Sorry it has been awhile since we wrote. The kids finished their first term in school on April 13 and then had two weeks off between terms. Rather than hang out in Sydney, on April 14th we headed to New Zealand for 2 weeks. Anna's Dad met us in Auckland where we stayed for two nights and one day before heading to Christchurch on the South Island and meeting a tour group. Below -- see the map for many of the places we visited. Forgive me if I go on and on about the trip--it was great. New Zealand is definitely a place you should visit. Since getting back to Sydney--we have quickly learned to be subdued in our praise for NZ--there appears to be a little sibling rivalry between Oz and NZ that is easily exposed...
The tour company we booked with had really active tour activities (snorkeling, sea kayaking, hiking, mountain biking) so we knew we would be busy. After flying into Christchurch and meeting our tour, we drove north to Kaikoura. Beautiful place that is a hang out for lots of seals, dolphins, and in the winter, whales. No whales for us, but we went snorkeling (with 7 mm wetsuits) around where the seals hang out. The seals were there, mostly hanging out on the rocks looking at us like we were stupid for being in the cold water. Thankly, a pod of Dusky dolphins took pity on us and came and swam around us for a few minutes. They were incredibly playful--it felt like they were playing chicken with you--swimming straight at you and then turning off when they were about 2 feet in front of you. The picture below is after we came back to shore and a seal enjoying his bed on the rocks.
After staying in Kaikoura for the night, we drove north again and stopped briefly at a stream that flows to the ocean. Nothing special --right? Wrong. Turns out that the mother NZ fur seals bring their pups here and tell them to go up the stream and play--while the mothers go out and hunt for food. There is a pool about 1/3rd of a mile up the stream with a waterfall. The seals swim / hike up to this pool. We thought that we might see a few seals--there were probably a hundred seal pups playing in this pool. Swimming, jumping out of the water, climbing up next to the waterfall and jumping back in the water, wrestling with each other (I'm sure those were the boys). They were very curious..this picture is from one that came up on the rocks next to us and was just interested in what we were doing. It was magical.After going to Blenheim (which is in the Marlborough wine growing region of the South Island--see upper right corner of the island), we met our sea kayak guide and kayaked to a Lodge in the Queen Charlotte Sound.
Isn't this a great picture of Ali kayaking with Grandpa Donald? Here is the lodge--totally secluded, awesome views, and nice hammocks.
After staying at Lochmara Lodge for 2.5 days, we went to Nelson Lakes National Park. This is where some people from our tour backpacked while we sea kayaked. As we pulled into the parking lot at the park, Mother Nature blessed us with another horrible view and a rainbow...
We spent 1.5 days in a sleepy little west coast town called Okarito (pop. 31) and sea kayaked in a bird refuge with views of the Southern Alps. From there, we headed for two glaciers that descend into a temperate rain forest.
The Franz Joseph Glacier is receding at a significant rate (thanks to global warming), so we did not get close to it, but we were able to hike up close to the Fox Glacier. Funny signs also.
Prior to moving inland we stopped at a beautiful beach (Ship Creek) and a coastal swamp full of old growth native trees.
Next we moved on Mountain Biking along a beautiful river and along a lake into a town called Wanaka (are you tired yet?) And then on to one of the highlights of the trip for Gavin. We went to the original spot for bungee jumping. Being the dare-devil that he is, he really wanted to do it but thought a tandem jump would be easier to do. Donald, Ali, Shelby and I were not really interested in jumping off a bridge--and Anna's neck ruled her out. Thankfully one of the women on the tour said she would go with him. It still makes my palms sweat looking at the pictures. I chuckle thinking back on Grandpa Donald giving Anna and I this look like..."I can't believe you are letting my grandson jump off a bridge..." 
We then spent two nights in Queenstown. Queenstown had a feel kind of like Park City but situated right on a lake--with a big mountain right there and a view of Mountains across the lake. The Mountains across the lake are called the Remarkables (doesn't the name say it all?)--these mountains were the Misty Mountains in the Lord of the Rings / Hobbit movies. Too bad they were covered in clouds the whole time we were in Queenstown--so no pictures of the Remarkables from us.
From Queenstown, we made our way towards Milford Sound (look on the west coast 2/3rds of the way down the island. On our way there, we stopped and hiked on a portion of the Kepler Track along the shores of Lake Te Anau and through a Beech Forest. The lake picture was just at the start.
Milford Sound is awe inspiring. Imagine being in a sea kayak right next to 1000 m high mountains coming right out of the water. Although it would have been cool to see it on a crystal clear day, the clouds gave it a surreal and majestic appearance. It rained the night before we went out on the water and that created all sorts of waterfalls coming off the mountains into the water. While Anna and I and the girls sea kayaked, Donald and Gavin took a tour boat out to the mouth of the sound and up close to waterfalls.
On our way out of the Milford Sound area, we stopped and took a couple of hikes and got a view of the Kia which is New Zealand's endemic parrot. Large, very smart, curious and sometimes naughty bird that from the sounds of it will be happy to pull pieces of rubber off of your car, steal your food. There is a cool video on YouTube about bird intelligence that talks about them.
Last place before we headed back to Queenstown and our flight back was a place called Mirror Lakes. Check out the sign in the picture.
So...if we haven't convinced you yet. New Zealand would be a place you should consider visiting...
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