My how time flies when you are on vacation!  I can’t believe I’m heading back to Seattle in short order!  It’s been an amazing trip, but I’m definitely ready to sleep in my own bed again!  Foam mattresses in hostels just don’t have the same appeal, you know?

I’m not going to be able to adequately summarize my trip in my internet time allottment, so here’s a video of the Zipline I did in Queenstown back LAST YEAR!  Hopefully it uploads, unlike the other video I tried.  Sorry about that.

A quick summary: From Christchurch my travels took me to Akaroa on the Banks Penninsula for a few days, before heading south to Dunedin where I just got SOAKED in the rain.  This is no panzy rain people, it was puking water from the sky.  Actually my weather on the whole trip has been less than ideal…guess New Zealand just wants me to come back and experience her again in all of her glory!

From Dunedin I went to Queenstown, then Te Anau where  I did a really cool glow worm cave tour with Real Journeys.  Then I did a cruise in Milford Sound, which was just spectacular.  A night in Haast en route up the West Coast, a stop at Franz Joseph glacier, then I was in Sunny Nelson (YES!) for a few days, before heading for one night in Wellington, which I LOVED!  Then it was up to Turangi which is the launch point for the allegedly beautiful Tongariro Crossing.  The weather was not good, unfortunately, so pretty much completely missed the Emerald Pools, but I did manage to climb to the top of Mt. DOOM!  Then “scree-ed” the way down.  I will have video of that too!

Then it was a night in Rotorua where I ate a traditional Hangi and saw a Maori performance – super great!  Now I’m in Auckland prepping to come back – and working on my tan.

 

Miss you Seattle! See you all soon!

p.s. I’m getting pretty good at taking long arm shots of me…too bad I look exactly the same in every single one – I swear I dind’t just photoshop myself in there!
p.p.s.  Yes, I still have remnants from my black eye!  Can you believe it hasn’t healed yet?!?!?