Things You Should Do In New Zealand: Cruise Milford Sound

It's probably one of the most recommended activities for travelers headed to New Zealand's south island and it sure doesn't disappoint. A cruise on Milford Sound is an absolute must on any visit to Fiordland. With the gorgeous blue water, the peaks surrounding the sound, and the possibility of seeing penguins - it just doesn't get much better.

You'll have a lot of options for selecting the type of cruise that best fits your interests and budget. They do run on the pricey side, so for our budget the most basic 2 hour adventure was best suited for us. We opted to go with Real Journeys for a lunch time cruise since they provided a gluten free friendly boxed lunch option. 

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A Place To Stay in Waitomo, New Zealand: Top 10 Holiday Park

Our second stop on our road trip through New Zealand was the country town of Waitomo. Why Waitomo?

Well, if you're an adventure seeker, or even a mild one like me, how could you pass up an opportunity to go on one of the most unique spelunking tours I've ever heard of. In the Ruakuri Cave, you zip line, jump off cliffs, climb up waterfalls, and float through a tunnel of glow worms. 

There aren't a whole lot of lodging options nearby, but even with the rather bland name, the Waitomo Top 10 Holiday Park was really a great place to stay. There are a couple of styles of accommodation, ranging from tent sites, to motel rooms, to cabins. The best part; there's an amazing gluten free friendly restaurant just next door.

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Learning to Map (& Create)

If you follow me on twitter or instagram, you've been seeing a lot of hand drawn maps recently.

After some wonderful connections made at Alt Summit, more connections and an online travel blogger meet-up, and I found a post by Erica from Wayfare Magazine about an online Map Design class taught by Anne Ditmeyer of Pret-a-Voyager via Skillshare. I've always had a love of maps and had been considering delving into creating some map art with another project; 30 Days of Lists. So I jumped in and I'm loving it!

Skillshare is such a great platform to learn from both the instructor, your other classmates, and added plus - it's economically friendly. The Map Design course is 3 weeks long and includes recorded video lessons from Anne, lots of linked resources, and weekly assignments. So far it's had my head spinning with new ideas, opportunities, and projects - it's been a significant (and very needed) creative jolt for me!

With two weeks down, it's time for me to start considering my final project and that's where I'm looking for your feedback and your ideas! So let me show you what I've been working on so far...

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Things You Should Do In New Zealand: Visit North Head Historic Reserve

During my first trip to New Zealand, I took the short ferry ride from Auckland to Devonport rather a lot. Each time I would walk the coastline to North Head Historic Reserve to take in amazing views of the surrounding islands, explore bits of history, and just enjoy the beautiful space. Upon returning to New Zealand with my husband it was the very first place we went on the very day our plane landed. North Head is such an easy excursion from Auckland that even after 13 hours on a plane we still enjoyed it. 

North Head Historic Reserve sits on an old volcanic cone formed about 50,000 years ago - so check, super cool geology. In the 1840's it became a pilot station to guide ships into Auckland's harbor and by 1885 a defense fort was built on the island for fear of war with the Russians. Today, it's a public reserve where you can get lost in dark tunnels, have a picnic with gorgeous views, lounge by the water, or even get married!

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Scenes from New Zealand: Waiheke Island

One of my favorite places in New Zealand is island just a ferry ride away from Auckland. Waiheke is full of adorable little shops and restaurants, beautiful beaches, and even more to explore.

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