Treaty House in Paihia

New Zealand became a member of the British Commonwealth in 1840 when a treaty was signed with all of the Maori tibes in Paihia. Below are pictures of the "Treaty House",the Maori meeting house, Maori warriors, and Maori war canoes

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Bay of Iles, Paihai, New Zealand

We left Dunedin and flew to Aukalnd on the 14th. In Aukland, we rented a car and drove to Paihai, a small town on the "Bay of Isles". The Bay of Isles is a bay with over 144 islands in it with a beautiful coast line and the town of Russell, only a short passenger ferry ride across the bay. We hopped on a ferry to see Russell and then on an excursion boat is see the islands, bottle nosed dolphins, the Cape Brett light house, and the "Hole in the Rock", which is the farthest part of the bay as it meets the Pacific Ocean.

Pictured are: the town of Russell, Cape Brett Lighthouse, and the "Hole in the Rock".

Glow Worm Caves at Te Anau and Doubtful Sound

We left Queenstown and headed to Te Anau. Te Anau is the location of the Glow Worm Caves. These worms live in the dark as pupas and give off a small amount of light inthe total darkness to attract bugs for food. After about a year as a pupa, the worms turn in to an insect that mates for two days, lays its eggs, and then dies. We could not take pictures of the worms as to not distrube them.

After a day in Te Anau, we left for a boat overnight on Doubtful Sound. Doubtful Sound is a glacer created inlet that is absolutely amazing. It is in a wilderness area that has been well preserved. Here we had the opportunity to kayak on the sound, swim in its chilly waters or take a motor launch cruies in one of the coves.

The pictures are of Gerogia on the boat to the Glow Worm Caves at Te Anau, Doubtful Sound from the road at the end of the sound, Doubtful Sound landscape, Hugh swimming in the 55 degree waters of Doubtful Sound, and final picture is of a tree slide in Doubtful Sound. Note: There is little or no soil on the slopes of the sound, so the trees and plants are held up by intertwining of the roots. Once one tree falls, it creats a landslide of all of the plant material below it.

Fox Glacer to Queenstown

Fox Glacer was totally fogged in with rain so after a night's stay, we drove to Queenstown. Queenstown is a lovely city on Lake Wakatipu. While in Queenstown, we rafted down the Shotover River (Class 3-6 rapids), went wine tasting in the Gibbston Valley, saw where bungy jumping started and took a jet boat rive on the Dart River out of Glenorcky.

Pictured are Georgia and I on Highway 6 near Haast on the West Coast, a waterfall on the west side of the mountains out side of Haast, the place where bungy jumping started, and the Southern Alps around Queenstown and Glenorcky.

Arthur's Pass, New Zealand

Yesterday we explored Arthur's Pass National Park. Located on one of the three east-west routes in the New Zealand Southern Alps, it is a natural wonder. We saw glacers, Kea parrots, beautiful birch forests, sheep shearing, and a ski area where you have to walk up a mile to get to the base of the lift. They do have a cart that carries your ski gear. Today it is on to the west coast.

Christchurch, New Zealand

We landed at Christchurch on February 1st and met up with brother, Dave, and his wife, Debbie. On the 2nd we drove from Christchurch to Ankora. Ankora is a old French settlement east of Christchurch. From the harbor there we took a boat out to see Hector dolphins, They are a small endangered dolphin that is very playful, and as can be seen in the pictures you can swim with them, as long as you have a warm wet suit. Pictured are the four of us overlooking Christchurch, the harbor at Ankora, and Hector dophins swimming by our boat, and swimming with people in wet suits.

Sydney Opra House

Our last day in Sydney was spent touring the Opra House and we were lucky enough to get tickets to "Love, Life, and What I Wore" in one of the three theaters. We dined at the the Sydney Cafe across form the Opra House with marvalous views of the harbor. The pictures are of Georgia at the Opra House with the Sydney harbor Bridge in the background, shark Island in sydney Harbor from the Opra House, and the interior entry to the Opra House.