Lovely Laura's turn! Jim lending us a hand. Lovely Laura
and Jim are great traveling companions. We tried to convince them
to travel with us. Almost but not quite!
A geyser at the Maori Village. You see from this picture how
green NZ is. The ferns, trees and plant are incredible..color and
variation. The kiwi's do a lot of work to maintain their gardens,
pruning often.
Geyser in background with Maori totem pole. We are doing our Maori
War Dance with mean expressions and tongues sticking out! It
was a really, really hot day. This village also had a kiwi exhibit
with a kiwi, a now rare bird. Kiwi's can be people, birds and fruit...talk
about leveraging a name.
Rotorua in the background. With all the volcanic activity, Rotorua
emits a strong sulphur smell. The lake you see is Lake Rotorua.
We went rafting on a river in Rotorua which advertises a 21 foot drop.
One in three rafts tip over. Ours did not! Our guides
decided to give us a little shower, however. They steered the raft
into a waterfall and this drenched Martha!
Martha at the Winter Garden Fernery in Auckland's Domain (like a central
park or common). We called these neat purple flowers the "IDEA" flowers
given my little niece Leigh's adorable IDEA gesture.
Meet Steve. He works at Fez, a restaurant in Aukland's Ponsonby
area. The decor is simple but quite inviting. Pictured behind
us is the Turkish owner's grandfather. Steve is from South Africa
and has done the round the world backpacking thing. He is great to
chat with...especially regarding books and computers. If you are
ever in the neighborhood, ask for him. If he is not there, he has
probably started some Artifical Intelligence high tech firm!
Taking some time to read up on The Bay of Islands...a region North
of Auckland. This picture is in the main tourist area...Paihia.
The place has not changed in decades...except for the hotel prices.
The Bay of Islands has over 150 islands, most of which are not inhabited,
and heaps of little coves. The water color ranges are spectacular.
We took a cruise and saw the now famous Hole in the Rock...a little rock
island with a big hole in its side that jet boats cruise through.
On our tour we ran into Flipper like dolphins that chased our boat!
They were calling out "FFFFAAARRR" and "BBBEEEE"!
Evalyn, owner of the Glenfalloch B&B in Kerikeri (so nice, they
named it twice!), and I are enjoying her lovely gardens. She and
her husband Rick have a lovely home perched on a hill overlooking
the woods and wineries of Kerikeri. They named the B&B after
an estate in the South Island in Dunedin. Doug and I later visited
and it was a great decision as it too is beautiful. Evalyn makes
a delicious Christmas cake. Kerikeri is in the Bay of Islands and
is home to many vineyards and orchards.
Introducing Tane Mahuta, God of the Forest, and the largest Kauri tree
in NZ. Like the Kiwi bird, Kauris were once numerous but logging
has endangered them. Tane is ancient....estimated to be 2000
years old. The tree's dimensions are: Trunk Height 17.7 meters;
Trunk Girth,13.8 meters; Total Height, 51.5 meters; Volume 244.5 meters.
The tree is in the Waipoua Kauri Forest on the northwestern part of the
North Island. We drove through the forest on a rainy day. The
rainforest was a beautiful, earthy green. Tane is a 20 minute walk
from the road. In this picture, Martha is standing below in her raincoat,
with a new sense of perspective. The Dept of Conservation sign
encouraged visitors to "breath deeply and tread softly" when walking
through the kauri forest.
Meow! Meow! My name is Morris and I live in Picton, NZ.
If you take the ferry from the North Island to the South Island, you can
meet me by staying at The Retreat Inn. The Inn is very comfy...I
am enjoying all the guests. The ferry crosses the Cook Strait and
there are lots of little islands. I belong to a fun, long letter
writing, adventurous girl named Nicole. She is in Thailand right
now. Her lovely Mom, Alison, is caring for me. I miss her!
Geoff, Alison and Martha in front of the Retreat Inn. Lovely
roses. As Doug prepared to take this picutre, we all removed our
eyeglasses simultaneously. Guess Dorothy Parker was right.
Introducing.....Angus the Echidna. Angus in our world tour mascot.
Echidna's are found in Australia. His favorite expression is "Well
Done." Angus is taking a little water break here in a waterfall at
the Abel Tasman National Park. The park is located on the upper north
part of the South Island. We did a 4 hour tramp (Kiwi for nature
walk through woods) on the famous Coastal Track. The ocean flora
was amazing and the walk includes views of isolated bays, like the one
pictured below.
Stillwell Bay in Abel Tasman. We journeyed down to the bay for
a quick dip and a picnic. The bay is isolated. Boaters will
cruise in for a family day of fun, sun, waterskiing...The water was warm
and refreshing.
Barbara and Jerry Leary, owners of Rosewood in Motoeuka. We stayed
at their B&B after our hike in Abel Tasman. Jerry likes to fish...rumour
has it that the fish he catches are so big that they need to find a lake
to turn around. Barbara is very lovely person and her rose garden
is sensational.
Martha on the Douglas Suspension Bridge, a 5 person maximum load.
The river is the result of the Franz Josef Glacier, located in Westland
National Park on the West Coast of the South Island. The water is
shallow and fast. This picture was taken at 9:00 pm....the NZ summer
sun lights the land until about 10:00. We were finishing up our hike
on the Douglas Walk through the bushlands.
Douglas & Angus (in center) on the Douglas Walk near the
Douglas Suspension Bridge. Well Done!
The Franz Josef Glaceir and its relection in Peter's Pool.
Franz Josef Glacier. Nowhere else in the world, at this latitude
have glaciers advanced so close to the sea. What you are seeing is
the "terminal morain" or the front of the glacier. We walked to it
in about 1 hour. It was hot in the valley but nice and cool in this
spot. The river flowing out had lots of ice chunks in it.
View walking away from the glacier....thousands of grey/green/white
rocks. Mountains surrounded us.
Waterfall at Franz Josef Glacier.
Queenstown. Sight of the famous and first Bungy Jumping adventure...AJ
Hackett's. Check out the gorge water...very blue. The bungy
jumper is Nicola, 16 years old and a true Kiwi adventurer. We watched
her jump with her ever-so-nervous mom. Nicola loved it. It
was quite windy that day.
Milford Sound...the South Western coast of the South Island.
This region is known as Fiordland. We took a cruise on "The Wanderer,"
a yachtlike vessel. As you can see, just breathtaking.
The drive to Milford Sound is stunning....starts with farmland, then though
beech trees, through forest of Fiord National Park, up and down mountains,
through the Homer tunnel (an unlit 2 way tunnel dug through a rocky mountain....hair
raising), through a canyon, and ending with the Sound.
Milford Sound.
Some seals having a siesta in the sun in Milford Sound.
What would a NZ site be without sheep! We really enjoyed NZ and
would encourage a visit. As Arnold says..."I'll be back"
We found the bewildering diversity of plant life a real highlight.
To tour around NZ is like looking at a beautiful calendar where each page
is as magnificient as the previous, yet different. The hustle, bustle
and ideal setting of Queenstown (lake with Remarkables Mountains) was a
favorite of Doug's. Martha enjoyed the Kiwi hospitality during our
B&B stays. Martha also recommend's the white wines produced by
Kim Edwards of the Marlborough Region....they are superb.
FYI, all the images have been edited/resized to fit most screens. If
you want any of the originals, which are quite large (1280 x 1024), send
an e-mail to apollo@world.std.com.