Pack Light Global has planned a trip to New Zealand that will take your breath away.
The unique blend of cultural and natural experiences found in New Zealand make for a soul refreshing journey steeped in color, music, and sky.
Mists rise from the geothermal vents surrounding Lake Rotorua as red crested Pukeko fill the air with piercing calls. A storied destination for fishing, boating, and swimming, visitors also have the chance to engage with the Maori love story of legend by visiting Mokoia Island, where it is said that Hinemoa, the beautiful high born daughter of a chief, was finally able to meet the man who would become her husband, Tutanekai, as the longing music he played bridged the connection of their love that defied class rank and traditional customs. Hinemoa’s Pool, or Waikimihia, is just one of many hot springs where guests can melt away the strictures imposed in their daily lives.
Descending even more deeply into the water is possible during a visit to Milford Sound , where visitors can find themselves observing like mermaids the aquatic surroundings found 10 meters under the sea. Pods of colorful fish, widely stretching sea stars, and even endangered sharks can be witnessed up close from underneath the waves at the Milford Sound Underwater Observatory.
A return to the surface yields further enrapture as waterfalls cascade sending dewy tresses down the mountainside while fur seals and penguins lounge dotted along the rocks.
More wildlife sightings are sure to be seen on a cruise of the Hauraki Gulf. These waters are hotspots for spawning schools of fish attracting not only flocks of seabirds, but sharks, orcas, and dolphins as well. A transition from rolling waves to rolling hills brings guests to world renowned vineyards, where the dry and warm meso-climate boasts some of the most full bodied blends found in the country.
North Island, New Zealand
Across the gulf, the seaside cosmopolitan playground of Auckland offers fare for urban adventurers and purveyors of culture alike. Sweeping vistas of emerald forest and sparkling sea can be taken in with a cocktail pairing at the Sky Tower bar. The second tallest free standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere, thrill-seekers of varying degrees can get their fix by peeping through portions of glass flooring, exploring the VR Sky Tower slide exhibit, or base jumping with safety harnesses from the 1,076 ft aerial platform.
From the top of Sky Tower, the grassy fields surrounding the Auckland Museum splay out, centering the institution’s construction. The museum halls are filled with curated testaments to not only New Zealand’s ecological wonders, with flora and fauna highlighted throughout, but to its cultural heritage as well, with a heavy emphasis on the culture and history of the Mãori people.
Explore the Culture and History of the Maori people
The Mãori are the indigenous people of New Zealand, whose arrival on the island stretches back over one thousand years and whose culture colors the island nation with vibrancy, despite the marginalization imposed by the country’s heavy colonial history.
In 2020, many Mãori people rose up in solidarity alongside Black Americans resisting police tyranny, holding protests and demonstrations that echoed across equatorial lines. The critiques offered by America’s Black community were deeply heard and felt by many Mãori people, whose communities are often under-resourced and over policed. To engage with the culture and history of the island through explorations into traditions like Hangi, Mãori style dinner cooked in traditional underground ovens, is to encounter parallels of resistance in peoples who are separated by oceans but share a common experience of preserving one’s culture against all odds.
Join Pack Light Global as we travel to the North and South Islands of New Zealand to experience its beauty, culture and heritage. For more information and payment plan visit to claim your spot today.
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