New Zealand is one big playground, making it an adventurous destination. For our short time, we focused on the north part of the South Island. Beginning in Christchurch, we headed north to Kaikoura for beautiful hiking, Renwick for wine tasting, and the Queen Charlotte Sound for more trekking; around to Nelson and Abel Tasman National Park for kayaking; and down the West Coast and over Arthur's Pass and the Southern Alps for a gorgeous drive.

Hapuku Lodge, Kaikoura New Zealand was built to give guests a great night's sleep in one of the most beautiful places in the world. Hapuku Lodge is located 12kms north of the seaside town of Kaikoura, renowned for its whale watching and marine diversity. Nestled tight between the mountains and the sea, the Lodge shares the land with a deer stud and olive grove. The lodge is well appointed with unique, handcrafted furniture throughout and has six spacious bedrooms, a modern apartment and five luxury tree houses located in the canopy of a native Manuka grove. The Kaikoura is extremely rich in marine life. Enjoy activities such as whale watching, playful dolphin and seal swimming, sea kayaking, Maori Tours or walking. www.hapukuLodge.com

I travelled NZ for 3 months from August to October 2004. 2 Friends and I hired a flowery van and hit the road. We went to Auckland, then the Bay Of Islands, Raglan, Rotorua and Wellington before catching a ferry to the South Island. There we checked out the wildlife around Kaikoura including an amazing trip to see Sperm Whales which are maaaaasive! Then we headed to the mountains. Wanaka was amazing, my favourite place there. We tried snowboarding for the first time and by the end of my first day I was pretty good! If i do say so myself.