Peggy & Pat's Sailing Adventures
In the evening of Feb18 we went on a “Blue Penguin Experience”. Danielle picked us up in a van with other tourists and drove us out to Otago Peninsula. On the way she pointed out many of the local birds that could be seen feeding along the shore. She was a wealth of knowledge about the history, geology and wildlife
Feb15, after saying goodbye to Robby and Ryan, we drove ~3hrs north to Lake Tekapo and checked in at a hotel about a block from the water. The lakes in this region are an unusual color due to the water being mostly glacial runoff. The ‘Church Of The Good Shepherd’ was built on the shore of Lake Tekapo as an
Feb13 – After our spectacular Glow Worm Caves adventure, it was time to leave Lake Te Anau. In less than 3 hours, we were back in Queenstown at the Blue Peaks Hotel where we had a 3 bedroom place with a large upstairs sitting room and full kitchen. Great to have all that space! We walked down to the waterfront
Feb11 we flew from Wellington to Queenstown, rented a car and drove 3+ hours to Lake Te Anau. Queenstown is roughly in the center of the map below. The blue line shows our driving trip from QT to Lake Te Anau and to Milford Sound. Te Anau is a long, thin mountain lake and it is the largest lake, by
Feb9, after lunch and a walk around Napier, we drove to Wellington, the capital of NZ. It is known as a wet and windy city and has quite a bit of history (at least for NZ). The downtown area is built around the waterfront and port, with hills rising steeply as you go away from the water. There are many
Feb7 we checked out of our terrific resort-hotel and headed south to Lake Taupo, about 90 minutes away. We checked in to the Sun Court Hotel where we had a good view of the lake and were just a couple minutes walk from the downtown restaurant area. We spent some time down at the lake and hurried back as a
Feb6 started with a heart-pumping mountain bike tour in Whakarewarewa Forest. According to Marcello, our guide, this area is one of the top ten mountain biking locations in the world! We are not avid mountain bikers, so the more challenging and exciting trails were not in our plans but the park has trails for all abilities and experience levels. Some
Feb5 and on the move again. A 2+ hour drive brought us to Hobbiton! We are all Tolkien fans and have been eagerly anticipating the tour. The bus ride starts with a welcome video from Peter Jackson and some fun LOTR (Lord Of The Rings) trivia from our guide. Then off to the Shire! For a “Tourist Spot” this was
Feb3 Robby and Ryan, Peggy’s nephews, arrived from California! After an all night flight, when they were still suffering from jet lag, we threw them off Auckland’s tallest building, the Sky Tower! We put them in special jump suits with a harness, hooked them to a cable and off they went, 192 meters, straight down. Ryan in flight. Robby, coming
Jan30 we drove to Auckland airport to meet our cruising friends, Elaine and Karl. They had been on their boat in Australia but were returning to her place in Whangaparoa, where we had stayed for the first week when we arrived. At the airport, we rented a car and returned Elaine’s car to her. It was so great to see