Wednesday - Hike, Bike, Swim, & Queenstown

Wednesday - Another busy day!

We woke up in our tents (I was SO cold), had breakfast, packed up, and hiked out of the Siberia Wilderness.  It took us about 2 1/2 hours to hike out.  We were met by a Jet Boat that took us back to Makarora.  It was a fun jet boat ride - he zoomed around the river really fast and did 360's.  

Once back to Makarora, we had lunch, met up with the rest of the group that didn't want to spend the night in a hut or tent (the older people), and then we drove to Hawea where we were given bikes to ride.  

We rode 10 miles from Hawea to Wanaka.  

We stopped along the way to swim in a river.  

It felt SO refreshing because it was SO hot outside.

Dad didn't really want to go swimming so I took matters

into my own hands - and threw him in!

 I knew he would appreciate it once he was in -  because it was so refreshing!

After the bike ride, we drove into Queenstown where we were taken to our hotel:  Crowne Plaza (a nice hotel).  

We are now on our own until Friday morning when we will meet back up with our Guides for breakfast that morning.

Tuesday - Siberia

Aaaahhh Tuesday - a very busy day!

We drove to Makarora and took a 4 passenger plane up into the Siberia Wilderness in the Mt. Aspiring National Park. (we were the last 4 people to get there which was fine with me because once you got there, there were these sand flies that bite you and we got a lot of bites).

We were supposed to sleep in the Siberia Wilderness Hut but we opted to stay in this tent because there were about 20 people staying in the hut that night.

We went for a hike for lunch but ended up continuing the hike up to Lake Crucible.  Well, we almost made it there - we hiked a very long time, and knew that if we continued on to the Lake we wouldn't make it back to the hut until after dark.  So, we made it to the bottom of the crater - that was good enough for me!  It was very steep!!!

This is what Lake Crucible looks like from the airplane - it's mostly ice!

A great day!

When we got back to the hut it was about 8:15pm and dinner was ready for us.

We had stir fry and for dessert:  "Tim Tam Slam" (its a New Zealand specialty).

We slept in the tent and I FROZE in the night.  I guess I didn't realize when you sleep in a mummy bag you need to zip it up all the way.  

Oh well, live and learn!

Monday - Franz Josef Glacier / Haast

Monday was cool.  We paid a little extra to do the Heli-Hike up to the Franz Josef Glacier.  We took a Helicopter ride up (very beautiful).  He hiked around for about 2 hours with a guide - very cool place 

& we got some cool pictures.

That was DEFINITELY one of the Highlights of the trip for us!

After the Glacier hike we had lunch, then did another hike called the Franz Josef Glacier Walk.  It was pretty flat and a very easy walk.

After the walk, we drove the rest of the way to a town called Haast where we stayed at a hotel called:  "Heartland Hotel World Heritage - Haast"  It was a real hotel with a bed & bathroom in the room.

For dinner tonight, we ate in the pub:  Fish-n-chips -  

(we ate this dinner quite alot on this trip).

Active New Zealand Tour

Sunday we were picked up at our hotel by ACTIVE NEW ZEALAND - the tour company we are using for our tour of the South Island.  

The tour we did was called "The Tui"

It is a week long tour (Sunday to Sunday).  They picked us up at 9:30am and we drove all the way from Christchurch (on the east coast) 

to Okarito (on the west coast).

On the drive to the west coast, our first stop was at some really big rocks called "castle hill".  We were told that this is where part of "the Hobbit" was filmed.  It was a cool area.  We hiked around there for a bit.

Then we did another hike at "Devils punch bowl waterfall" 

in "Arthurs Pass"

Very beautiful area, when we were done with the hike we were 

served lunch in a park.

Back to the van for the rest of our drive - we did stop for a bit in Hokatika and I bought a beautiful Jade Necklace that was made from New Zealand Jade -

Then on to Okarito - We stayed at the Okarito Beach House

(it's like a house and everyone has their own bedroom and bathroom, then you eat in the dining room).

This is a view of the bedroom we had at the Okarito Beach House

The VERY big table we ate dinner & breakfast at, 

we need this size table at the Cabin!

Christchurch

In Auckland, we saw this sign:

And we didn't know what Busking was.  We figured it meant no playing guitars in public.  We found out later on once we got to Christchurch what it meant.

CHRISTCHURCH

After Auckland, we caught a flight down to Christchurch in the south island.  We are staying at a little motel (there are hundreds of them), called:  Merivale Manor Motel.  It's cute and they are within walking distance 

of the many things to see.

As you know, Christchurch suffered a huge earthquake last year and they are rebuilding.  They had to tear down 900 buildings that had suffered the quake and it's taken a long time to rebuild the city.

So, we walked around this town, and then we saw some signs for a Buskers Festival that night in the park.  

We had to go and find out what Busking was all about.

 This guy did a show that was really stupid - he took a broom and made it dance with sticks.  Hard to explain.  But it was so stupid we finally left.

This show, Bob drug me to.  He said it was gonna be SO great.  Devil Dan.

We went into the tent with about 25 other people, and watched this guy as he demonstrated his talent with a paddle / ball.  (you know, where the ball is attached to a paddle by an elastic string and you hit the ball with the paddle). 

It was REALLY stupid.

But, we found out through watching different shows, that Busking is nothing but street entertaining.

This was the Buskers World Festival and they had people from all over.  We saw 2 shows with guys from Denver, Colorado.  Not sure where other performers were from, but it's definitely an eye-opener! For sure!

That was our big day in Christchurch - the next day we begin our week long adventure with Active New Zealand.

New Zealand 2013

For those of you interested in our New Zealand trip we just took, I'm going to update my blog with information and pictures about our trip.  In a nut shell, it was GREAT!  We were gone a total of 15 nights and went to Auckland (north island), and then most of the south island.  On our way home, we also stayed a few nights in Tahiti (but that's at the end of the blog).

The beginning:  Auckland, New Zealand.  We were there only one and a half days.  But that was enough to see Auckland.

 This is a good view of the sky line from the water -

This is taken from our balcony - it looks fake - but, it's real!

and we took it before the cruise ship came in to port.

 The views atop Glen Eden Hill (360 degree views)  Beautiful!

This is a Doggie Doo - you lift the lid (head) and dispose of the doo -

We went out on the America's Cup sailing boat:

This was a working boat - what we're doing is called grinding -

Our hotel is on the right - the Hilton Auckland Hotel -

When we checked in, they warned us that in the morning a cruise ship would be docked right outside our balcony so make sure to close your curtains.  At 6am it pulled up and they weren't kidding - it was right next to our room and it was a massive ship, as you can see.

We enjoyed Auckland, but were looking really forward to our week in the 

South Island with 

Active New Zealand - the tour company that we will be spending 

the next week with.

UPDATE!!

Wow! It's been such a long time since I updated this blog (4 months).
There have been so many things to blog about.
I'd better get started.....
First of all, Teri & James had their beautiful baby boy, Ryan Matthew, on the 4th of July.  What a great day for a birthday!  And he is such a good little boy.  I hope they realize how lucky they are.

Second, Bob & I flew to Amsterdam and spent a few days there.  It is such a beautiful city.  We went to the Anne Frank House and got to walk around the rooms that her family was hidden in.  That was an incredible feeling!  Then we got to take a bicycle ride into the countryside with an organized tour group.  It was fun and great to be able to see the countryside and how beautiful it is.


















After Amsterdam, we flew to Africa and went on an AFRICAN SAFARI.  WOW!  What an experience that was!  Definitely a trip of a lifetime!
We were on the Safari for 5 days and then we flew over to an island called Zanzibar which is on the coast of Tanzania (it's actually part of Tanzania).

That was quite the experience also.  We took a tour of the city, and then a spice tour.  We saw where Freddie Mercury (Queen) was born.  (Definitely a highlight)!!

And then I flew home.

As I was in the Kilimanjaro Airport getting ready to board my flight for Los Angeles, Ryan and Joe were just arriving at the same airport for an adventure of their own.  One that I decided not to participate in.

Bob, Ryan, and Joe spent the next week climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.  The summit's elevation is 19,340 feet.  That didn't sound like anything I'd like to do.  But, those 3 guys saw a challenge and wanted to conquer it.  And they did.  They even did it one day quicker than they had originally planned.  Which was a good thing because the boys were able to go on their own "mini safari".  And they were also able to witness what life is like in Arusha.

It was quite the experience for all of us.  I sure do love traveling.  It really gives you a flavor of how people live around the world.  And let me just say this; i've never seen poverty like I saw in Tanzania.  It's amazing to me how the people can live in those circumstances.  We take so much for granted.  Things like having a washer and dryer.  Those people was their clothes by hand.

It sure does make you appreciate what we've been so blessed with.