Not Too Shabby, Abbie

Auckland, New Zealand This bustling city can be overwhelming for a first-time tourist. There are so many activities to do and so little time! To make your life a little easier, here are 5 things you MUST DO while you're in this beautiful paradise! 1. The Bay of Islands  Up in the far northern corner of New Zealand lies the gorgeous Bay of Islands! Beach after beach awaits you in the quiet north, just past the rolling emerald hills and grazing sheep. Kiss goodbye to the terrible traffic and noise as you drive along winding roads to end up at the most breathtaking and picturesque beaches in the world! While you're there, be sure to stop at the Manganui Fish Shop for their world-famous fish and chips! You won't regret it! 2. Hobbiton  For a Lord of the Rings fan, a visit to the set of the Shire is an absolute must. When Peter Jackson and crew rebuilt the hobbit holes for The Hobbit , they decided to make it a permanent tourist attraction. Wander ...

Sunrise I am not a morning person.  It's not really by choice, I physically cannot function before 8 AM. Often, I'll get really sick in the early mornings, but by the time noon rolls around, I'll be perfectly fine.  So it shouldn't surprise you that I don't see sunrises. I don't really believe in them. Besides, I grew up in Colorado, where the sunsets are spectacular as the sun goes to bed behind the jagged Rocky Mountains and sets the sky on fire behind their silhouettes. Why wake up at 5 AM to see a subpar sunrise when I can just look out my window at dinnertime to see that? But when you're in Bay of Islands with the most beautiful beaches in the world for just one night, sunrises are mandatory.  I got myself out of bed around 3:30 with a pretty rough sickness, (it's like my body knew I was going to make it get up too early and jumped the gun on me,) but when dawn broke, it's like everything wrong vanished with the night. We ...

New Zealand, New Playlists Millennials and their music... it's like we can't go anywhere without a prepared playlist to narrate the vibe of our lives, almost like we're living a movie montage! Well, if you ever find yourself in New Zealand and in desperate need of that perfect playlist to match your mood, here are the best songs to play in the must-see major cities Down Undah: Auckland, Dunedin, Queenstown, and Wellington. Auckland Auckland is the closest thing to real big city life here in New Zealand. This playlist was tricky to compile, since the city takes on different vibes walking among the skyscrapers, past street murals, along small outdoor mall shops, and finishing the day with a trip to the beach. Street musicians are everywhere in Auckland, playing old classics with open guitar cases lying at their feet. The sun bathes the city in heat nearly all year round, so as you're walking under the clear blue skies in search of an ice cream cone, pop in some hea...

"The land of the free and home of the brave." As an American citizen, I've heard these words so many times they've lost meaning to me. I always hear them and picture a soldier staring into the distance with an American flag waving behind him as a trumpet blares the national anthem. But ironically enough, it wasn't until I left my home country that I found what it means to be from the land of the free and home of the brave. Freedom is walking arm-in-arm down the wharf wailing High School Musical tunes at the top of your lungs, careless of the stares. Freedom is getting milkshakes at 9 AM and gulping down the entire thing, even though you were never really hungry in the first place. Freedom is staying up with your friends until 1 AM watching a movie that everyone hates, but you're enjoying the company too much to turn it off. Freedom is flirting with a stranger because there's nothing to lose and you can become that version of yourself you...

New Zealand is known for many things. Kiwi accents. Jade jewelry. Maori history. Aaaaaaand movies. So many Hollywood hits were filmed here in New Zealand, and the tourism industry has been riding that high since Peter Jackson's Lord Of The Rings . A quick Wiki search will give you an exhausting list of movies that used New Zealand's breathtaking mountains, hills, lakes, waterfalls, and miles of greenery as the backdrop to their stories. I'll list just a few big names for you here. Bridge To Terabithia Chronicles of Narnia 1 and 2 Evil Dead  Ghost in the Shell The Hobbit (et. al) Hunt for the Wilderpeople King Kong The Legend of Zorro Lord of the Rings (et. al) The Lovely Bones The Meg Mission Impossible Fallout Mortal Engines Mulan (coming in 2020) Never Say Die The Other Side of Heaven Thor: Ragnarok The Water Horse Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior A Wrinkle in Time (2018) X-Men Origins: Wolverine More than you were expecting, right? ...

When you are skydiving, it is imperative that you become a banana. Not to brag or anything, but I was told that I made the perfect banana as I tumbled out of a plane at 12,000 feet up in the air. When I say tumbled, I mean that quite literally. Cecilia Johnson, NZone Skydiving Being the lucky duck that I am, my instructor and I were the last out of the small aircraft, so my instructor made a special request and, rather than jumping out of the open door, the pilot simply rolled the plane over and tipped us right out. We flipped over to watch as the plane soared over us and righted itself, and for a brief moment, I forgot all about the banana. Until the strongest gust of wind I've ever felt in my life hit me and took the breath straight out of my lungs. I couldn't even draw breath to scream. And then the sight of the gorgeous mountain range and impossibly blue lake beneath me reminded me I was supposed to do something, so I assumed my "perfect" banana po...

Some Sweet As Slang One of the best and most beautiful parts about visiting a foreign country is basking in the new language. I don't know if you knew this, but they mostly speak English in New Zealand. (Though the diverse population also speak Maori, Mandarin, Taiwanese, Japanese, French, Spanish, German, etc.) But it's a very special English. A better English. Why is it better? Let me give you a few examples of the sweet as Kiwi slang they use here. YES! Here are a few of the most common phrases in Kiwiland to basically express how it feels every day to be in New Zealand! Sweet as Awesome, good, great, cool, etc. Did you go skydiving?  Yeah! Sweet as! Keen Game/Down/Eager Hey bro, you wanna grab some fish and chips? Yeah mate, I'm keen. Choice Fantastic Those waves are choice! Churs Cheers/Nice/Thanks/Goodbye etc. Welcome to the island, mate!  Churs! Thanks, it's great to be here! Mean/Bad Awesome You hungry? Deb makes a mean b...