Day: July 24, 2026

After breakfast, we boarded our coach and traveled north along the coast on one side and the Southern Alps on the other to Greymouth.  We stopped at a few scenic places. Just south of Harihari in a town called Whataroa we stopped at a photographer’s studio.  Peter Hlavacek takes local photos and…

Our journey to Queenstown began with a visit to  the Te Auna Bird Sanctuary (another of Kristen’s surprises). Punanga Manu o Te Anau is the Maori name.  We arrived just before feeding time. The rangers explained about the different birds and then we watched them as they were fed. Here they have…

Traveling to Franz Josef Today we motored to the town of Franz Josef  on New Zealand’s rugged West Coast. It is famous for the  Franz Josef Glacier (Kā Roimata o Hine Hukatere) in Westland Tai Poutini National Park, one of the only glaciers in the world to descend into a temperate rainforest.…

This morning was our “Lord of the Rings” morning.  We boarded a series of SUVs to drive to locations filmed in the Lord of the Rings movies. We visited the filming locations of Minas Tirith, Misty Mountains, the Pillars of the Kings (Argonath), Gladden Fields, the Ford of Bruinen, and more.  We travelled along an…

Traveling to Te Anau We travelled along the east coast, turning inland at Balclutha, heading to Gore.  Enroute we stopped at a Victorian homestead/ Mainholm for lunch.  The home, originally built in 1908, was restored in the 1990s and reflects the Victorian heritage of the area.  The meal was a feast.  After lunch we…

After breakfast at the hotel, we were transferred to the airport for a flight to Dunedin on the South Island.  There we stayed at the Scenic Hotel Southern Cross.  Bob and I wandered around the hotel and grabbed a quick lunch at a little bakery before our “official” tour that began at…

Kia-ora means “welcome” in Maori.  So Kia-ora.  Here begins our New Zealand adventure. Arrival After arriving at our hotel, we met our tour director, Kristen, in the lobby and went for a walk around Auckland to orient ourselves.  The signature Sky Tower is just a block from our hotel.  It is 1,076 ft. tall…