travelling from New Delhi (India) – Singapore- Auckland, we finally reached this amazing place also known as the city of sails. We started our journey from the airport where we picked up a car for the next 16-17 days. We decided to first go to our hotel and rejuvenate ourselves for an exciting evening.
The drive from airport to the hotel was least to say an adventure because of 2 reasons 1.  We had booked an automatic sedan car, though I am used to driving a manual gear car in India

2.  We thought to find the our way in the traditional style by navigating through a map manually.

Alas!!  What would have been a 45 minutes drive, turned out to be a 2 hour nightmare, though it taught us that technology is meant to be used and from then on GPS became the saviour of our trip.

We had pre booked a 4* property and to our delight got an excellent welcome from the helpful & courteous staff of the hotel. Once we shared that this is our first trip to New Zealand and we are on our honeymoon, the warm welcome was coupled with a complimentary upgrade to a superior category room with a Jacuzzi

For the evening we decided to try our luck at Casino at Skycity tower, which was very near to our hotel. Skycity tower is the tallest man-made structure in New Zealand. This magnificent venue offers world’s most popular games, fantastic live entertainment and great food. Definitely a must visit place!!

Day 2:- Auckland
The excitement of a new life & a new country made us woke up early morning. We decided to go for a morning jog and also explore the neighbourhood surroundings. The excellent weather and the smiling faces which greeted us gave us an indication of what we would experience in the next few days to come. After our morning excursion and a heavy breakfast, it was time to go for the city tour. Per our itinerary we had only one full day for ourselves in Auckland, and we wanted to make the most of it. We covered the major tourist attractions such as Harbour Bridge, Maungawhau Volcano and Mission Bay.

At Mission Bay we tried our hand on kayak and stand up paddle and take my word it was fun. Beautiful beach with mesmerizing blue water gave us worth of every penny spent.

By day end we were really tired, however pumped up for the next day. Late night we headed to “COUNTDOWN” to buy groceries for the trip (Fruits, Bread, Snacks and Soda Drinks etc.)

For more refer to my next post SKY DIVE ADVENTURE