MJ

Okie Travelers

MJ

I love to travel to new and exciting locations, even though I really hate the packing part of a trip! Being able to experience different cultures and ways of life gives us opportunities to meet so many people from varied backgrounds. Not only does this provide us with thrills and entertainment, but also gives us a new-found respect for others in this world. My husband and I always try to mingle with the local folks a bit wherever we go, which provides us with deeper, richer, and more meaningful experiences. Getting to know our travel guides on a personal basis, sometimes leads us to unique settings where we might find people living in extreme poverty without even the basic necessities of life. Yet they are some of the happiest folks of all, which certainly makes us take inventory of our many blessings. Travel can teach us many lessons, and sometimes we even return home looking at life through a different pair of "glasses."

Heading To South Country

Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Queenstown February 16th 2011

Okie Travelers

John finally got one of those USB internet cards to use so we can access the web anywhere we go. Most of the smaller towns we've been in haven't had anything available, but we came across something in Wellington I think. My last entry I think was when we were around Rotorua, where we got to see all the thermal pools and geysers. We also toured a small dairy farm and had a wonderful lunch with the owners and about 75 other folks on tours. The most notable tour we had was at the Whakarewarewa Village with Maori guides, who actually did live in this tiny community. There were about 60-75 people living there surrounding quite a few different types of thermal pools and cooking caverns. These caverns are actually built into the ground, where the ... read more

Moving On

Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Bay of Islands » Paihia February 9th 2011

Treaty House

Okie Travelers

We've been at the Bay of Islands and the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, where in 1840 the founding document of New Zealand as a nation was signed. This was done with the majority of the Maori tribes along with the British government. As with so many native treaties signed around the world, the Maori people were also subjected to broken promises and their land stolen from them. On the Waitangi Treaty Grounds are both the British house and the Maori ceremonial house, where many meetings and celebrations took place. Both of these facilities are the originals, and have been very well preserved. I was especially impressed by the Maori building with all of the intricate carvings, and the stories each one of them told of their lives long ago. One evening we attended an acting/musical performance with ... read more

Finally In New Zealand

Oceania » New Zealand February 5th 2011

Northland

Okie Travelers

After jumping through "hoops" to catch our plane on the first leg of our adventure to New Zealand, we finally did get off the ground. I think the flight from Tulsa to Dallas was delayed almost 2 hours, but we got there only to find out that the Dallas connection to Los Angles was also delayed. Of course, what else could we expect after being delayed originally because of the weather in Tulsa. The Dallas flight was moved twice to later times, which meant we weren't going to make our LA to Auckland "leg." So, John had to go back to the ticket counter and once again make changes to the flights. Well, we did make it to LA without any more incidents where our flight to New Zealand was postponed something like 2 hours, which ... read more

Stranded in 20 inches of ice and snow!

North America » United States » Oklahoma » Owasso February 3rd 2011

Tulsa Snow Fall

Okie Travelers

Right now we should be in Auckland, New Zealand viewing the sights of the city and touring Kelly Tarltons Antarctic museum and fantasy land! Instead we're stuck here at home in Owasso, Ok. in over 20 inches of ice and snow, our tractor won't start since it's so d... cold so we can't even try and plow our way out. We live on 10 acres and have hundreds of feet of white vinyl cross-fence around our house, barn, and down our 3-block long drive. Well, with the winds blowing up to 40 mph the other night, we now have snow drifts up to 5 feet high as well to deal with. Our flight out of Tulsa was scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 2, (yesterday) but of course our airport was shut down so we were feeling better ... read more

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