Thursday, March 26, 2009

Hello all! It feels so good to finally be caught up with blogging. Sorry it's been so long but wifi has been a bit hard to come by. We just arrived in the North island yesterday and are staying in the most fabulous place ever! Tomorrow we plan on heading to do another Great Walk and then hope to do a class 5 white water rafting trip in Rotorua. We have been having a great time in New Zealand. The bungy in Queenstown was the biggest rush ever. We had such a great time visiting with our friends Naomi and Michael in Chirstchurch. Thank you so much to them for their hospitality and delicious meals! We also throughly enjoyed our wwoofing experience with Dave, Kirsty and Jessie May. The people of Little Wanganui and Karamea were so welcoming and so much fun. It was truly our home far away from home for a couple weeks. We are leaving for Fiji on April 7th and then head back to the states on April 26th. We are really looking forward to seeing all of our friends and family in California and Arizona before heading to Mexico for Molly and Trevor's wedding. This has truly been an absolutely amazing trip and we feel really blessed to have been able to experience this all. 

Also, Momma, I know this is a little belated, but we can't possibly thank you enough for everything while you were here. We had such an amazing time with you and Eddie! Thank you! Love you!

Abel Tasman

Kayaking in the Abel Tasman National Park

Milford Sound

Queenstown

Little Wanganui

Takaka

The Heaphy Track, the longest of New Zealand's Great Walks

Little Wanganui... again

Back at Little Wanganui, after a night of fishing We are eating the snapper we caught sashimi style, raw with wasabi and soy
Dave cutting up the fish
4 of the 8 snapper caught that night
Al sending out the fishing buoy. There are 26 lines with hook and bait attached. They send the torpedo out for about an hour, then bring it in and see what was caught. 
Our clothes have never had a better view!
The sunset at Little Wanganui
Jessie May was our tour guide to the caves and arches at the Oparara Basin
Bri and Jessie May in one of the big cave
I took a good picture
The Little Wanganui Pub
Bri built me a cake for my b-day...sharing it with Dave and Kirsty
Bri's BIG gift for me on my bday. It was really sweet. Inside was an assortment of cheeses, wine, razors, peanut butter, tim tams (the best chocolate treat) and a celebrity magazine. 
Our neighbor, Tony, had a bit of a fishing accident
Playing on the beach with Jessie May and Sami, their puppy.