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 you can imagine how nervous we were waiting all afternoon!! Stephen decided to do the easy forward jump and Nelson did the scariest (ranked 5 underwears) backwards jump!! Tomorrow, Nelson is skydiving 15,000 ft ...so ... read more

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 you so much for taking the time to check out our travels and adventures.... More to Come..... ... read more

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 on these premises. At the Centre, we experienced a simulated "Antarctic Blizzard Storm" with 40 km winds; road an all-terrain Hagglund vehicle; and saw blue penguins at the NZ encounter. After the chilling experience, we headed downtown to check into ... read more

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 at a high speed. The ZORB was invented in New Zealand and can be either ridden dry or wet. Today both Stephen and I rode down the ZORB, but we were only able to video ... read more

Today we arrived in Auckland, Zealand!!!! After a 3.5 hour flight from Melbourne, we landed in Auckland, New Zealand. NZ is the furthest point from anywhere and we couldn't believe we were here. After an uneventful customs exit, there was Jared greeting us!! It was so good to see my buddy Jared after not seeing him for over 6 years since living in NYC! Oh, the days of Hell.... As we left the airport, we headed to Jared's home to quickly unpack and catch the afternoon ferry to Waiheke Island. At the Port, we met Jared's boyfriend Nephi!! As the weekend progressed I learned Nephi was my long lost "brown sista"! Nephi is Maori and one of the most genuine loving people we have met! The ferry ride to Waiheke Island (aka "Island of Wine" or ... read more