New Zealand: 3 Weeks in Middle Earth

Auckland is New Zealand's largest city, but it's not the star of the show. We used it as a base to explore the surroundings. We climbed Mount Rangitoto, a 600-year-old volcano in the middle of the harbor, with 360° views over the city and sea.

Rotorua smells of sulfur from kilometers away. It's the country's geothermal heart: geysers, bubbling mud pools, hot springs in impossible colors. But Rotorua is also the heart of Maori culture. We attended a hangi (traditional dinner cooked underground) with a warrior dance show. The welcoming haka gives you goosebumps.

Hobbiton, an hour from Rotorua, is mandatory for Lord of the Rings fans. Walking among the round doors, drinking a beer at the Green Dragon Inn, seeing the Shire just as Tolkien imagined it... it's magical even if you're not a fan.

Tongariro Alpine Crossing is the country's most famous day hike: 19 km crossing a lunar volcanic landscape, passing Mount Doom where Frodo destroyed the ring. Tough but unforgettable.

Wellington is small but intensely cool. Specialty coffee shops on every corner, craft breweries, street art, and a wind that justifies its 'Windy Welly' nickname.

Te Papa, the national museum, is free and extraordinary. The exhibitions on Maori culture, geology, and fauna are interactive and fascinating. We spent 4 hours without realizing it.

Cuba Street is the bohemian heart: vintage shops, galleries, restaurants from all over the world. We dined at Loretta, a bistro where locals crowd in, and tried the flat white (the coffee New Zealand claims to have invented).

The red cable car climbs to the botanical gardens with views over the bay. From above, Wellington looks like a toy city wedged between green hills and cobalt blue sea.

The ferry to the South Island leaves from downtown and takes 3 hours crossing the Cook Strait. The scenery in the Marlborough Sounds, with green fjords emerging from the water, announces what's coming.

The South Island is where New Zealand becomes epic. Fewer inhabitants than the North Island, more dramatic landscapes, and roads that cross movie-set scenery.

The Franz Josef and Fox glaciers are unique: masses of ice descending to the rainforest. We booked a helicopter tour (€300 but worth every cent) that dropped us walking on the glacier, among blue crevasses and ice waterfalls.

Hokitika is a small town on the west coast famous for jade (pounamu in Maori). We ordered a hand-carved pendant as a souvenir. At night, we went to see glowworms in the nearby gorge.

Punakaiki's Pancake Rocks are limestone formations that look like stacks of giant pancakes. When the tide rises, water explodes in marine geysers through blowholes. We arrived at high tide and the show was brutal.

Arthur's Pass crosses the Southern Alps with landscapes that change from rainforest to alpine tundra in minutes. We saw keas (the only alpine parrots in the world) stealing the windshield wipers' rubbers from the car next to us.

Queenstown is small but its reputation is enormous. Nestled between mountains and Lake Wakatipu, it's the world capital of extreme sports. Commercial bungee jumping was born here.

We did bungee from Kawarau Bridge (the original at 43 meters) and it was terrifyingly liberating. Less extreme alternative: the luge (wheeled toboggan) down Skyline Gondola hills with impossible views.

Glenorchy, 45 minutes away, is where many LOTR scenes were filmed. The road along the lake is one of the most beautiful we've driven. From there starts the Routeburn Track, one of New Zealand's Great Walks.

Milford Sound is the country's most famous fjord. We drove the 3 hours from Queenstown (stopping every 10 minutes for photos) and took a sunset cruise. Waterfalls falling from 1,000 meters, seals sunbathing on rocks, dolphins playing with the bow... surreal.

To finish, we dined on New Zealand lamb at Botswana Butchery with lake views. The perfect end to the adventure.

Dunedin is the university city of the south, with Scottish architecture and a young population that gives it life. The train station, with its mosaic floors, is one of the most beautiful in the world.

The Otago Peninsula has the only mainland colony of royal albatrosses. These 3-meter wingspan birds soar over the cliffs while waves crash below. There are also yellow-eyed penguins, sea lions, and seals everywhere.

The Catlins are New Zealand's wildest corner. Unpaved roads through giant fern forests, waterfalls accessible only by walking, beaches where you're the only person for kilometers.

Nugget Point has a lighthouse on a promontory surrounded by pointy rocks. We arrived at dawn and golden light illuminated a landscape that seemed like the end of the world.

Curio Bay has 180-million-year-old petrified forest visible at low tide, and yellow-eyed penguins that emerge from the sea at sunset. We sat in silence while five penguins paraded meters from us toward their nests.