Congrats on your upcoming retirement! I'm sure there'll be plenty to fill your day with. Try out new stuff, work on projects that you've always wanted to! You're still really young so lots of energy compared to other retirees

I saw you mentioned Nordic countries. I recently spent 2 weeks in Iceland (on tour) and 2 weeks in Norway (self drive). Would not recommend to follow a tour. Horrible experience lol. Iceland wasn't really that amazing imo. NZ has equally amazing views. Norway on the other hand, was worth the visit and I intend to visit Norway again in the future. Self drive with all the time in the world (I think 3-4 weeks is ideal) would be the best way to explore Norway. Flying direct from London, we drove from Oslo to Tromso and back down to Lofoten Islands. Did not manage to visit all the other small towns since the drive was pretty long and speed limit was 60-80kmh most of the way, so it wasn't easy to get around if one is trying to cramp everything into 2 weeks. We saw the northern lights from our airbnb and it was amazing.

America has some pretty nice spots too. Depends what kind of travel activities you're into. Might wanna put it on your radar for future trips

Just a month in NZ? Which part of NZ? Do 1 month alone in South Island and another 2-3 weeks in the north There's tooo many beautiful walks around NZ lol.

Haha then yea 1 month in South Island should be just nice. Enjoy the drive! I'd recommend autumn time as it's really pretty in Arrowtown during autumn. Think I went in April over Easter holiday that one time. Go during winter time if you're into winter sports. November is also a nice season and before the crowd comes in December. I'll be visiting South Island this November too when my friends from MY/SG goes over.