After a visit from my New Zealand family in March 2014, my mother, my brother and I decided it was our turn to visit New Zealand. We booked tickets and started planning our trip to a memorable vacation… and how memorable it was!

14 October 2015 could not come soon enough. We flew via Hong Kong and spent a day there. Hong Kong is a busy city with people everywhere; like ants – organised but many. It was hot and very humid, with strange smells and flavours as you walk through the streets; strange dishes prepared right there on the pavements. We took a tram for the very steep uphill to The Peak Tower, where we were treated with ice-cold cold beer at the Bubba Gump restaurant. At the Tin Hau Temple in Repulse Bay, there are statues everywhere; locals and visitors rub the images for ‘good luck’. We ended the day by visiting the Jumbo Kingdom, a restaurant that floats on the water and can accommodate more than 700 guests. Zapped and exhausted after a long and busy day in hot Hong Kong, we went back to the airport. At last heading for New Zealand.

After we landed in Auckland, we headed directly towards Lake Tarawera where we could enjoy a lovely weekend of rest after the long flight. Or that was what we thought. Some of the family I saw more than 10 years ago; we had so much to catch up on. Like real South Africans we had a braai and visited together, eating too much. But that’s the way a holiday should be spent.

The first few days we spent on the North Island. Cathedral Cove is absolutely beautiful. We walked 45 minutes through nature to a white, sandy beach with clear blue water. You can just take off your slipslops and leave them right there at the end of the trail while walking barefoot on the beach. Large, white rocks protrude from the blue water. If you are brave enough to face the cold water, you can jump off the rocks. This is for the adventurous.

From Auckland we flew to Christchurch to explore the South Island. There we rented a car and drove to Lake Tekapo. Again we had a picturesque view. Clear blue water, mountains covered in a snow blanket in the background. Then we drove to Wanaka where we slept the first night. We did not book accommodation anywhere, because we did not know exactly what we were going to do or where we would be going. We just walked in and booked a flat in the quiet little town where the inhabitants walk wherever they want to go.

We drove further south to Milford Sound, which is located on the west side of the South Island. Milford Sound is a national park receiving an unbelievable lot of rain; there are hundreds of small waterfalls. The roads there are extremely narrow; I’ve got quite anxious when I saw buses coming. Beautiful rainforests, like in a fairy tale.

Flame is a restaurant owned by South Africans in Queenstown. They prepare the best and biggest ribs I’ve ever seen. I ordered half a portion of ribs and could only finish half of it. Another famous restaurant is Fergburger; their burgers are bigger than my hand. The place is always bustling and the queue for ordering stretches out into the streets. We ordered burgers and sat down on the grass next to the lake to eat. Queenstown is a real tourist town; many people and very busy. On my cousin’s birthday we went to watch the Rugby World Cup semi-finals, South Africa vs New Zealand; we lost by two points. Two South Africans wearing Springbok jerseys in a New Zealand sports pub. Nevertheless, it was a day I will never forget. I don’t know how the day would’ve turned out if New Zealand had to lose.

In Christchurch we visited South African friends of my cousin. My experience of New Zealand is that the people are friendly, the country is clean and beautiful, and everything works. It is not rushed like here in South Africa. In case of an accident, the roads are closed until the scene is clean and safe again. It is done by volunteers, and everybody is waiting peacefully until they can continue with their daily activities. The roads are full of twists and turns; maybe that is why one can only drive 50 km per hour. It is quite something to get used to.

If I had to describe New Zealand in three words, it would be: Sheep, mountains and curves.

I will gladly visit New Zealand again and recommend everybody to put it on their bucket list. Take the time; there will always be reasons why you cannot go.