3/7/09I'm going to back track some since we have not been still much to write. The road opened and we where moving again. Our stop was to the Pancake Rocks at Punakaiki. These are rocks formed 35 million years ago under the water by micro-organisms. They are limestone and the sea, wind, and rain are slowly eroding them away. We had great timing as the tide was coming in and that is the best time to be there and experience the drama of the rocks.We had another t...

3/4/09 Today we pack up and head down the road. But our first goal is to return to the airport for our rides. The weather was perfect for flying with no clouds in the sky and little wind. The butteflies inside us get get quite busy though as we get closer to the airport. At this facility the hangglider is towed up by an ultralight to about 3,500 feet and then released. Once we started down the runway it didn't take long to be in the air. The beauty of the farm...

3/3/09 The place where we are staying, The Foley's Creek, is more like a cabin. It is away from town so very quiet and peaceful. It is a self contained so you provide the food and they have dishes, pots and other necessary supplies. There where many huge rabbits around. There was no phone or TV service but Al did watch a couple of movies. Today we went to Able Tasman for hiking and beach time. This meant driving to the pick up place to meet the bus taking u...

Today is our 36th anniversary. We are on the South Island and the trip over by the ferry was so beautiful. We spent the whole time on the upper deck outside in the wind to see the views. Coming into the South Island you go through an hour of winding around the land to reach the terminal. The water is the beautiful green/blue as in the Floridia Keys. We did have a few dolphins for a brief time. Again I can not over state the beauty of this land. The ferry we...

3/1/09We arrived in Wellington yesterday and are staying at another B&B, The Booklovers. It has been raining all day so we took advantage of the weather to do laundry and rest. One of those comfy stay inside type of days. We met some of the other guests and talked with our host over a cup of tea. Jane, our host, said that during the filming of the Lord of the Ring series they kept horses next to her house where we are parking our car. Also the scene in the fi...