June 13-26, 2006 - New Zealand - Kiwi Krazy!
Day 1 - Tuesday, June 13, 2006
We flew from Sydney to Christchurch on Emirates Airlines, which is the nicest plane I have ever been on. Every coach seat had their own entertainment system. This flight was only a few hours and we were in New Zealand by 2 PM. We rented a van and took off for our cross country drive through the Southern Alps to Queenstown. There had been a terrible winter storm the day before we arrived so many people in this area were without electricity for over a week. The roads were a little "frosty" but we had no trouble making it the 500 km to Queenstown by 10 pm.
The night was clear and the beautiful full moon was gorgeous reflecting on the miles and miles of mountain lakes we drove along. The southern hemisphere night sky was incredible! We were able to see a completely different set of stars and constellations. The Milky Way was easily visible. There were absolutely no artificial lights to hamper star gazing. New Zealand has only 4 million people and most of them are in the north island (1 million of those are visitors here on work visas) We saw very few people on this drive, and passed only 5-10 vehicles during the 7 hour trip. We stayed in a quaint hotel in downtown Queenstown where we could walk to everything. Since we arrived late, the rooms were frozen and they had only small electric radiators that didn't warm up much. The next day we realized that the beds had electric blankets so we weren't quite as cold on subsequent nights.
Day 2 - Wednesday, June 14, 2006
We found an internet cafe around the corner so the kids were able to easily get their daily fix for next 7 days. Breakfast at Surreal, a cool restaurant downtown, got us going and we walked around checking out the ski rental prices. We found a really good deal ($16NZ/per person per day) so we all got outfitted and spent the rest of the day exploring Queenstown. It is a charming town built on a beautiful lake.
This tour boat looks like a jeepney on the water~
There are many bars and restaurants to choose from so the huge number of young people here, work and play hard. We found a Mexican restaurant for dinner, but it was sadly disappointing and we decided we needed to be in North America to get good Mexican food.
Day 3 - Thursday, June 15, 2006
We were up early and on the mountain by about 9:30. The drive took about 30 minutes and required chains on the tires for the last 10 miles. When Terry went to put on his ski boots, he couldn't get them to fit. He was ready to drive back down the mountain, but we tried warming the boots with the hand dryers and he finally got them on. This was opening day at Coronet Peak so it was the first day of skiing for everyone in the area. The day was sunny and the snow was good. It was fairly warm and interesting to see how brown most of the distant mountains and farm land were.
In the distance you can see how the lakes are nestled into the mountains everywhere you look.
Day 4 - Friday, June 16, 2006
It snowed several inches last night so the skiing was really great.
Terry
Lauren
Allison
Sean
After our second day of skiing, we were all pretty tired so we decided to take a break. It was a beautiful day so we toured some of the Lord of the Rings movie sites. We drove south of Queenstown to the 12 mile delta and took a hike to several of the shooting areas.
Our drive took us on to Glenorchy a, beautiful little town at the far end of Lake Wakatipu where we ate a great cozy dinner in a lovely little restaurant.
Day 6 - Sunday, June 18, 2006
We decided to ski today and it was a day with little or no visibility. Lauren fell and bent her thumb back so we went to have it xrayed. No break, but it is really black and blue.
It was really cold and frosty out today.
The next few pictures were taken at Deer Park Heights where about 10 major LOTR shots were filmed. It is a great place full of animals. At the top of the mountain we were on top of the world!
Buffalo Gals
Yakkity Yak
Unbelievably cute!
There are twice as many sheep as people in NZ
So Magestic!
A White Stag! We only saw one of these!
Lovely Llama
Darling Donkeys
Hairy Highland Cattle
Cute little Monkeys!
Sadly Sean left us today to return to Florida
to attend the funeral of a dear friend.
These colorful parakeets are imports from Australia. They have become a problem in both countries because people feed them to attract them to their homes and neighborhoods and they make a lot of noise and mess. They are beautiful!
Big Douglas Firs came from California
Looking Happy in the Cave full of Wine Barrels- Yum!
Day 9 - Wednesday, June 21, 2006
We started our drive north through the Misty Mountains to the west coast of New Zealand. Along with Kiwi, New Zealand is known for its Silver Fern. We traveled through beautiful rain forests where the ferns were bigger than us! They are quite hardy and live through freezing winters.
There are waterfalls everywhere! The melting snow and ice from glaciers create waterfalls and rivers that flow to the ocean. These are apparent all over the mountain sides and we crossed a riverbed about every other kilometer. Almost every bridge was one lane and often the bridges were shared with trains. There just isn't enough traffic to warrent more than one lane. We saw about 10 vehicles throughout this 500 km drive.
We arrived in the little town of Fox Glacier right at sunset. We found warm rooms at a little inn with a nice restaurant/bar. The rooms were on the Sullivan wing so we felt right at home.
Day 10 - Thursday, June 22, 2006
A dense rainforest leads right up to the riverbed and glacier
We drove another 20 km to hike up to another glacier
Franz Josef Glacier
We left Franz Josef and drove up the west coast to Greymouth where we found a place to stay and had a late dinner. We were able to do more star gazing this night and found more southern constellations.
Day 11, Friday, June 23, 2006
We were up early and on our way to the Pancake Rocks. This is an amazing geological formation on the coast. On the way we saw this sign but no penguins.
Blow hole in action.
We continued our drive through the northern part of the southern Alps across New Zealand and through Marlborough Wine Country. We didn't have time to stop, tour, or sample at any of the wineries, darn!
Cute little country store.
Leaving Wellington area in the morning.
About 3 hours later, on the way to Mt. Doom, this is what we saw. A snow storm kept this road closed for 2 days. It opened shortly before we got there. Lucky us, the trip around would have taken another 4 hours.
I kept trying to capture Mt. Doom.......Oh Well.......
We got to see a great rainbow!
I was constantly amazed at the number of sheep we saw everywhere!
On to Lake Taupo
Lake Taupo is the trout fishing capital of the world. Trout eggs were brought here from the US in the late 1900's. I couldn't believe this many fishermen were willing to share this small area of the lake. The trout must be prolific!
We drove north to Rotorua, a highly geothermic area.
The lake here is heated by the geothermic activity. We had a great meal at a really cute, bistro type restaurant. We stayed at Ann's Volcanic Inn and enjoyed a soak in the local hot springs.
Gollum and the Girls
The Party Tree
I hope you enjoyed our Krazy Kiwi Adventures!
We flew out of Seoul and into Manila. What a wonderful dream vacation we have enjoyed!
We flew from Sydney to Christchurch on Emirates Airlines, which is the nicest plane I have ever been on. Every coach seat had their own entertainment system. This flight was only a few hours and we were in New Zealand by 2 PM. We rented a van and took off for our cross country drive through the Southern Alps to Queenstown. There had been a terrible winter storm the day before we arrived so many people in this area were without electricity for over a week. The roads were a little "frosty" but we had no trouble making it the 500 km to Queenstown by 10 pm.
The night was clear and the beautiful full moon was gorgeous reflecting on the miles and miles of mountain lakes we drove along. The southern hemisphere night sky was incredible! We were able to see a completely different set of stars and constellations. The Milky Way was easily visible. There were absolutely no artificial lights to hamper star gazing. New Zealand has only 4 million people and most of them are in the north island (1 million of those are visitors here on work visas) We saw very few people on this drive, and passed only 5-10 vehicles during the 7 hour trip. We stayed in a quaint hotel in downtown Queenstown where we could walk to everything. Since we arrived late, the rooms were frozen and they had only small electric radiators that didn't warm up much. The next day we realized that the beds had electric blankets so we weren't quite as cold on subsequent nights.
Day 2 - Wednesday, June 14, 2006
We found an internet cafe around the corner so the kids were able to easily get their daily fix for next 7 days. Breakfast at Surreal, a cool restaurant downtown, got us going and we walked around checking out the ski rental prices. We found a really good deal ($16NZ/per person per day) so we all got outfitted and spent the rest of the day exploring Queenstown. It is a charming town built on a beautiful lake.
This tour boat looks like a jeepney on the water~
There are many bars and restaurants to choose from so the huge number of young people here, work and play hard. We found a Mexican restaurant for dinner, but it was sadly disappointing and we decided we needed to be in North America to get good Mexican food.
Day 3 - Thursday, June 15, 2006
We were up early and on the mountain by about 9:30. The drive took about 30 minutes and required chains on the tires for the last 10 miles. When Terry went to put on his ski boots, he couldn't get them to fit. He was ready to drive back down the mountain, but we tried warming the boots with the hand dryers and he finally got them on. This was opening day at Coronet Peak so it was the first day of skiing for everyone in the area. The day was sunny and the snow was good. It was fairly warm and interesting to see how brown most of the distant mountains and farm land were.
In the distance you can see how the lakes are nestled into the mountains everywhere you look.
Day 4 - Friday, June 16, 2006
It snowed several inches last night so the skiing was really great.
Terry
Lauren
Allison
SeanMaggie was a speed demon and was much too quick for us to catch her on our cameras.
Day 5 - Saturday, June 17, 2006
Day 5 - Saturday, June 17, 2006After our second day of skiing, we were all pretty tired so we decided to take a break. It was a beautiful day so we toured some of the Lord of the Rings movie sites. We drove south of Queenstown to the 12 mile delta and took a hike to several of the shooting areas.
Our drive took us on to Glenorchy a, beautiful little town at the far end of Lake Wakatipu where we ate a great cozy dinner in a lovely little restaurant.
Day 6 - Sunday, June 18, 2006We decided to ski today and it was a day with little or no visibility. Lauren fell and bent her thumb back so we went to have it xrayed. No break, but it is really black and blue.
It was really cold and frosty out today.Day 7 - Monday, June 19, 2006
Today we drove to several more Lord of the Rings movie sites.
This is Arrowtown - Where gold was first discoverd in NZ
This LOTR site is in the Otago Valley and is the canyon that is the site of the very first bungy jumping. None of us tried it, but only because Dad wouldn't stop the van.
This is Arrowtown - Where gold was first discoverd in NZ
The next few pictures were taken at Deer Park Heights where about 10 major LOTR shots were filmed. It is a great place full of animals. At the top of the mountain we were on top of the world!
Buffalo Gals
Yakkity Yak
Unbelievably cute!There are twice as many sheep as people in NZ
So Magestic!
A White Stag! We only saw one of these!
Lovely Llama
Darling Donkeys
Hairy Highland Cattle 
Cute little Monkeys!
Sadly Sean left us today to return to Floridato attend the funeral of a dear friend.
Day 8 - Tuesday, June 20, 2006
Today is our last day in Queenstown so we reorganized and repacked our bags. We went to visit a Kiwi and bird park. These little animals which are the country's national symbol are nocturnal so are hard to catch a glimpse of in the wild. We were able to see several in dark glassed in buildings, but no pictures are allowed as they are quite shy and nervous. This picture is of a stuffed one. The eggs they lay are 1/4 of the their body size! Whew, no wonder they are endangered!
Today is our last day in Queenstown so we reorganized and repacked our bags. We went to visit a Kiwi and bird park. These little animals which are the country's national symbol are nocturnal so are hard to catch a glimpse of in the wild. We were able to see several in dark glassed in buildings, but no pictures are allowed as they are quite shy and nervous. This picture is of a stuffed one. The eggs they lay are 1/4 of the their body size! Whew, no wonder they are endangered!
These colorful parakeets are imports from Australia. They have become a problem in both countries because people feed them to attract them to their homes and neighborhoods and they make a lot of noise and mess. They are beautiful!
Big Douglas Firs came from CaliforniaWe then went to visit a New Zealand Winery. The Otago Valley is known for their Pinot Noir.
This is Gibbston Valley Winery, the oldest and largest one in the area, also the most expensive.
This is Gibbston Valley Winery, the oldest and largest one in the area, also the most expensive.
Looking Happy in the Cave full of Wine Barrels- Yum!We started our drive north through the Misty Mountains to the west coast of New Zealand. Along with Kiwi, New Zealand is known for its Silver Fern. We traveled through beautiful rain forests where the ferns were bigger than us! They are quite hardy and live through freezing winters.
There are waterfalls everywhere! The melting snow and ice from glaciers create waterfalls and rivers that flow to the ocean. These are apparent all over the mountain sides and we crossed a riverbed about every other kilometer. Almost every bridge was one lane and often the bridges were shared with trains. There just isn't enough traffic to warrent more than one lane. We saw about 10 vehicles throughout this 500 km drive.
We arrived in the little town of Fox Glacier right at sunset. We found warm rooms at a little inn with a nice restaurant/bar. The rooms were on the Sullivan wing so we felt right at home.
Day 10 - Thursday, June 22, 2006
Fox Glacier
A dense rainforest leads right up to the riverbed and glacier
We drove another 20 km to hike up to another glacierFranz Josef Glacier
We left Franz Josef and drove up the west coast to Greymouth where we found a place to stay and had a late dinner. We were able to do more star gazing this night and found more southern constellations.
Day 11, Friday, June 23, 2006
We were up early and on our way to the Pancake Rocks. This is an amazing geological formation on the coast. On the way we saw this sign but no penguins.
The Pancake Rocks are unique formations where erosion from water crashing into the shoreline has made the rocks look like stacks of pancakes.
Blow hole in action.The water comes up underneath the rock formation and is forced out the top. It looks geothermic, like a geyser,but is not. It is just a fountain of water.
We continued our drive through the northern part of the southern Alps across New Zealand and through Marlborough Wine Country. We didn't have time to stop, tour, or sample at any of the wineries, darn!
Cute little country store.We made it to Picton about an hour late to turn in our van, but we weren't charged anything extra. We bought our tickets for the Ferry to Wellington about 4 hours early and had a nice little wait for it to leave. It wasn't a bad 3 hour ride to the North Island even though the weather was quite rough. After all we had lived through that really rough boat ride in Australia, so this seemed easy.....
Day 12 - Saturday, July 24, 2006
We left Wellington bright and early in our new rental van which was 10 years newer, had a radio, as well as more room....but..... it also had a frayed alternator belt that went out about 3 hours into our trip. Our good Karma was on our side and even though it was Saturday and no auto shops were open, one mechanic answered the phone when I called the number that was on his door and he came to help us so we were on our way in an hour and a half. We drove through beautiful countryside that was so incredibly different from what we had seen before.
Day 12 - Saturday, July 24, 2006We left Wellington bright and early in our new rental van which was 10 years newer, had a radio, as well as more room....but..... it also had a frayed alternator belt that went out about 3 hours into our trip. Our good Karma was on our side and even though it was Saturday and no auto shops were open, one mechanic answered the phone when I called the number that was on his door and he came to help us so we were on our way in an hour and a half. We drove through beautiful countryside that was so incredibly different from what we had seen before.
Leaving Wellington area in the morning.
About 3 hours later, on the way to Mt. Doom, this is what we saw. A snow storm kept this road closed for 2 days. It opened shortly before we got there. Lucky us, the trip around would have taken another 4 hours.
We hoped to be able to see Mt. Doom, but found out that it is only visible about 4 days a year. It is somewhere in those clouds above that mountain range. We stopped and took a break to see if the sky would clear a bit. The girls made a "Sean-man" out of snow because we were all missing him soooooo much!
I kept trying to capture Mt. Doom.......Oh Well.......We got to see a great rainbow!
I was constantly amazed at the number of sheep we saw everywhere!On to Lake Taupo
Lake Taupo is the trout fishing capital of the world. Trout eggs were brought here from the US in the late 1900's. I couldn't believe this many fishermen were willing to share this small area of the lake. The trout must be prolific!
We drove north to Rotorua, a highly geothermic area.
Voted New Zealand’s Most Beautiful City three times, With gardens and cobbled streets,Rotorua’s is a diverse mix of Maori and English Tudor architecture. Geothermal steam, volcanic mountains and huge crater lakes remind you that this region rests immediately above the Pacific Ring of Fire.
This is where "Hell's Gate" is located. It is better known as the “Black Gate of Morodor” in The Lord of The Rings Trilogy.The lake here is heated by the geothermic activity. We had a great meal at a really cute, bistro type restaurant. We stayed at Ann's Volcanic Inn and enjoyed a soak in the local hot springs.
Day 13 - Sunday, June 25, 2006
Our last day in New Zealand.
First we visited one of the many geothermal "parks" where they have made nice walkways so you can experience the mud pools and geysers safely. This one is Wai-o-tapu about 25 kilometers south of Rotarua.
Geothermal Mud Pool- This was like a huge pot of boiling mud that smelled like sulfur.
Geyser cone
Our last day in New Zealand.
First we visited one of the many geothermal "parks" where they have made nice walkways so you can experience the mud pools and geysers safely. This one is Wai-o-tapu about 25 kilometers south of Rotarua.
Geothermal Mud Pool- This was like a huge pot of boiling mud that smelled like sulfur.
Geyser cone
We drove on to Hobbiton (Matamata) and signed up for our tour of the local sheep farm where the scenes of Hobbiton were filmed. Almost all of the movie site had been dismantled years ago, right after filming. Torrential rain at the time caused the dismantling crew to leave andgave the family enough time to make arrangements with Peter Jackson and company so that they could operate tours to what remained of the set. This is still a working sheep farm and all of the originial family, the parents and 3 sons with families, live and work on the vast acreage.
Gollum and the Girls
The Party Tree
I hope you enjoyed our Krazy Kiwi Adventures!Day 14 - Monday, June 26, 2006
Leaving Aukland
We flew out of Aukland and into Korea. We stayed overnight in a hotel in Seoul.
Day 15 - Tuesday, June 27, 2006
We spent the day exploring Seoul and found a great market where we found some good deals on cameras for the girls.
Leaving AuklandDay 15 - Tuesday, June 27, 2006
We spent the day exploring Seoul and found a great market where we found some good deals on cameras for the girls.
We flew out of Seoul and into Manila. What a wonderful dream vacation we have enjoyed!
