NEW ZEALAND

I'm not sure why it's taken so long to dive Middle Earth. Whereas previous trips to this magical land saw me focusing on whales and dolphins, this time we did everything that we had not done before, including scuba exploration of the Poor Knights Islands. Which I'll sum up with "Great fun, bold color, interesting critters, refreshingly different underwater habitat." But that was only the start. With scuba gear still wet, we piled into a campervan and went on a rampage, north to south. Our list of topside adventures included caving in the Waitomo area, Maori culture and boiling mud pits in Rotorua, hiking up volcanoes in Tongariro National Park, clawing up and sliding down Franz Josef Glacier, kayaking in Milford Sound, cruising on Doubtful Sound, killing swarms of sand flies in Fiordland, marveling at tree-sized ferns in temperate rainforest, and much, much more. Honestly, I would say that there's most exciting outdoorsy stuff to do here, and more jaw-dropping scenery awaiting around every corner, than just about any place on earth. What a trip! Photos await: ( link )