The Big Finale

I’m sitting in the Queenstown airport full of mixed emotions.  At this exact day and time I will be home tomorrow.  Time travel is a weird thing.  It’s as if the world will pause for 21 hours and grant me the opportunity to reflect on these past two weeks. At this moment I feel a bit of sadness as we just said goodbye to our guides and travel mates.  Soon I’ll be looking down at the sky and saying goodbye to this beautiful country.  Thank you New Zealand.  I’ll be returning home with a great deal of personal growth. 

Before we head to the sky, I do need to tell you about the grand finale, Milford Sound.  The Tui crew boarded the Milford Wanderer for an overnight cruise full of picturesque wildlife and landscape.  Since the comforts of the cruise weren’t enough for us we all opted to disembark and walk a short section of the Milford Track.  We quickly realized sandflies were not our friends and couldn’t wait to hop back on the Wanderer.

Cruising 

Milford Sound Overnight Cruise

Boating over to walk Milford Track

James and I practicing proper sandfly protection! 

 

The next morning we explored the world wonder from Kayaks.  The biggest wonder of that adventure was the fact that all couples remained intact. Being strapped in a double Kayak in the middle of the water with your partner is a true testament to a relationship. 

Cheese!

We got the heavy medical Kayak #stealingfitness

Since weather didn’t permit our Franz Josef Glacier Heli-Hike, we made up for it by doing a Milford Sound Heli.  The fishbowl windows with the 360s views were like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. It took very few photos as I just sat there trying to take the moment in.  The second the helicopter landed and I stepped onto Donne Glacier, the magic of the entire trip just radiated within me. 

Heli on Donne Glacier

Group Shot

Hello World!

Tracy and I up front with a Matt photo bomb in the back 

We did our last hike on the beautiful Routeburn Track and spent our final night at the Manapour Inn.  Unfortunately Matt and Tracy couldn’t make the final evening, but having them live so close to us makes the sadness of leaving NZ a little less.   Cheers to wonderful new friends.  I can’t wait for the Napa reunion! 

Routeburn Track

Final Dinner

Thanks for reading, 

JenniferMarie

  

PS… Matt and Tracy, We’ll have to get together soon cause I know you’ll need those gloves for the CA winter. hah

Queenstown

Yesterday was Day 5 of our Tui adventure, which meant we had a free day in Queenstown to do as we pleased.  Queenstown boasts mountains, water, food and wine so the possibilities of adventure are really endless.  We decided bungee jumping and skydiving were exactly the activities we wanted to do….. NEVER.  

When I was a teenager visiting NZ I thought the Luge was the best thing ever.  I am proud to stay it was just as fun as I remembered it! Keith and I raced those things down like Mario Karts Luigi and Princess Peach.  

Luge!

 We still had some time left in the day so the ZipTrek Kea 6-line Ecotour seemed like it would be about the limit to our extreme sport adventure.  We zipped down the 6 lines and learned about the conservation efforts of NZ.

Flying!

Keith upside down!

Keith is ready! 

Free Fall! 

We ended the day with a lovely thanksgiving dinner at the Botswana Butchery with our Tui adventure mates.  We didn’t eat any Turkey, but the menu paired with the three bottles of Pinot was enough to have a thanksgiving full of laughter with great friends.

Today we had to Milford Sound!  I probably won’t have Wifi for a while, so I’ll catch you at the airport with the deets! 

Thanks for reading,

JenniferMarie

Exploring the Southern Alps of NZ

Hey All!

It’s been a few days since we’ve been able to say hi.  Wifi and cell service wasn’t exactly a thing in the foothills of the Southern Alps! Keith and I are currently relaxing in our Queenstown hotel room sipping on Grande Americanos.  We would have liked to try some Kiwi coffee, but Kiwis must get up late because the earliest I’ve seen a coffee shop open was 7:30am, so Starbucks it was.  The first thing I noticed about NZ Starbucks coffee, no Holiday cup.  Kinda bummed about that! Ha.  As you may remember from the Cusco blogs, Starbucks renamed Keith “Kate.”  The Kiwi Starbucks went ahead and renamed him “Kim.” Haha.  I think we may need to travel around the world just to see what Keith’s Starbucks name is. 

Meet My Husband Kim

I am sure you all clicked this link to hear about what we’ve been doing, so I’ll get to that. We left the North Island on Saturday the 17^th, which was Friday the 16^thfor all of you in America.  We landed in Christchurch late afternoon and enjoyed a nice dinner and a walk around the Botanic Gardens before meeting our tour group the next morning. If you have ever been on a tour before, you’ve probably wondered who you will be stuck with for the next week or two. Keith and I have always been really lucky and have met some wonderful people.  This trip was no different.  The 8 of us connected instantly and it’s been nothing but laughter for 4 days!  Our guides are just as wonderful.  Ruby cooks us the best meals and James is a trooper for being the brunt of our jokes. 

The first day we drove from Queenstown to Franz Josef, stopping to hike the Devils Punchbowl trail in Arthurs Pass. It was a long drive, but we spent the 6 hours getting to know each other before snoozing off at the Rainforest Retreat.

 Devils Punchbowl 

The next day we woke with a plan to Heli_Hike Franz Josef Glacier.  Unfortunately the weather wasn’t cooperating so all flights were grounded. We ended up earning our dinner, hiking through the temperate rainforest and up to Alex Knob to get some incredible views of the ice. As much as I wanted to ride in a helicopter, the hike was absolutely amazing and I’m glad we did it.  We were all pretty hungry after the hike so our guides dropped us off at Curly Tree so that we could try a Kiwi delicacy, whitebait. Lets just say none of us were that hungry! Haha.  We did try a bite though.  I can still see the eyes. Ug. We continued to make our way south to our Makarora Lodgings, which reminds so much of Sorensens back home.  The quant little cabins with no WiFi or TV are the perfect place to detach from the stresses of the world. 

Alex Knob Group Shot

Lunch... yum yum

Our cute little Cabin

The next day the weather seemed to take a turn for the worst so taking a scenic flight to a Siberia Hut was out of the cards.  We ended up driving up the west coast to Jackson Bay in search of better weather. 

Trying to take a picture while being swarmed by sandflies! 

It was a good thing we were all well rested after the previous days active hiatus.  We woke to snow capped mountains, beautiful weather and day full of activities around Mt. Aspiring National park. We hiked along the Wilkin River, met our jet boat for an exciting speedy adventure, biked along the gorgeous Hawea River Trail and saw NZ from the sky on a scenic flight. 

Bus Ride Stop Views

Hike to jetboat views 

Hike to jet boat views

It's Jetboat Time! 

Jetboat Views

Hawea River Trail 

James and I taking a bike ride break!

Keith and I taking a bike ride break

I often hear about these little planes on the news......

Got to love the photo bomb!

Sky Views

It’s time for me to stop typing and get out there to enjoy the Queenstown.  Today’s plans include some adventure in the adventure capital and a NZ Thanksgiving dinner at Rata.

Thanks for reading, 

JenniferMarie

Bonus footage.... Kiwi James showing us how to eat a Tim Tam..... or 3 with Hot Chocolate.

Thermal Activity & Hobbits!

Rotorua is often referred to as Disneyland for tourist.  I admit, it’s true!  The sulpher-rich aroma that fills the air will even make you feel right at home with the stinky baby/toddler diapers of Disneyland.  The great news is this area has much more to offer than screaming children with its spurting geysers, steaming hot springs and exploding mud pools. It is NZ most dynamic thermal area, and it’s guaranteed to amaze you. 

Keith and I parked our home for the week at the Waikite Valley Thermal Pools RV park, and enjoyed a nice post Tongariro Crossing soak in the thermal pools before snoozing off for the night.

We woke the next morning and headed over to Wai-O-Tapu (Sacred Waters) Thermal Wonderland. It is the largest area of thermal activity of any hydrothermal system in the Taupo Volcanic Zone.  The park map states that it should take around 75 min to complete the 3km footpath that navigates through the thermal activity. Keith and I are proud to say we complete all things in less than average time.  Well, this time we didn’t. I think we were about 30 min over the average time. Haha.  We took our time meandering along the path, reading the signs thoroughly, taking photos of every mud pool, crater, cave, waterfall, bird, etc.  The experience exceeded my expectations.  

Devils Bath

The Champagne Pool

Gazing

Bubbling Mud Pools

Lake Ngakoro Waterfall

It is inevitable for people to ask Keith and I when and where our next adventure is.  This year when we replied, “New Zealand” the question “Are you going to The Hobbiton movie set?” was almost always the first question.  The truth of the matter is we chose New Zealand for the southern hemisphere November weather and the outdoor adventure.  We didn’t want to disappoint everyone though, and we had some extra time, so we made the trip over to Hobbiton! I have to say, once again, expectations exceeded!  Keith and I enjoyed walking around the rolling green hills, stopping to take a photo or two at every single Hobbit hole and even grabbed a drink at the Green Dragon.  Keith enjoyed it so much he wants to redo our wedding and host it there. Haha.  I don’t necessarily have the desire to redo our wedding, but I would like to re-read the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. 

YAY!

Eek!

Hobbit Hole

Taking a picture in front of our Hobbit Home

Keith is going in!

Green Dragon

We say goodbye to our Mighty Camper today.  It is the end of the North Island, but the adventures of the South still await us!

Bye Bye N. NZ!  You've been beautiful! 

Thanks for reading! 

JenniferMarie

Tongariro Alpine Crossing

Tongariro Alpine Crossing, described as the best one-day hike in New Zealand, was the next adventure on the Hillier must do list. Unfortunately, the threat of rain hovered over us while we made our drive down to Whakapapa Holiday Park.  We were able to squeeze in a few activities before the rain started, including a visit to an Alpaca Farm and two hikes; Omaru Falls and Tupapakurua Falls.

Omaru Falls

Keith doing whatever it takes to get the shot!

Keith feeding Fairy.  Fairy was hungry hungry! Pushed all the other Alpacas out of the way! 

Posing... I'm sure Keith has a picture of the actual waterfall at Tupapakurua Falls.  This is all I got! 

By the time we arrived to our campsite it was raining pretty good, so good that Keith got lost on his way back “home” from the shower and became an uninvited guest in someone else’s van. Oh Keith! He claims all of these vacation van rentals look alike. Ha. Luckily the NZ police weren’t called, so we were back to planning our Tongariro tramp.  Yes, tramp.  Apparently it isn’t “hiking” here, but “tramping.”  Keith and I are really enjoying being NZ tramps.  Haha Anyway, the threat of rain was a bit less in the morning hours, so we took the first shuttle out.  We made it the entire 12 miles passing Soda Springs, South Crater, Red Crater, Mt Ngauruhoe (aka Mt Doom!), Mt Tongariro, Emerald Lakes, Central Crater, Blue Lake and Ketetah without needing a rain jacket!  However, if you see a picture of me in a rain jacket, Jen and jacket is not synonymous with rain.  

Mt Doom! 

Red Crater

Emerald Lakes 

Blue Lake

Ketetah Waterfall

Time to relax in the hot springs!

Thanks for reading, 

JenniferMarie