New Zealand is a truly special place. It feels like one of the last places on earth untouched by humans — or at least a place where the humans have chosen not to touch it too much. It’s like one big national park slash farmer’s market and it’s unbelievably beautiful and laid back.

After traveling for over 50 hours straight (a 22 hour boat ride along the Croatian coast up to Rijeka, then a 12 hour trip to London, a 7 hour layover, and a 13 hour flight to Auckland), and also traveling to the exact opposite side of the world from London, we were a bit jet-lagged but we toughed it out. We started by going to the Coromandel peninsula to get our first taste of NZ, and it was pretty spectacular. All the roads curve along the rocky coastline (speckled with tons of bright wildflowers, sheep and cows across massive green mountains). Beyond the peninsula, we were most impressed by the food. Every market is loaded with organic food, and there’s an abundance of compost facilities. It is a natural eater’s dreamland!

We headed from the peninsula to Rotorua, known for its natural thermal and medicinal hot springs and its lovely sulfur scent. We bathed in the springs, which were surrounded by literally boiling water. We also went to a Maori dinner (food cooked in a traditional hangi – hot rocks in the ground) and did a night bushwalk to see glow worms and natural springs.It had the potential to be cheesy touristy but it was worth the cultural exposure and good eats.

Next we went to Lake Taupo and the Tongario National Park with active volcanoes and bright aqua waterfalls (also where a bunch of Lord of the Rings was filmed). We then went out to the west coast to see a giant volcano but failed due to fog. Due to weather we moved out quickly and headed to Waitomo to take a silent boat ride through the pitch black glow worm caves, filled with thousands of bright green glowing worms (two thumbs up!).

Our next stop was the end of the peninsula at the top of the north island, a little beachside town called Ahipara. Most places were booked so we stayed in an old retro campervan that was cheap but lacked heat so we barely slept. Because of the cold, it was hard to camp in general, so this was as close as we came. Next we drove up to Cape Reinga, at the very very tip of the peninsula, and it was out of this world. A little lighthouse sits on the coast on top of a cliff and there are untouched beaches all surrounding it. Since a few were accessible via hiking trails we decided to explore and trekked down to a massive beach lined with lava rocks, green mountains, steep cliffs, enormous sand dunes and glistening clear water with gigantic rolling waves. We were the only people on this beach, and the setting was so powerful and surreal. Places like this don’t exist anymore! We then went to see the giant sand dunes (official name) where people take boogie boards and fly down at incredible speeds. We climbed up one of those steep monsters (SO exhausting… crawling up vertically through sand is nearly impossible) and ran/rolled back down.

That night we stayed in the northernmost lodge in NZ. The next day we explored the 90 mile beach (via car on the beach) and headed up to the Bay of Islands, to a town called Paihia. The bay is loaded with islands, as you can gather, set in light green water with wild dolphins. We took a boat across the bay to a town called Russell, which is like going back in time with its old-fashioned architecture. Impressive spot for sure.

HIGHLIGHTS: Sheep (more than people in population); Rotarua (so many birds it sounds like a nature CD); glow worm caves (like looking at the brightest starry sky you’ve ever seen; worms = not creepy); Cape Reinga (feels like one of the last untouched landscapes on earth); Bay of Islands (simple, old school and beautiful); every market in the country (natural, local food rules).

HINDSIGHT: Would’ve seen the South Island, but we knew we couldn’t do both islands justice with only 10 days. It’s high on our list for a return trip.

Date: 2006; Timeframe: 10 days