NEW ZEALAND

First off anyone who is thinking about going to New Zealand, you absolutely must! It is the most breath taking place I have seen. It is very green and everywhere you look there is something beautiful to look at.

To begin our adventure we had to take a train from Brisbane to Sydney. Of course since it was Kyra and I going on the train something had to go wrong! Our train hit some patches of oil on the tracks which made the wheels slip and made the train go at about 5 mph jerking the whole time! Really fun :) haha

Once we were on the ship everything was top notch! Our stewards name was Saks and he was so nice and always greeted us with a big smile.
Well the first day at sea was really rough waters and I didn't feel so hot but I didn't get sick, so that's good news haha. The next day was formal night and Kyra and I dressed up and got to have three glasses of champagne and that made us feel pretty good :)

First Port: AUCKLAND:

In Auckland we did a hop on hop off tour bus and got to see some really beautiful places. We went to a volcano crater and from there you could see the city and some of the surrounding areas. Also, the day we were there the city was celebrating Diwali (the Indian holiday). It was such an interesting city, very industrial looking. 

Second Port: TAURANGA

This was one of my favorite towns, well that could just be because we rented a car and drove 27km to The Shire!!! It was so amazing! We go to walk around the shire with a guide who told us everything that goes on when filming is happening and also the different hobbit holes; like Bag End!! 

Third Port: NAPIER

In Napier we walked around town in the morning and then had a winery tour to see 3 different wineries and do a tasting at each. I had never done one before so I was very excited! All three places had excellent wines and were all very different. 

Fourth Port: WELLINGTON

We did an all day tour of the Lord of the Rings and the Weca studios. They took us to see some of the spots on Mt. Victoria where the Fellowship of the Rings was filmed and then to where they made the costumes and other parts for the film.

Fifth Port: DUNEDIN

This place was so cool looking! It had older buildings and their train station was amazing! It was built in the Flemish renaissance design so it looks like a gingerbread house :) We got here a day early because the captain had to cancel our trip to Akaora due to weather. That gave us a chance to do a glow worm tour that night and then during the day we went on a train tour of the seaside and some country side. We also went into the Cadbury chocolate factory, bought some good chocolate of course!

Dunedin's train station

Glow worm up close...its the blue dot :)

Well that's all the ports we went to :) We had an amazing time and I would love to go back again and see the south island more. It was such a beautiful country!