New Zealand was a country we were really looking forward to visiting on our world tour and it lived up to our expectations. We have known many kiwi’s, characteristically pretty chilled out with a quirky sense of humour but level headed – people we very much enjoy spending time with.

We kept on seeing this brown bird, naturally assuming it was the indigenous Kiwi only to find out that actually it was a waka – kiwis are far rarer and nocturnal and look totally different!

We found New Zealand to be quite possibly the most civilised country on earth. Everyone was polite, everything ran smoothly, the scenery stunning, the food healthy and delicious.

We were surprised to discover we would be learning a few words from a new language in New Zealand. Most signage across the country was bi-lingual and the Māori presence, especially in the North Island was very strong.

Most major tourist companies such as the Shotover Jet in Queenstown and Whale Watch Kiakoura are Māori owned. Learning about Māori culture was a real highlight of our time in New Zealand.

What blew us away round almost every corner was the stunning scenery and incredible natural wonders. The landscapes were just out of this world – well, and part of J.R. Tolkien’s I suppose.

We did enjoy time spent in the cities and got a lot out of the brilliant art venues and other tourist attractions in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.

The real highlight of our time was spending time in the more remote places, which is what being in New Zealand is all about.

Everyone told us that New Zealand deserves the same if not more time than Australia, and that once in New Zealand, the South Island deserves the same if not more time than the North Island. I’m not sure we fully comply with the first statement – the distances in Australia are so much larger in 5 weeks we only tackled one coastline whereas in New Zealand we pretty much circumnavigated both islands, despite the roads being considerably slower. We gave North Island slightly longer than South Island purely due to when Christmas fell and our plans to spend the festive period with friends in Mount Maunganui. Our spread of time was pretty spot on, although we were rushed in the camper van, only spending one night in most campsites and had possibly a bit long in Northland at the end.

We really valued our time in New Zealand. The fresh, local produce available, the friendliness of the people, ease of traveling around and the weather always keeping us on our toes!