NEW ZEALAND + AUSTRALIA

NEW ZEALAND & AUSTRALIA

Where We Stayed: New Zealand — Airbnb Style Rental // Syndey, Australia — Four Seasons Hotel, Airbnb & with family in the Blue Mountains.
Where we ate: Ferg Burger (New Zealand); Bucket List (Australia), Pancakes on the Rocks (Australia)
Trip Highlight: Traveling with friends, insane laughs & snowboarding in NZ.

For our final trip of the summer, Wilson and I headed off to New Zealand to hang out with my sister and her boyfriend. We arrive with no itinerary, no expectations, and no plans. It was going to be quite an adventure. We started the trip to Queenstown exploring the shops and gathering informational pamphlets. We then planned out what we thought would be the best for the trip and then went about it. We went zip-lining, on a cruise in Te Anu and on a luge adventure.

We also went snowboarding in Wanaka. Snowboarding was a definite highlight because where we live snow sports are usually available between November (if you're lucky) and March (we went in August/September). It was also a treeless slope. They call it a snow field there and that is exactly what it is. Nothing but the face of the mountain and snow. Not a tree in sight. It was such a neat experience being in the snow on vacation. 

New Zealand is one of my favourite countries by far because everywhere you look you see mountains. The first thing I said when we left the airport was "let's move here". I cannot begin to explain how amazing it is. This post has more pictures than necessary to try and show how incredible the scenery was. I would highly recommend going sometime in your lifetime. You will not regret it. 

After New Zealand, we went to the Gold Coast before going to Sydney, Australia. We were in the Gold Coast for one day, but we hung out with some amazing friends and explored Surfer's Paradise. Someday, I would like to explore the Gold Coast further because everything about it looks so beautiful.

Sydney is always so nice, we did the typical tourist things like seeing the opera house, Bondi, Manly, and the city. We went shopping and to Hillsong Church. We also spent two days in the Blue Mountains exploring and adventuring. We went on the world's steepest train and took a cable car across a canyon. We stayed in an Air B&B which saved us quite a bit of money and also made us feel more at home. We ate at a restaurant called Pancakes on the Rocks which is open twenty-four hours a day and seriously worth the wait in line. We spent a little over ten days in Sydney relaxing and hanging out before heading home on the final plane of the summer. 

This summer was filled with adventure and exhilarating experiences that I wouldn't trade for the world. There is nothing better than traveling with the person you love most and seeing a new place. If we were to do it again I wouldn't change anything but I would probably space it out a little more. Travel the world when you can. You will never regret the experience of a new culture or place and the vacation part is something we all desire.