After regaining my land legs after the harrowing SkyTower walk DH made me do, we left Auckland with the idea of visiting DH's cousin Ian and his charming wife, Margaret, and then heading further north to start our quest for the quintessential Kiwi experience- trying all of the common and weird Kiwi sports (new ones are invented on an almost monthly basis), viewing a professional rugby game (the NZ All-Blacks are the current world champs as evidenced by the co...

When planning our multi year walkabout, we talked about the anticipation we had for all the sights, sounds, smells, and general chaos we expected to experience in some of the more exotic locales of the world. The one country I couldn't get too excited about was New Zealand- I've always looked at it as an island version of B.C. populated by Canadians with an accent. DH, on the other hand, feels a special attachment to New Zealand- she does have "rel'ee...