On waking this morning I threw open the curtains to enjoy the beautiful views of the snow capped mountains surrounding us. We had breakfast included and walked a couple of steps to the main house. Just like cozy mornings we spent in Pensions in Munich and Heidelberg and Garmisch, we joined our hosts and spoke about our travels and their travels,...

If there was any doubt as to whether I am truly a DeGolia then loose it because I can confirm it. Us DeGolias have a tendency to take the "shortcut" on hikes because it will "get us there faster" (thank you very much UNCLE RICK!). Well in the beautiful town of Queenstown I treated myself to several gorgeous and vigorous hikes. I thought for a bi...

Well last night we were feeling aching from skiing, so we were looking forward to a good nights sleep and plan the next day as it came. We woke at about 8am ish and after laying around, we still didn't have any plans for the day. So I headed down to reception and grabbed some brochures and quizzed Garry at reception about finding a helicopter to...

We had only managed to get one night at the backpackers in Wanaka so, since we had to move anyway, decided to press on to Queenstown while the going was good. We took the very short but mountainous route, passing the Cardrona skifield along the way. There was a bit of ice on the egdes of the road and it was certainly a narrow and winding route b...

Andrea: This morning we woke up a little late and had to rush to meet our bus headed to Shotover Canyon. Fortunately, we made it just in time - the bus was just about to leave! Our first stop was the Shotover Jet. This is a speedboat ride that goes up and down Shotover Canyon, a privately owned canyon and river area in the mountains just outside...

On the 29th March we made the short drive from Wanaka to Queenstown. Staying at "Southern Laughter" hostel, a great room with balcony & views over the town & mountains (inc the famous "Remarkables").We spent 5 days in Queenstown. The first day was spent looking around town, then in the evening we met up with some people we knew from Fiji...

9-25-06 20:30 pm New Zealand Time / 01:30 am California Time "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -MARK TWAIN Today we had good intentions to sleep in ...

Well another early start for the trip down to Wanaka,and as myself & Lorna and two other girls Keira and Rachel were the only ones jumping off in Wanaka so we got a little bus all to ourselves with a legend of a driver. She took us up over the mountains and showed us lots of deadly little places u wouldnt normally get to see. We stopped first at...

26th March We left Te Anau early the next morning and drove the two hour windy road to Milford Sound where we went for a one and a half hour boat cruise up to the mouth of the sea passing waterfalls higher than Niagra on the way. The scenery was spectacular and had been used in LOTR. After the boat trip there was little else to do there so we he...

Hello from Queenstown! Since we last completed a blog we've been pretty busy sight-seeing in Christchurch, Queenstown, and then doing a few backpacking trips down in Fiordland and Mt. Aspiring National Parks. This part of the South Island has blown us away - so much to do, see, etc. We've had a blast. Here's the breakdown: CHRISTCHURCH - We arri...