New Zealand has long held a special place in my heart. I went there as a 4-H exchange student when I was 16, and returned with my husband, Scott, nine years later. I kept in touch with two farm families I stayed with, and have enjoyed some of their visits to California.
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We went to Australia for a month, then New Zealand for a month, then finished with four days near the Great Barrier Reef back in Australia before heading to Indonesia. That’s why these two travel posts are so close together. Future ones will likely be about once a month, as we continue this globe-circling adventure.
In New Zealand, our route started in Christchurch on the South Island, where we picked up a crappy camper van. We spent two frigid, wet nights in the leaky, broken lime-green Jucy van until we switched gears and traded it in for a car. We had to make an unplanned trip to Queenstown to do this. Then we found lodging in Haast, Hokitika, Nelson and Blenheim before taking a ferry to the North Island. Up north, we stayed in windy Wellington, Hawkes Bay, Lake Taupo, Cambridge, Whangarei and Auckland.
All of these photos and videos are mine, shown in the order they were taken, starting on the South Island. Tip: If you see three dots at the end of the email, it means it’s truncated. Click on “View entire message” to continue.
The Southern Alps on the South Island of New Zealand could be seen on our flight from Melbourne, Australia, to Christchurch, NZ, on Sept. 28.
ABOVE: Christchurch is a gorgeous city that had to rebuild after a magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit in 2011. This shot was taken in the city’s botanical gardens. BELOW: A blue penguin builds a nest under a boat in Oamaru. They come to shore at nighttime to do this.
Oamaru is home to a steampunk museum. This was one of the trippy rooms.
Downtown Oamaru had some interesting buildings.
The sun sets over Oamaru Harbour. Yes, the water is that blue.
A dock on Oamaru Harbour.
OK, one last image from Oamaru Harbour. My adult sons are probably saying, “There’s another of Mom’s photos of colorful boats.”
The view from Steamer Wharf in Queenstown. This place reminded me of Lake Tahoe, especially the cold temperatures in early spring.
We stopped in Mount Aspiring National Park on our drive from Queenstown to Haast.
Hokitika Gorge was gorgeous! All of the water was this color.
The beach in Hokitika has several wood sculptures.
Rolling green hills filled with livestock are a common sight in New Zealand. We saw these and got the next several shots on our drive from Hokitika to Nelson.
We walked along the Maitai River in Nelson.
Moss on a tree at the Brook Waimarama Sanctuary in Nelson. The sanctuary is like a mini Jurassic Park. They’ve eliminated non-native species as much as possible.
Blenheim is in the Marlborough region, known for its sauvignon blanc wines. Here’s a view from the Wither Hills Winery tasting room. Their wine wasn’t bad, either.
Vineyards and hills in Marlborough.
Marlborough vineyards and hills in the other direction.
On to the North Island, here’s a scene from the Wellington Botanic Garden. Wellington is the country’s capital city.
ABOVE: Two orphan lambs at the farm owned by my friends Richard and Helen of Hawkes Bay. I’ve known the family since I was 16. FIRST VIDEO BELOW: We visited Richard’s brother Ian at his holiday home near Lake Taupo. He and his partner Heather took us to Huka Falls. SECOND VIDEO BELOW: Craters of the Moon is a geothermal area near Lake Taupo.
Blue Springs were recently reopened to the public after being closed to recover from tourist abuse. It’s not far from Hobbiton.
ABOVE and BELOW: Hobbiton is the movie set where “The Hobbit” and parts of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy were filmed. Our tour included a pint of ale at the Green Dragon Inn, shown, (after our second breakfast, of course).
Whangarei Falls. The city wasn’t our favorite but it had some nice spots like this.
Auckland was our final NZ destination before flying to Cairns, Australia. Here’s the harbour, with swim lanes. There’s also a diving platform. The Sky Tower (similar to Seattle’s Space Needle) lights up neon colors at night.
