Day 1

Kia ora,
The first official day in New Zealand has been a good one, but I should also touch on the travel time it took to get here. It was nice to drive to Chicago and see Chad and his family again.Lue lisää
Day 2 - February 22

Kia ora,
I am realizing it is going to be difficult to post every day, as this tour is really packing things in, which is good. Today, I met up with my tour. I am still learning names, but gettingLue lisää
Day 3 - February 23

Kia ora,
Note: I have had trouble uploading photos here, but will hopefully have good wifi access when we get to Wellington in a couple days.
Yesterday, we drove through a lot of farm country in theLue lisää
Day 4 - February 24

Kia ora,
Today was another amazing day. We got to sleep in a bit, though I was still awake before 7. After breakfast, we headed to Wai-O-Tapu. This was the heart of the geothermal activity I had beenLue lisää
Day 5 - February 25

Kia ora,
This was the big day of the Tongairo Alpine Crossing. I was up at 5 to make sure I was packed and ready for the shuttle. One of the challenges with spending the night in a different placeLue lisää
Day 6 - February 26

Kia ora,
We traveled to the capital city of Wellington today, and what a fun and quaint national capital it was. The city is surrounded by hills and sits at the bottom of the North Island. This wasLue lisää
Day 7 - February 27

Kia ora,
We had a relaxing morning and did not have to hit the road too early. After we left, we picked up 2 new travelers (after 2 left yesterday) - a guy from England and a girl from Scotland. TheLue lisää
Day 8 - February 28

Kia ora,
As if a 4:15 wake up time wasn't difficult enough, the winds were really strong and I woke up even earlier than that. However, heading to swim with the dolphins in the ocean was definitelyLue lisää
Day 9 - February 29

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After lucking out with great weather so far on the trip, today was the first day with rain. Most of the group headed out early for white water rafting. I have done it before, so I opted toLue lisää
Day 10 - March 1

Kia ora,
Love is in the air on the Flying Kiwi tour. No, I am not referring to myself. A guy and girl from Germany who have only known each other for a couple days are apparently still hanging out atLue lisää
Day 11 - March 2

Kia ora,
We had our second consecutive night at a camp with no showers, but we were near the water again and got to witness a spectacular sunrise. The driving was a lot less than other days today. WeLue lisää
Day 12 - March 3

Kia ora,
This was our longest driving day on the trip, but there was no shortage of spectacular scenery as we ventured into Fiordland National Park.
Everyone on the bus has been sitting in the sameLue lisää
Day 13 - March 4

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Today, we departed camp and drove to the Milford Sound boat cruise. We stopped to check out a waterfall along the way, and also saw a few keas on top of vehicles. Keas are a neat-lookingLue lisää
Day 14 - March 5

Kia ora,
We had another rainy and often slippery hike today. Our views were clouded, so we missed a lot of the scenery again. Eventually, my waterproof gear gave out and everything I was wearing gotLue lisää
Day 15 - March 6

Kia ora,
This morning was the last part of our Routeburn Track hike. If we had transportation to pick us up, we easily could have completed it the previous day. On the other hand, it was nice to haveLue lisää
Day 16 - March 7

Kia ora,
Not a whole lot to write about today as it is mostly travel time. I was able to say goodbye to most of the people at camp this morning, except for a couple from Austria that went out for anLue lisää
Beverly PorterGlad to hear you've arrived fine & will be checking your blog daily. --love from Mom & Dad