New Zealand, 2020

T minus 20 to Kiwi FruitFebruary 8, 2020
It is that time again. Another travel adventure for Susanne and Roger. This time we are heading back to New Zealand — one of our favorite places on the planet. I would move there in a heartbeat for all sorts of reasons that have nothing to do with a stupid guy whose last name startsContinue reading “T minus 20 to Kiwi Fruit”
T minus 15: The Adventure BeginsFebruary 8, 2020
Well, we are still 15 days away from heading out and already the adventure has begun. As mentioned in the previous post we were going to do a 3-day, 2-night hut-to-hut trip on the Routeburn track. We were both very excited about it and working to get ourselves healthy and in shape to be readyContinue reading “T minus 15: The Adventure Begins”
T minus 1!February 22, 2020
T minus 1! Always an exciting time just before you leave on a big trip. Going to New Zealand is always exciting for me and takes me back to when I was 19 and spent a year traveling all over the Pacific including hitchhiking around New Zealand for 3 months. We got up early yesterday,Continue reading “T minus 1!”
We Have Liftoff!February 24, 2020
T minus 0! and we have set a new all time record for showing up early to our flight. Normally, I hate to waste time sitting around in the airport waiting for my flight, but today, we were both pretty excited about the trip and a bit worried about the Sunday afternoon LA traffic, soContinue reading “We Have Liftoff!”
Touchdown!February 25, 2020
We made it! After hanging out in the LAX lounge for way too long, we got piled on to the plane and girded ourselves for the long flight. The seat configuration was very different than what we had experienced on American business to Australia. The American business seats were much more pod-like; these seats wereContinue reading “Touchdown!”
Twizzle TwizelFebruary 27, 2020
We both ended sleeping quite well for the first night of the trip. We had a very nice dinner at the restaurant near the hotel that had a great view. It solidified the decision to not take the water taxi into Queenstown. We both were a bit tired so we ended up crashing at 9.Continue reading “Twizzle Twizel”
Tour de CanterburyFebruary 27, 2020
We again slept well! Yeah! I know that it makes me sound like an old person having to recount the excitement of sleeping well, but it is a good thing…..and yes I am old. Damn, how did that happen? The house has a myriad of coffee making devices. The espresso machine looked complicated and afterContinue reading “Tour de Canterbury”
Not soaked to a SquishyFebruary 28, 2020
As much as you are all waiting to hear, I will forgo any discussion about the quality of my sleep last night. But, I can tell you that it rained pretty hard. The storm was here. It is ironic that Susanne’s sister, Anita, and her husband Peter happen to be touring New Zealand at theContinue reading “Not soaked to a Squishy”
Culinary OverdriveFebruary 29, 2020
Happy leap day everyone! Today was our day to say our goodbyes to Twizel and head south about 2 hours to Wanaka — one of my favorite spots in New Zealand and home to a lot of dead heads and patchouli. It is also just awe-inspiringly beautiful. We hung around the house enjoying our coffeeContinue reading “Culinary Overdrive”
Two types of trailsMarch 1, 2020
There are two types of trails that you can hike in this part of New Zealand. Those that go straight up and those that go straight down. Inevitably you have to hike both types to do any hike at all here. After a very decadent and some may even call it gluttonous dinner last night,Continue reading “Two types of trails”
Emotional Support HumansMarch 2, 2020
Susanne slept in late today. And we lounged around having coffee. I was working on the blog from yesterday and then the next thing you know it was pushing 10 am and we had to hustle to get packed up and checked out. It was a very nice couple of days in Wanaka; I reallyContinue reading “Emotional Support Humans”
Rain day?March 3, 2020
After a wonderful dinner and a few too many glasses of Otago Pinot Noir, we were all a bit slow getting the morning started, which was ok because it was raining really hard. It looked like it was going to be our first true rain day of the trip. The view from the house wasContinue reading “Rain day?”
Up, up, and awayMarch 5, 2020
I had been watching the weather for weeks trying to find the perfect weather day to go flight seeing. Wednesday was the day. The front had blown through yesterday and when we got up in the morning the weather was looking really good. The temperature had dropped significantly so it was quite chilly. In 2011,Continue reading “Up, up, and away”
RIPMarch 6, 2020
It was a long day but a good one. We got up relatively early because we were going to drive down to Manapouri and do the Doubtful Sound cruise. It really is an all-day affair with 4.5 hrs of driving and about 6 hours touring the Sound. Nobody was very happy we had to setContinue reading “RIP”
Magic MushroomsMarch 7, 2020
Today we were just going to hang around Queenstown after our long day down to Doubtful Sound yesterday. Jason and Cynthia wanted to go kayaking. I needed to find a camera store to replace my now sleeping-quietly-at-the-bottom polarizer. After lazing about all morning we drove out to a camera store by the airport. No luck.Continue reading “Magic Mushrooms”
Transit DayMarch 8, 2020
Today was the end of our journey on the South Island and we are making our way all the way up to the far northern portion of the North Island. The morning started with a lovely sunrise that lit up the sky over the Remarkables. There is no question as to why they got theirContinue reading “Transit Day”
Life’s a BeachMarch 8, 2020
Today was a day to just hang and chill at the beach. Taupo Bay is a beautiful little sandy beach with a great place to swim in the ocean. The waves were small (1 to 2 feet) so it was not going to be great surfing. I called John the house manager to come overContinue reading “Life’s a Beach”
Fade to GrayMarch 9, 2020
Today the weather was looking dicey, but we have had such good luck we were optimistic it would get better. We decided we would make the long drive out to Cape Reinga to check out the sites and do a hike along the coast. I was excited to get back there since the last timeContinue reading “Fade to Gray”
ShreddingMarch 10, 2020
Today was a low key day of just hanging out at this beautiful little beach. We had the usual lounging about having breakfast and coffee and watching a beautiful sunrise. It was partly cloudy but pleasant, so I decided to pull out the snorkeling gear and go and see what I could see. I setContinue reading “Shredding”
Rays and ViewsMarch 12, 2020
The weather today was a partly cloudy with a sign of improvement. The waves at the beach were almost non-existent in the morning. The tide has been very high due to the full moon, so after breakfast I put on the snorkeling gear and headed out to see what I could see. The visibility wasContinue reading “Rays and Views”
Mild case of discomfortMarch 13, 2020
I didn’t sleep well. The whole Coronavirus thing coupled with the lunacy of our current completely inept president and his administration had me on edge. I finally got out of bed around 5:30 am and just hung out in the living room listening to waves gently breaking on the shore. I made the mistake ofContinue reading “Mild case of discomfort”
BLEMarch 15, 2020
In Flagstaff, there was a guy named Nate Avery who had a saying “Best Life Ever.” He had a love of the outdoors and life in general. Sadly, he died young, but the phrase persists and is a good mantra for all of us to consider. Our favorite trail in Buffalo Park, the main loop,Continue reading “BLE”
Hunkered DownMarch 17, 2020
Well, our trip is officially over. The last couple of days got really stressful, but overall it was a wonderful trip and my love of New Zealand has not diminished in the least. We got up and drove back to Flagstaff. You could just feel that the world was shutting down. There was almost noContinue reading “Hunkered Down”