Top travel destination of the world

7/29/2019 Top travel destination of the world

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Rajiv Bedse presents

Milford Sound, NZ – World’s top travel destination



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Table of contents

1. It all began with a special birthday

2. Queenstown – a blissful experience

3. Milford sound

4. Bay of islands

5. The ninety mile beach



It all began with a Special birthday

“So what would you like to have for your birthday?” I asked my darling daughter Ketki.

After all it was her 21st birthday and a very special to all of us. Having known Ketki for that

long I knew she would flash her 24 carrot smile and say in her loving tone, “I don’t need

anything, Dad .. I’ve got everything” and exactly that happened. You know ... the hardest

thing my wife Pratibha and I have ever experienced in our entire life is nothing else but to

find the right birthday gift for someone. We always struggled with it. But now the question

was my own daughter’s 21st birthday gift.

Luckily, my son Kunal came to my rescue and suggested we should sponsor Ketki a holiday

trip to New Zealand with a friend of her choice. However, Pratibha wasn’t comfortable

letting Ketki go to a country she has never been before, even with her friend, and said Ketki

should visit New Zealand with her brother Kunal. “Good as gold” said I, but the matter was

not yet over. Now it was Kunal’s turn to voice his opinion. “Why don’t we all go to New

Zealand as a family, Dad and have a lot of fun? It will be our surprise gift to Ketki on her 21st

which she will enjoy the most.” Pratibha and I decided to take time to smell the roses. “Let’s

go”, we both said in excitement.

The itinerary was planned, bookings were made, and there we were.. on our way to beautiful

New Zealand – a place we had never been before but we were all so excited about for some

unknown reason. We could have very easily chosen another place like Singapore or Fiji for

spending quality time as a family together but apparently New Zealand was a destination

chosen for us by Him.



New Zealand is the land of diverse landscapes. As we drove our way from Christchurch -

New Zealand’s garden city, and travelled south to Queenstown the country greeted and

welcome us with open arms. Melbourne, Australia has been awarded the title “The most

liveable city in the world” a few times but New Zealand really impressed us. It was different

and unique. We found a very close intimacy with a country which is blessed with nature’s

scenic beauty. The air was 100% pure, crisp like anything and the freshness in air increased

our excitement levels even more. The one thing which we all noticed on our arrival in New

Zealand was the warmth in the hearts of people and the tremendous hospitality they

literally showered on us. The staff members at every gas station made me feel very special

by filling gas in my car whichever gas station we stopped by. It was just the beginning of a

true family vacation which we all were looking forward to after migrating to Australia.

The one thing I would recommend to anyone travelling to New Zealand is either to take a

train or to drive through this beautiful country as much as you can, instead of flying by

airplane. The 300 miles stretch between Christchurch and Queenstown is an absolute

driving treat for visitors. The Westland mountain ranges look stunning and the unique pink

& purple flowers on both sides of the road are very catchy – you just can’t overlook them.

Depending on the time you have there are many routes to reach Queenstown, but we

purposely took the Lake Tekapo route. As we reached this incredible lake I realised we had

made the best decision. Rich golden landscapes bordered by brightly coloured lupines paved

the way for our arrival into Lake Tekapo. This glacial fed turquoise blue lake is a hive of

activity for everything outdoors. Considered a Kiwi holiday hot spot, this lake offers scenic

flights, walking trails, guided Alpine climbing and walking, mountain biking, kayaking, andmuch more.



Queenstown – a blissful experience

The Christchurch to Queenstown driving distance with stopovers is around 7 hours but it’s

absolutely worth it. Queenstown, in my opinion, is New Zealand’s best town. It would seem

that nature God has poured more blessings on this small country town in comparison withothers. Surrounded by majestic mountains and nestled on the shores of crystal clear Lake

Wakatipu, Queenstown is a South Island location with immaculately gorgeous

surroundings. This adrenalin/adventure capital of the southern hemisphere is an extremely

popular stop on the travellers’ circuit, especially in the winter months of July and August

when the ski crew are in town.

New Zealand has always been a popular tourist attraction to Australians. But I guess, New

Zealand’s sheer beauty was brought to the notice of worldwide audience by the trilogy of

“Lord of the rings” – thanks to Peter Jackson. We were fortunate enough to visit a few

shooting locations of this extremely popular movie along our way.

We visited New Zealand after winter, around Christmas – the best time to visit New

Zealand. However, we could still experience the crowns of snow on mountain peaks. Kunal

said the mountains looked very graceful from the sky. Queenstown is one of the very few

places in the world where within a space of just a few days you can quench your thirst of

sky-diving and bungie jumping, experience mountain vistas, ancient forests, volcanic

landscapes, river jets, cruises, stunning coastline, ride the skyline gondola for iconic views

across Queenstown and lake Wakatipu and much more while spotting wildlife found

nowhere else on earth. There's no shortage of things happening around the region with

plenty of exciting events throughout the year.



Milford sound

Milford Sound is a fjord (a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley

carved by glacial activity) at a distance of 6 hours one way from Queenstown. It is right in

the middle of a rain forest. The journey to Milford Sound is as spectacular as the destination

itself. You can also drive to Milford Sound by car but I would highly recommend taking a

cruise, just like one shown above.

Famous English story writer, poet, and novelist Rudyard Kipling described Milford Sound

as the “eighth wonder of the world”. Milford Sound was carved by glaciers during the ice

ages, thanks to nature’s incredible phenomenon. This gorgeous Sound looks amazingly

breathtaking in any weather ... beauty which cannot be expressed in words. The fiord’s

standing-tall cliffs, rise vertically from dark waters and remind you of the strong ancient

warriors protecting you from all sides. From the cruise the mountain peak seem to be

touching the sky and the waterfalls, some as high as 3000 ft. cascade downwards. It often

rains in Milford Sound and these waterfalls multiply with magnificent effect during the rain.

Judged in an international travel survey as “world’s top travel destination”, Milford Sound

is acclaimed as New Zealand’s most famous tourist destination. Stunning views all along the

journey, the crisp and fresh air, and nature’s majestic beauty offers you a guaranteed “wow”

experience. You get a real taste of turbulent water of the giant sea when the cruise enters the

sea and makes a “U” turn bringing you back to the origin of the tour. It is only then you

realise how difficult sailing in the sea would be for the fishermen who risk their lives every

day for making a living.



Bay of islands

After our lifetime experience of South Island, I must admit, we were little biased about it.

We were not even sure if North Island will fulfil our expectations. Even if the internet

technology these days offers great information and pictures of places there is no substituteto experiencing the nature yourself. The North Island did not disappoint us.

Bay of Islands is the north-west region of North Island of New Zealand not far from the

northern tip of the country. We were lucky to get a booking in a hotel at Paihia, a bustling

seaside town also popularly known as “Jewel of Bay of Islands”. South Island is more about

nature’s majestic beauty while North Island is about enjoying activities and adventures.

Both islands are very different to each other and maintain their uniqueness in all respects.

One of the “must do” tours in Bay of Islands is “Hole in the rock” tour. Piercy Island (often

known simply as "The Hole in the Rock”) is located off the north coast of the North Island.This 60 feet long and 60 feet high hole at sea level was created over centuries by wind and

waves making it one of the most naturally beautiful sites in New Zealand. This half a day jet

boat ride offers unique opportunity to watch dolphins and experience the silence in the

middle of the sea. When we visited this place the waters were calm and our jet boat went

right through the hole giving us the opportunity to look at the rock texture inside the hole.

If you really want to experience the beauty of Bay of Islands you must visit the

northernmost tip of New Zealand to see the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean meet at Cape

Reinga. When the torquise blue waters of these two seas mix with each other they create a

canvass of unique colors which gives a feeling of tranquility. So how far are you from NZ?



Ninety mile beach

Ninety Mile Beach is the narrow strip of sand that stretches on the west coast of North

Island. This beach is officially a highway, but it’s only suitable for 4WD vehicles. Car rental

companies won’t allow their cars on the sand due to safety reasons while private cars are notcovered under insurance. Beach activities range from surfcasting and swimming to body

boarding (tobogganing) down the sand dunes. Both Kunal and Ketki enjoyed this.

The name Ninety Mile Beach is little misleading because it is actually only 55 miles long.

When missionaries travelled on horseback on an average a horse could travel 30 miles in a

day before needing to be rested. The beach took three days to travel therefore earning its

name, but the missionaries did not take into account the slower pace of the horses walking

in the sand, thus thinking they had travelled 90 miles when in fact they had only travelled

55. The “Hole in the rock” looks gorgeous from this beach as seen in the background in the

above picture.

Another place of interest in this region is Puketi Forest. It is an ancient kauri forest located

in Northland near Keri Keri. With the Omahuta Forest it forms one of the largest contiguous

tracts of native forest in Northland. The tour guide told us it has 15,000 hectares of kauri,

podocarp and hardwood trees and a rich diversity including hundreds of recorded species of

plants, some of which are found nowhere else in the world.

The huge trunks of the trees, some of them as big as 12 feet in diameter, blew my mind. I

have never seen tree trunks as huge as that. One of the shops in Paihia displays a spiral

staircase and a big sitting bench carved out of such massive tree trunks.



Nothing can be as fulfilling as personally experiencing Mother Nature. I can only hope,

though, that this report has given you an insight of 100% pure New Zealand. I encourage

you to post your views on Face book, Twitter, Google+, or LinkedIn. If you or your friends

would like to share your experiences of Mother Nature with like-minded people in the world

send your articles (up to max. 800 words) to [email protected]. Namaste!!!



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Top travel destination of the world