Pancake Rocks and Mangarakau Wetland Swamp We spent the morning driving along some pretty spectacular New Zealand cliffs. Saw steam lifting off the Tasman Sea oceanfront, which I haven’t seen before. Tried to get it on video, but failed miserably. Stopped off at the Pancake Rocks and Blowhole in Paparoa National Park. Interesting enough geological […]
Attack of the Mountain Parrots in Fiordland National Park Woke up before dawn to beat the crowds through Fiordland National Park to Milford Sound. This was going to be one of the highlights of our New Zealand road trip. Am starting to learn that no one in New Zealand wakes up until 9, even 10—nothing […]
The Rotorua Circuit Woke up extra early to discover an Auckland Starbucks a block away (woo hoo!)… that doesn’t open nearly as early as American Starbucks do (wah). All the hotel rooms carry is tea, so this was a nice surprise. Business hours? Not a nice surprise. Stalked the front door as necessary and tried […]
The Short Version of the Itinerary Before diving into the finer details of our Fiji stopover and New Zealand road trip, let’s explore the big picture quickly. This two-week bender included about 21 hours of flight time one way and a week-long tour of the South Island midway through. (Click on either image below to […]