Travel Review: New Zealand Vacation, Queenstown, Rotorua, Abel Tasman, Te Anau, Doubtful Sound, Firodland National Park

This will be a long list since we loved every part of our journey: starting at the lodge near Rotorua (the food was fantastic, the rooms gorgeous and the couple running the lodge incredibly warm and welcoming; on the South Island, the stunning beauty and Zen ambiance of the retreat overlooking a bay next to Abel Tasman National Park. This place reminded me of a gorgeous house that you might find perched up high along the cliffs of the Big Sur in California; moving on, we next stayed at the retreat overlooking both the Pacific Ocean and a large inlet and bay  when the remnants of a cyclone blew through the north end of the South Island and washed out the only mountainous road in or out that region of the South Island that Westhaven was in. Fortunately for us, since we couldn't get out and continue on our way from Westhaven, it also meant that the next wave of guests couldn't get in to Westhaven, so we were "marooned" at this gorgeous luxury lodge for an extra day with other guests who really enjoyed spending time together and dined altogether. I need to also note that the family who owns and runs Westhaven could not have been nicer or more supportive and accommodating in helping us implement the Plan B for leaving that part of the island that our travel agent had developed in light of the road washouts. The family that run Westhaven were superb in all regards and made it a bit sad to finally depart and leave their warm hospitality behind; We then went on to the wilderness lodge along the western coast of the South Island and immensely enjoyed the stay at this fabulous Lodge. In particular, this lodge was adjacent to a stunning trail through a tropical rainforest that wound its way down to the ocean, a hike that was one of the highlights of the trip. The Lodge owners also played an important role in blocking logging of the ancient 700+ year old massive trees in this area and in securing a World Heritage Site protective designation for the ancient forests. We then moved on to the lodge near Te Anu and found it to be one of the best experiences of our whole vacation. The lodge itself is beautiful itself with fabulous mountain and lake vistas in front of it and it is nestled adjacent to Fiordland National Park so it was an excellent launch point for day hikes into the park. We also took the best pictures of the entire trip at the Lodge, given the sunsets and early morning pictures that we took of the cloud covered mountains. Next we had surprisingly decent weather during our overnight cruise into Doubtful Sound which allowed us to take photos without the usual rain. And finally, we finished off our trip at an incomparable lodge 25 miles north of Queenstown. The hospitality offered guests at the lodge was world class, the 5 course gourmet meal for dinner exquisite and the lodge and lodging as fine as any we have ever stayed at. Definitely would go back there again.