A Picture Perfect View

Waitakere Ranges Regional Park in Auckland. Frames like this one are installed at regional parks in New Zealand

New Zealand

Auckland, on the north island was beautiful, but a bit chilly and rainy while we were there. Downtown Auckland is home to the second tallest man-made structure in the southern hemisphere at 328 meters high. Auckland had some nice markets shopping areas with a great exchange rate in our favor compared to what Australia had been! However, the real reason to go to New Zealand is the beauty of the nature and the wineries. Auckland Regional Council has created large structures framing the views seen at many regional parks such as Waitakere Ranges Regional Park. New Zealand is also home to black sand dunes and beaches, like Titirangi, where the iron in the sand turns it a sparkly black. Part of the movie The Piano was filmed at Titirangi, and scenes from Power Rangers were filmed at some of the waterfalls we passed on our hike to the beach. One of the best parts of New Zealand we experienced was the wineries. We went on a winery tour which included tasting at Monkey Bay, which many Americans should be familiar with. It was a beautiful location and the wine seemed to taste better because we were actually there!

Fiji

One of the biggest parts we learned about Fiji is that there is not much outside of their touristic resorts. It is a very poor country and they love their tourists. We had wanted to see more of the local living, but the part of the island we ended up at was very difficult to get out and explore. We stayed at a beautiful Outrigger Resort that had everything we could want. The people were wonderful and were so curious about Americans. We had multiple delicious meals of fresh fruit and vegetables and fresh fish and spices. The island was beautiful, but unlike Australia and New Zealand, I think one Fijian vacation is enough for me.

About the author:

Perri Neirman spent a semester in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji while majoring in Hospitality at Grand Valley State University. While as a student, Perri worked as a server at six.one.six restaurant at the JW Marriott Grand Rapids. She is seeking to relocate from Michigan to Texas before the end of the year to continue her hospitality career.

Titirangi in West Auckland

Waitakere Ranges Regional Park