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What's Katie Doing?

Gin Travel Food

June 5, 2017

My Top Three in New Zealand

A friend of mine always asks for my top 3 whenever I come back from a trip. This could be top three smells, views, tastes, or even the three worst smells or views!

So I’ve decided to showcase some of my fellow travel bloggers in a new mini series of ‘top three’. This is designed to give you a snapshot of a location and I’m kicking it off with my top three from my recent New Zealand trip!!

Top Three New Zealand 

Top Three: New Zealand on What's Katie Doing? blog

Narrowing it down to three of anything can be tricky. But it’s a good exercise to focus the mind – especially if you’ve been on a long trip like my NZ one (three weeks!)

My top three smells from my New Zealand trip:

Top Three: New Zealand on What's Katie Doing? blog

hmmm gin pot pourri!

  1. The sea at Abel Tasman. There is nothing like the smell of being by the sea, it’s totally different from being in London and instantly associates with holidays for me.
  2. Gin pot pourri at Curiosity gin distillery, Christchurch. This was the leftover solids at the end of the distillation process – still very fragrant with orange peel, juniper, cinamon, cardamom and other botanicals in the mix.
  3. Clean washing after 4 days hiking! Yeah this one is self explanatory! (nb we *did* wash, but having clean clothes and a full HOT shower was bliss!

Top three views:

Top Three: New Zealand on What's Katie Doing? blog

Views worth sweating for!

  1. The view of the bay from the top of the hill after walking 1.5 hours to get there. Abel Tasman national park is worth the effort, the coastal track is one of New Zealand’s 9 great walks.
  2. Mitre peak from Milford Sound at the end of the day when the hordes had left and the sun was setting behind it
  3. ALL the stars – I mean literally the entire Milky Way, planets and then some! I can’t recommend the Mount John Observatory tour at Lake Tekapo.

Top three tastes/meals

Top Three: New Zealand on What's Katie Doing? blog

What a line up! The Broken Heart range

  1. Broken heart gin. You must know by now that gin is my passion! I was lucky enough to spend an afternoon tasting, chatting and laughing with Joerg from Broken Heart spirits. His gin is a classic London dry flavour – the best for gin and tonics. However for cocktails bartenders needed something stronger and the Navy Strength was designed. New ones that we had the chance to try included the Quince gin and Barrel Aged gins.
  2. Toro tapas dinner. This is the reason that I couldn’t just have top three tastes. The entire meal was a relevation! From the fresh and zingy salmon ceviche, the superbly cooked octopus and aioli, I totally recommend visiting Toro if you are in Queenstown ?
  3. Gin sour cocktail at the Blue Door. The most famous venue in Arrowtown, the blue door in the alleyway leads you into a cosy den. Think roaring wood fire and leather armchairs and fantastic cocktails. We were spoilt here!

So let me know – where have you been recently and what are your top three?!

Top Three: New Zealand on What's Katie Doing? blog

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Filed Under: New Zealand, travel

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jean says

    June 10, 2017 at 9:05 am

    Oh Abel Tasman is one of my favourite places in New Zealand! Such a wonderful place to relax and explore.

    Reply
    • Katie Hughes says

      June 10, 2017 at 9:06 am

      It is truly stunning Jean! I’m so glad I got to visit ?

      Reply
  2. Christie says

    June 10, 2017 at 11:51 am

    This is a really clever idea! I’m living in Wellington at the moment and can’t wait to travel around more of New Zealand too!

    Reply
  3. Jill at Reading the Book says

    June 10, 2017 at 12:18 pm

    These top 3 lists are such a good idea! Great to see you throw some quirky stuff in the mix and make it truly personal. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  4. Becky says

    June 10, 2017 at 2:56 pm

    Ah I love New Zealand, funny I’ve just written a guest post on Abel Tasman. Such a beautiful place and I had very fond memories. I like the mini top 3 lists too, a cute way of summarising a country in a nice way.

    Reply
  5. Alison says

    June 10, 2017 at 3:01 pm

    New Zealand looks and smells lovely, I felt as if I was there! I’d love to be sipping a gin and tonic with that view!

    Reply
    • Katie Hughes says

      June 12, 2017 at 8:12 pm

      Thanks Alison!

      Reply
  6. Penny says

    June 11, 2017 at 9:41 am

    I love this concept. Relying on our senses to teach us about our environment is probably the most powerful way to travel.

    Reply
    • Katie Hughes says

      June 11, 2017 at 9:45 am

      Yes exactly – thanks Penny!

      Reply

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