Info and picture details to come ... [View Full Entry]

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Yesterday was another great day in Q'town and environs ... rode the Skyline Gondola up a mountain directly overlooking the village, Lake Wakatipu, the aptly named Remarkables Mountains, and surrounding towns. The complex at the top included a luge track (concrete on wheeled luges, not ice on blades!), observation points, hiking trails and a bunjy jump platform. We luged, but didn't jump--it didn't look high enough (yeah, right). Today we motor down to Doubtful Sound, where we will enjoy an overnight cruise through some of the most beautiful and pristine landscape on our blue marble planet. Ho [View Full Entry]

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Beating the odds (and the bad weather gods) yesterday, we were able to do the heli-hike onto Fox Glacier. Mere language is vastly inadequate to try to describe the experience. First time on a helicopter, first time on a glacier. First time on a helicopter that lands on a glacier! Our guide, Jeremy, was awesome as he led us up and back down a small portion of the glacier. We spent about 3 hours on the ice and it was unforgettable! We hiked thorough crevasses and snow caves, hopped across fissures that narrowly opened to some of the bluest of blue [View Full Entry]

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a short entry this a.m. ... getting ready to go up on Fox Glacier (pronounced glassier). Posting a few pics from an incredible drive to the west coast of NZ. will have to add descriptions later ... suffice to say, we experienced 4 seasons in one day and the terrain and the stunning beauty of at least 4 continents. This place is truly amazing. When God was making the earth, he must've had the most fun creating New Zealand. Astonishing scenes that can't really be captured by human-created technology. Gotta see it with your eyes, brain, mind, and heart!! [View Full Entry]

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Queenstown 5:30 a.m., Tuesday, 9/22 Arrived to beautiful weather just after noon Monday ... picked up rental car at airport and proceeded to frighten half the drivers in town, turn on wipers while trying signal turns and, generally, put our wedding vows to a stiff test. Fifteen minutes we arrived at the hotel where we drove up into a steep driveway thinking it was the way to the car park area. It was a loading dock. More marital tension, but we keep passing all those tests! (BTW, $9NZ daily to park the car @ the hotel.) The plan was to get [View Full Entry]

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Spent first full day here resting. We rested by walking all over town, eating some good food, climbing a big hill overlooking the area and walking among some million-dollar homes ($NZ or $US either way that's some serious money). Lots of new construction and development going on here. No appearance of recession here. Enjoyed some really nice pub food for lunch at The Speights Ale House (http://www.queenstown-nz.co.nz/information/product/?product=the-speights-ale-house) where we got to see a little Monday Night Football live on Tuesday afternoon. Finished the evening with a marvelous meal [View Full Entry]

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Good news: Twenty-one hours after leaving home in Dallas, we've finally reached New Zealand. Better news: In about 3 hours (I hope), we'll be at our destination, which means soap, shampoo and a shower. We're just hanging out in the Auckland airport waiting for our flight to Queenstown. I'm trying to get some Kiwis stoked about Saints 48, Eagles 22. They are more about the All Blacks Rugby squad. Two travel tips about coming to NZ. First, have Anita Peterson plan the trip ... she does a bang-up job complete with major surprises, and secondly, if you bring hiking boots make [View Full Entry]

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Queenstown forecast for our second night in town, 9/23: Snow. Low: 28 °F Wind ESE 15 mph Chance of precipitation 80% (water equivalent of 0.49 in). Windchill: 17 °F Can't wait to experience some bone-chilling cold. Seriously. [View Full Entry]

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When is a TravelBlog entry not really a blog entry? When you have to wait 11 loooong days before departure ... [View Full Entry]

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