We say our farewell to New Zealand with a sumptuous meal at the Hermitage, Mt. Cook and next morning journey on to Christchurch airport, 250 miles away. As we drive along the winding roads through many valleys and over countless mountains and pass the sheep stations, we can't leave the country without mentioning the possum. Yes, we mean the furry little creature like a stoat or a ferret. They are everywhere on North and South Island—both alive and dead (on the ...

Wed. 2 Mar. A leisurely breakfast and then we pack up and head out for our drive up through the center of the South Island to Aoraki Mt. Cook, the highest peak in the country at 12,360 feet. It is a long drive mainly across a vast plain ringed with mountains. Many, many sheep, almost no people, towns or other cars. We arrive late afternoon after skirting several lakes and one very long, wide river that had been dammed. The Hermitage is a massive resort at the foo...

We followed the east coast up to the Moeraki Boulders, a unique geological curiosity. They are almost perfectly spherical, some 13 feet in circumference, and lie scattered along a remote stretch of the beach. Next stop was Shag Point, where a small colony of rare yellow-eyed penguins can sometimes be seen. Try as we might, we weren't able to catch sight of them, probably it was a bit too early in the afternoon for them to be feeding. We did see a great number of ...

Sunday 27 Feb. Up at the crack of dawn to catch the early ferry back to the mainland. We have a leisurely drive ahead, mainly following the southeastern coast, through a scenic area called the Catlins, up to Dunedin. We make a couple of stops along the way at beaches and also in a small town for a bite to eat, choosing the Lumberman Café, which turns out to provide more than decent food, at good prices (did we mention how expensive everything seems in this count...

Friday, 25 Feb. Today we drive to the extreme southern point of the South Island, catching a ferry across the Foveaux Strait (20 miles) to Stewart Island. A long drive ahead, moving down out of the mountains, takes us through farmland almost all the way to Invercargill. We pass one sheep station (New Zealand farm) after another. By now, we must have seen a million sheep, Glenna's been counting them to help her go to sleep! This has become the most familiar view w...