NZ

So, the weather was on the wet and cold side, we spent around 65+ hours on a plane/car/airport, and one of our most anticipated activities was cancelled. And, yet, we had one of our favorite trips ever. We loved New Zealand and would go back in a heartbeat.

I couldn't pick a blog-appropriate number of photos, so I put my favorites on Picasa.

New Zealand

Queenstown

We have absolutely loved Queenstown. It is a small mountain town on a beautiful lake. Reminds me of Jackson Hole or Park City. The mountains are stunning. We were scheduled to go on a flight/hike/boat ride, but there was an absolute downpour which shot those plans. Instead we saw some amazing waterfalls and went on a hike in the rain. We almost went to a movie, but luckily it cleared up and we rented a boat and drove around the lake. It was gorgeous.

This morning we went on a jet boat ride. Google jet boats. They are crazy. They can go in 10 cm of water, and they fly. We zipped down a tight canyon, sure we were going to crash. It was truly thrilling.

We are now starting a 5 hour drive to Milford Sound where we go on our cruise and hopefully get our dolphin experience....

We miss you, Amelia!

New Zealand observations

They offer two types of milk: trim and regular
If you are flying domestic there is no security. It is wonderful. I forgot how easy flying can be. You check yourself in, print your luggage tags, place your bags on the conveyer and walk in. 5 minutes, tops. 
Native New Zealanders really are called kiwis. 
April 10th was the first day in three months that Dolphin EcoTours did not find dolphins to swim with. At least we had a nice 5 hour boat ride...
New Zealand is the most "green" country I have ever visited. 
I can count on one hand (and I've been counting) the number of fat people I've seen. Haven't seen one obese person yet. Must be all that trim milk. 
The airport in Picton is a house. The living room is converted into a check-in area. The landing strip runs parallel to their driveway/road.  No checking ID, just take off when all 12 passengers are there. And feel free to use your cell phone.  
The people, as a whole, are incredibly friendly and laid back. Kiwi hospitality. Love it.  
Wellington feels like a cross between San Francisco and Seattle.

We are having a great time so far. We are headed to Queenstown today, where we will meet up with our friend Justin.

Cheers!
   

Kia ora

We made it. 24 hours of relatively easy traveling. We chilled in the sky lounge, had an empty seat between us, watched movies and slept. Pretty great. We even saw Pauly Shore at LAX. I honestly thought he was a crazy, high, homeless person when we first saw him. I may have been wrong about the homeless bit...

We are now in Wellington.  From the airport it looks quite charming. We're waiting to take a puddle jumper to Picton, and then a boat through the Marlborough Sound. Should be fun.

Thanks for the book recs. I brought Book One of The Hunger Games and The Help.  Hunger Games has proven to be a great travel read. The only downside is that the rest of the series isn't available as an iBook so I'll have to wait until I get home to finish the series.

Thanks to all the people taking care of Ella. I am a lucky, lucky girl to be able to do this. I love and appreciate you.





ps--Ryan is blogging, too. Bike.ella7.com. (at least I think that's the address....)