Our time in New Zealand was fabulous - I'd say even better than last year minus the fact that we didn't get to visit the Cadbury Chocolate Factory this time....hard to compete with that. The places we had been to before were just as good and the new destinations, amazing! Tim has obsessed about the huge trout in Rotorua for a year and had his wildest dreams come true when he actually caught two. Ok, maybe not his wildest, but pretty high up there!
We loved staying in Marborough Sound. We spent 6 nights there before our month in Nelson but had to go back for 5 more nights during our Nelson time because it was so great. Tim was able to go fishing and I could go hiking! The trails were crazy amazing. The temperatures couldn't have been better. I absolutely loved the hiking in NZ!
We went back to a different part of Golden Bay. Tata Beach. Erin does a nice visual when one utters the words "Tata Beach". Tim and Matt went kayaking for an afternoon - they said they were going fishing but I think it was more of a workout/surfing the waves adventure. Tim and I had gone out in the morning. It was calm, the little rock islands were stunning. We were kayaking through rock arches. The only thing we lacked was a camera. Oh well, lots of good mental photos were taken! One could say the sea was a touch rougher when the boys went out.
Doubtful Sound was beautiful - geez, I'm saying that a lot! The kids loved spending the night on a boat - Tim and I loved some other things more than the short bunks. Like the waterfalls, dolphins and the gigantic crayfish we had for dinner. There was so much left over they used it in the eggs the next morning. Those things were huge and tasty! Easy pickin's if you had a full wetsuit, scuba gear and were willing to dive in the chilly fjord waters. Go Captain Dave!
We left The Sounds and drove up the west coast. WOW! Words cannot describe! We stopped in Franz Joseph. Hiking, kiwis, helicopter and Banofee! That would be a banana toffee dessert of the Gods that has forever changed our lives but is, sadly, nowhere else to be seen. Tim is in recovery but it is a very good excuse to go back! The glacier wasn't too shabby either :)
Shane was another highlight for us. Tim met Shane last year when he and Ryan went crabbing. He made such an impression on the boys that we made sure to plan a few days to see him and to meet his family. We traveled to Greymouth, his home base. I don't think Shane has ever met a stranger. Everyone knows him and if you don't you would want to! As you could tell from Ryan's blogs, Shane kept them very busy!
We had a lot of fun on our last day there. We had to kill time before our flight left Nelson so we headed out to the Sunflower Festival and then headed to Jester Cafe for lunch. The festival was a small affair but the landscape was, once again, wonderful with great photo ops. Not to mention the Guinea Pig Village - how can you beat that?! We drove up the coast to have lunch. We didn't know how great Jester Cafe would be. Great food is always to be expected along with pretty gardens, fruit trees, etc. This place took it to a whole new level. And they had eels in their little river that the kids got to feed. They were rather aggressive eaters!
Let's see.....closing thoughts on New Zealand. The salmon is as good as it gets - and it's cheap! There are not many fish caught when Shane takes Tim fishing......or Yuki for that matter. They make amazing vegetarian dishes. Australian Shiraz was our new best friend when it came to a good cab substitute. A big Thank You to Jack McDonald for that insight! Lunch at a cafe is never to be missed. And I could go back there every January-March for the rest of my life!
As for Tahiti, we are on day 5 and this is what I know so far. We think they filmed Jurassic Park here - no T-Rex as of yet but we are on the lookout. The tuna here is like salmon in NZ (the best and cheap!), the pineapples are in that catagory too! Breadfruit chips have to be good for you even though they are probably fried in some kind of lard and have heaps of salt on them - they are breadfruit ya know! Fresh coconut meat is another amazing discovery. I thought I'd scored the motherloade on a new dessert/snack food......until I goggled the nutritional value. Amazing mangos! Fresh shrimp from up the road are worth the effort to clean (especially when my wonderful husband is the one doing the work). The open showers here are really fun - only half of the huge space is under roof so you get to look at the mountains and shower in the rain! The humiditly level runs at 98% minimum so along with the mid to upper 80 degree temps I now have the label of Fair Weather Hiker. I'll stick to water sports. Oh, and it sure can rain a lot. Good thing we will be here a while! And I haven't even mentioned the French food: fresh pastries, crepes and the bread! I have no idea why Ryan is a food critic on his blog.
We miss you all and will be home in a month!
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