New Zealand Travel Review: Auckland, Queenstown, Milford Sound, Sailing, Wine Tasting, Hiking, 2 Week Adventure Trip

This was a trip of a lifetime.  We worked well together, came up with an awesome itinerary for 6 weeks to New Zealand and Australia.  You name it we were going to do it.  This truly was an itinerary with planes, trains & automobiles.  Let's not forget to include boats, helicopter, camel and kayak.  We had such a variety of things planned including wine tasting in both NZ and Australia.  I can't say enough good things about our travel company!!!  In the planning stages they even spoke to us about where and when to go as far as seasons and which way to go whether it be Australia first or NZ. As it turned out, the recommendation to go to New Zealand first was perfect. We were saved the experience of Australia for only a few weeks and maybe being stuck there!  No stone was left unturned, even when the fires occurred in Australia.  Our impact was going to be minimal.
We left the US on March 9th for NZ arriving on the 11th.  No problems with Covid-19, we continued on with our itinerary.  Sailing in the harbor in Auckland, wine tasting on a beautiful little island outside of Auckland.  On to Queenstown which is delightful and Milford Sound for an overnight on a ship.  Absolutely beautiful.  Glad we did this vs a day trip or boat ride.  We flew back to Queenstown, which I'd recommend because you have a great overview of the mountains.  Breathtaking!!  Picked up a rental car and drove to Franz Josef to climb the glacier.  We're an older couple, but this was an incredible, first-time experience! My husband still marvels! We took a train to Christchurch which is still suffering the after effects of the 2011 earthquake.  Again a train up the Pacific Coast which is beautiful to Nelson.  Kayaking, hiking and a catamaran in the Tasman Sea.  What scenery!!  Up to Rotorua for more fun.  Well this is where the wheels starting coming off of our fun.  Things got cancelled because of Covid-19 and the ever changing environment of new shut downs and what the government was asking of people and vacationers.  
Starting on the 15th of March our travel agent was continually in contact with us about Covid-19 and how our itinerary was going to be impacted.  She made alternative suggestions, we made the decision to extend in NZ.  As our trip went along, things kept changing....  NZ decided to shut down on March 25 midnight.  Our new flight home was March 29, then March 27.  She worked with us so closely and was so helpful she actually got us a flight home on March 25.  
While we were having fun and enjoying ourselves, this company was working for us behind the scenes.  You can't ask for more than that!!  By the way, we came home and quarantined.  To date, we're healthy.