It was our last day with Active Adventures, and we were meant to snorkel with the local area fur seals, but our guide/instructor had to cancel at the last minute, so we settled for a walking tour by the shore. Most of the fur seals were lounging on rocks, but a few made themselves at home right on the boardwalk.…
Category: Down Under in Oz and NZ
Day 23: January 23, Marlborough Sound to Kaikora
We had the luxury of a 10AM pick up this morning, so were able to get ourselves sorted for the day before heading out for another paddle. We were back in the Queen Charlotte Sound, but set off from a different bay for an easy trip along the shoreline. We were able to see many stingrays this morning, and hopefully…
Day 22: January 22, Marlborough Sound — Updated
We are staying in a most delightful B&B, and so had a wonderful sleep in a big comfy bed. Probably the opposite of the rest of my group up in the mountains! We were picked up by our guide, Kiernan at 9AM, and had a 40 minute drive to the spot where we put into Kenepuru Sound for our day…
Day 21: January 21, Punakaiki to Marlborough Sounds–Updated
We had a fairly relaxed morning, and set off from Punakaiki by 9:30 to head to Mount Arnaud where our group would split into two for different activities for the next couple of days. The drive up the west coast reminded me of the PCH; at times close to the ocean, at others, alongside a cliff with sheer bluffs. We…
Day 20: January 20, Franz Josef to Punakaiki — Updated
The day started off as many of the last ones have with a drizzle and then steady rain. After breakfast we headed north on the only road on the west side of the South Island, Route 6, to take us north up the coast of the Tasman Sea. Much of this area is rain forest, so it is lush and…
Day 19: January 19, Okarito — Updated
We had a short ride to our activities today, and have the luxury of two nights in the Gekko cabins in the Rainforest Resort in Franz Josef. We drove to the tiny hamlet of Okarito, where we got set up for a morning of kayaking in the lagoon there. There is an inlet to the Tasman Sea at the mouth…
Day 18: January 18, Makarora to Franz Josef–Updated
We woke to bird calls, as promised, as well as the steady patter of rain on the corrugated tin roofs of the “A” frames. We were on the road by just after 8:30, for a short drive to the Blue Pools. This is where the Makarora and Blue rivers meet, and are deep pools of azure, glacier-fed water. They are…
Day 17: January 17, Queenstown to Makarora — Updated
The group reconvened this morning for breakfast at a lovely restaurant in Queenstown called Halo, and we set of in the van about 9:30 towards Wanaka , a charming lakeside town that seems like a smallish Queenstown. We drove over the Cadrona Saddle through the Crown range, and it was so foggy that we wondered if there might even be…
Day 16: January 16, Queenstown
A day off today, no van travel and no planned activities. Most of the group went off on their own adventures today; Queenstown is adventure capital of New Zealand and there are so many choices. Here is the birthplace of bungy jumping and commercial jet boating, and other adrenaline-fueled activities. People have been drawn to the area starting with the…
Day 15: January 15, Milford Sound to Queenstown
The night in the Milford Sound Lodge was fine, despite the shared bathrooms and the wind which was howling most of the night. Because this was the only place to stay in the area there were many backpackers and families and some rooms with bunks. The doors opened right to the outside and the so it was it was a…