Welcome to my Spring 2022 Passion Blog! This one will be about my top 7 travel destinations. Disclaimer: This will not necessarily be in order of the ones I want to go to first. Some of the main factors leading into these decisions are the food, culture, and attractions.
The first one I am going to write about is probably one of my die-hard destinations: New Zealand. First of all, shoutout to New Zealand for having some strong female leadership. Now the biggest factor into this decision is the attractions, specifically the Hobbit Houses and the Glowworm Caves. Now call me a tourist, but there is a reason so many movies are set in New Zealand. The entire atmosphere is just beautiful.
I am a big fan of the Hobbit series, and luckily the Hobbit Houses are real and you can visit them in Matamata! This town is about 2 hours away from Auckland. They have two different tours of the set, one being the Hobbiton Movie Set Evening Banquet Tour, and the other being the Hobbiton Movie Set Second Breakfast Tour. One you eat dinner and walk around at dusk and the other you eat breakfast and walk around in the morning. Personally, I would rather do the breakfast tour, because waking up early and walking in the morning sun sounds lovely (if warm haha).
You first do the tour of the 12-acre movie set, then go to The Green Dragon Inn to get a drink, and finally go to the Millhouse for the actual food. Like look how perfect the second image looks!
Apart from that tour, I would also love to see the Glowworm Caves. You go on a boat and sail through the Glowworm Grotto. This attraction is three hours away from Auckland, in Waitomo. There are not too many details apart from that you go through two levels in these caves and then take a boat through the caves. The experience is so unlike most tourist attractions though, and glowworms seem so interesting to look at.
Last aspect is the food. When I was looking up common New Zealand foods, most sound pretty good, if not similar to American foods. There is lamb, fish and chips, Kiwi summer BBQ, pavlova and fruit salad, and more. I think the only thing I slightly make a face at is crayfish and seafood. According to NewZealand.com, New Zealand has some of the best seafood in the world, and I am not surprised. I just am not a big fan of seafood. However, the rest of the food sounds really good. I also saw a way of cooking called Hāngī, which is “food cooked under the ground”. Typically, the food appears to be either a meat or a vegetable. When I travel, I love trying new foods and new cooking styles, and this would definitely be new. It almost sounds like Kālua, which is what the Hawaiians do when they cook pig. I wonder if that is just an effective way of cooking on islands.
Regardless, if I ever get to New Zealand, I will be visiting the Hobbit Houses, the Glowworm Caves, and eating lots of food!
Images: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Hobbit_House.jpg
