Explorer Motor Lodge Te Anau

We left Wanaka at 6:30 AM to drive the 290km to Manapouri; we had light rain much of the way. We drove past many wineries, a few ski areas, and fields filled with grazing sheep and deer. Then we went along a road through Kawarau Gorge where they have bungy jumping platforms. After Cromwell, we drove past Queenstown and along Lake Wakatipu. Queenstown is surrounded by mountains, including the Remarkables - what a great name for a mountain range. We stopped for a ...

... drying off we headed out on an evening trip to the glow worm caves. We took the half our boat ride across the lake to the caves and then had an info session on the life cycle of glow works which was pretty interesting. We then entered the cave system in smaller groups and walked through the caves having to bend double in a couple of places to get through the walkway. We saw ...

... onto the tour for next day - instructions only need to bring lunch , camera and change of underwear - intriguing or what? And you'll never believe what I did later - watched NETBALL on TV. The international team The Silver Ferns are big stars and their match had a prime time slot on one of the main channels - don't ever see that happening back home. When I booked the kayaking trip the weather was fantastic with clear blue skies and warm sun but the forecast later was not good and ...

... is really just a springboard for the area’s attractions. As is now customary, I headed for the i-Site to get a map and see what there was to do. Glow Worms was apparently the thing for the afternoon and involved a short boat trip over the lake – somewhat overcast but nice to be on the water. Then the group of us were taken into a low cave entrance. Stooping down not to bang our heads, the cavern soon opened up in height and allowed us to view whirlpools and ...

... which became abundently clear when we arrived at the Sound for our cruise along with 15 bus loads of Japenese. For 'small cruise ship' read cross channel ferry as this was about the size of the boat we went out on! The cruise was a short trundle round the sound so we could all see Mitre Peak, NZ's version of Ayers Rock, before we were all bused back to Te Anau.

... are very narrow along the sides of the mountains, and will also probably be icy. The ice axe is on a nylon tether, which you wrap around your arm, and, well, you get the idea. I'm now beginning to wonder what I'm getting myself into.     I stop at the supermarket in town to buy food for the next three days, mostly dried stuff that will not spoil, and most importantly, scroggin. Scroggin is a simple mixture of chocolate, peanuts, and raisins. I don't claim to be any sort of hiking expert ...

... the rainiest place in New Zealand for centimeters of rain and days of rain, or so I hear. Thus we were prepared to swim down the trail if need be. We were also told that the rain is what makes the track cool because it makes the waterfalls more dramatic. This is not true; I prefer the weather we got. Zach, Naima and I pooled our resources and cashed in a few good karma chips, and didn't get a drop of rain for four days! We were ...

Hello from Doubtful Sound on the South Island of New Zealand! We are anchored on a metal fishing boat in a sheltered cove while it pours with rain (something it seems to do a lot in New Zealand - this area gets 500-600 meters a year!) After a long day of flying yesterday we finally made it to Queenstown. Halfway to New Zealand, our 727 had to turn around because there was a huge crack in the pilot's windscreen. We got on another plane and flew in just before sunset. My mom ...

... at the backpackers and a shuttle out to the beginning of the track in the am. Day 1 on the Kepler. The Kepler (named after the astronomer) is described as a moderate 67km walk which takes 3-4 days to complete. As we walk over the control gates of the dam on Lake Te Anau ,rain falls out of a grey sky. I'm a little anxious -one thing to get wet at the end of a hike -but at the beginning - and I know my gear won't keep out a ...

... the kayaks to form a raft, raised a sail between us, and sped along the cresting whitecaps toward our destination. For the remainder of our kayak expedition, we paddled, drifted and swapped tales as we progressed to Deep Cove for the return journey back to Manapouri. Exhausted from our exertions, we had a BBQ (sirloin and pork ribs) before hitting the sack. Zzzz...