Traveling from the west coast to the east was very exciting.Arthur's Pass goes over the Southern Alps with many hairpin twists and turns and views that take your breath away.I almost could not believe the beauty and the scenes that appeared one minute after the next.I kept stopping to take photos, hoping to capture what I was seeing but, of course, when I looked at the photos later—all I could think was that was not really what I saw.My camera does not begin t...

We arrived in Franz Josef on Friday and stayed in a small motel called the Franz Chalet.It was step above a hostel and, actually, it had all that one would want.Franz Josef is the name of the glacier that we were going to climb the next day and EVERYONE in the town was there for that reason.New Zealand seems to be a haven for people younger than me and the more I travel around the more I see that.This was especially true here in Franz Josef. We checked in th...

We decided to leave Kaiteriteri and travel a day earlier towards our next destination.So off we went to get from the northeastern portion of the South Island and travel through the mountains to the west coast.Ah, the West Coast—I think that west coasts all over the world offer something really unique (at least the west coasts that I know) and, from what we have heard the west coast of New Zealand is really something to behold. Our journey, indeed, was in...

Today was a full day of adventure and exploration.We left our accommodation and boarded a shuttle ship to travel up the coast along the Abel Tasman National Park.Abel Tasman is the most accessible and the most visited national park in New Zealand.We first cruised up the coast for 2 ½ hours from Kaiteriteri to Totaranui and then back down to the Tonga Quarry.Enroute we saw incredible landscapes of pine trees, granite, marble and limestone hills, beautiful azur...

We arrived in Kaiteriteri last night and found our way to the Kimi Ora Spa, where we are staying.We spent this morning exploring the beautiful grounds of this place—the nature is abundant and the consciousness with how it is laid out is superb.All aspects have been carefully planned and wonderfully executed.Lovely dining room, incredible and intricate trails through the woods, the aquatic area with indoor/outdoor pool and each chalet has a wonderful view of t...