<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t lie and say I\u2019ve sat through the \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d trilogy. I know I should, but just haven\u2019t yet. I have, however, seen just enough snippets of the movies to move New Zealand from my \u201ccheck it out\u201d list, to my \u201cget your butt there\u201d list, based solely on the scenery of Middle Earth.<\/p>\n

As I assumed, with any place as beautiful as that, there are numerous well worn tracks zigzagging throughout the islands. Here<\/a>, the guides at Active New Zealand<\/a>, who have spent some serious time in the Kiwi backcountry, have generously put together a list of off the beaten track places to get you away from the throngs of people. Glaciers, valleys, peaks, and ridges, virtually all to yourself,\u00a0simply for having the pleasure of getting\u00a0your socks knocked off in relative privacy. How nice of them.<\/p>\n

Also, if you\u2019re a water person, this BootsnAll article<\/a>, shows you seven lakes to visit when you spend some time on NZ\u2019s south island. Each one looks to be well worth a visit.<\/p>\n

Jaws\u2026 get ready to be dropped.<\/p>\n

*Photo by Kiwinz<\/a><\/p>\n

By Jon Wick<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

About the Author<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jon lives in Butte, Montana, spending most of his time on skis or bikes; sometimes both. He began travel writing while teaching in Korea and is currently pursuing his Master\u2019s Degree in Technical Communication at Montana Tech. Jon has begun writing his first book, <\/em>The Story of Will, whose movie rights are still (very) available. Catch more of Jon at TheJonWickproject.wordpress.com<\/a>. (@ExpedJon<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I won\u2019t lie and say I\u2019ve sat through the \u201cLord of the Rings\u201d trilogy. I know I should, but just haven\u2019t yet. I have, however, seen just enough snippets of the movies to move New Zealand from my \u201ccheck it out\u201d list, to my \u201cget your butt there\u201d list, based solely on the scenery of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3447,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2569,1,2576,2562],"tags":[763,1414,405,764],"yoast_head":"\n