Andrew and Juanita tied the knot in a post-Xmas wedding, where else but, New Zealand. We spent two weeks hanging out with Nita's family and touring the South Island.
Neil Finn is right. NZ truly is 'four seasons in one day. Christmas felt almost like most days we came to expect in Holland - cold and wet. However, on the days to follow and Wedding day itself even the sun turned out to wish A & J the best day ever.
We enjoyed some good ole' fashioned NZ hospitality in Geraldine from Bev and Kerry, which involved loads of excellent dinners, a mountain of red meat, free-flowing NZ wines and a sheep muster through Kerry's paddock in his sedan.
NZ is probably about as child-friendly a travel destination you're ever going to get. Compared with traveling in Australia, where long road journeys are interspersed between popular tourist sites, NZ is just gob-smacking beautiful at every kilometer. You don't even have to get out of the car. It hits you in the face at every turn.
We left Geraldine by rental car, heading North to Hamner Springs - know for its healthy hot springs and clean mountain living. By chance our bed & breakfast hosts at Mira Monte were Dutch, who had emigrated many years ago, but could still make a mean coffee and 'gevulde kooek'. While the hot springs were supposedly the highlight of Hamner, for us it was the mountain biking.
After two nights we headed far north to Motueka, the top of the South Island. Better known as 'Mot' to locals, its the gateway to the gorgeous coastal Abel Tasman National Park. We hired a cabin within Motueka camping ground, popular with the locals. Abel Tasman is remarkable and I can't recommend it enough. Whether you like your hikes short or long, or prefer to view the natural beauty from the deck of a yacht with gin and tonic in hand, the Tasman N.P offers it all.
Our final stop was Blenheim, in the heart of the Marlborough Wine country. The Dry Olive website promised a child-friendly, semi-luxurious self-contained homestay on a tranquil olive grove amidst rolling hills and vineyards. It was spot on. Our friends, Michael and Kym joined us for a day of wine tasting and delicious food, after which we Scrabbled and BBQ'd the night away.
NZ has a lot to offer any traveller, but for us it was particularly special. And my brother is now officially a bro'!
