Our North Island Route
Our South Island Route
March 6 - Downtown Auckland (view from Skytower)
March 6 - Skytower View (looking over the edge)
March 7 - Gannet Colony in Takapu
March 7 - Gannet
March 7 - Takapu
March 7 - Takapu Cave
March 8 - Cape Reinga Scenic Airplane Flight
March 8 - Most northern point of North Island - the infamous lighthouse
March 8 - Was down-hill the way to the lighthouse...
March 8 - Giant Sand Dunes Cape Reinga
March 8 - Leslie at the Giant Sand Dunes
March 8 - Te Hapua view from the airplane
March 8 - Paihia
March 11 - Cave on Whitianga boat cruise
March 13 - Hobbiton Tour begins
March 13 - There are 44 facades (holes) but they built 2 actual homes Dec 2023
March 13 - Leslie loved this set
March 13 - One of many. Love the colors
March 13 - Very hilly
March 13 - A familiar sign
March 13 - Shows you the size of these doors
March 13 - Another familiar sign
March 13 - One of two complete homes - just built 4 months ago
March 13 - Not too small
March 13 - Many rooms
March 13 - A view of the kitchen
March 13 - Yet another view
March 13 - Entry
March 14 - Hamilton Gardens
March 14 - Hamilton Gardens: The 'arms' on these treese move albeit slowly
March 14 - Hamilton Gardens: More trees with moving branches
March 14 - Hamilton Gardens
March 14 - Hamilton Gardens
March 14 - Hamilton Gardens
March 14 - Hamilton Gardens pool
March 14 - Hamilton Gardens
March 15 - Rotorua steam beds
March 15 - Rotorua steam beds
March 15 - Rotorua steam beds
March 15 - Rotorua steam beds
March 16 - Huka Falls near Taupo
March 16 - Huka Falls: The boats get as close as possible...giving many a shower
March 16 - Lady Knox Geyser near Taupo. On a daily basis, they add surfactant (a soap-like substance) to induce an eruption. We just missed it.
March 17 - Water falls near Napier
March 18 - Beach in Napier
March 18 -A winery at Hawke's Bay
March 18 - Vineyards in Martinborough
March 19 - Wellington Gardens (we took a wrong turn in the car and ended up driving on this walking path)
March 19 - Continued driving down this path to exit the gardens....the car just fit
March 19 - Wellington Gardens
March 19 - Wellington Gardens
March 19 - Wellington Gardens
March 19 - Wellington Gardens
March 22 - Marahau: Tide is out!
March 23 - Split Apple Rock: south of Marahau
March 24 - Kaikoura at sunrise
March 24 - Kaikoura sunrise
March 24 - Kaikoura: Point Kean Viewpoint (seals)
March 25 - Kaikoura whale watch
March 25 - Leslie at Kaikoura beach
March 24 - Dolphins at Kaikoura
March 24 - Baby seal at Point Kean Viewpoint, Kaikoura
March 26 - We see many of these hedges. In the country, they're 20 feet tall, trimmed square to block the wind
March 28 - Lake Tekapo
March 28 - Church of the Good Shepherd, Lake Tekapo
March 29 - Mt Cook
March 29 - Mt Cook
March 30 - On our way to Dunedin
March 30 - Moeraki Boulders Beach (north of Dunedin)
March 30 - Moeraki Boulders
March 31 - Albatross - Dunedin
March 31 - Seal pup Dunedin cruise
March 31 - Yellow-Eyed penguins - very rare
March 31 - Yellow-Eyed penguins
April 3 - To Queenstown
April 3 - To Queenstown
April 3 - Takahe birds: only 500 in existence in South Island
April 3 - Takahe close-up
April 6 - Lake Wanaka shoreline - love the fall colors
April 6 - 'That Wanaka Tree': very popular photo shoot
April 6 - 'Long White': a very popular coffee in New Zealand (they love their coffee)
April 6 - Lake Wanaka
April 6 - More Lake Wanaka
April 7 - On our way to Franz Josef
April 7 - On our way to Franz Josef
April 8 - Franz Josef Glacier (7 miles long, 980 feet deep)
April 8 - Franz Josef Glacier
April 8 - How we arrived on Franz Josef Glacier
April 8 - Franz Josef Glacier
April 9 - Punakaiki Pancake Rocks
April 9 - Punakaiki Pancake Rocks
April 10 - TranzAlpine train ride to Christchurch