http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/KillerBeeandLilC/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from KillerBeeandLilC en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:14:22 BST Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:14:22 BST Our last week in Auckland held a special adventure John and Evelyn took us sailing on their boat the Tropic Bird from Thursday until Sunday. Our sea legs weren't in fine form so it was fortunate that there was hardly enough wind to raise the sails on our journey. The waves were small and rolling the sun was shining and we sailed out to visit the islands of Tiri Tiri Rangitoto and Motutap http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/Auburn/blog-282354.html We officially made it to the most Northern part of New Zealand when we reached the lighthouse at Cape Reinga. This is the point where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean and the waves form a cross pattern upon the beach. Here would be a stormwatcher's delight as waves can reach over 8 meters in height.Heading South was bittersweet as it meant we were on the last legs of our journey. We trav http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Northland/Cape-Reinga/blog-280293.html A morning of sunshine made cleaning Tui up a pleasant event. With this being Tui's last adventure it was time to take inventory and see what we had swept under the carpet.High in the North at Paihia it was time to take to the waters. We took a beautiful kayak through the pristine waters of the Bay of Islands. It would take a bit of training for us to make any speed records so we enjoyed some http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Islands/Paihia/blog-280157.html Just in time to be behind again we are catching up on our blog With about two weeks remaining until we depart New Zealand we embarked on a journey North of Auckland to the farthest North tip. Our travels took us through one of the larger Northern cities of Whangarei where you can see some photos of below. We stopped at the most photographed waterfalls in New Zealand just minutes from town http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Northland/blog-279754.html We had a great time along the coast. We came across many rainbows took a round of golf in Tauranga and slept beside a kiwi orchard We even gathered some fallen kiwis off the ground for a snack. We stumbled across Beach Hop 2008 when we pulled into a town to 'skip to the loo'. There were cars lining every street and we knew something was up so made our way toward the crowds. It was a big http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Bay-of-Plenty/blog-276342.html After Whakatane we went back to Rotorua to give it another go. Rotorua was the first place we stayed after leaving Auckland back in December and we were amazed by the change in colour that the rest stop had gone through.Rotorua is a town of adventure and this time we took the opportunities One of our first adventures was taking the gondola up to overlook the city and speeding down the three http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Rotorua/blog-275972.html Well it is time to catch you up to date on our travels We have been having a lot of fun and covering much ground but getting to writing and finding internet less. Our last blog brought us to the North Island and this one covers April 23 to 28th up the East Coast from Wellington.Our first stop along the way was a quick one to take a picture of the Tui brewery Tui was happy to see a flag beari http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Hawkes-Bay/blog-275965.html Making our way across the Cook Strait Wellington welcomed us with a nice beach at Titahi Bay to stay at and surfers to watch. The 'windy' city as it is known did not let us down but winded us with warmer air than the South. Wellington is an older city with beautiful buildings climbing up its many hillsides. The beach paths were always full of active kiwis with their dogs kids bikes skate http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Wellington/blog-274317.html With fall rolling in with its fine colors we knew our time here was beginning to count down. It was time to leave Christchurch and head North for the winter but not before one last Christchurch attraction Kart World We hopped into the fastest indoor racing cars in the country or so they say and took to the track. This windy track was easy for Kirby after driving the New Zealand roads bu http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Picton/blog-274305.html Throughly enjoying Christchurch we decided to get some fresh mountain air and headed out. Although to our prairie eyes mountains are everywhere locally they are merely hills and the mountains are . . the really big hills. On the map Kirby spotted an x named Mt. Armstrong so with no particular place to go . . . we went toward Arthur's Pass to see if we could take a peek at the peak. Upon e http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Arthur--s-Pass-National-Park/blog-269826.html Enjoying Christchurch ever so much we stayed around for another week. In the large downtown park we flocked to we ended up meeting Bomun who just moved from Seattle to New Zealand in December. He had locked his keys in his van and we ended up talking and waiting with him until AA arrived. We continued our conversation late into the evening learned all about permaculture giving back to the http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Christchurch/blog-269825.html Christchurch is a beautiful city of about 300000 with large cathedrals and stone buildings. A large downtown park with botanic gardens sports fields and a golf course became our hub and parking spot. Kirby took a round on the golf course while Christina checked out the Art Gallery. Parking there was an adventure for a few reasons. First of all the sky was falling. It was hazardous to walk http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Christchurch/blog-266215.html While sleeping just outside Kaikoura we discovered that the secluded riverbed we picked for our slumber was also picked as a gravel site by some big trucks. When the first truck came we rolled over. Then three others came and we decided to move to a rest stop off the highway and hit the proverbial 'snooze bar'. When we pulled into the rest stop Christina saw a dirt road that veered off into th http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Kaikoura/blog-265300.html Blenheim currently has the title for the sunniest city in New Zealand. We enjoyed its warm days in its beautiful parks and taking to the golf greens. Fall colors and cool nights are starting to make their appearance just in time for Easter too. An interesting Easter tradition here involves a hunt but not for colored eggs or chocolate actually a hunt for live rabbits We thankfully had heard http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Blenheim/blog-265277.html We stayed nearly a week in the and around the town of Takaka and its many attractions. We did have the misfortune of a negative kiwi experience and lost a few of our dear belongings including our packs phone and Christina's vision both glasses and contacts were in her pack. We were fortunate in many regards and Christina is making due with some wonderful 14 glasses in the mean time. From T http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Nelson-Region/Nelson/blog-259452.html Back in Nelson after our exciting weekend in Auckland we tied up some business matters and found a neat little place to stay called Hacking Park. Here we decided to try some new bedding options as the air mattress has been more of a hassle than comfort it is loud whenever you move uncomfortable hard on Christina's shoulders as it is unstable and hard on Kirby's lungs as it doesn't hold air http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Nelson-Region/Golden-Bay/blog-259442.html It was nice to reunite with our Canadian buddies Charlotte and Duane and meet their flatmates. Thursday night was the big Chemical Brothers concert it was at a stadium built FOR concerts where they sometimes have an ice rink brought in the opposite of a hockey rink we have concert in back in Canada. The concert was sold out and vibrating they put on a great show with a ton of energy and awe http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/North-Island/Auckland/blog-256842.html Monday morning we drove to Fox Glacier and Gillespie's Beach where we walked the beach watched the sea ate lunch and attempted a nap amid the bugs. We continued on to a town called Hokitika where nearly all of the jade is mined. After finding a place to sleep off the grid we popped back into town the next morning for a visit to the jade factory and a shower at the local pool where we met a fri http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/West-Coast/blog-254125.html We rose early for the drive to Milford Sound and drove through the infamous Homer Tunnel through a mountainside on the way. It had rained all night 120 mm and a morning mist filled the valley where we drove down the serpentine roads to the water. We boarded our boat for a morning cruise through the fiord. The Fiordlands were created by glaciers and are unique rainforest areas with 57 meters http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Fiordland-National-Park/Milford-Sound/blog-254123.html It was time to leave our home in Clyde and Alex after six weeks. We bid farewell for now to our new friends and started our adventure West. Although it was another hot sunny day it had snowed in the mountains that morning reminding us where we have come from.We had the great fortune of a beautiful timeshare condo to stay in for a week in Queenstown as Charlotte's parents couldn't make their tr http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/New-Zealand/South-Island/Queenstown/blog-252065.html