When people plan a foreign trip, New Zealand is rarely the first country that comes to mind. It wasn't for me either. So when I found out I was going, the excitement came from a very specific place: I had zero idea what this country actually had to offer.
There was nothing to compare it to, no borrowed picture in my head, no highlight reel I'd already seen a hundred times on someone else's feed. Just curiosity.
That curiosity sat with me through the entire flight, through the layover, and by the time I landed, I was almost bracing myself for the jet lag everyone talks about. But it never came.
Nearly sixteen hours of travel, half the world away from home, and I stepped off that flight feeling as fresh as I'd left.
Day 1 — Wrong Side of the Road
We landed in Auckland and drove straight to Cambridge town. In New Zealand, you drive on the opposite side of the road.
Also, coming from a city like Mumbai, that kind of silence felt strange at first but along the way, I started to really like it. Two hours into the drive, and 12,000 kilometres away from home, making that quite a lot more entertaining was Karthik. Our driver-guide, and the man behind ExperienceKart Luxury Travel. He had a story for everything, New Zealand’s history, its wildlife, its people and somehow knew exactly which random detail would make us look up from the window and listen. The kind of local knowledge you wouldn’t find in a guidebook.
We reached our hotel at The Clements Hotel around 5ish and decided to spend the evening there with a beautiful dinner.
Day 2 — I Judged Two Strangers for Not Watching LOTR
We were jet boating by mid-morning across the Waikato River, the longest river in New Zealand at a speed that felt fun right up until it didn't. While I zig-zagged around wide lakes and narrow rivers for an hour there's one thing I'd tell anyone doing this after me: don't keep your hair open.
The boat dropped us straight into Hamilton Gardens, which turned out to be nothing like the botanical garden I'd pictured. It's not one garden, it's eighteen, each enclosed and themed around a different civilisation, so you walk out of an Italian Renaissance courtyard and straight into a Japanese garden of contemplation without so much as a transition.
Still on Day 2, we drove from Hamilton to Hobbiton at Matamata. Hobbiton was, hands down, my most favorite experience of the whole New Zealand trip. It was magical, like walking into a fairytale. Apparently, 30% of visitors have never watched the movies or read the books. As a LOTR fan, this was blasphemy to me. When the tour guide asked if anyone had not watched the movie or read the books, two couples raised their hands and I literally gave them the death stare: like, WHAT are you doing here?
At Hobbiton, you learn that Peter Jackson, the director of LOTR, was basically insane. He made his creative team build an entire fake tree and two days before the shoot, decided he didn’t like the color of the tree and made someone re-paint all 200,000+ leaves.
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Day 3 — Stars That Live Underground
We took it easy and stayed in town. During the day, we decided to give our legs a workout and cycled the Te Awa River Ride from the velodrome in Cambridge. Between the suspension bridges, riverside stretches and ridiculously pretty scenery. You’ll also realise that life in New Zealand seems to happen outdoors. People cycle, hike, paddle, swim, basically anything except sit inside.
But apparently, we weren’t done.
That afternoon, we went underground to the Spellbound Glowworm Caves near Waitomo. While you learn about all the creepy crawlies living in the cave. You are then led into the cave where you hike for a bit towards a waiting canoe that takes you into utter darkness. After a few minutes, you start seeing the worms twinkle one by one, like stars in the night sky. Once your eyes adjust, it’s a spectacular sight to see hundreds of them dotted and sparkling all around you! Alas, no cameras are allowed here.
Day 4 — Into the Ancient Forest
Started with a completely different kind of adventure. We headed to Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari, one of New Zealand's biggest ecological restoration projects, protecting more than 3,000 hectares of native forest and endangered wildlife.
And this wasn't just another “look, pretty forest” stop.
The whole place is about restoring a landscape and protecting species that were here long before humans showed up.
And then, we flew south to Christchurch.
Day 5 & 6 — Drinking on a Weekday
It began with wine tasting, which is generally a pretty good sign that the day is going in the right direction.
We started the North Canterbury wine trail at Pegasus Bay, then made our way to Greystone Wines before stopping at Black Estate for lunch and another tasting. At this point, I was down with a lot of wine in me.
Also, the wineries here have a completely different pace to them. Cool-climate vineyards, long lunches, sustainable production and absolutely no sense that anyone is in a hurry to get anywhere.
And honestly, after the first few days of running from one activity to another, I wasn't complaining.
By late afternoon, we reached Tawanui Farm. This was one of those places where you arrive and immediately understand that luxury doesn't necessarily mean a five-star hotel. Sometimes it just means nobody is around.
That evening, it got chilly, so I lit a fire and settled into the kind of quiet you don't get very often on a holiday.
The next morning started with a farm tour at Tawanui and drove back to catch a short flight to Dunedin.
Day 7 — Beer, Birds, and a Castle
Woke up at The Fable in Dunedin, a beautiful boutique hotel overlooking the city. Dunedin is New Zealand’s oldest university town, and there’s something distinctly old-world about it, beautiful buildings, steep streets, and the kind of architecture that makes you want to just wander around for hours.
Dunedin managed to pack an impressive amount into our last two days.
We started at Speights Brewery, which was founded in 1876 and is one of New Zealand's best-known beer brands. So naturally, we had to drink beer as close to the source as possible.
Research, obviously.
From there, we headed to the Royal Albatross Centre, home to one of the world's few mainland breeding colonies of royal albatrosses.
We finished at Larnach Castle, New Zealand's only castle, wandering through the gardens and ballroom as the light started to disappear. A suitably dramatic way to end the day.
Day 8 — The Goodbye Dinner
Our last full day in New Zealand, started on the water.
We took a Māori Waka Journey at Karitāne, paddling a traditional canoe while hearing stories about the land and water. After a week of jet boats, flights and road trips, it was nice to slow things down.
Then came Baldwin Street, one of the steepest streets in the world. Walking up was bad enough. Walking back down was when I started questioning the itinerary.
We wandered through the University of Otago and Dunedin Railway Station before ending the trip with fine dining and endless conversations with my FAM team at Esplanade, overlooking St Clair Beach.
And just like that, it was time for the airport, the long flight home, and eventually, real life.
So, Was It Worth It?
Overall, New Zealand brings together culture, people and nature in a way that's hard to fully explain until you're standing in the middle of it.
Before the trip, I had people telling me New Zealand was more beautiful than Switzerland and Iceland.
I haven't been to Switzerland or Iceland, so I have absolutely no basis for saying this...
but trust me.
