French Polynesia & New Zealand Wrap Up

Our stay in French Polynesia wasn't long enough to warrant its own wrap-up, so we are lumping it with New Zealand. New Zealand is technically within the Polynesian Triangle, so we feel justified in doing this.

Facts and Figures
Length of Stay:  Twenty-two days
Miles Traveled to Enter:  2,600 by plane
Miles Traveled:  2,050 by car + 2,500 by plane + 75 by ferry = 4,625 total (17,571 since landing in Quito)
Places Visited: Papeete, island of Moorea, Faa'a, Auckland, Rotorua, Waitomo, Wellington, Christchurch, Lake Tekapo, Hikotika, Fox Glacier, Lake Manapouri, Milford Sound, Queenstown
Intercity Buses Taken:  Just 1!
Ferries Taken:  3
Flights Taken:  1
Rides given to other travelers: 4

Rankings in the full post.

Jeff's Top 3s
Meals - Due to the high food costs, at least compared to South America, we made nearly all our meals.  Even though that meant eating some of the same dishes over and over again, we still managed to squeeze in some memorable food.
1.  Uknown fish, with our CouchSurfers in Tahiti.  Areti, our host, spelled the name of the fish "mikau" but I haven't been able to find a fish by that name anywhere.  Grilled over freshly chopped wood, it may be the best fish I've ever had.  I don't even like fish that much, so you know it's good if it comes in #1 on my list.
2.  Southern Swine Burger, Fergburger, Queenstown.  Our CouchSurfers in Christchurch recommended we check out this burger joint, and we are glad they did.  Even though I try to sample local food often, sometimes I just need a burger, and so far they've been mediocre at best.  This, however, was the best one I've had since our last night in New York, when we went to Rare.
3.  Chicken fajitas, with our CouchSurfers in Christchurch.  To thank our hosts for their hospitality, we offered to make dinner one night.  I love Mexican food, and this has been the only good Mexican we've had since leaving Ecuador.

Stays - The hostel system in New Zealand is great, with consistently clean accommodations with good amenities in convenient locations.  For the most part, though, they were also pretty homogeneous, with few standouts.  Out of the ten hostels in New Zealand, only one makes the list.
1.  Moore Pearl, Moorea.  I don't really care about the attentive service, the nicely manicured grounds, the big bed or the nice bathroom.  The great snorkeling that was literally at our doorstep is what made this an amazing stay for me.
2.  Birdsong Backpackers, Hikotika.  A very laid back hostel with a view of the ocean, run by an extremely friendly Kiwi who helped us plan part of our trip.  It also had the best and cleanest kitchen we've had all trip.
3.  Deschia and Daniel, CouchSurfers in Christchurch.  A welcoming couple and the most comfortable bed we had in New Zealand.

Experiences - It seemed like we did something noteworthy almost every day, but it's still easy for me to pick my top three.
1.  Exploring the Lost World cave.  Top experience of the trip so far, and I'll be surprised if anything coming up tops it.
2.  Bungy jumping from Kawarau Bridge, the original bungy site.
3.  Swimming with black-tipped reef sharks in Moorea.

Magge's Top 3s
Meals
1.  Poisson Cru, with Areti in Tahiti.  Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
2.  Fergbuger.  Best burger we've had since leaving the States.  Though one burger could probably feed a small village.
3.  Fish and chips at Névé Cafe in Fox Glacier.  I even got to have some wine!

Stays
1.  The Moorea Pearl.  Heaven.
2.  CouchSurfers in Christchurch.  Really enjoyed getting to know Deschia and Daniel during our two dinners together.  They also had a very comfy bed!
3.  Birdsong in Hokitika.  We had our own room and we got to stay there for three whole nights - mostly because I had not been feeling well.  A great place to take it easy.

Experiences
1. The Lost World Epic Adventure.  I'm fairly sure that will go down as one of the greatest experiences of both our lives.
2.  Jetski in Moorea.  We had so much fun swimming with the sharks and rays, getting to see the dolphins, and driving the jetski.  Just so much fun.
3. Moorea Pearl.  It really was just so fantastic, it needs to be put in again.  The place was so beautiful, snorkeling right outside our door was the coolest.
4. Exploring Milford Sound.  We really got a workout that day, but the sites were just amazing aboard the kayak and then aboard the cruise.  We are very glad we chose to do both because we got to see a lot more aboard the cruise, but the experience was just entirely different when we kayaked.