New Zealand is trying to kiss and make nice! I think it overheard us complain about the unusual rain once or twice and wanted to make a better impression. If that's the case, it definitely succeeded! Jeff already mentioned the amount of rain we've seen since arriving in New Zealand, especially on the south island, so as we headed to Milford Sound (known to be very wet), we tried not to get our hopes up. However, out of our three day stay, it only rained one d...

We have made it over to the South Island of New Zealand. After two full days of non-stop rain, followed by days of clouds and scattered showers and then more downpours, we are now fully aware why New Zealand is so green! Even so, the South Island is exceptionally scenic. Here is a run-down on some of the things we have been up to since arriving on the South Island 12 days ago. Driving and Walking in Abel Tasman National Park - glad we weren't with the tour gr...

We had a great few days in Whitianga, a town on the Coromandel peninsula. One highlight was visiting Cathedral Cove, a place featured in the Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian! After a leisurely hike down to the cove, I was initially disappointed…the place was beautiful no doubt, but something wasn't right, it wasn't like all the pictures. Then we discovered that in order to get to the most photographed area of the cove, you had to walk through a rock arch...

We're finishing up our time in Northland, and what a beautiful time it's been! One of the top things I wanted to do while in New Zealand was to visit Waipoua Forest, one of the very few remaining stands of ancient Kauri trees. These trees are nearly as massive as the Sequoias found in California, but unlike any tree I've seen before. They're found in what I'd call a subtropical rainforest (yes, that's my expert opinion, haha), and they don't call them rainfore...

One of the coolest things that we have had direct exposure to on our journey is the passion people have for Australian Rules Football, Rugby League, and Rugby Union (the game played for the World Cup). It all started in Mission Beach, where we saw the Rugby World Cup opening ceremonies on tv. After seeing one of the most amazing ceremonies I have ever seen, we watched the New Zealand All Blacks pummel Tonga 41 to 10. There just happened to be a New Zealander t...