Recently by Christopher Blanchard

Hanmer Springs is a cute town on the South Island of New Zealand. We went to Hanmer Springs as part of my University of Waikato's semester break. Hanmer Springs is a not what I thought that it was gong to be. The town has a few cute cafes, a tiny grocery store, and the springs. Now the springs are not as awesome as I thought that they were going to be... I mean, the entire town is named after these springs, they has got to be awesome right?

Credit: Alexandra Bertin

Arthur's Pass National Park is west of Christchurch. On the way to Arthur's Pass you drive right past Castle Hill, an awesome must see. The mountains on both side of you as you drive through are just massive and give you the feeling of being totally insignificant.

After we went to Alexandra, we drove to Gibbston Valley Winery in the Central Otago grape growing region. Gibbston is home to some of the best pinot noir on the planet... so I've been told. We signed up and did a cave tour that also included a wine tasting in the cave.

There is a tiny town in the middle of the south part of the South Island, of New Zealand called Alexandra. Why did I go to Alexandra?

This past semester at The University of Waikato I took TIKA 157: Introduction to Maori Performing Arts. The only pre-requirements are just an open mind and a willingness to shake that groove thing!

This past semester I took at The University of Waikato TIKA 163: Introduction to Traditional and Contemporary Māori Society. This class has taught me so much about not only about the Maori, but also about New Zealand. I have had a lot of interactions with my fellow Maori students, some examples of some cool (and funny) cultural encounters are that a group of the Maori students did not know where Ohio was within United States (I don't blame them for not knowing) and when I started to tell them where it was, one student asked me how far Ohio was from California.

Sterling Point Sign

Bluff is a tiny fishing and port town that is on the outskirts of Invercargill. Bluff is also the home of this famous landmark located in Sterling Point.

Avalanche Peak is a spectacular tramp (hike) in Arthur's Pass. The entire hike up is essentially a rock scramble that winds along a river that has several waterfalls as you hike up, out and back takes about 6 to 8 hours. As you come out of the tree line you can see massive views for miles of the other mountains and peaks of Author's Pass. To actually get to the top of the peak requires a good bit of effort, but nothing that is too crazy.

The Big Al Buger

Fergburger might be the best place to get a burger in all of New Zealand. Not even kidding. I might have thought that it was the best because it was the first real food to be eaten in 10 days while on my University of Waikato's semester break... anywho, this gem of a burger joint is right on the main street in the adventure capital, Queenstown on the South Island of New Zealand.

Nikau Cave and Cafe is by far the best cave tour that I have ever been on. The cave is chock full of glow worms, stalactites and stalagmites all that shine with an eerie pale glow from the flashlights that are given to you.