Comfortable Culture Amid Breathtaking Landscape

Cruising Milford Sound is one of the most iconic activities in New Zealand. Susan Hegger, who wrote about her trip in an article for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was surprised how even when it was pouring down, her cruise became an experience she would never forget.

The rain “was creating a watery wonderland. The mountains were cloaked in mist and fog and clouds. On every rock face flowed what must have been hundreds of waterfalls, some thundering cascades pounding downward, some narrow, thin trickles, some like vertical rivers with watery veins branching off,” she writes in an article for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The power of water transformed “what might have been an excursion into an experience” she’ll never forget. And “New Zealand has a funny way of doing that,” writes Hegger.

Over four weeks in New Zealand Hegger “explored astonishing glaciers, temperate rainforests, volcanoes, geysers, alpine lakes and rocky coasts.”

“New Zealand may just have the most natural beauty packed into the smallest space,” she writes.

Throughout her trip, she said she was “bowled over by just how friendly and welcoming New Zealanders are.”

“In ways large and small, they steered us to experiences that gave us a window into their lives and culture,” she writes.

Hegger also recommends three other unforgettable encounters with nature: Hot Water Beach, Abel Tasman National Park and Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland.

Article Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Susan Hegger, October 31, 2016

Image Source: Wikipedia