Geo: -45.3155, 166.991This morning, we left Queenstown for a 3 hour motor coach ride, followed by a 45 minute ferry, followed by a 20 minute motor coach ride to get to Doubtful Sound. We boarded our boat for an overnight cruise through the Doubtful Sound fiords. We had an incredible cruise through the deed water and high walled fiords, out into the Tasman Sea, and back into a quite anchorage. We spotted dolphin and fur seas along the way. We met, drank, and dined with 2 British couples, and had a great time.... read more

Geo: -43.5316, 172.637We had scheduled to take a train along the coast from Blenheim to Christchurch, but the earthquake in November put a change in those plans. The track is not expected to be back in service until May. As a result, we took a short flight to Christchurch.Flying in, we could see brush fires engulfing a surrounding mountain. But, we were able to take a gondola to the top of another mountain, and hike along the Crater Ridge Trail. Beautiful!... read more

Geo: -41.2865, 174.776This morning, we borrowed the bikes from our hotel and explored the geothermal springs in Rotorua. Then, caught a 50 passenger, 2 prop plane, for the 1 hour and 10 minute flight from Rotorua to Wellington. Wellington is a small city on the southern tip of the north island, with a number of restaurants and bars. It has about the same population as Richmond, Virginia.... read more

Geo: -38.1398, 176.247This morning, we caught the ferry back to Auckland from Waiheke Island. Then, jumped on a motor coach for a 5 hour drive to Rotorua. (Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand, with a population of 660,000. The total population of New Zealand is only 4.5 million, and it is 2.4 times the size of Virginia.)Once we were out of the city and driving through the center of the north island, the landscape reminded me of southwestern Virginia; a lot of farmland and cattle, with mountains resembling the Blue Ridge in the distance. As we got closer to Rotorua, we drove through more dense forests, with large ferns and palms.Rotorua is a geothermal wonderland in the central North Island that is also home to rich Maori culture and heritage. We checked into our ... read more

Geo: -36.8474, 174.766We missed a day! We left San Francisco at 7:50 pm on February 6th, and arrived in Auckland at 5:40 am on February 8th. What happened to the 7th? The flight was 13 hours, but we both slept a lot, watched a couple movies, and it really was not bad.We are staying in a bed & breakfast in a historic coastal town across the harbour from Auckland, called Devonport. But, it is only a 15 minute ferry ride between the two.... read more