Okiwi Bay

We're sorry we haven't checked in in so long! We have been keeping busy with many New Zealand activities, and additionally the time we would spend writing blogs is taken up by cooking and cleaning and all the fun (but time consuming) tasks that go along with camping. Not to mention the fact that the only place we can get Internet around here is McDonald's, and we're trying to avoid going in there as much as possible.

Tonight we arrived at our campsite early enough to "shower" (drip water on ourselves from a bag on top of the car, technically a "solar shower" but a subpar replacement for the real thing) and enjoy our own happy hour on an empty beach before we have to get going on dinner. We've been thinking about y'all frequently and hope to share updates more often moving forward; being in New Zealand has been like being in another world, and the modern task of writing blog posts has not been on the forefront of our minds.

Since we last wrote, we've been busy with the following:

*Seeing Aoraki (Mount Cook) from two different sides

*Driving a scenic route through the mountains on the border of Fiordland National Park, where we had some great views and stopping points (valleys, Mirror Lakes, a chasm, actual Lord of the Rings scenery)

*A nature boat cruise through Milford Sound, which Rudyard Kipling called the "eighth wonder of the world," (it's really, truly spectacular scenery, just wait for the pictures) seeing dolphins and seals

*A 17-mile alpine hike along the Kepler Track in Te Anau (part of one of New Zealand's nine Great Walks)

*A long day driving diagonally across the south island (with more great views and a river mouth campsite), and, today...

*A walk along the limestone cliffs of Kaikoura while the tide was out, which allowed us to see many types of marine life, most notably a large colony of about 70 seals! (pictures to come)

Tomorrow: back to the north island for a day in the hot springs/hobbit-land of Rotorua, and another day exploring Auckland before we head to Japan!

P.S. As before, check back in a few days for a ton of pictures! We have about 50 to put up, which we'll do once we have enough Internet (probably in Japan). Bear with us!Read more