New Zealand

It's official, we are in love with New Zealand. It's a beautiful country filled with friendly people and a climate that is more amenable to a couple of cold blooded Canadians. New Zealand is made up of two main islands and we spent all of our time on the south island. In fact, we were on the southern end of the south island, so the weather was cool enough for us to wear long pants and sweaters almost every day. It was a bit of a novelty for us.

For the bulk of the trip we stayed in Queenstown, which is the country's prime ski destination and it felt a little like Banff (with smaller mountains). The main purpose of the trip was to celebrate my 50th birthday and on that day we went up in a hot air balloon. It was a very cool experience and a great way to see the beauty of the area.

 They had a GoPro camera hanging from the balloon so we could get some group shots while we were in the air. Lori and I are in the back and on the left if you're looking for us.

 We made it to a height of 6000 feet, but we also spent some time low to the ground as well. I was able to snag a pretty good picture of the shadow the balloon was casting on a hill as we went by.

While we were in Queenstown, we took a day trip to the west coast of the south island and went on a boat trip in Milford Sound. There are filming locations all over New Zealand for the Lord of the Rings movies, but to me, Milford Sound looks like middle earth.

It had rained earlier in the day, so there were plenty of waterfalls pouring into the ocean.

We even got to see some dolphins riding the bow wave of another boat.

At the end of our trip, we spent a couple of days in Dunedin on the east coast of the south island. It was only a few hundred kilometers away, but it felt like a different country. The beach where our hotel sat, is a favourite spot for surfers.

We went on a nature tour of the Otago Peninsula and we saw albatross, penguins, sea lions and seals. It was so cool to walk on a beach while the sea lions played and to watch the penguins come out of the water after a day of fishing.

It was a great trip and I'm so happy we went. I do have to pass along some words of caution though. If you are thinking about going and you plan on renting a car or a camper van or some sort of vehicle, you have to be prepared for the roads. They are not like the roads you are used to, they are very narrow and winding and not at all forgiving. On our way from Christchurch to Queenstown a car (driven by a tourist) hit a motorcycle right in front of us. The motorcyclist was banged up pretty good, but survived. The day we drove to Milford Sound, a car (once again, driven by a tourist) was on the wrong side of the road and was hit by a bus. Both vehicles burst into flames and by the time we arrived, the burnt frames were the only thing left. Luckily everyone on the bus survived, but the 2 occupants of the car died. The New Zealand government knows there is a problem with tourists on their roads and they are trying to help. They provide you with safety information and a driving guide when you rent a car and there are signs everywhere telling you to slow down, but serious accidents still happen all the time. So if you go, and I think you should, just be careful on the roads.

db