Race against time

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So I guess if we are sharing this blog I better hold up to my part. We are currently in Sidney Australia where it is pouring buckets with

the thunder and lightening to boot. So far we have only had one day of sun in Oz - I heard that they were in the middle of a drought, but

in the last 5 days they have been having record rainfalls from the last 6-10 years - maybe we aren't in Oz afterall.

New Zealand was quite the experience. It was everything I expected and more. I really felt like I was home. It is filled with quaint one

horse towns all throughout. In one area we never did find the town....eerie.

We travelled from Picton which is a cute ferry town - apparently it has great hiking there on the Queen Charlottes - unfortunately we

didn't feel that we had enough time to stay in that area - of course later we find out what we missed. Oh well that will be for the next

trip. But we did get to Abel Tasman which more than made up for our loss. It is absolute paradise. We did a day hike through the

forest with spectacular views. We took a boat to the start off beach and saw a pod of dolphins which came so close to the boat I could

almost touch them. That made my day right off the bat.

We also went kayaking at Abel Tasman but we both voted that we have done better kayaking in BC.

We travelled the west coast of the south island and made many stops - the Pancake rocks and blowholes

- a must see - beautiful rock formations created from the pounding surf. What a sight. We had a beautiful campsite right on the beach

just outside of Greymouth, got the tail end of a cyclone in Wanaka - where it rained all night and all day - when we got up in the morning

the whole campground was under water. From there we made our way to Queenstown. We were on a fast track to get to Milford Sound

as we felt that we were running out of time and wanted to make sure we saw the main destinations on our agenda. Milford Sound did

not disappoint - it is more beautiful than the pictures. We took the day cruise but have both promised to come back and do the hiking

trail. Apparently this trek is booked for a year in advance. I guess it would be similar to the west coast trail or the Juan de Fuca trail in

BC. So many people go through that they have limited it to about 40 a day.

After seeing Milford Sound we blitzed through to Dunedin - a very Scottish town - I felt right at home there. Beautiful country. We got to

see baby penquins in a reserve there and then took a train through some very rugged terrain.

At this point we were hooked on watching the Australian Open Tennis and were trying to find a place where we could sit and watch the

final game. But we found ourselves in a very remote area with no TV and the local bar closed at 8:00pm - what???? So needless to say

we got the update from the morning paper.

From Dunedin we found ourselves driving to Koukouri to swim with the dolphins in the open ocean but they were booked up for 5 days. I

tried getting on a cancellation list but to no avail. Since this was nearing the end of our time in NZ we headed back south to Christchurch

through Hamnon Springs - looking for a natural hot springs - not the swimming pool kind. I'm still trying to get over the polynesian spa in

Rotorua.

I started this blog almost 2 weeks ago and had great intentions of just adding a bit before sending it but we have been on the road

with either no internet or the realllllllll slowwwwwwwww kind. Oh well more to come. Take care everyone. Love you all.

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Comments

[Lauretta]

catching up to you
Hi Joanne and Bill: It was great to hear from you again. Your travel updates are always worth waiting for. I see that you are in extreme weather conditions, just like here in TBay. We just got out of 1 week of -40. This was our 2nd one this winter. It also sounds like the two of you haven't suffered any injuries, as in travel buddies wanting to seriously harm each other, yetttt. Ha Ha I am very happy that you are having a great time. I look forward to your next travel story. Blessings, Lauretta

[Karin and Peter]

want to be there
I love reading your blog, thanks so much. It really does sound like the trip of a lifetime. All these great places to go back to and revisit, how cool is that? All we are doing here is work, work work. So, I really love the diversion of your trip. Take care and glad you are having fun Love karin

[isla and paul harrigan]

hellloooooo
Hi Guys great to here from you. Still having a great time. Did we really have a great holiday at christmas - seems soooo loooonnngg ago. NZ is awesome. Would go back in a heartbeat. Hope to catch up with you in sunny melbourne - been great weather here. Take care, Isla and Paul

[LOAtravels]

great to see you guys
I had a fun time chatting with you guys again. Take care and I hope the winds blow us together again. cheers