Last Day in Auckland

Collect luggage from Gayleen, move to hotel, collapse, rest, beer...

Air NZ flight to Auckland

Air NZ flight to Auckland

Day in Christchurch

Day in Christchurch, sell car

Drive to Christchurch

Drive to Christchurch - 4 hours (from Franz J – 5 hours – all day via Great Alpine Hwy)

Hike Franz J Glacier

Hike Franz J glacier (or hike to Franz J)

Franz Josef

Morning in Queenstown, drive to Franz Josef (4.5 hrs)

Milford Track

Milford Track 12/22 to 12/25

Happy Birthday Lucy!!!!

Merry Christmas to all!!!!


drive to Queenstown

Drive to Te Anau

Drive to Te Anau, go to DOC, grocery shop – spend night

Tour Catlins, finish at Invercargill

Tour Catlins, finish at Invercargill

Dunedin toward Invercargill

Dunedin toward Invercargill (tour Catlins) Curio Bay, McLean falls, Castle rock

Christchurch to Dunedin

Christchurch to Dunedin (5 hours) –Moeraki Boulders? tour Dunedin/Otago Peninsula (Penguin Place – 5:15 pm; 45 min from Dunedin; also visit Royal Albatross Center?) –

Whale watching

Whale watching in Kaikoura then drive to Christchurch

Ferry to Picton

Ferry to Picton (8:25 am), then drive to Kaikoura

Drive to Wellington

Drive to Wellington\

Tongariro Crossing – Plateau Lodge

Today....a busy schedule.

Zorb

We'll attempt to Zorb--google it!

, then drive to Tongariro National Park – Plateau Lodge

Car Ferry to Auckland

Today we say farewell to Waiheke Island. We'll leave our luggage at Gayleen's place and start our final NZ tour.

Today We Packed and Cleaned the House

Ate what was in the fridge.

Drank the beer and wine.

Tomorrow we move out.

Kids Finished with school

Benjamin and Emily left school today and so we start packing and cleaning.

The car auction closed, a couple from France will phone about arrangements.

From the awards program, sort of ...

Christmas on Waiheke

Ferries toot, are you listening?
At Palm Beach, the waves are glistening
Our barbeque feast, ready to eat
Christmas on Waiheke Wonderland

...

At Oneroa we can play some beach sports
Tag, volleyball or touch
Pohutukawa branches give us some shade
Christmas on our island is too much!

Later on, we'll perspire
Who the heck, made a fire?
Family's in sight, we're happy tonight
Christmas on our island wonderland



Cheers,
Terry

Last Ferry to Auckland

We did this today! All the blog posts are up!

We took our last family trip to Auckland today. I'll go in twice more to backup my data and close out my office at Uni. Lucy, Emily, and Benjamin will not go back again.

My Delaware shirt lead a former Pennsylvannian to chat with us and offer to take our photo as the ferry passed Rangitoto.

We had a lovely day for this last family visit.

We went to Kelly Tarleton's undersea world too.

For 9 photos and 1 video, click here.

Missed/Not Missed

Lucy shot these photos to show things we will and won't miss from our visit here.



Not missed item: single sink kitchens with non-mixing hot and cold spigots.

See more here.

Strong Current, Large Waves, Unstable Cliffs, Submerged Rocks, Swim between Markers, Almost Certain Death, Enjoy Your Beach

We had to take the car over to North Island and drive to Piha Beach, the famous black sand beach.

Earlier that week we watched the local reality show: Piha Beach Rescue.

They rescue people early and often. When we got there, we could see why. The surf was the roughest we've ever seen. We didn't bring our suits.

The sand was strange; like walking on talcum powder. No discomfort or grinding feeling as we walked barefoot. Even with our shoes and socks on with sand stuck to our feet, no discomfort.

See 23 photos here.

Thanksgiving--New Zealand Style

Two photos here

We passed on the NZ$55 Turkey--the size of a big chicken--and skipped any Thanksgiving feast. With the summery weather we weren't in the mood.

The kids were in school and I worked from the house.

Lucy talked me into walking to the beach and getting in the water. I waded, she went swimming.

P.S. They get large, affordable Turkeys here for Christmas feast. We'll be on the road then, so we'll skip that too.

Cheers.

Waiheke Island in Summer

The Pohutukawa trees are blooming. Summer has come to Waiheke.

Nine photos here

Rangitoto Island

We stood on this lava flow, but not for long. The sun heats the rough black rock and makes the island a hot place to tramp. Take a lot of water.

We visited the 500-700 year old island for a hiking day.

16 photos here

Sky Tower

My office at Uni is visible in this photo.

We made the trip to Auckland and made it to Sky Tower.

This set has 15 photos and 1 video that shows someone jumping off the tower in the controlled fall ride. None of us wanted to ride outside of the elevator, so we took a break in the cafe and returned by the conventional method.

Click Here.

Waiheke Walk

Four photos here.

We took an on-island walk on a self guided tour of the plant life on Waiheke Island.

Comics Convention 25 October

Route 66 is popular here. The Kiwis are keen on motorsports and love the idea of driving at high speeds on straight roads that roll before them for days. Yea, like Texas. I've met a few folks who tell me they are saving to travel to the US and drive a car or a Harley from Chicago to the Santa Monica Pier over as much of Route 66 as they can find. I suggested they make sure to stop at Ted Drewes for frozen custard. I got this photo through the bus window as we rode back from the ASB Showgrounds. The advert print on the bus window made an interesting effect on the shot. We were on the bus because ...

We took the kids to Armageddon 2009, the comic/anime/gamining convention that runs in Australia and New Zealand in a continuing cycle.

Benjamin and Emily met the voice actors behind Avatar--The Last Airbender, and yes, Benjamin got a large image signed by the voice of the Master Chief from the Halo video game series.

For a three photos, click here.

Car For Sale

We put the car up for auction.

1993 Honda Ascot

Someone will get a great deal.

Cheers,
Terry