This land is Fiordland, this land is my land (...and other Westland wonders)

It's been almost a week since our last post, and boy, have we been busy. We started last weekend with a sunrise dive to stunning Milford Sound. The drive was gorgeous, but the sound (actually a fjord) has weather all its own, but our nature cruise was as still spectacular in the rain - dolphins swimming and playing alongside the boat, fur seals sunning themselves, and albatrosses being albatrosses. Oh, and there were literally hundreds of waterfalls as rains poured down the valley walls.

Weather continued to be dreary the next day, so filled our faces with more glorious Fergburgers in Queenstown and ventured westward over Haast pass, via the GATES OF HAAST, alongside cliffs and canyons and more waterfalls. The clouds parted as we approached the Tasman Sea, as we got our first glimpse of snow-capped Mt. Cook from the road. Very exciting.

We spent the night alongside Lake Paringa and caught an unbelievable sunset and sunrise on the lake tucked between mountains. We explored 'Glacier Country' for the next couple days by land and sky. Sky? Yes, sky. That means Owen jumped out of a plane at 16000 ft over a glacier, rainforest and sea, within sight (and above) the country's tallest peak. Ashley took some amazing pictures, with her feet firmly planted on stable ground (we'll share pictures later). Franz Josef and Fox glaciers were fun to check out up close, and Ashley did her best park ranger impression.

We headed north from there along the coast to some cute towns, including Hokutika, land of the Greenstone (jade, or Pounamu), and perused some local crafts. We caught another amazing sunset just north of Greymouth before hunkering down for the night in Punakaiki, 'Land of Pancake Rocks and Blowholes'. It was as advertised.

Today, we continued our travels northward, which included a stop at a fur seal colony, river gorge, and countless mountain
passes, before settling down for the night along Golden Bay at Pahora Beach. We hope to check out Nelson, Queen Charlotte Sound, and Kaikoura before dropping the campervan off in Christchurch on Sunday. It's gone by way too fast, but we're excited to be back in native soil next Wednesday.

Remarkable Remarkables

We made it down to the South Island yesterday and picked up our campervan from Escape in Christchurch. We made a friend named Krispy and he helped us pick out a hot ride, called the 'Queen Bee'. It's pink. And purple. With some really weird bee graffiti art. We drove south a couple hours from there and stayed the night at a camper park on Lake Tekapo. It was pouring rain all night but when we woke up, the view over the lake reminded us we were in one of the most picturesque areas in the world. We hit the road again and a few hours later found ourselves in Queenstown. We watched some bungy jumpers bungy and then got lunch at the famous Fergburger. The burgers were bigger than our heads and we stuffed our face. Mmmm, fergers. Weather's supposed to be great tomorrow, so we drove a couple more hours to Te Anau for the night, within striking distance of Milford Sound, where we booked a boat tour bright and early in the morning.

Here are a few pictures of our new home for the next 10 days, and some of the scenery so far.

Anzac Weekend Part II: Geothermal Wonderland and Cathedral Cove Beach

Our weekend continued on Saturday, following the Mt. Doom shenanigans, as we tried to relax and recoup in Taupo with some easy uber-touristy activities. 

We started off Saturday morning at Huka Falls on the Waikato River, which drains Lake Taupo and is responsible for generating 15% of the country's energy.

Good map.

Good weather. The falls are 30 meters wide and run between sheer cliffs of rock.

NATURE'S FURY!!!

You can go on a jetboat ride to get a closer look for like $120 NZD. We opted for stadium seating and a view from the trail.

Monkeys would love this place.

We saw some Tui (a native bird that has a distinctive white ball on its chin) on the trail. They get much harder to spot when you get the big camera out. Huntin' Tui.

Nature.

When nature really calls.

This is not the Super-Loo, but rather, our next stop on the tourist trail - Wai-o-tapo Geothermal Wonderland Park!! Costs $30 to get in, but the smells are free! The region north of Lake Taupo and surrounding Rotorua is part of a volcanic caldera, and home to one of the largest active collections of geothermal features anywhere in the world. Yellowstone has a few more geysers, but New Zealand's got it beat on the hot spring front.

This one's called the "Artist's Palette."

So much sulfur!!!

The champagne pool is over 60 meters deep and 80 degrees celsius! (It's the one steaming in the distance here) And anyone who's paid the price of admission can walk right up to it.

Look, mom, no guardrails!

Really clear signage clearly distinguished the trail from hazardous features.

The sulfur caves get their color from crystallized sulfur that cools on the rock above steam vents.

We took sanctuary from the smell on a native bush walk.

And then went back out to check out the Champagne Pool up close.

No one vommed.

Hopped back in the car, and headed up to Rotorua, which also smells quite a lot like geothermals. We took a few pictures then continued north.

Detail of a Maori war canoe (reproduction).

Settled down for the night in Whangmata, but here's sunset at Waihi Beach.

Sunday, we drove up to Cathedral Cove, one of the most pictured beaches in the country. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Waterfall!

That's all for a bit. We're off to the South Island today and won't have a computer, but I'll try to get on with my phone and post every few days with updates. See you all back in AA on May 15th!