Swimming with Dolphins in Akaroa, New Zealand

Rand lures the Dolphins over to Play

Milford Sound, New Zealand

Milford Sound in Fjordland along the lower west coast of the South Island of New Zealand is one of the wettest places on the planet. As we drove there from Queenstown, we watched the sky cloud up and by our arrival, the blue sky was visible only in patches. Undeterred, we got aboard a small boat and cruised all the way up the fjord to the ocean, seeing waterfalls, sea birds, and impressive cliffs on both sides. As a cool wind whipped our faces, we put on every layer we had brought with us (see my "Michelin" woman look of 6-7 layers including down jacket and gore-tex windbreaker) and drink hot tea. Being outside was bracing, but gorgeous.

Skiing in Queenstown

Here is the panorama from the top of Coronet Peak

Franz Joseph Glacier, West Coast, New Zealand, South Island

After leaving Hamner Spring, we drove across the South Island via Lewis Pass to Greymouth on the West Coast, then drove south along the coastline toward the two glaciers: Franz Joseph and Fox. Here we are walking inland up toward the Franz Joseph Glacier.

South of the glaciers, we came to a wide, open beach area in Haast, which was our last shoreline before heading over Haast Pass toward Wanaka. Here is a panorama of this beautiful beach. You can hear how windy it was too!

Auraki - Mt. Cook, New Zealand

Auraki - Mt Cook is the highest peak in New Zealand. Here is a video panorama of its majesty and beauty .

Picton to Blenheim, Kaikoura then to Hamner Springs

After a three hour ferry ride from Wellington, watching Rugby with local fans, we spent the night in Picton. The next day, we drove across the top of the South Island to Havelock taking in the overcast but pretty views of the strait between the North and South Islands.

From Havelstock, we took the road south to sunny Blenheim, the heart of New Zealand's Marlborough wine region. We drove down their "Golden Mile" where the vineyards We lucked onto the Hans Herzog vineyard where delightful Samantha Young helped us sample their superb wines on behalf of the proprietors, Hans and Therese Herzog. Rand is still more partial to Moa beer, but he did find their Montepulciano-grape Grappa delicious.

Before leaving the Blenheim region, we followed the sun northward up the coast. The "sealed" (paved) road turned into a dirt road that wound high up the coast and we came to a beautiful section of coast called Robinhood Bay.
Heading south from Blenheim, we toured the wine region, then drove the rainy but stunning coastline to Kaikora. We decided not to stop there because of the heavy rain and continued on over a snowy pass to Hamner Springs to spend the night. The snow was coming down heavily as we headed up to higher elevation, blanketing the trees in white.
The geothermal playground in Hamner Springs, with its hot pools, sulphur pools and aqua-therapy hot pools, was another highlight of the day. The aqua-therapy pools especially, which had very strong jets that you could position on any part of your body you could move into position, did wonders for our sore muscles and aches and pains.

New Zealand Sheep and baby lambs

Newborn Lambs, New Zealand

Whanganui, Lake Taupo, Huka Falls, Mt Ruapehu Ski Volcanos Tongarino National Park

We started the day at Bush Lake just south of Rotorua and ended up in Whanganui along the southwest coast. Along the way, we stopped at Lake Taupo, which is a huge lake along the "geothermal highway" through the mountainous central region of the North Island. .
After driving along the southern side of Lake Taupo, we entered Tongarino National Park and drove into the park and up to the highest elevations to the ski resort on Mt Ruapehu. They just got 3 meters (9 feet) of new snow in the last 5 days, so the mountain offers the best of spring skiing.

The mountain is very obviously a volcano as you drive up to it. I wondered aloud to Rand about what we would do if the volcano blew its top, thinking this was just a playful, unrealistic fantasy. But at the ski lodge we learned that the volcano had erupted last in 1995, so my comment wasn't so far-fetched after all.

Another treat we enjoyed in the Lake Taupo area was Huka Falls, which generates a lot of the electric power for New Zealand from its powerful water flow. Amazingly, the water at Huka Falls was turquoise and crystal clear.
Here are the roaring, rushing Huka Falls.