Goodbye Austrailia hello New Zealand

Up first thing this morning, left hotel with boxed brekkie in hand at 630am. Checked in, cruised through security and departure check-in; time for coffee and shopping duty free!
Set up comfortably inLeia mais
Auckland

Kiwis are generally proud of their home. Aucklanders have a reputation around the north and south isles of being so. Others refer to them as JAFAs meaning just another (friendly) Aucklander. There areLeia mais
Auckland Museum

As museums go, this one is alright. Good insight to the indigenous history as well as the European history. The big dinosaur bird thing is a Moa. Extinct now but was here when the Polynesians firstLeia mais
Waitomo Caves

There are a series of caves to visit here. Our tour got tickets for the Glow Worm cave. Of course no photos were allowed in the cave as it might disturb the glow worms. The picture you see is of aLeia mais
Te puia Thermal Reserve

This place is smokin’ hot. Not the air but the ground. Neither Dianne or I have ever seen a geyser before so this is a nice addition to our travels. The rocks around us are literally hot to touch.Leia mais
Te Puia Cultural dance and art school

Te Puia is the home to the Māori Arts and Crafts Institute. The tour guides, artisans and performers are from the indigenous community and I understand that the family as our guide Mr. T, referred toLeia mais
Rotorua to Wellington

A few pictures from the road trip.
Wellington City Tour

Wellington is the capitol of New Zealand and the parliament buildings were the first stop on todays tour. Next was the Lady Norwood Rose Garden where we took the opportunity to walk for a short timeLeia mais
Mt Victoria Summit

Nice 360 degree view of Wellington from up here. The runway is 6800 feet.
Wellington Museum

We had an excellent guide at the Wellington Museum. He married a Canadian girl from Vancouver island and his mother in law told him to be extra friendly with Canucks. He was. The museum seemed to beLeia mais
Ferry Wellington to Blenheim

The ferry to Picton is between 3 1/2 to 4 hours. We got off about 4 1/2 hours after embarking, and I was glad to see that ferry behind me. It was a smooth enough ride, it became tedious. When it wasLeia mais
Blenheim

A bit of a sleep in today; makes us happy! Went for a morning walk to pick up lunch and travel goodies. Left on the bus for a short ride to a winery!
Wine tasting before 11am! We went to a winery inLeia mais
Sights on the way to Christchurch

Driving along the ocean we stopped to take pictures of some seals. A few other sights as well.
Train to Arthurs pass

Christchurch is still recovering from the earthquake of 2010. Our hotel is across the street from the Cathedral and there is a ways to go on the restoration. The city though seems to have shaken itLeia mais
Hokitika

Spent about 90 minutes here walking around and having a coffee. Named for the Hokitika river, and where it meets the ocean.
Franz Josef

Franz Josef is a glacier. Today it was shrouded in cloud, so no pictures of the glacier. We walked around the area for about 20 minutes. The town we stayed in is Franz Josef and it small andLeia mais
Jet boating!

The Haast River is fed by glaciers, and that is the reason for the aqua colour of the water. The pilot of our jet boat, Amber, is knowledgeable about the area, as well as flora and fauna. She lives inLeia mais
Queenstown Hike

We had a day off from bus riding so Dianne and I took the opportunity to hike around Queenstown. Walked around 20 Kms. around the lake and through the park. Queenstown is the starting point for fiordLeia mais
Queenstown sites

I heard that the best burger in town is the furburger . I misheard the reference, it is actually the Fergburger. Even the ducks have heard about the legendary burger.
Bus, Boat, Bus, Boat, ….repeat!

What a day we had today. It was quite the adventure. Early start (as usual), road the bus for about 3 hour to Manapouri. From here we hopped on a jet boat (a larger one) to cross Lake Manipouri. ThatLeia mais
Doubtful Sound

More pictures from Doubtful Sound. It was truly a magical day!
Te Anau

“Glowing land” on the banks of Lake Te Anua . Te Anua is a quaint lakeside town where we arrived in time for dinner, sleep and on the road by 830am.
On the road again…

Today, another big trip. We are on our way to Dunedin. Our lunch stop was in a little town of Owaka. I think it is a quirky place from what I’ve seen, but the people are certainly friendly.
Nugget Point

We made a stop at the lighthouse on Nugget Point. A bit of a walk and some pictures.
Dunedin

About 125 thousand people live in Dunedin. It is considered to be a sister city to Edinburgh Scotland, and I can see why. The area reminds you of Scotland. It seems pretty quiet though. The trainLeia mais