The northern coast of the South Island has allegedly the most Sun-hours of the whole of New Zealand. While driving there you can see one vineyard after another on both sides of the road. After a little wine-tasting I can say that there´s some good stuff out there. I was especially pleased by the local Riesling. Normally a sort of grape known for a high amount of acid, the local ones here are much sweeter.
The highlight of the northern coast is of course the Abel Tasman National Park. Heaps of golden beaches, enclosed by native forest, little waterfalls near the walking tracks, absolutely lovely.
The Westcoast in contrast gets much more rain than the rest of the country and that was exactly what I experienced while travelling there. I was looking forward to do a glacier walk on the Franz-Josef, but it was raining all day. I did the walk nonetheless, but the experience was not exactly pleasant.
The Southern Alps are a stunning sight to be sure. Especially when the sun happens to shine every once in a while.
What fabulous landscapes!!!
ReplyDeleteThe pic of the house amidst the jungle is the definition of paradise!!
and yes, NZ wine is very pleasant.
keep the blog post coming. they're simple and great!
It wouldn't be a true Franz Josef experience if it wasn't raining and miserable.
ReplyDelete@ Iona
ReplyDeleteWell, in this case I have to be glad then that I got the true Franz Josef experience.