Much to my delight, we got to spend more time in and around Queenstown following our trip to Milford Sound. We booked airfare from Queenstown back to Auckland for Wednesday… driving all the way back to Auckland from anywhere on the South Island would not have left us enough time to get as far as … Continue reading TUESDAY: Queenstown and Around
MONDAY: Milford Sound
In making plans to spend some time touring New Zealand, all of the recommendations and brief quips I got from fellow travelers included Milford Sound as a must-do. Regrettably this trip did not give me enough time to do the famous Milford Track (hailed as "the Greatest Walk in the World"), but doing a day … Continue reading MONDAY: Milford Sound
SUNDAY: The Road to Te Anau
We spent Friday night at the aptly named Makarora Visitors Center. Mom has had this thing about reserving self-contained units with kitchens (regardless of whether or not we intend to cook for ourselves). We weren't up to the full drive from Franz Josef to Queenstown (or even Wanaka), so opted for an overnight in Makarora, … Continue reading SUNDAY: The Road to Te Anau
SATURDAY: Franz Josef Glacier
We arrived at Franz Josef on Friday night with plans to take a half-day walk on the Glacier the following morning. We had our first truly dive-inn experience at the Chateau Franz. There was some hobo charm about the place, but mostly it was a notch below all the other places we have stayed so … Continue reading SATURDAY: Franz Josef Glacier
THURSDAY: Punakaiki to Hokitiki
Thursday was a more leisurely day spent in and out of the car working our way down the coast from Nelson to Punakaiki (Paparoa National Park) and then to Hokitiki where we had a cabin on the beach for the night. The drive to Punakaiki got us to the actual coast of the island for … Continue reading THURSDAY: Punakaiki to Hokitiki
WEDNESDAY: Abel Tasman National Park
After leaving Team USA at the hotel in Hamilton on Monday morning, Ma & Pa and myself headed down to Wellington in order to catch the Inter-Islander ferry to Picton on the South Island the next day. The ferry took a good three hours in the morning, cruising across the Cook Strait and through the … Continue reading WEDNESDAY: Abel Tasman National Park
Megan Kalmoe, OLY 