The Marine Bar Christchurch

... they were really pretty). I checked in, paid my $25 dollar departure tax (********* tax), boarded a 4-hour flight to Sydney and proceeded to wait 7 hours for my 13 hour LAX flight. Sounds tragic, but after my nice shower in the Sydney bathroom (in the airport,) I was ready to go! (Yes, I literally saw a bathroom with a shower in it and used it!).

**Thanks for reading and for all the awesome emails and comments along the way. You guys got me through those long, cold nights at hostels!**

... island and drove to the west side, seeing new landscapes around every twist and turn. It was amazing scenery. Some sights we saw that day included Mount Cook and Lake Tekapo (imagine Lake Louise times ten and even bluer). We were going to drive straight to the island’s glaciers that night, but the 24-hour gas station that was supposed to be open was out of order, and so we paid for accommodation in two places that night! Despite the rough start to the first day ...

... 8211; it’s been a long day, notes are getting a little poor!).

2005 Old Vine C******nay – Full malo. 15 months seasoned oak. Spicy oaky nose. Fully integrated, peachy, creamy and big – a C******nay lovers C******nay.

2008 Pinot Noir – Easy drinker, cherry all the way.

2008 Pinot Noir Reserve – Summer fruits. Good again light Pinot. Fresh, lively with good length. Perhaps a little ...

... as Cass, named after Thomas Cass, the chief surveyor of the Canterbury region which were once bustling centres boasting many shops, pubs and even a racecourse between 1851-7. But the only food that would grow here was potatoes, and the
inhabitants soon became tired of this limited diet, and today it is inhabited by only one railway worker who looks after most of thetrack to Greymouth.


I was captivated by the scenery, including the weeds and the enormous clumps of NZ ...

... for its whale watching opportunities. The original plan was to do a tour by boat but upon discovering that this would take 3 hours (and after Luce saw the 'small sea-sickness risk' warning) we checked out the aerial option just down the road.

After collaring another couple into taking the flight with us, and securing a better price, we were up again in a chopper in ...

... out of "Klondyke" (hey, I don't look THAT bad).  Minutes later, in comes (let's just call them) Bjorn & Inga and they back in so close to Herr Laurie, that his door nearly hit's the covered wagon. There is acres of room elsewhere. As the womenfolk look over and cackle on about "cheeky", I decide to remedy the situation. Bjorn & Inga walk to the gravel road near my wagon to take photos of the sunset on the mountains. I greet them and seriously suggest that they should rethink ...

... s for sure! From that hut, where Kristen refilled her water, because the huts have water, which is great, we climbed steeply for about 2 hours to the Harris Saddle. This was a terrific section of the trip, my goodness. The higher and higher we got the better and better the views behind us. And we were climbing toward more beautiful mountains, including Conical Hill, a side trip that would allow us to see all the way to the ...

... to end that part of our day. After checking in on Mark (who had actually ventured outside for a few minutes), we went to the Kiwi and Wild Bird Sanctuary.  We wanted to see a kiwi before leaving New Zealand, and since kiwi are endangered, nocturnal birds (Flightless but not wingless), we figured it was see them in a reserve or not at all.  In addition to learning about many of the endangered NZ birds, we also got to see the tuatara.  The tuatara is "NZ's most distinctive ...

... or ride in an Antarctic Hagglund (which was fun!). Once we were done with the Antarctic Centre, we hit the road and headed south. Our first day on the road was not very auspicious, it rained all the time and the visibility was ****, so we saw nothing but the road. We stopped for the night in Geraldine, where we also stocked up our van, and the next day went to see the Peel Forest nearby. The weather was much nicer, and we did a few very nice walks through ...

... the Kaiteriteri Kayak trip ( which was a little more expensive) was more scenic, the Abel Tasman being exceptionally beautiful but the experience of actually being so close to Seals swimming around the Kayks was well worth the effort and good fun. We ate out at the Green Dolphin in the evening, this place has fantastic New Zealand Cuisine, and is very popular, we booked but the restaurant was really busy at 7.30pm when we arrived. We had a fabulous meal ...