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Last day in NZ (we think)

Wednesday, November 29th, 2006

Yesterday, we were shopping in Auckland and noticed that Friday is December 1st, not Thursday. Oops. Our flight is Friday. This meant we dropped our car off and booked into an airport hotel a day early. Oops. Fortunately, Auckland is a fun city to hang out in, and the airport B&B is nice. Unfortunately, we left one of the best backpackers/campsites in NZ a day early to head to Auckland. Although, we would have probably gotten sick of the big fluffy pillows, free laundry, free bikes, and unlimited quantities of freshly squeezed orange juice picked from the trees out front… or at least that’s what we keep telling ourselves.

Note to selves: Double check all dates of flights and cross-reference with the current date.

Second note to selves: People find it very odd when you ask what day of the week it currently is.

Off to Country #3 tomorrow, Australia!

Mordor

Saturday, November 25th, 2006

blue skies over mordor
Crossed around Mt Doom yesterday. At the “high” point, we huddled on top of a volcanic crater with zero visibility, shards of ice strewn about, and biting winds of at least 80 km/h, as we waited for the clouds to abate enough to see the track markers 5 meters in front of us. After an eternity (or 10 minutes), we were able to scramble to the other side of the crater where blue skies and stunning vistas of emerald lakes and barren volcanic landscape awaited us for the entire 1200 meter descent.

In typical New Zealand fashion, we finished the day with a cuppa (cup of tea) in front of a fire letting our bodies recover from the steep rocky climb and windy battering they experienced.

national obsession

Thursday, November 23rd, 2006
We aren't very good geeks. We haven't stopped in hobbitton, most lord of the rings sites, and we didn't even know what that tree at Rivendell was that all the true geeks were fussing about. We did however see the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Current Safari Count

Thursday, November 16th, 2006
YEPs - 3 Blue Penguins - 2 Fiordland Crested Penguins - 5 Seals - A lot Sea Lions - 12, including 2 very playful kids Cost: Long walks on the coast, running from Hitchcockian birds, lots of camera battery power [Continue reading this entry]

On Penguin Safari

Tuesday, November 14th, 2006
Just checking in from the Southland of NZ. Still lots of sheep. Starting to lose track of the days. Hiked to an old lumber town which was shut down 70 years ago and it's sinking in how brief European's history is ... [Continue reading this entry]

Milford Sound

Thursday, November 9th, 2006
(so named by the silly british who'd never seen a fiord before) Milford Sound It's still shoulder season in NZ, but we've hit the peak tourist spot, Milford Sound in the heart of Fiordland. ... [Continue reading this entry]

Halfway through New Zealand

Saturday, November 4th, 2006
Lakeside camping We've now been tenting 15 out of the past 16 nights. Camping is a major New Zealand pasttime, and the sites are almost always in spectacular locations. We've camped on ... [Continue reading this entry]

abel tasman recap

Tuesday, October 31st, 2006
Day 1 Day 1: The day starts off with sunshine, and the trek is relatively easy going with a rather large downhill to the beach around midday. We eat lunch, and settle ... [Continue reading this entry]

blue sky, sunshine

Thursday, October 26th, 2006
Queen Charlotte Sound We've taken the ferry over to the south island, where the mountains are taller, the water is bluer, and the wineries are more plentiful. The latter is exceptionally nice, ... [Continue reading this entry]

raining sheep and cows…

Monday, October 23rd, 2006
Hiking back from Gannett Colony We've stumbled into unusual weather in springtime New Zealand with flooding and wind at 120 KM/H, so we're exploring some of the interiors of ... [Continue reading this entry]