Coloradan's rank third from the USA for tourism to New Zealand. Maybe it's because we appreciate fresh air, nature and lots of sky, love fine wines and foods, or because we have a sense of adventure...the statistics don't state why.

The place is like a condensed version of the USA, Europe and Canada. One minute you could be in British Columbia, the next you're sipping something warm in some café, reminiscing how similar it feels to a great spot in England or Germany. A short drive and you could be in Scotland or Nevada or Washington State. It's a bit crazy really.

There are some mind benders about a vacation in New Zealand. First, the time difference (as the body feels it) from Colorado is only six hours, unlike Europe which is about eight hours. That's because New Zealand is 18 hours ahead (which is 6 hours by body time, plus one day).

Second, the flight time is only about two hours more than a transatlantic flight from Denver. Third, instead of uptight crowds and security personnel you're likely to encounter tourist friendly Kiwi's. And if time allows, Australia is about a three to four hour plane trip away.

Our itinerary included typical tourist destinations and a few very special places that the locals go to on their own vacations; it was a perfect mix for our 21-day vacation. The Kiwis (the people, not the bird or the fruit) are delightful to tourists.

Warm and friendly; you get the feeling they really like having you around. Almost everywhere you go in New Zealand, which has about the same land mass as Colorado, tourists can find " i-site" stations to answer questions and help with intercity transportation or other arrangements.

Traveling with an age range from 11 to 59 years old, we needed a variety of activities and sights to keep us all happy. Nothing too aggressive, just easy cruising, easy walking, hassle-free touring and such. "No worries, Mate," we heard time and time again, and how true it was.

We managed to walk a jungle in 10 minutes, traverse a swing-bridge to a waterfall on a 30 minute hike, climb an extinct volcano with awesome views in 50 minutes, walked through a soft and inspiring Redwood forest in 30 minutes, and crossed from east to west coasts along a huge sand spit in a couple of hours.

Lord of Rings movie fans would delight the multiple half and full-day tours available to view and replicate scenes from the films. Adventure lovers have plenty of choices from windsurfing beaches in blo karts, to bungy jumping at many spots, to rolling down a hill inside a huge ball, to skydiving...and list goes on.

Unique opportunities exist all over, not just at the popular Queenstown resort on the South Island.

We swam with a pod of over 500 dolphins, learned about the efforts to save the puffy Kiwi bird, hand fed Red Pandas at a zoo encounter, lived with the locals at a farm stay, took a geothermal mud bath, sipped wine samples while viewing the ocean and whales, rolled downhill in a huge ball, learned about Maori culture (the indignious peoples of New Zealand which comprise about 13% of the population), witnessed the intimidating and moving dances of the Maori (especially the HAKA), warmed ourselves in our cottage with a woodstove, downed more fish 'n chips than we can remember, wondered at the Redwoods, had lunch with the Meerkats, had a picnic and champagne on top of "Edoras" (from the Lord of Rings movies), marveled at the boiling earth and had our feet in both the Pacific and the Tasman Seas within minutes from each other, and the list goes on.

If you're considering a trip to a foreign country, New Zealand is a choice to put on top of your short list.

Birgit Moran is a new part-time Kiwi Travel Specialist for Vagabond World Travel in Castle Pines North 720-530-5680.