If you hate nature, don’t go to the south island of New Zealand

When it comes to the variety and magnitude of natural wonders you can see in a single trip, nowhere compares to New Zealand’s South Island. Seriously, you can climb a glacier in the morning, and be swimming with dolphins by the afternoon. Trek through rain forests surrounded by unique plants and animals one day, and wine taste the next. The unique climate and isolated geography of New Zealand makes it one of the most diverse and spectacular nations on earth.

We only had 18 days to see this part of New Zealand – not even close to enough time. Every single day was packed with treks, boat trips, glacier walks, sunrises on the beach or sunsets over the mountains. Even though it boasts a population of under 1 million people, and can be driven across in about 4 hours, you could spend a year traveling around seeing new and amazing things everyday.

Amidst nature in all her glory, there were several unforgettable highlights: Boat cruises in Milford and Doubtful sounds, massive fjords with mile high mountains coming straight up out of the sea, complete with dolphins swimming alongside our boat and the occasional penguin sighting. Or trekking on Fox glacier with crampons strapped to our feet. We walked across this massive slow moving hunk of ice, surrounded by rain forests only a few kilometers from the ocean.

In one case, we pulled over to the side of the road where a huge seal colony was spread out on the beach. We saw a sign for a 10 minute hike along a river to a waterfall and decided to give it a go. To our surprise, all along the trail, were little seal pups playing with each other, hiding in the safety of the forest away from the open ocean. Have you ever seen a bunch of baby seals playing under a waterfall? Magical (and I’m using this word with complete sincerity). It was a totally random discovery and turned out be one of our most amazing experiences of the whole trip.

If you’ve come for culture or any kind of urban experience (with the Maori people being the exception), I’m sorry to say this place has little to offer. In fact, New Zealand is a place for nature so stay out of the populated areas as much as possible. Get your own wheels, hit the road, and turn off at every interesting thing you see – you won’t be sorry.