New Zealand has some spectacular train trips. One of the best is the Overlander. I took this a few years ago from Auckland to Wellington and that was the day that I changed my mind forever about the beauty of the North Island. You travel through the ski towns of National Park and Okahune, and continue on through farmlands and stunning river gorges. The best part was something I didn’t even know about…the famous Raurimu Spiral, an engineering wonder through a beautiful gorge. Something I will never forget. If you want more information, go to www.tranzscenic.co.nz for more information. The trip to Wellington took a whole day, but it was a day well spent. With the added bonus of ending up in Wellington, one of my favorite cities in New Zealand. More about Wellington later.

If you need someone to take care of your pets, bring in your mail and in general look after your house while you’re traveling, call Deb Brightstar at 520-490-2221. You can visit her website at www.doggiedivapetcare.com. Isn’t Doggie Diva a great name? Deb’s motto is “We take care of your pets and home as if they were our own”, and she means it.

There are several ways to see Milford. Most people do a day trip from Queenstown but it’s a very long day. The best way is to fly both ways, but at least to fly back. The weather is so unpredictable though, you just never know if you’ll be able to fly back. I usually recommend you reserve the flight back and then, if it’s raining, you can always drive back. That makes for about a 12 or 13 hour day though! But one good thing about if you get rained out of flying back is the waterfalls! They are amazing and everywhere. Once at the Sound, you take a boat around the sound to look at the wildlife and scenery. You can also spend the night on a boat in the sound, which is a wonderful experience. One company that does tours to Milford Sound is Real Journeys. www.realjourneys.co.nz Check it out.

New Zealand Exploration is happy to announce a wine tour to New Zealand from February 16 to February 28th. February is a wonderful time of year to visit New Zealand, and we’re seeing the best of the South Island. The tour starts in Christchurch, we go to Kaikoura for some whale watching on our way to Blenheim, the heart of the Marlborough wine region. From Blenheim, we go to Nelson for 2 nights at the Rutherford Hotel and a day trip to Abel Tasman National Park where we’ll have the opportunity to do some sea kayaking and seeing magnificent scenery. From Nelson, we head down the West Coast, having a lovely lunch overlooking the ocean, before spending the night at Fox Glacier. In the morning, we’ll do some glacier walking before taking off for Queenstown. In Queenstown, we visit more wineries and get to experience some of the wonderful activities only Queenstown offers. We fly back out of Queenstown to Auckland and back to LAX, but you can stay and see more of New Zealand if you’d like! Call Nancy at 520-322-6527 for a full itinerary and pricing.

A great way to see Arthur’s Pass if you’re not going all the way to the West Coast is to do a one-day trip from Christchurch. You’ll leave Christchurch by bus, then get on the train to Arthur’s Pass. After a brief stop for lunch, you’re back on a bus with a stop to do some exciting jetboating. We also stopped at a sheep station for afternoon tea and a tour of the barns and a sheep shearing demonstration. They were a lovely family that we got to get to know a bit. Their daughter was 12 and playing rugby, so it was a thrill for me to meet and talk to her. I think she was equally excited to talk to someone from America about women’s rugby.

I love the Coromandel peninsula. It’s off-the-beaten track for most first-time tourists to New Zealand but it’s so beautiful it’s hard to understand why it gets passed by. I was fortunate enough to have a friend who used to live in Waihi Beach so I’ve spent some time there. He still has family there so hopefully they’ll let me come back! Of course, the Coromandel is also home to the famous hot water beach where you can dig yourself your own “hot tub” right in the sand.  If you don’t feel like digging, you can see and feel the hot water and steam rise out of the sand. Magical! There’s Kauri forests, bird sanctuaries and wonderful sandy beaches. This is where a lot of Aucklanders spend their holiday and there are bach’s everywhere. I definitely recommend the Coromandel.

Wellington used to get a bad repuation, calling it the “Windy City”. Yes, sometimes it can get windy, but it’s also become the center of a culinary revolution in the past few years. Dozens of restaurants and cafes have sprung up and you can do gourmet walking tours, matching wines to the meals. It’s a wonderful way to see this very walkable city. Another big attraction is the national museum of New Zealand, Te Papa. It offers a unique way to see the history and stories of New Zealand in one place. It’s open every day of the year and best of all, it’s FREE! Check out their website at www.tepapa.govt.nz It’s well worth a visit and is very well done.

The wonderful owners of Abel Tasman Sailing Adventures, Jason and Brenda Brownlie, have sold their company to new owners with over 22 years of experience in the Abel Tasman National Park. The new marketing manager is Brunna Ritchney. This is the most wonderful way to see Abel Tasman! You can combine sailing with walking treks or just sail to deserted beaches. Best of luck to Jason and Brenda in future endeavors. Nothing has changed with the wonderful adventures that the company offers. Website address for Abel Tasman Sailing is www.sailingadventures.co.nz. Check it out!

Last trip I went on a sailing trip to Abel Tasman National Park. Abel Tasman is very remote. There’s only one road into it and it doesn’t go all the way to the end. You have to travel by kayak or boat. I went on a catamaran operated by Abel Tasman Sailing Adventures. The experience was wonderful. It was winter so it was cold, but the scenery was gorgeous and the season worked to our advantage, as we pretty much had everything to ourselves. We stopped at Anchorage beach and there was only one backpacker there. They have a variety of trips, from the full-day sailing adventure that we went on to ones that combine walks with sailing. It was a magical day, in spite of the cold!

No visit to Auckland is complete without taking a ferry ride to one of the 26 islands that dot the Hauraki Gulf.  Auckland reaches both the east and west coasts, with Waitamata Harbour on the Pacific Ocean (East) and Manukau Harbour on the Tasman Sea (West). When you go you must participate in one of the many water activities: sailing charters, kayaking, fishing or crewing an America’s Cup yacht. Too many times Auckland gets overlooked by visitors but it has so much to offer.