Honeymoon photo gallery

View our honeymoon photo gallery at narbonne.smugmug.com

Clearly we're bullocks!

While in New Zealand, we went river boarding on the Kawarau River with Mad Dog River Boarding. It was fun, but not as scary as we were led to believe. Maybe it's terribly thrilling for some, but as surfers, we thought the rapids were...tame.

But, we did enjoy the scenery and the super-clear and clean water. Neil enjoyed the +20m rock jump at the end, and Berta enjoyed the hot showers (the glacier-fed river is really cold!). The staff were professional, and the activity well-run. We might some nice people doing the activity as well.

Overall, we'd recommend the activity. Of course, you must be able to swim and be comfortable in the water.

We've strung together video clips of our little adventure and added some music so that you can experience river boarding itself from the comfort of your armchair.

Honeymoon itinerary

On our (yes) 25-day trip, we visited New Zealand, Fiji, and Bangkok as follows:
- 2 weeks in New Zealand
- 1 week in Fiji
- 3 days in Bangkok.

Our route in New Zealand:

(Map from Tourism New Zealand)

Day 1 - Depart Taipei for Auckland via Bangkok. Get upgraded to business class on the Bangkok-Auckland leg (whee!).
Day 2 - Arrive Auckland. Explore Auckland in the afternoon. Fly to Wellington in the evening.
Day 3 - In the morning, cross the Marlborough Sounds to get to New Zealand's South Island on Sounds Air. Neil gets to sit in the cockpit. Arrive in Picton, pick up rental car, and drive to Blenheim/Renwick. Spend afternoon visiting the Cloudy Bay and Hunter's wineries. Visit the Makana Confections chocolate factory. Dinner at Vintner's Retreat Restaurant.
Day 4 - Attend the Marlborough Wine Festival
Day 5 - Leave Marlborough for the Kaikoura coast. Stop off at the Blenheim Farmer's Market. See the seals in Kaikoura. Arrive Christchurch in the evening.
Day 6 - Visit the Botanic Gardens, Canterbury Museum, and Christchurch Art Gallery.
Day 7 - Go to Omaru. See penguins.
Day 8 - Go to Dunedin. Visit friends Jennie and Daniel and their baby boy Isaac.
Day 9 - Drive through the Wanaka Valley on the way to Queenstown.
Day 10 - Visit Milford Sounds on a Real Journeys scenic coach tour and overnight cruise.
Day 11 - Return to and explore Queenstown.
Day 12 - River boarding in the morning with Mad Dog River Boarding, and a Lord of the Rings scenic tour in the afternoon with Nomad Safaris.
Day 13 - Fly to Auckland. Take ferry to Waiheke Island.
Day 14 - Relax and meander through Waiheke Island.
Day 15 - Return to Auckland for flight to Fiji. Arrive in Nadi, Fiji.
Day 16 - Take "Malolo Cat" catamaran to Malolo Island, and then transfer to the Funky Fish Beach Resort. See a kava demonstration. Watch the sunset.
Day 17 - Wake up at 4:50am to go surfing, only to find no waves. Sleep in the morning. Snorkel in the afternoon.
Day 18 - SCUBA dive. See sharks. Take an afternoon nap.
Day 19 - Depart Funky Fish to Nadi. Take bus to Pacific Harbor.
Day 20 - Take a Rivers Fiji rafting trip to the Upper Navua River.
Day 21 - Leisurely return to Nadi.
Day 22 - Fly to Bangkok via Auckland.
Day 23 - Cooking class at the Baipai Cooking School.
Day 24 - Shopping and yoga at Yoga Elements.
Day 25 - Leisurely breakfast, last-minute stop at Jim Thompson, final massage at Health Land Spa. Return to Taipei.

Guest perspective

Here's Sophie's take on our wedding.