March

4

Drive to Te Anau, another beautiful lake; boat ride to Te Anau Caves

5

Kayak and cruise in Doubtful Sound

6

drive to Milford, overnight cruise in Milford Sound

Happy Birthday, Glennie

7

drive to Queenstown

dinner with Gwen and Tim from Amherst, MA

8

Canyoning in Queenstown

9

Visit the famous bungee jumping bridge and freak out (did I ever really consider doing that?!) Visit 2 wineries and drive up the Remarkables before Jenny departs. I stay in Queenstown and try to write up stories for your consumption!

10

Drive (by myself -- yikes!!) to Orepuki via Invercargill (search for Bluff oysters begins), Colac Bay, Cosy Nook, Monkey Island, Te Wae Wae Bay

11

Drive to Waikawa via Riverton, Bluff (searched for oysters, failed to find oysters), Waipapa Point, Slope Point (the southernmost point of NZ), Curio Bay (where I tried to see penguins, failed to see penguins, but met interesting person who rode a motorcycle from Denmark to India!)

12

Drive to Papatowai via Porpoise Bay, Cathedral Caves, Tautuku Bay, Purakaunui Falls, Purakaunui Bay, Matai Falls

13

Drive to Otago Peninsula via Cannibal Bay, Nugget Point, Roaring Bay -- find Bluff oysters in a small town! (but they were frozen, ah well...) Stay on penguin reserve and see many yellow-eyed penguins

Happy Birthday, Michael B.

14

Otago -- try to see Royal Albatross, failed to see Royal Albatross, but saw many sea lions instead

Dunedin

15

Drive to Christchurch via Shag Point, Moeraki Boulders, Oamaru

16

Christchurch

17

Bargain flight to Rotorua, pick up another rental car, drive to Whakatane, visit Ohope Beach

F.I.L. #3

18

Drive to Maraehako Bay on East Cape via side trip through part of Waioeka Gorge, Whanarua Bay

F.I.L. #4

19

Maraehako Bay

Special Birthday Edition of Ailment of the Week: broke toe!! Ouch!

My birthday!!
Happy Birthday Joe S.

20

Drive along East Cape shoreline to a farm near Ruatoria via Hicks Bay, Horsehoe Bay; unable to wear shoes except flip flops and hobbling

Happy Birthday, Nancy L. and Rob

21

"Help" on sheep farm -- fortunately this doesn't involve feet

Drive to Gisborne via East Cape coast -- Waipiro Bay, Anaura Bay

trip backwards over dog on beach who failed to understand that we were done playing the chase the rock game, doesn't help toe situation which, although no longer the size of Montana, is still quite swollen

Happy Birthday, Kathie

22

Drive to Havelock North via Mahia Beach, Napier

complain about toe at every opportunity

23

Napier

look for Mir Space Station to tumble through sky, see incredible sunset over Lake Taupo instead

toe is getting too much attention from me, trip over railing in Taupo hostel parking lot and bruise legs for something new and different

24

Drive to Rotorua, consider how is it possible that a dancer is such a klutz, drop off car, bus to Auckland

25

Auckland

26

Supposed to fly to Sydney, Australia -- ditch that plan, in Auckland dealing with toe, plane tickets, and computers

27

Auckland

Ailment of the Week: Contact lens splits in eye and gets lost -- have to go to optometrist for removal

Opoutere on Coromandel Peninsula

28

Opoutere on Coromandel Peninsula

29

Tairua, Cathedral Cove, Hot Water Beach, Hahei, Coromandel Peninsula

30

Supposed to fly to Melbourne, Australia -- ditch that plan, too

Hahei Beach, Coromandel Peninsula

31

Back to Auckland

Happy Birthday, Andrew P.