After our nice night at the Jucy Snooze we headed out for our first day in New Zealand. We picked up the rental car repeating “Stay to the LEFT” over and over.

The day was really cloudy and gray and we honestly were starting to feel a little bummed that we wouldn’t be able to enjoy the amazing scenery we travel so far for. But even in the gray haze the countryside was gorgeous.

After driving all day and making scenic photo stops, we finally made it to the our destination – The Valley Views Glamping. Patrick, one of the owners, welcomed us along with his dog Hank. They showed us around and we finally got to settle in our yurt. Patrick and his wife definitely got it al right, this place was heaven. All the yurts and cabins are all nestled in the hillside overlooking the beautiful New Zealand landscape. The interior of each Yurt was beautifully decorated by Amber – the other owner. No detail was overlooked!

There were three other couples staying there that night. Two local Kiwi couples – one from Christchurch, and the one from Oamaru (30 min down the road). The last to arrive was a couple of love birds from Switzerland. We couldn’t have asked for a more interesting and hilarious group.

We eventually sat down to enjoy a large family-style meal followed by many many bottles of local NZ wine. Although we couldn’t see them, the stars were aligned this night. We all ended up talking, joking and laughing like we were old friends reuniting in this gorgeous setting.

After dinner, we went to sleep in our luxurious yurt. Cozy and warm. At 3am I woke up to Sandra yelling “holy sh!t… get over here!!!!!” – in front the yurt door. I climbed out of bed to see what was wrong with her. I climbed out of bed and she finished unzipping the yurt door. Look! – she said. O.M.G!!!! the most spectacular night sky. I can’t really describe the view. It was such a clear sky and felt like we were inside a snow globe, stars all around us, sharp and blinking, and we were in the middle of all this beauty. Unbelievable.

Tonight was the experience we had been looking forward to the entire trip. In this scenario, pictures are NOT worth a 1000 words.

This night was one that we will never forget. It will go down as one of our most special experiences from this trip. We will definitely be coming back to the Valley Views compound. They are adding geo domes for their next summer season. Very exciting!

http://www.valleyviews.co.nz/

Our sweet hosts. Thank you Amber and Patrick.