Once again, it was time for our annual trip to a wine-producing region with our friends. This year, our 25th annual trip, Le Grand Cru traveled to New Zealand. The official itinerary was from October 23 to November 7, 2018. Due to the long flight from Houston to Auckland (14.5 hr), we went a few days early to get over the time difference. This allowed us to also take in Tiritiri Matangi Island, a wonderful nature preserve. After working out of Auckland for a few days, the group traveled south on the North Island to Lake Taupo. Although there are no wineries in this area, it was a good place to enjoy the local scenery and to visit Te Puia (New Zealand Maori Arts & Crafts Institute). From Lake Taupo, we traveled to Napier located in the Hawkes Bay region on the Pacific coast. Next we traveled south towards Wellignton, overnighting in Martinborough and taking in some of the wineries in the area. After a few days in Wellington, we left the North Island by ferry to the South Island. Our first stop was in Blenheim located in a premier Marborough wine-producing region. From Blenheim, we flew to Queenstown in the southern part of the South Island where we enjoyed some premier Central Otaga Valley wineries. With the formal trip over, we stayed an extra day to enjoy Milford Sound before flying back to Auckland for our trans-Pacific flight home.

This was our first time to New Zealand. It far exceeded our expectations as to the beauty. The entire country is drop-dead beautiful with the South Island having a slight edge in that category. Coming in the spring was extremely fortuitous. Rhododendrons in full bloom in the cities. Hawthorn covered in white blooms highlighting the countryside. Yellow gorse and Spanish broom carpeting the hillsides accenting the other numerous wildflowers in bloom. Majestic mountains. All beautiful.

And then the people. New Zealanders are happy and beyond polite. Extremely well mannered. Super courteous and helpful. We did not meet one disagreeable citizen. And they are proud of their country. They treat it with respect. Virtually zero litter in towns and in the countryside. Zero!! They are striving to protect their environment for future generations. Recycling is the norm. One cannot even get a straw or a napkin with a bar drink unless asking for it. If only our country had the same values.

Immigrants are everywhere. They dominate the service industry- hotels, restaurants - by probably 9 to 1 over NZ citizens. Mostly young people out to see the world. NZ this year. Japan in two. Then maybe Australia. Oh to be young again.

Their political system works. No formal Constitution tying them to antiquated concepts. They elect a parliament every three years. The Parliament conducts business in line with what their constituents want. If not, they are voted out. Income taxes run 19-33% plus there is a national goods and services tax of 15%. For that citizens get, among other things, free healthcare that locals said was quite good. Public healthcare focuses on critical needs, so elective procedures such as cataracts and joint replacements can take up to a year, but supplemental health policies for such procedures are available at minimal cost. Accident medical coverage is also included. They have a no-fault insurance system. Eliminates lawyers and greed.

NZ is flourishing. For example, Queenstown grows by 7-8% a year. Tourism to Queenstown is increasing 10% a year. In 2017, there were 25K Queenstown residents serving 2.3M visitors. So Queenstown like most NZ cities is struggling to keep infrastructure ahead of the curve. Housing is in short supply leading to rapidly increasing real estate prices.