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.