New Zealand Part 3

On Sunday, our final "non-travel" day, we spent some time on the boat again. We started at Furneaux Lodge, a beautiful old lodge. The pictures below are taken there.

 This is where we had some tea at the lodge. Notice Dan and I in our silly hats and boatware. We had to ride in a little small boat to get there after getting out of Dave's boat and it had water in the bottom, so my jeans are rolled up.

 The water is so clear there - look at these rocks.

 We left the lodge and stopped to have a picnic in this cove. Look how beautiful the water is!

 This duck and his friends were our entertainment. They had a hard time eating crackers. They had to let them soak in the water and eat off tiny bits. It made for great entertainment!

 The morning before we left, we looked out the window to see the 2 black swans that swam by every day and Dan got a picture of them. Very majestic!

If you have the chance to go to New Zealand, you definitely should! We loved it!

New Zealand Part 2

After our boat ride on Day Friday, we went back to Chris and Dave's house. Here is the view from their driveway. Breathtaking!

 This is one of many pukekoes who visit their back garden. They feed them bread a couple of times a day. They are funny little birds, a little like chickens, very skittish. Look at how they eat with their funny "hands."

 Then, we went for a walk on Queen Charlotte trail, just down the road from their house. Dave chose to run it - we just hiked.

 View from one spot on the trail.

On the second day, we spent the day in the wine country of Marlborough. We went to several different wineries and had a lovely lunch in one of them. We went to the winery where Dave keeps the barrels for his wine and also went to Dave's vineyard. As you'll see from the pictures, it was beautiful.

 This is Dave and Dan looking at Dave's grapes.

 On the way home, we stopped to see an amazing view of the Sounds!

 This tree is filled with Shags, black and white birds that are very pretty, but destroy trees. Look at their nests below.

Looks like this will need to be a 3 part post. I'll post some more maybe even later today.

New Zealand Trip Part 1

We were lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit our friends, Dave and Chris, at their home in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand. They are near Havelock (where you get the green mussels - yum) and Blenheim, where the airport is. We traveled on New Zealand Air from Sydney to Christchurch and then on to Blenheim. We were on such a small plane and small airport that we could see Dave and Chris in the window of the airport as we were landing! We spent 5 days there (2 really being travel days) and are eager to go back again, and to see more of New Zealand. Chris and Dave were amazing hosts! They entertained us, kept us very well fed, and most importantly, shared great wine under Dave's label. Consider this our tripadvisor recommendation - we give them 5+ stars! Thanks Dave and Chris!

For family and friends who know me well, this is technically my second trip to New Zealand, having just had a business meeting in Queenstown for 1 day (!) the same week. It is also beautiful and I'd like to go back and take Dan there. I've had the chance now to see bits of Queenstown, the cities near Marlborough, Auckland, and Christchurch. Each city looked very different and was beautiful in its own way.

So, what you've all been waiting for - pictures! And, Nate, thanks for pestering me to put up a new post!

This is the view from Chris and Dave's back garden! Beautiful!

On our second day, Dave drove us out to Lochmara Lodge by boat. It is beautiful and we had a wonderful breakfast of eggs with smoked salmon from New Zealand.

Dan and I outside the Lodge.

This is in Picton, where we also went by boat. It was a cloudy day to start, but sure turned into a gorgeous day.

Dan and I in Picton - me being good by wearing a hat to avoid the super-strong sun.

Dan and Dave on the boat.

 This must have been a regatta or some kind of sailboat race we saw on the way home.

 These are some boat docks and small boats near their house.

 The neighbors' sheep!

We'll post some more later. We really enjoyed this trip!