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7/29/2019 Top travel destination of the world
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Rajiv Bedse presents
Milford Sound, NZ – World’s top travel destination
7/29/2019 Top travel destination of the world
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Copyright © 2013
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Website: http://www.myparadiseonearth.com
E-mail: [email protected]
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Table of contents
1. It all began with a special birthday
2. Queenstown – a blissful experience
3. Milford sound
4. Bay of islands
5. The ninety mile beach
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It all began with a Special birthday
“So what would you like to have for your birthday?” I asked my darling daughter Ketki.
After all it was her 21st birthday and a very special to all of us. Having known Ketki for that
long I knew she would flash her 24 carrot smile and say in her loving tone, “I don’t need
anything, Dad .. I’ve got everything” and exactly that happened. You know ... the hardest
thing my wife Pratibha and I have ever experienced in our entire life is nothing else but to
find the right birthday gift for someone. We always struggled with it. But now the question
was my own daughter’s 21st birthday gift.
Luckily, my son Kunal came to my rescue and suggested we should sponsor Ketki a holiday
trip to New Zealand with a friend of her choice. However, Pratibha wasn’t comfortable
letting Ketki go to a country she has never been before, even with her friend, and said Ketki
should visit New Zealand with her brother Kunal. “Good as gold” said I, but the matter was
not yet over. Now it was Kunal’s turn to voice his opinion. “Why don’t we all go to New
Zealand as a family, Dad and have a lot of fun? It will be our surprise gift to Ketki on her 21st
which she will enjoy the most.” Pratibha and I decided to take time to smell the roses. “Let’s
go”, we both said in excitement.
The itinerary was planned, bookings were made, and there we were.. on our way to beautiful
New Zealand – a place we had never been before but we were all so excited about for some
unknown reason. We could have very easily chosen another place like Singapore or Fiji for
spending quality time as a family together but apparently New Zealand was a destination
chosen for us by Him.
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New Zealand is the land of diverse landscapes. As we drove our way from Christchurch -
New Zealand’s garden city, and travelled south to Queenstown the country greeted and
welcome us with open arms. Melbourne, Australia has been awarded the title “The most
liveable city in the world” a few times but New Zealand really impressed us. It was different
and unique. We found a very close intimacy with a country which is blessed with nature’s
scenic beauty. The air was 100% pure, crisp like anything and the freshness in air increased
our excitement levels even more. The one thing which we all noticed on our arrival in New
Zealand was the warmth in the hearts of people and the tremendous hospitality they
literally showered on us. The staff members at every gas station made me feel very special
by filling gas in my car whichever gas station we stopped by. It was just the beginning of a
true family vacation which we all were looking forward to after migrating to Australia.
The one thing I would recommend to anyone travelling to New Zealand is either to take a
train or to drive through this beautiful country as much as you can, instead of flying by
airplane. The 300 miles stretch between Christchurch and Queenstown is an absolute
driving treat for visitors. The Westland mountain ranges look stunning and the unique pink
& purple flowers on both sides of the road are very catchy – you just can’t overlook them.
Depending on the time you have there are many routes to reach Queenstown, but we
purposely took the Lake Tekapo route. As we reached this incredible lake I realised we had
made the best decision. Rich golden landscapes bordered by brightly coloured lupines paved
the way for our arrival into Lake Tekapo. This glacial fed turquoise blue lake is a hive of
activity for everything outdoors. Considered a Kiwi holiday hot spot, this lake offers scenic
flights, walking trails, guided Alpine climbing and walking, mountain biking, kayaking, andmuch more.
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Queenstown – a blissful experience
The Christchurch to Queenstown driving distance with stopovers is around 7 hours but it’s
absolutely worth it. Queenstown, in my opinion, is New Zealand’s best town. It would seem
that nature God has poured more blessings on this small country town in comparison withothers. Surrounded by majestic mountains and nestled on the shores of crystal clear Lake
Wakatipu, Queenstown is a South Island location with immaculately gorgeous
surroundings. This adrenalin/adventure capital of the southern hemisphere is an extremely
popular stop on the travellers’ circuit, especially in the winter months of July and August
when the ski crew are in town.
New Zealand has always been a popular tourist attraction to Australians. But I guess, New
Zealand’s sheer beauty was brought to the notice of worldwide audience by the trilogy of
“Lord of the rings” – thanks to Peter Jackson. We were fortunate enough to visit a few
shooting locations of this extremely popular movie along our way.
We visited New Zealand after winter, around Christmas – the best time to visit New
Zealand. However, we could still experience the crowns of snow on mountain peaks. Kunal
said the mountains looked very graceful from the sky. Queenstown is one of the very few
places in the world where within a space of just a few days you can quench your thirst of
sky-diving and bungie jumping, experience mountain vistas, ancient forests, volcanic
landscapes, river jets, cruises, stunning coastline, ride the skyline gondola for iconic views
across Queenstown and lake Wakatipu and much more while spotting wildlife found
nowhere else on earth. There's no shortage of things happening around the region with
plenty of exciting events throughout the year.
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Milford sound
Milford Sound is a fjord (a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley
carved by glacial activity) at a distance of 6 hours one way from Queenstown. It is right in
the middle of a rain forest. The journey to Milford Sound is as spectacular as the destination
itself. You can also drive to Milford Sound by car but I would highly recommend taking a
cruise, just like one shown above.
Famous English story writer, poet, and novelist Rudyard Kipling described Milford Sound
as the “eighth wonder of the world”. Milford Sound was carved by glaciers during the ice
ages, thanks to nature’s incredible phenomenon. This gorgeous Sound looks amazingly
breathtaking in any weather ... beauty which cannot be expressed in words. The fiord’s
standing-tall cliffs, rise vertically from dark waters and remind you of the strong ancient
warriors protecting you from all sides. From the cruise the mountain peak seem to be
touching the sky and the waterfalls, some as high as 3000 ft. cascade downwards. It often
rains in Milford Sound and these waterfalls multiply with magnificent effect during the rain.
Judged in an international travel survey as “world’s top travel destination”, Milford Sound
is acclaimed as New Zealand’s most famous tourist destination. Stunning views all along the
journey, the crisp and fresh air, and nature’s majestic beauty offers you a guaranteed “wow”
experience. You get a real taste of turbulent water of the giant sea when the cruise enters the
sea and makes a “U” turn bringing you back to the origin of the tour. It is only then you
realise how difficult sailing in the sea would be for the fishermen who risk their lives every
day for making a living.
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Bay of islands
After our lifetime experience of South Island, I must admit, we were little biased about it.
We were not even sure if North Island will fulfil our expectations. Even if the internet
technology these days offers great information and pictures of places there is no substituteto experiencing the nature yourself. The North Island did not disappoint us.
Bay of Islands is the north-west region of North Island of New Zealand not far from the
northern tip of the country. We were lucky to get a booking in a hotel at Paihia, a bustling
seaside town also popularly known as “Jewel of Bay of Islands”. South Island is more about
nature’s majestic beauty while North Island is about enjoying activities and adventures.
Both islands are very different to each other and maintain their uniqueness in all respects.
One of the “must do” tours in Bay of Islands is “Hole in the rock” tour. Piercy Island (often
known simply as "The Hole in the Rock”) is located off the north coast of the North Island.This 60 feet long and 60 feet high hole at sea level was created over centuries by wind and
waves making it one of the most naturally beautiful sites in New Zealand. This half a day jet
boat ride offers unique opportunity to watch dolphins and experience the silence in the
middle of the sea. When we visited this place the waters were calm and our jet boat went
right through the hole giving us the opportunity to look at the rock texture inside the hole.
If you really want to experience the beauty of Bay of Islands you must visit the
northernmost tip of New Zealand to see the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet at Cape
Reinga. When the torquise blue waters of these two seas mix with each other they create a
canvass of unique colors which gives a feeling of tranquility. So how far are you from NZ?
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Ninety mile beach
Ninety Mile Beach is the narrow strip of sand that stretches on the west coast of North
Island. This beach is officially a highway, but it’s only suitable for 4WD vehicles. Car rental
companies won’t allow their cars on the sand due to safety reasons while private cars are notcovered under insurance. Beach activities range from surfcasting and swimming to body
boarding (tobogganing) down the sand dunes. Both Kunal and Ketki enjoyed this.
The name Ninety Mile Beach is little misleading because it is actually only 55 miles long.
When missionaries travelled on horseback on an average a horse could travel 30 miles in a
day before needing to be rested. The beach took three days to travel therefore earning its
name, but the missionaries did not take into account the slower pace of the horses walking
in the sand, thus thinking they had travelled 90 miles when in fact they had only travelled
55. The “Hole in the rock” looks gorgeous from this beach as seen in the background in the
above picture.
Another place of interest in this region is Puketi Forest. It is an ancient kauri forest located
in Northland near Keri Keri. With the Omahuta Forest it forms one of the largest contiguous
tracts of native forest in Northland. The tour guide told us it has 15,000 hectares of kauri,
podocarp and hardwood trees and a rich diversity including hundreds of recorded species of
plants, some of which are found nowhere else in the world.
The huge trunks of the trees, some of them as big as 12 feet in diameter, blew my mind. I
have never seen tree trunks as huge as that. One of the shops in Paihia displays a spiral
staircase and a big sitting bench carved out of such massive tree trunks.
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Nothing can be as fulfilling as personally experiencing Mother Nature. I can only hope,
though, that this report has given you an insight of 100% pure New Zealand. I encourage
you to post your views on Face book, Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn. If you or your friends
would like to share your experiences of Mother Nature with like-minded people in the world
send your articles (up to max. 800 words) to [email protected]. Namaste!!!
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