New Zealand

New Zealand is at the top of the bucket list for most travel enthusiasts. Known for its incredibly diverse landscape and rich local culture, the country has a lot to offer to all of its visitors. Because of this, it can be difficult to pick which tourist attractions to visit, as seeing all of them is simply not possible. If you would like to discover New Zealand, here are some of our top picks to visit.

Note: This is an excerpt about New Zealand's Otago Central Railway from a fantastic new book by Anthony Lambert, called Lost Railways from Around the World. We love it so!

Located on New Zealand's North Island, Auckland has a population of around 1.5 million. The University of Auckland was established in 1883, and the metro area is rife with arts, culture, history, and gustatorial opportunities. 

Are you a Lord of the Rings fanatic that dreams of seeing the well-known Middle Earth? Well, you most certainly are not alone and I’m here to tell you that it is just as magical in real-life as it is in the movies! Okay, well maybe not really quite as magical due to all the digital editing, but it still is a place that without a doubt will take your breath away. 
 

Do you remember reading those choose your own adventure books, when you were growing up? I couldn't get enough of them, and would re-read them until they fell apart, finding new paths to a satisfying (or not) ending. I recently read and was inspired by a new travel guide to Auckland, New Zealand, by a friend and fellow travel writer, Rhonda Albom. Rhonda has written one of the best guidebooks I've ever read - and let me tell you why. This book? It's the SAME concept - but with travel!

If you travel a lot, you would have realized that Chardonnay (pronounced shar-do-nay, for all those uninitiated out there) can almost be found everywhere. If your country produces wine, it most likely produces this white grape variety. In fact, a grocery near you might be offering a Chardonnay wine or two. The Chardonnay variety is what we can call the “initiation wine” for start-up wineries.

Today Bob and I stepped ashore in Auckland, a city of 1,400,000 residents, the most populous city in New Zealand, and the country’s largest industrial and commercial center.