We are surprised at how different the landscape looks this year. When we were here in 2009, it was early spring. It was cool and rainy and very, very green. Now it is exceptionally hot and dry and the hillsides are brown. There are water restrictions and the farmers (and their sheep) are suffering the effects of the drought.   We left Christchurch after a quick stop at The Warehouse because one of us forgot to pack his underwear. The 75 kilometer drive to ...

We are off on our great adventure to New Zealand. This will be our second visit, but this time we will only visit the South Island. We are looking forward to five weeks in this beautiful country.Traveling from Colorado to NZ is not easy on old folks, but we know it will be worth it. We had an 8 hour layover in LA and then a 13 hour flight to Auckland. Then, we had another 90 minute layover during which we walked to a different terminal to board the flight to C...

We were sad to wake to rain this morning but enjoyed watching the “Breakfast Show,” NZ’s version of “The Today Show.” We will miss Paul and Phippa. Paul is a riot, definitely not PC. Phippa tries, but fails, to keep him in line.Happily the rain stopped at noon, so we headed outside. Bob’s fishing buddies from yesterday walked by, so he went to watch the torpedo head out to sea. He joined them again later in the day when they ...

It was a beautiful morning in Russell, but we had miles to go…… Today was our last long distance driving day of this trip. We took the vehicle ferry from Okiato Point to Opua and then drove north to the town of Paihia which is just across the bay from Russell. Paihia is a popular base camp for tourists visiting the Bay of Islands, and there are many hotels and restaurants. Just north of Paihia is the Treaty House in Waitangi which was the setting for ...

This morning swimmers were gathering on the beach for the Ocean Swim, a race from the shore of Russell across to the shore of Pahia, a 3.2km swim. The water is cold so the swimmers all had wet suits.We took a half-day narrated cruise from Russell through the Bay of Islands (a maritime and historic park named by Captain Cook). We saw a group of playful dolphins engaged in adult activities. Then we went out to the Cape Brett lighthouse and Piercy Island, which is k...