Further Adventures...

Arlo is smiling because he is having the time of his life down here in New Zealand. It has been three weeks since we arrived, and he has become a seasoned traveller. This is a picture from one of the many walks he has been on through the lush forests (I think this was near Te Annau). We have been on the north island for just over two days now, staying with the Duggan family (John, Winnie, Sara and David) in Wellington. They are long time friends of good friends of ours in Ottawa, who kindly opened their home to us once they heard we were coming to NZ. Just like our arrival to the south island, where James and his family welcomed us into their home and gave us a chance to make some plans and get ready for our time there, the past couple of days here have helped us to recharge our batteries, get some washing done, enjoy some fabulous home cooked meals, and get ready to tackle the rest of New Zealand on the north island. I even got a chance to go for a quick climb into the surrounding hills with John yesterday for a view of the surrounding area from the highest point around. John and David took us around the city yesterday, and we loved it so much that we decided to stay an extra day and tour about a bit more. Today we went back to TePapa, thier fabulous national museum (it is a lot like the museum of Civilisation in Ottawa in style, with the National Gallery, Nature, and Science museums attached as well), rode the Metro, cruised the shopping district, visited the Parliament Buildings (yesterday we couldn't get in due to a bomb scare - in the end thebomb squad blew up some guy's suitcase full of clothes- it wasn't a bomb), rode the cable car up the hill, visited the botanical gardens, and the cable car museum, and made it home for a wonderful dinner. We are heading off north to Taupo tomorrow, and we will have just seven more nights in this wonderful country. It has been a whirlwind in many ways. We have packed so much into some of our days that in a way these three weeks seem like three months we have spent. At the same time it feels like it is almost going to be over far too soon for us. We have met a load of wonderful people from all over, and had experiences that will stay with us for a lifetime (we'll have to remind Arlo about them). One thing we are sure of is that this is just the first trip we are making down here, but sure not the last.
Time after time we have been faced with awe inspiring scenery during our drives through the countryside. It has been a struggle to keep my eyes on the road (I figure it takes 1.5 times the effort to drive on the other side of the road than it does back home), because we are constantly being innundated with km after km of breathtaking coastlines, mountain ranges, gorges, valleys, and rainforests. On those occasions we have had time to stop we have snapped more than our share of photos, and though they don't come close to doing any real justice to this country, we thought we should share some. Here are a few random shots from the past few weeks.

Creative mailboxes backed by the mountainsides outside of Queenstown, high above the Shotover River (the hill drops straight down behind those bushes about 400 feet). The river below is the one used in Lord of the Rings when Arewyn washes the Nazgul away on their horses with a rushing river.

Jenny and Arlo stopping to check out the view on the way to Milford Sound. The winds are pretty strong up near the tunnel that passes through the mountain.

A friendly and sometimes cheeky Kea we met on the way to Milford Sound (we had to check for our windshield wiper blades after we met this one).

The air in this rainforest even tastes yummy!

Milford Sound, in Fiordland (South West coast of NZ)

Seals are the only residents on the shores of Milford Sound.

The weather was so fabulous, and the seas so calm on the day we cruised the sound that it acutally made the national news! It also made Arlo drop off to sleep quite soundly.

A veiw up the sound. Milford Sound was named by British fishermen who didn't know what a Fjiord was, so they called it a sound. A sound is an inland valley that gets flooded by the ocean and is shallower towards the mouth usually, and a Fiord (spelled correctly for NZ) is a deep valley gorged out by glaciers that is open to the ocean and gets deeper towards the mouth.

Arlo checking out the underwater black coral formations and colourful sea life underneath Milford Sound.

Posing for the paparazzi again.

Mama and Arlo enjoying the cruise.

A red beaked gull.

Arlo and Daddy on the sound.

All the way across the country (Arlo slept like...well...a baby for the drive to Dunedin) this is a lighthouse on the Otago Penninsula adjacent to a Royal Albotrass observation center.

With mild weather all year long giant trees like this are common, and not always that old as they can grow all year without going dormant.

A Royal Albotrass in flight (it went straight over our heads a number of times!)

Majestic.

Arlo gets up close and personal with a nesting Albotrass. Look at the size of that bird!

At the Dunedin rail station they have a fantastic farmers market on Saturday mornings. We were impressed to see that all the produce was organic, the food stalls were filled with local fare, they even sold local micro brewery beer, and Daddy loved the steak and brie pies.

Arlo went for the music. We saw at least three duets where on played the guitar and the other sang, but he really liked the music this girl was playing.

Wrestling crocs at the Otago Museum in Dunedin.

I ate the Whitebait sandwich in Hast days earlier, but was happy to see that I could find more in Dunedin for sale (?). For those who want to know, white bait is basically a couple of dozen minnows thrown into an omlette and served between two slices of buttered white bread. Yummy is not my word for it....the locals say it is an 'aquired taste'. I almost insulted them by asking for tomato sauce (what they call ketchup). It went down, but almost did not stay there. Luckily some local beverages helped wash it down.

On the way back to Christchurch we stopped to catch the end of a polo match.

Youri and Arlo enjoy their last day playing together.

Arlo really loved watching Youri. They seemed to imitate each other at times, which was good for Arlo, but not always the best for Youri since he is a year older. It was great for Arlo to have someone kind of his size to hang with while we were in Christchurch.

Kiwi hospitality doesn't get any better than what we got with the Waghorn clan. The score is now 2-1 for James in terms of trip to the other's home country, but I clearly have him beat with total days in the country. Hopefully the families get together before the boys are in high school!

Daddy and Arlo cruising the beach at KaiKoura.

The boys trying to play the route for the day. Don't worry, Mamma made sure Arlo was snuggly in his car seat in the back before Daddy drove off.

Even the locals didn't know what to make of this pig in KaiKoura, but Arlo was pretty interested.

Hiking the waterfront along the East Coast.

Waiting for the ferry to the north island. That sun sure is bright!

Mama and Arlo saying goodbye to the south island.

With the south island fading into the background Arlo is looking towards new adventures up north.

Windy Wellington is the nickname, and up here at the windmill above the city Jenny can sure see why.

Any true movie buff needs to stop by WETA workshops 'Cave' while in town. WETA created the special effects for Lord of the Rings, King Kong, and Avatar, to name a few.

What are you guys looking at?

Arlo landed a big one while in Te Annau (this picture is out of order, but a fun one).

Arlo is having a blast, and though he misses everyone at home, he is going to continue to enjoy the rest of his time here.

And when he's done he is off to Fiji to enjoy some sand and surf. Sorry to hear that it was minus 25 back home. He'll worry about that stuff later. Now it is off on more adventures....