New Zealand: the North Island

New Zealand isn’t a place I had ever really even thought about visiting. Along with Australia, it seemed so far away and was a complete mystery to my before Amy and I started planning our trip to the Southern Hemisphere. Besides the fact that I knew it would require an impossibly long flight, I had no idea what to expect from New Zealand and was completely blown away with this tiny country. It is literally a magical and beautifully stunning place, with more sheep than humans. There are no native land mammals or predators and no snakes which makes hiking much more enjoyable. There are caves with glowworms, and funny little kiwi birds and so. many. sheep. Though we only spent a few days on the north island, we saw some of the coolest sights here, like massively powerful and beautiful waterfalls tucked into rainforests right off the side of the road, to bubbling pools of brightly colored acid and giant trees that had us certain we’d cross paths with a T-rex at any moment. The north island gave us an incredible first taste of the awesomeness that New Zealand had in store for us in the weeks ahead.