July 6th in New Zealand

The next morning, Katie had to sign in and pick up her supplies. University of Otago is serious about giving their students enough bedding! Katie's about to drag it into her flat.

Soon we were out exploring the Otago peninsula, just off Dunedin. We went to the Albatross center where we got to see a few chicks sitting on their nests. They were huge! We got one glimpse of an adult flying overhead.

The scenery was incredible on the peninsula as we drove on the windy, narrow cliff roads (of course, on the left side), and then along the coast.

The beaches were beautiful and are hosts to the yellow-eyed penguin. Unfortunately, this was one of the beaches that we were NOT able to see them. It was a lot colder that it looks!

July 5th in New Zealand

We were sorry we didn't have more time in Wellington. From what we could see walking around the night before, it was a vibrant city. Our Air New Zealand flight, would be a short flight, ending in Katie's new college town. The hardest part was making sure our baggage didn't exceed the limits!

Here we are at Katie's new school. Funny that it has a clock tower too!

July 4th in New Zealand

Woke up in our comfy apartment at the Tussock Grove Boutique hotel in Ohakune. Our hosts Chris and Christine Griffin made us a delicious breakfast. We reluctantly had to leave after chatting away with Chris. The 'Big Carrot' at the entrance of this 'carrot capital', represents the importance of the gardening market in the area.

Next was a drive up the mountain to get a closer look at Mr. Ruahepu, which was supposedly featured in Lord of the Rings as Mt. Doom! It is a massive, snow-covered mountain, and apparently, a still active volcano.

We did have to get out and explore the beech forests, similar to

those that Frodo ran through.

July 3rd in New Zealand

Woke up early to take a 3-stop tour around Rotorua. We were surprised to find a huge bus with a personal driver waiting just for us! Our first stop was a tour of "Te Puia", a Maori Arts and Crafts Institute that resides within an incredible thermal area. We learned about the Maori talents, toured the park, and waited for the famous geyser to erupt. It's a very eery place as wisps of fog and sulfur blur the landscape!

Our second stop was the "Agrodome" to learn about all the varieties of sheep and watch a shearing. We also got to hold some sheep dog puppies!

Our last stop was the "Rainbow Farm" where we learned all about raising trout, unique properties of the trees, and got to see a real kiwi! They even took a picture of the 3 of us.

July 2nd in New Zealand

Woke up to a beautiful sunny morning. The Wilsons left us some wonderful breakfast supplies. We headed south along the coast. Stopped to hear our first real kiwis!...no sightings, just calls. Had a fantastic lunch at a little take-away place in Waihi. Cucumbers and beets on a burger! Who woulda thought! We go out to Omanu Beach so Katie could get her feet wet.

Then we headed inland to Rotorua - the great geothermal active area. On the way, we just had to stop in Matamata, the Lord of the Rings headquarters. Not much to see, but the landscape of the area is shire-like. Made it to Rotorua before dark, just in time to see some geothermal mud pools.

July 1st in New Zealand

We left Auckland to set out for the Coromandel Peninsula on the east coast. Kilometers and kilometers of beautiful farmland. We kept our eye out for police on the way....didn't want to get stopped for driving on the wrong side of the road. Soon we found where the sea meets the land. We were scheduled to stay at the Castle Rock Winery bed & breakfast. David & Sharon Wilson run this beautiful, comfortable place. We met them once before, at the marriage of Sharon's son and my college roommate's daughter. David grew up in Dunedin, so had much to share with Katie. They provided a wonderful dinner for us with friendly, welcoming talk.

June 30th in New Zealand

Left the house at 3 pm Sunday; arrived in Auckland, New Zealand on Tuesday at 7 am.

How much time went by? What time is it? We crossed the international dateline? It's tomorrow? Quite a trip, although smooth. And what a long day! Auckland, the"city of sails", is a great city. We traveled on foot, took a sailboat harbor cruise (in a chilly drizzle), rode the ferry to the island town of Davenport, and ascended to the top of the sky tower.

The Beginning of a Kiwi Journey

So I thought I'd be posting pictures and experiences of my journey through New Zealand as we traveled. However, limited time and access to the internet proved to make this a difficult task. So after the fact, now that we are back, I will attempt to summarize the trip with its highlights.

This trip crystallized because my daughter decided to study abroad in New Zealand. Wow!...my husband and I thought, what a good excuse to visit (much to my daughter's dismay as she strove for independence).

In one simple word, New Zealand is awesome....even if you go in wintertime!