New Zealand. A place on the far side of the world that I am surprised has taken me this long to return to. My last visit was when I was seven years old riding around in the camper-van my parents had rented.
My memories were vague of that journey ever since, having being seven years old at the time, but now I am so happy I have returned. I have only been here just over a week and can say this already: New Zealand is stunningly beautiful.
I came straight down to the South Island after one night in Auckland, and have spent the last week hiking around on some of New Zealands great walks.
The photos shown here are from my first walk out around the small historic town of Arrowtown, near Queenstown. Since then I have been up in the mountains, having invested in some hiking gear at 50% sales at outdoor stores in Queenstown and Auckland, and have seen some of the most astonishing views I could imagine. All this in one week.
The next two articles will be about the the hikes I have already done. The last walk in particular blew my mind! And I have done lots of hiking.
The plan for the next three weeks is to hitchhike around the country, mostly the south island, camping and hiking in the wilderness. New Zealand is famous for its outdoors, so what better way to visit than to walk and camp everywhere.
Visiting in autumn is perfect. The colours of the leaves changing makes the scenery more spectacular than it already is, and going out hiking in the cooler air more refreshing.
So hopefully you will enjoy all the future articles coming up. All I can say for now is that I totally understand why they filmed Lord of the Rings here.
It’s beautiful.
Copyright © 2014 by Backpacking Man. This article was written by Jonny Duncan and originally published at backpackingman.com
*Image of Milford Sound, Fiordland, New Zealand via Shutterstock
