Although the North and South islands of New Zealand are very close together, they couldn’t be more different. While the North Island is filled with rolling green hills and temperate weather, the South Island has dramatic snow-capped mountains and freezing temperatures.

Once we got off the ferry in the small town of Picton, my family started driving to our next destination. The valley was filled with wineries. We stopped at a chocolate factory to grab a quick snack, and started on our way. We drove to Nelson, where we hiked to a summit that is at the exact center of New Zealand. We reached the summit at sunset, and the beautiful view felt like a warm welcome to the island.

The next day, we woke up early and went to a small, secluded beach that is known for its “split apple rock”. We were the only family at the beach, which made it feel like a private paradise. Unfortunately, that paradise ended soon afterwards when our RV broke down in the middle of the road. We had to change our plans because the itinerary ended up getting delayed by one day.

We traveled to Westport, where we saw an adorable seal colony, as well as ancient “pancake” rocks, which misleadingly do not look anything like pancakes. After driving many more hours, we reached the Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers. These glaciers are both over 10 kilometers long and are absolutely beautiful. After hiking around the bottom of Franz Joseph glacier, we took a helicopter tour of Fox Glacier and then hiked on the glacier itself. The glacier was huge, and had many different ice formations and caves to explore. The heli-hike was one of the highlights of the entire trip for me. I had never flown in a helicopter before, and the experience was breathtaking. Additionally, the glacier was so beautiful it seemed like a dream.

It was hard to imagine that anything could top that adventure, until we reached Wanaka. There, my family decided to take a short ski vacation. My dad and I are the only people in my family who had skied before, so it was an interesting experience. Most of my family did really well (my sister Roni being the exception), and by the end of the day everyone was hooked on skiing. We spent on more day in Wanaka, doing our last hike in New Zealand up Mt. Iron and enjoying the lake that the town in built around.

The next day, we drove up to Christchurch, where we left New Zealand for the tropical paradise of Thailand. As the plane took off, I felt a pang of sadness that we were leaving. I made myself a promise that one day, I would return to the land of breathtaking views, relaxed culture and incredible experiences.