maggiek

I have had the wonderful opportunity to travel to many countries around the world, but New Zealand is my favorite. As others have said, the two islands are totally different from each other, the scenery is marvelous but the friendly people really make the difference. They do speak a form of English (which is more like a Scottish brogue than US English). The north island is rolling hills, lakes and agricultural areas and some large cities like Aukland. The south island is like Switzerland with soaring mountains and huge lakes. Be sure to take the trip to Milford Sound but I recommend you take a tour rather than driving as the road is very narrow and treacherous, not to mention driving on the left. We rented a small motor home for our tour of the south island but did bed and breakfast in the north. It was fun to meet the people in their homes and learn about them - each was so different from the last. I have also visited more recently for business in the north island and found that little had changed in the 20 years since my first visit there. I highly recommend New Zealand!