Stelson - = Nelson & Stephen

Nelson & Stephen's Australia & New Zealand Adventure

Greetings. I am Nelson and my partner is Stephen. We are "gay elites" located in the Commonwealth of MA. When we aren't anesthetizing kids or dispensing drugs, our passion is to travel the world and rack up the most memories possible with family, old and new friends.

The Inspiration of this Oz/NZ Adventure was introduced less than a year ago after the engagement of the A-Team. We have been planning this trip ever since our friends Alyson & Al (www.mytb.org/Aly-M) decided to have their 3rd Wedding Bash in Perth, AUStralia!! Since my Europa & Asia travel days, I have been longing to one day travel with my life partner. Now that I have my partner in crime, WE are officially ready to begin OUR first of many overseas trips!!

Our plan is to leave on October 28, 2009 and travel for 3 and half weeks to Oz and New Zealand. Our first stop is Perth, Australia to attend Alyson & Al's Wedding. I will be the "Gaid of Honor" for my darling Alyson. After the wedding bliss, we will be heading to Melbourne to see and stay with the newest newlyweds David & Sean. We will also be attending the Emirates Melbourne Cup- Banks Marquee Style...I am considering entering the Men's Fashion show in hopes of being the "Best Dressed at the 2009 Melbourne Cup".

After a week in Melbourne, Stephen and I will fly to the land of Kiwi's to meet my friend Jared in Auckland, New Zealand. From the airport, we will be heading to Jared's family vacation home in Waiheke Island. After the weekend in Waiheke, we plan to fly to Christchurch and rent a car. Our plan is to have Stephen drive through the South Island along the western coast all the way to Queenstown. In Queenstown, we hope to seek some gut-wrenching-adventure and lots of outdoor activities.

Our final destination before heading home will be Sydney!! Here we will meet and stay with my college friend Aimee and John. Aimee & John were recently relocated to Sydney from Kansas. We will be their second round of guests from the USA within a month!!

We will return on November 22, 2009.

We hope you enjoy reading our travelblog and keep up to date with our travels !

If you subscribe to the blog you get emails when we update them!

Cheers Big Ears!

Nelson & Stephen

Nelson & Stephen's Australia & New Zealand Adventure
October 28th 2009 -» November 21st 2009

Private Message Subscribe Blog Map

Trips Guestbook Search Blogs First Entry Latest Entry

Joined on: September 26th 2009
Last Login: November 25th 2009

Blog Entries: 22
Photos: 1010

TB Code: [blogger=137363]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by Stelson, order by Date newest first.

By Stelson
November 18th 2009

Last leg of the trip: SYDNEY!!!! Oceania » Australia » New South Wales » Sydney » Balmain

Bondi Mosaic

Our last leg of our month long vacation to Oceania ended in Sydney, Australia!!! When we arrived to Sydney, one of my best college friends Aimee was there to pick us up!! It was great seeing Aimee after almost 5+ years! Aimee and her husband John were recently relocated to Sydney from Kansas City. Although they only have been there for 4 months, both of them have aclimated themselves to Sydney life. John and Aimee have a 3 bedroom apartment with amazing harbor views in the Balmain area of Sydney. The night we arrived Aimee made a delicious welcome home dinner [View Full Entry]

By Stelson
November 17th 2009

Last Day in New Zealand... Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Queenstown

Thumbs up!

Today was our last day in New Zealand. Just before leaving, I completed my 15,000 foot sky dive in Queenstown! I had to wait 2 days because of the cloudy weather. Some of the people waited up to 9 days!! Crazy!! But today, I made it up to the highest peak and survived!!! I would have to say it was one of my best days in my life!! The jump didn't start until 9am. I was the first jumper out today which set the tone for the rest of the day! I can not even describe the amazing feeling I had [View Full Entry]

By Stelson
November 15th 2009

Queenstown Rocks & Stephen Jumps off a Cliff!! Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Queenstown

Stephen just before his Jump!

Well Adventure land it is...and today Stephen proved it!!! Check our Canyon Swing Pics & Videos!! This morning our helicopter ride was canceled due to the inclement weather, so we are on tentative plans for tomorrow morning. After checking out Joe's Garage for breakfast and The Cow for lunch, we took a walk around the Lake region and snapped some great pics! We needed to do some activity, so we both signed up for the Canyon Swing over Shotover Canyon. The trick is a combo of a freefall, bungy and swing! Stephen and I did this late in the afternoon, so [View Full Entry]

By Stelson
November 14th 2009

Kia Ora Queenstown, New Zealand!!!!! Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Queenstown

Picture-perfect

Kia Ora Queenstown!!! This place is undoubtedly the Adventure Capital of the World!! You can do just about anything here from bungy (home of the bungy btw), sky dive,hike, jet boat, helicopter ride, canyon swing, ski, you name it! The scenery is a picture-perfect landscape and the town offers an Aspen like feel!! I LOVE IT!! When we planned this leg of the trip, we made sure we would be at the Best! And the Sofitel Queenstown it is! The hotel is in the heart of Queenstown and the service is in your face!!! LOVING IT!! Check out pics from the [View Full Entry]

By Stelson
November 13th 2009

Day 17: Lake Wanaka Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Wanaka

Lake Tekapo this morning

We can't believe it is already Day 17!! Today we arrived in Lake Wanaka, only 3 hours from Lake Tekapo. The feeling here is more touristy, but the scenery is unbelievable. I feel like I am seeing The Lord of the Rings or Brokeback Mountain! Just another day of pure relaxation and catching up on our US duties. Tomorrow, we are doing a morning hike and then our Queenstown adventure begins!!! Enjoy the awe inspiring pics; I am wondering if any of these are Lord of the Rings scenes? We miss you all back home!! Hope everyone is doing well!! Thank [View Full Entry]

By Stelson
November 12th 2009

Lake Tekapo Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Lake Tekapo

Cool!

Today we took a road trip to Lake Tekapo, just south of Christchurch. The total ride was about 3 hours and when we arrived the Lake was breathtaking!! We couldn't believe how blue the water was. The amazing turquoise-blue color of the Lake is created by "rock flour", which the glaciers in the headwaters grind to make a fine dust. The fine dust particles in combination with the sunlight create this unique color. As you can see from the pictures, the Lake is a gem. Some of the pics were taking when it was cloudy and some sunny. You will notice [View Full Entry]

By Stelson
November 11th 2009

Christchurch, New Zealand Oceania » New Zealand » South Island » Christchurch

Welcome to Christchurch
Airport

This morning we flew to the South Island of New Zealand to Christchurch. It was freezing here! About 9 C or 50F. When we arrived at the airport, we picked up our rental car (Toyota Yaris- Manual- Steve's a driving) and headed to the International Antarctic Centre. This attraction is located adjacent to the airport and was an interactive and chilling experience! I learned Christchurch is known as the "Gateway to Antarctica". Any countries including those signed in the 1959 Antarctic Treaty must pass through the International Antarctic Centre. The United States Antarctica Program is housed [View Full Entry]

By Stelson
November 10th 2009

Rotorua through Hamilton and our LAST night in the North Island:-( Oceania » New Zealand » North Island

Volcano

On our final day in Rotorua, Stephen and I woke up early after a relaxing spa night. We headed to Lake Rotorua and snapped some shots of the scenery and the black swans. We decided to walk into town and check out what was there...we found a bunch of souvenir shops and a Starbucks!! As we drove through Route 5 heading towards Auckland, we made one last stop to the Skyline. The Skyline is an action park where one may ride a Gondola to the top of the mountain, Sky Swing off a cliff, and luge down fast tracks!! We did [View Full Entry]

By Stelson
November 9th 2009

Roadtrip to Rotorua Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Rotorua

This way to Rotorua

Today we decided to use Jared's car and drive south in the North Island to the city of Rotorua. Rotorua is an international tourist icon known for its hot natural springs, bubbling mud pools, clouds of sulphurus gas (eggy smell), outdoorsy activities and rich Maori culture. The drive took us 3 hours from Auckland and was very scenic. When we reached Rotorua, we stopped at ZORB Rotorua! The ZORB is an 11 foot high inflatable transparent sphere which one can ride inside. There is about 2 feet of air to protect you from the ground enabling you to Zorb down hills [View Full Entry]

By Stelson
November 8th 2009

Day 2 New Zealand...Waiheke continued....Auckland Oceania » New Zealand » North Island » Auckland

Waiheke Continued
Wow!

After an awesome night, Nephi and I did a 5 K run along the beach around the island home. Nephi really pushed me to get up the hills. It was tough but I managed to make it! After breakfast, we headed into the island and made a stop at some picturesque views and to Stony Batter Historic Reserve. Stony Batter was an old WW II defense center. We walked along a dirt road, passing many olive and grape trees, cow and sheep patties and huge boulders. At the top of the hill, there was an old gunnery hole and an amazing [View Full Entry]

TravelBlog » Stelson

Stelson | = Nelson & Stephen | Travel Blog

Stelson - = Nelson & Stephen

Blogs & Travel Journals