New Zealand is my favorite country in the world (so far). I find the people open, friendly, and helpful and the countryside beautiful. If I could, I think that I would immigrate.
I participated in five study abroad programs in New Zealand. These programs were generally three weeks long. We traveled from the north, starting in Auckland and finishing in Dunedin on the South Island. We visited Rotorua, Wellington, Picton, Nelson, Hokitika, Franz Josef, Queenstown, and then Dunedin. My favorite locations are Rotorua, Franz Josef, Queenstown, and Dunedin.
The experiences all follow the model I described earlier. Students engage in research projects, using the time abroad as field research. The on-the-ground experiences focus on history, culture, economy, environment, communication, and politics.
While in Auckland, we visited The Domain, the Botanical Gardens, the Auckland Museum, Wine Country, an olive orchard, Waiheke, Rangitoto (dormant volcano), and went whale and dolphin watching.
On the way to Rotorua, we visited Waitomo Caves, one of the top sites in New Zealand. While in Rotorua, we visited Hobbiton, WE also spent time at Te Puia, the national cultural center for the Mauri. We spent an evening in one of the top spas in the world, taking time to walk in the forests, visited a working farm, and students could go Zorbing and Luging. One of the highlights of the visit was our Mauri dinner at Mitai Village. The Master of Ceremonies for the dinner greats and talks with guests in their home language. I can recall Mauri, French, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Portuguese, Japanese, German, Russian, and English.
Our next stop was Wellington. We visited multiple Lord of the Rings locations, Peter Jackson’s WETA Digital Studios, Te Papa, The Botanical Gardens, and Zealandia, and enjoyed the many walks around the city.
We took the ferry across the Cook Straits from Wellington, moving through Queen Charlotte Sound. We stayed in Nelson overnight and then traveled down the west coast to Hokitika, known for its Jade. From Hokitika, we traveled to Franz Josef to visit the glaciers. Leaving Franz Josef, we visited Queenstown. In the Queenstown area, students can go skiing, jet boating, and jump from the home of bungy jumping and canyon swinging. We traveled Skippers Canyon Road, one of the top 10 dangerous roads globally, and sampled a $1,000 bottle of wine.
We finished our trip in Dunedin. Dunedin offers many adventures. We visited the only mainland nesting site for the Royal Albatross. We walked the steepest residential street in the world. We visited the Otago Museum and took an eco-tour to see yellow-eye penguins, the rarest penguins in the world. We also visited the Speights Brewery (one of my three favorite beers). We also took a train trip through the Taieri Gorge.
There are some interesting foods to enjoy. Perhaps the most traditional meal is the Hangi, a traditional Mauri meal cooked underground. We also eat corn on the cob cooked in a geothermal pool and burgers at one of the top burger places in the world, Fergburgers. You cannot leave New Zealand without eating Pavlova and hokey-pokey ice cream. There is a cooking technique where the restaurant heats a stone and brings raw lamb, beef, chicken, shrimp, and fish to the table. You then cook the protein at your seat. Finally, I fell in love with the different meat pies available on about every corner.
