Destinations: Christchurch and Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand

Prices: Base price: $3,570; air fare: $1,575; add-on tours: about $400. Prices are for a 16-day Australia/New Zealand tour.

The trip: My friend and I toured Australia and New Zealand in May. We spent the last five days of our trip on New Zealand's South Island. By the time flights to and from destinations were accounted for, we had about a day total in Christchurch and 2 1/2 days in Queenstown. We did almost everything on our own in Christchurch, with the exception of the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, but did mostly guided tours in Queenstown.

Christchurch

We arrived midafternoon and spent a few hours exploring the town before meeting the bus that took us to Willowbank, where we toured the reserve, were given a taste of Maori culture through a model village and interactive musical performance and finished with a four-course meal.

You can tour the reserve during the day, but since kiwi, New Zealand's national animal, are nocturnal, your best chance of a sighting is on this tour. Also, the Maori experience is only available in the evening.

The next day, we were up early to cram as much as we could into the time we had left. Our main destination was Cathedral Square. Full of everything from buskers to vendors to people playing sidewalk chess with giant pieces, it's a great place to people watch. There's even a town crier!

And expect to interact as you watch them. Though almost everyone we met on our vacation was nice, the people in Christchurch were perhaps the friendliest.

We chatted with a Maori jewelry maker at the shops in the Arts Centre (another must-visit) who told us the stories behind his works. We also met a lovely couple who ran a bookshop there, who actually flagged us down after their mail came to deliver the second copy of a book we both wanted. And as we wandered through the market in Cathedral Square, we were approached by vendors not hawking their wares but asking about our trip.

Queenstown

From the moment we arrived at our hotel, I loved Queenstown. We stayed at the Scenic Circle A-Line Hotel (now the Heartland Hotel Queenstown), and it was fabulous! As its name implies, it's an adorable A-Line hotel that's quaint and cozy despite being part of a chain.

The restaurant, where we had complimentary breakfast, was very nice. Unlike most complimentary breakfasts that are buffet-style, this one had menus and waiters who took our orders. It took a little longer for breakfast because of this, but it was worth it.

The best part, without a doubt, was the view! The rooms look out on pine trees, beautiful snowcapped mountains and the waters of Lake Wakatipu, with little besides the other hotel buildings blocking them. There's a balcony, which I imagine would be wonderful to relax on in the summer; however, it was too cold for us to do that.

I'd really hoped to go lugeing at the Skyline Gondola, but when we arrived, we found out it was closed for seasonal maintenance. Not only did I think it would be awesome to ride a luge, but it was also one of the cheaper thrill-seeking activities in Queenstown. The city is known as "the Adventure Capital of the World," so if you're an adrenaline junkie, you can do everything from bungee jumping and skydiving to jet boating and heli skiing.

I thought bungee jumping would have been cool, too, but my friend thought I was insane. Plus, it cost a minimum of $175 and took at least half a day -- too much time given our short stay.

Destinations: Christchurch and Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand

Prices: Base price: $3,570; air fare: $1,575; add-on tours: about $400. Prices are for a 16-day Australia/New Zealand tour.

The trip: My friend and I toured Australia and New Zealand in May. We spent the last five days of our trip on New Zealand's South Island. By the time flights to and from destinations were accounted for, we had about a day total in Christchurch and 2 1/2 days in Queenstown. We did almost everything on our own in Christchurch, with the exception of the Willowbank Wildlife Reserve, but did mostly guided tours in Queenstown.

Christchurch

We arrived midafternoon and spent a few hours exploring the town before meeting the bus that took us to Willowbank, where we toured the reserve, were given a taste of Maori culture through a model village and interactive musical performance and finished with a four-course meal.

You can tour the reserve during the day, but since kiwi, New Zealand's national animal, are nocturnal, your best chance of a sighting is on this tour. Also, the Maori experience is only available in the evening.

The next day, we were up early to cram as much as we could into the time we had left. Our main destination was Cathedral Square. Full of everything from buskers to vendors to people playing sidewalk chess with giant pieces, it's a great place to people watch. There's even a town crier!

And expect to interact as you watch them. Though almost everyone we met on our vacation was nice, the people in Christchurch were perhaps the friendliest.

We chatted with a Maori jewelry maker at the shops in the Arts Centre (another must-visit) who told us the stories behind his works. We also met a lovely couple who ran a bookshop there, who actually flagged us down after their mail came to deliver the second copy of a book we both wanted. And as we wandered through the market in Cathedral Square, we were approached by vendors not hawking their wares but asking about our trip.

Queenstown

From the moment we arrived at our hotel, I loved Queenstown. We stayed at the Scenic Circle A-Line Hotel (now the Heartland Hotel Queenstown), and it was fabulous! As its name implies, it's an adorable A-Line hotel that's quaint and cozy despite being part of a chain.

The restaurant, where we had complimentary breakfast, was very nice. Unlike most complimentary breakfasts that are buffet-style, this one had menus and waiters who took our orders. It took a little longer for breakfast because of this, but it was worth it.

The best part, without a doubt, was the view! The rooms look out on pine trees, beautiful snowcapped mountains and the waters of Lake Wakatipu, with little besides the other hotel buildings blocking them. There's a balcony, which I imagine would be wonderful to relax on in the summer; however, it was too cold for us to do that.

I'd really hoped to go lugeing at the Skyline Gondola, but when we arrived, we found out it was closed for seasonal maintenance. Not only did I think it would be awesome to ride a luge, but it was also one of the cheaper thrill-seeking activities in Queenstown. The city is known as "the Adventure Capital of the World," so if you're an adrenaline junkie, you can do everything from bungee jumping and skydiving to jet boating and heli skiing.

I thought bungee jumping would have been cool, too, but my friend thought I was insane. Plus, it cost a minimum of $175 and took at least half a day -- too much time given our short stay.

The next morning, we were up before dawn for a trip to Milford Sound. This was one of the tours that came with the package we booked. While the sound was gorgeous, we didn't quite realize the extent of the trip -- it was four hours each way.

We stopped at some interesting places along the way, which broke up the trip some. Mirror Lake in Fiordland National Park was especially interesting. Because leaching turns the water dark brown, it is the perfect surface to reflect New Zealand's beautiful scenery. When I show people pictures I took just of the lake, no one can believe they're looking at a reflection and not the actual thing.

Milford Sound is beautiful beyond words. I think the best description was when another passenger on our cruise simply shook his head in disbelief and said, "Stunning." The water is a gorgeous blue; the mountains are covered in trees before giving way to snow at the very top and there are several waterfalls -- passing near enough one to feel the spray from the rocks, we saw a double rainbow. There were times I was snapping pictures as fast as I could to capture the beauty and others when I just stood in awe of what I saw.

In some places, rocks jut out into the water, making them the perfect place for fur seals to hang out. At one point, the captain announced that he saw one. After several minutes of playing "spot the seal," I finally saw him, too. He blended in so well that he looked just like a rock.

The next day, our last of the trip, was time for one of the things my friend and I had most been anticipating: the Safari of the Scenes. If you've seen the "Lord of the Rings" movies, this tour is a must.

There are tons of "LOTR" tours in New Zealand. Some are helicopter tours, some encompass both islands, some feature props from the movies and some last multiple days. Safari of the Scenes, run by Nomad Safaris, is a four-wheel-drive off-road tour.

The tour is actually two half-day tours -- in Glenorchy and the Lake Wakatipu basin -- with a break between for lunch. You're not necessarily in the same group for both, and you don't have the same guide. The tours are also small, seating a maximum of six.

The Wakatipu basin tour features places that were used for things like the Misty Mountains, the Battle of the Wargs, the Rohan refugee camp, the Pillars of the Kings and the Ford of Bruinen. Glenorchy's highlights include the Dart River (used for scenes around Isengard), the beech forest in New Zealand National Park (used for the Ithlein forest, the exterior of Fangorn Forest and some of Lothlorien) and Mount Condor (where the battle of the Olyphants took place).

Unfortunately, many of these locations are way up in the mountains and not easily accessible by vehicle, so you get to see them, but you don't get to stand, say, where Elijah Wood or Viggo Mortensen stood. It's a little disappointing, but it doesn't make the tour any less fun.

The guides are unbelievably knowledgeable. They could answer almost any question, whether it be about "Lord of the Rings," other New Zealand movies or New Zealand in general. Our morning guide, Dale, is a former musician who played with the New Zealand Orchestra and performed on the movies' soundtracks.

Though our afternoon guide didn't have a "LOTR" connection, she was no less cool. It happened that my friend and I were the only two people on the tour, so she let us dictate the trip. If we wanted to stop roadside for pictures or stay a little longer at one place, we could. She also happily took our picture as we did things like pan for gold in the Arrow River (aka the Ford of Bruinen) and imitated the Pillars of the Kings at the Kawarau River.

At the end of the day, before dropping us back in town, she took us to the tour offices, so we could pick up a copy of "The Lord of the Rings Location Guidebook" autographed by author Ian Brodie, who has given the tour his stamp of approval, and also so I could take pictures of the other vehicles. (All have "LOTR"-themed license plates -- we rode in WARGS and P1PP1N -- and I wanted the complete collection.)

Though the tour is obviously tailored to "LOTR" fans, it's not a requirement that you've seen the films. The family with us on the morning tour had not, but they enjoyed simply taking in the scenic beauty.

Tips

Reach Amy Robinson at flips...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-4881.