As we started the Indie Travel Take Down Tournament this year – our first attempt to wrangle the countries of the world into a kind of March Madness bracket of indie travel awesomeness – we were predicting which places would rank highly with travelers. New Zealand, as many of you can probably guess, was a deserved #1 seed and (we thought) a shoe-in for the top slot overall.
And then Portugal came along to upset New Zealand in the finals.
Tournaments like this are always going to have surprises, which is part of the fun, and of course the result doesn’t diminish New Zealand as a kick-ass indie travel destination at all. In fact, we love the country so much we’re highlighting it this week on BootsnAll. You’ll get to read about the ABCs of traveling in New Zealand (and since there are a few letters missing from this alphabet, we invite you to suggest appropriate candidates for U, X, Y, and Z), 7 things that make New Zealand so awesome for travelers, and a festival in New Zealand that celebrates local food (nevermind that it’s of the buggy variety).
Week 17 of the Indie Travel Challenge 2012 is all about New Zealand.
Some of you have already blogged about New Zealand as part of the Indie Travel Challenge, and we can’t blame you – as anyone who’s been there can tell you, it practically screams indie travel. If you haven’t already written about New Zealand, this is your golden opportunity. And if you have, we’d like to challenge you to write about it in a new way.
If you haven’t been to New Zealand (or you haven’t already written about it for the Indie Travel Challenge):
Imagine you’ve just been handed a round-trip ticket to Auckland. You’ve got a grand total of three months to spend there. You can travel as much as you like within the country, hopping between islands whenever you like, but you can’t leave New Zealand. Tell us what you’d do with three months in New Zealand – whether you’d base yourself in one place or travel constantly, what activities you’d make sure to do, and what you’d skip.
If you have been to New Zealand (or you’ve already written about it):
For a small country, New Zealand has lots to offer travelers – including two distinct islands. Imagine you have to convince someone to stay on just ONE island for the duration of their one-month stay in New Zealand. Make your case – North Island or South Island?
The Indie Travel Challenge is a year-long blogging project. Every Monday, we’ll post a new prompt, question, or challenge that bloggers can respond to via text, photos, or video. Respond on your own blog, and link back to BootsnAll so we can find and highlight the best submissions.
Check out the Indie Travel Challenge landing page for all information related to the event. You can see the week’s daily prompt, follow the hashtag on Twitter, share your posts, and check out submissions from around the world.
Read more about traveling in New Zealand:
- 8 Ways to Go Downhill in New Zealand
- What to Eat in New Zealand
- 9 New Zealand Wine Regions You Should Know About
- Incredible Cultural Experiences in Australia & New Zealand
- 7 Stunning Lakes of the South Island of New Zealand
photo by PhilipC