Goodbye NZ

Sadly our NZ adventures come to a close. We already have a full itinerary planned for the next trip here – we can’t wait! But before we head out on our 2 day journey back to the States here are some more fun pics. The first bunch is from a major splurge where we decided to take a heli-hike on top of Fox Glacier. What a magical experience to be on top of all that ice surrounded by rain forest. We even got to slide down an ice cave, which ended up being a very tight squeeze.





Of course no trip would be complete without Tucker convincing me to go underground. We found this great cave in Arthur’s Pass area where you can walk through a river cave for .75 miles. As an added challenge we decided to do the whole thing barefoot. Chilly! Since I schlepped my camera the whole way through, I of course had to take a picture of the experience.
The first picture I feel over while trying to light the cave and you can see Tucker’s light and hand coming to my rescue (what a gentleman!). With some additional bruises, I did not want that to be the final picture and took one more frame, which fortunately turned out. It’s amazing what just a little head lamp can do.
To our next stop – Nashville for Tucker sister’s wedding!

lord of the flies -NZ

We are slowly making our way through the West Coast and are having many friendly encounters with the ever-present biting sandflies. Within hours we covered towering mountain tops, rainforests and beaches. It’s a big playground out here! So a few more pics and we are off on another hike.

Rainforest romp – NZ

With barely contained excitement we finally got our campervan that will be our homebase for the next 2 weeks. We decided to head out to the Fiordlands and Sounds to get our rainforest fix before heading up north and spending about 3 days out in nowhere. We got some tasty food to cook and our houseplant and yumminess provider Mr. Basil, and set out on our trek. Finally in the middle of nowhere, freezing cold at night we realize the wonderful rental folks forgot to fill up out cooking stove gas tank. We survived on bread and trail mix for a couple of days, but the scenery made up for any shortcomings. Tucker has been so extremely patient with me and my nerdy phototaking needs. Thankfully he has been bitten by the photobug as well, so we should have some fun results.

The Mighty Routeburn - NZ

We just have completed 4 four day trek on the edge the Fiordlands mountains near the West Coast of the South Island. The views were breathtaking – every new turn offered an even better view – mind boggling! We started the trek in a lush rainforest groaning under the massive amount of lichen. We camped out by two huts that skirted different lakes before making the “summit push” on a windy and rainy day. Weather apparently doesn’t matter here – it is gorgeous no matter what you get. Your feet might not agree though, but on the upside my calves are toned again. I am also about an inch shorter than when I started the trek since I decided to schlep my very heavy lens up there. Here are a few quick pictures to get you in the mood – I will post a full “piece de resistance” slideshow when I get back home. There are soooooo many pictures….

PS - Tucker took the last picture of me as we head for the peak.

How to get over jetlag… quickly

Apparently by jumping off a bridge. Since this bridge is where bungy jumping was first pioneered we felt it was only the proper thing to do. It was an incredible rush but over way too quickly. According to some witnesses I sounded like a screaming banshee, but I highly doubt it!
Good thing we are heading out for our hike tomorrow since Queenstown is heaven for the adrenaline junkie and pretty much hell on your wallet. Tucker and I did a short warm up hike today in preparation of the 4 day alpine extravaganza (apparently there is already snow up there – brrr). We found out my hiking ability is that of an inch-worm that quite doesn’t make the full inch and Tucker is the mountain goat on steroids. Good thing he is patient with me.


Here it is -
right before the plunge...


me jumping off a bridge...

We have arrived!

After what seemed like traveling forever with multiple layovers, seat changes, running around as a frenzied chipmunk punctuated with painfully long waiting periods - we finally made it to New Zealand. Before the plane ever touched down in Queenstown, I knew this was a love affair in the making. On a complete adrenaline high, after what must be a total of 12 hours of sleep over the last 4 days, we could not stop walking around admiring the amazing landscape, cute towns and the wonderful kiwi sense of humor. Within the hour, we were toying with the idea of seriously purchasing property here.
We are prepping for our multi-day alpine hike on Wednesday but not before partaking in some Queenstown adventure tradition.
Below is the view from the plane flying into Queenstown. Just a solitary peak of the Southern Alps was visible over a blanket of clouds.