Milford Sound, New Zealand

Here are some photos that couldn't do justice to the beauty of Milford Sound.... simply magnificent!

Day 134 Rotorua to Queenstown....

We arrived this morning at the Rotorua airport at around 0815, had a smooth checkin and departed right on time at 0915. Along the way I caught a neat shot of a volcano form the cabin window. I also got a fantastic shot of the southern alps and Mount Cook. We made a quick stop in Christchurch and left again for Queenstown. We arrived in Queenstown and went immediately to catch the gondolas to the top of Bob’s Peak for lunch. What a great view of the Remarkables (Mountain Range), Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu. I also caught a preview of the TSS Earnslaw, the steam ship we would take later in the day to Walter Peak Station for dinner and sheep demonstrations. The TSS Earnslaw is pretty amazing because it was built in 1912. That’s older than my best friend Randy…. Anyway, lunch and the views were magnificent. After lunch we checked into the hotel and I went out for more photos. At 5:30 we headed down to the dock to catch the TSS Earnslaw and we had a memorable cruise and fantastic dinner. The views, once again, were amazing. Since I’m on the road so to speak and pushed for time…. I made add to the overland posts once I’m aboard ship, just be aware.

Queenstown, New Zealand

Here are a few photos from my most wonderful day in Queenstown.

Day 133 Auckland, New Zealand

What an amazing day!!!!! We arrived in Auckland New Zealand at 0700 this morning…. Very exciting. I left at 0800 for my Overland Adventure…. We toured Auckland first and then headed across the Hauraki Plains on our way to Rotorua, New Zealand’s Yellowstone Park with geysers, mud pots and steam vents. The drive was just beautiful. We traveled thru dairy country (lots of cows), horse country and sheep country. The countryside was beautiful. We first went to the Agradome for a farm show. We were shown all the various varieties of sheep, got a sheep shearing demonstration and sheep dog demonstration. We even got a cow milking demo performed by members of the audience (not me). Next we went on the skyline skyride to the restaurant where we had a great view of Lake Rotorua and the surrounding countryside. Next we went to one of my personal favorites, Te Puia (Whakarewarewa Thermal Reserve). The geysers were tremendous. One went up about 60 feet and would last about half an hour…. Fabulous! We also saw the Maori Arts & Crafts Institute and saw many of their spectacular works. Then it was off to Rainbow Springs where we saw essentially a trout farm with some really huge fish. It is also a breeding place for the endangered Kiwi bird, the symbol of New Zealand. We checked into our hotel along Lake Rotorua and got ready for dinner. Dinner was a traditional Moari dinner which was similar to an Hawaiian Luau where the food is cooked in the ground (steamed). This is just the place for it with geothermal steam vents everywhere…. What a day! (here are some Auckland photos)

New Zealand Overland, the beginning

Here are some photos from day one....