We woke up very early because we didn't want to miss a minute on Doubtful Sound. After a great breakfast we went up to the top deck to watch for wildlife and more photo ops. We sailed for awhile and enjoyed the scenery. Then the Captain of the Navigator took us into a particularly beautiful cove surrounded by high mountains. We were told that we needed to find a comfortable spot because the Captain would treat us to "the sound of silence." He turned off the m...

We left Wanaka at 6:30 AM to drive the 290km to Manapouri; we had light rain much of the way. We drove past many wineries, a few ski areas, several large lakes, and fields filled with grazing sheep and deer. Then we went along a road through Kawarau Gorge where they have bungy jumping platforms. After Cromwell, we drove past Queenstown and along Lake Wakatipu. Queenstown is surrounded by mountains, including the Remarkables - what a great name for a mountain rang...

Last night we had a great dinner at the resort's restaurant, Rafters. Bob had lamb, which he really enjoyed. I believe we'll be enjoying lots of lamb while we are here. I had scallops and prawns, another great choice.Today we shopped for groceries and supplies, located an ATM in town, and stopped at the information center to pick up maps and postcards. We enjoyed a walk on the lake side. Our condo has all of the amenities -- a well equipped kitchen, a ...

We drove up, up, up a mountain above Lake Tekapo to see the observatory at the top. Wonderful views from up there.Then we drove through more mountains to Lake Pukaki which is another glacial blue lake situated in front of the highest mountain in NZ, Mt. Cook (named after the famous Captain). We drove to Mt Cook's Village and went to the most wonderful National Park Visitor's Center. The exhibits were all about the sport of mountain climbing.After a short ...

The flight from Auckland to ChristChurch was a preview of the gorgeous scenery to come. As we flew over to South Island, we saw snowcapped mountains and blue sea. We were very tired on the 4 hour drive to Lake Tekapo, but the scenery was so wonderful that we stayed wide awake. Bob did a good job adjusting to driving on the left. It was only a little bit scary.We saw lots and lots of sheep -- and cute baby lambs. There were also many deer farms; it seems sad that ...