Mt. Cook....finally!!!

Discussing the lost keys....

The End of the Road

7:15am- We wake up early. Pack up car. Depart with Barry, but following Graeme McNeill who is in his car.
7:45am- leave 0tematata. Headed towards Mt. Cook.
8:15am- Arrive in Omarama. Leave Graeme's car at his friend's store/restaurant. He gets in our car. Stop and eat breakfast at the Wrinkly Ram. Many bikers clad in black also at Wrinkly Ram.
9:00am - leave Wrinkly Ram and scary looking bikers.
See beautiful flowers, zillions of merino sheep and drive over many one lane bridges. Raining.
10:30am - arrive at Mt. Cook which is covered in clouds. And it is raining. Go to Hermitage Hotel to hang out and see if the clouds roll back and reveal the mountain. Visit the Sir Edmund Hillary and Mt. Cook Exhibit. Drink a lot of coffee in the cafe. Stare at the mountain. Trying to imagine what Mt. Cook must look like.
12:30pm - go to 3D movie about Mt. Cook.
1:00pm - give up on seeing Mt. Cook. Depart Hermitage Hotel.
1:10pm - see a sign for Hooker Valley. Take that road. Dead ends at a camp ground. Turn around
1:15pm - see a sign for Tasman Valley. Take the gravel road. Go over a very long 1 lane bridge. Reach a trail head after driving around 8k's. Get out of car to check it all out. (BIG MISTAKE!)
1:30pm - get talked into following trail up to Tasman Glacier overlook. We 3 start up the trail. Barry is 75-100 yds. ahead of Graeme and me.
1:50pm - as the trail gets very steep, a smart Graeme stops. Angelyn gets talked into continuing (BIG MISTAKE)
2:00pm - the trail turns into a massive black boulder field that you have to find your way up....(BIG MISTAKE)
2:15pm - finally reach the top. Stunningly beautiful. Gorgeous. Huge icebergs floating in an opaque aqua lake. Thrilled we made the effort.
2:20pm - ask someone to take our photo. Very, very windy. (PROBABLY A HUGE MISTAKE)
2:25pm - head down the trail. Happily taking photos all the way down. Very smug that we had down the "not easy" hike unto see glacier.
2:50pm - reunite with Graeme. Take more photos.
2:55pm - arrive at car.
2:56pm - BARRY SAYS, " OH NO!"
2:57pm - Barry heads back up the trail asking everyone he meets if the have seen any CAR KEYS. No keys. Everyone is looking. Even a tracker from Nepal. Goes up looking for keys. Barry handed me his phone before he left.
3:20pm- a very nice couple offer to take Graeme to his car in Omarama....honestly, there was nothing he could do and it would be better for him to have his car.
3:38pm - Hertz assures me that someone is on their way with a spare key. There is a catch...he is coming from Christchurch and it will take between 4 and 4-1/2 hours. We with Hertz decide we should catch a ride to Hermitage Hotel and wait for driver there. The driver will collect us and take us to our car at the trailhead. Am now best friends with Carl and Jessica at Hertz. Continue looking for keys..hoping that someone will find them. Call the lodge in Wanaka and let them know we will not make it for dinner...but will arrive around midnight for sure.
5:20pm - get ride to Hermitage with nice strangers. I think I remember my mama telling me not to ride with strangers?
5:40pm- arrive back at Hermitage. Mt. Cook still covered up. Cafe is closed. Barry explains situation IN GREAT DETAIL to hotel desk clerks and borrows their phone charger since our lifeline was getting weak.
6:15pm- after talking to new best pals at Hertz again and knowing that keys will be in our hands by 7:30 or 8, we decide to grab a bite in nice dining room. Must do expensive huge buffet. Surprised at how delicious it is. Barry has let desk know of our whereabouts so that we will not miss our Hertz connection.
7:30pm - call Hertz. Carl and Jessica are gone. Now talking to Tim who is actually in an office in the Turks and Caicos Islands? It is going to be slightly later. Driver with keys got in bad traffic and will not be at Mt. Cook till 9:30 or 10.
7:45-9:45pm. - call lodge is Wanaka to let them know it we will be later! Stare at Mt. Cook till she finally reveals herself to us right at dusk....but enough light to get a photo!
10:20pm - call new best friend Tim to find out where driver is? Unfortunately, it will know be 11 or SO until he arrives. Barry asks everyone entering hotel is they are with Hertz. He makes many new friends and exchanges business cards with new sympathetic friends.
11:00pm - call new enemy Tim to find out where driver is. He will call us back.
11:15pm - Tim calls back. Driver is at Mt. Cook and can't find hotel. Barry explains that The Hermitage is the ONLY hotel and at the end of the road.
11:25pm - driver arrives with key. Informs us that it is not his job to take us to trail head to get key. Girlfriend is in only other seat in car. Barry persuades her to wait at hotel with me while they go get car. She finally agrees.
11:50pm - both driver and Barry victoriously return. Barry talks hotel into opening store and selling us water and Cokes for the driver and girlfriend.
12:00pm - call Wanaka lodging and let them know that we are know leaving. They estimate it will take between 3 and 3-1/2 hours....must go over mountain pass. (had heard how pretty the pass was from Ceci...so looking forward to it!). Drive and drive. Only see 1 car and 2 trucks and 1 closed gas station between Mt. Cook and Wanaka! Make Barry sing loudly to iPod to keep him awake while going through Lindis Pass.
2:35am - arrive at lodge. Get shown to room. Attendant leaves. We realize that our bed has NO linens! We are too tired to rectify the situation. Sleep on mattress with bedspread as cover.
8:00am - awaken to helicopter landing right outside our window! Ugh!

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We are at the foot of the Tasman Glacier after a "not so easy" hike!

Above our heads is where Mt. Cook is!!! It was shrouded in clouds!

Hakuna Matata in Otematata

Today we had a great day here in Otematata with Rachel's fun and wonderful New Zealand relatives. Barry and Mel played tennis this morning. I think Mel had mercy on Barry! Debbie has worked most of the time we ave been here preparing yummy meals. This afternoon Maddie and her friend put on their wet suits and went swimming in the glacier blue colored (and glacier cold, too!) lake. Now, that is one thing I just refuse to do! Debbie's mom and dad, Gladys and Murray, drove up to visit for a while this afternoon. It was fun to meet them. Everyone left the lake late this afternoon except for Graeme and us. We had a great dinner tonight with Graeme at the local pub....and the dessert was Mississippi Mud Pie. Turning in early.....getting an early start to Mt. Cook in the morning.

Miss America peony

Pretty Nice!

Nice....

A really Big One!

Big Fish! Big Boulders! Big Lakes! Big Mountains! Big Family!

Graham (knowing how much I love gardens) took us to a friend's peony garden. He sells to florists in the area. They were absolutely breathtaking! It was such a treat for me. My favorite variety was Miss America. We went to see the Moreki Boulders and to eat lunch on the seashore. Great fresh fish! After lunch, we went fishing with Mel (a husband of Rachel's cousin) and his fisherman extraordinaire friend.....Pete. Besides being on a beautiful river, we caught some beautiful fish! It was lots of fun! Mel took us back to Graham's where we packed up and followed Graham to the mountains. We drove to a beautiful lake where Mel and his wife, Debbie, have a great place! They treated us to a grand back yard BBQ dinner where we had fun visiting with even more of Rachel's McNeill cousins. The food and fellowship was great! We watched the national New Zealand election returns with all of Rachel's "rellies". It was very interesting!

Penguins and Lambs, Oh My!

We had a tour of the gardens and grounds at Otahuna before our late departure. The gardens are so extensive that it took 2 hours! The house and gardens were completed in early 1890's. Sir Heaton Rhodes died at age 96 with no heirs...and hIs wife had died years earlier. The house and garden passed through several hands and fell into disrepair for years. The property was bought by an American couple out of receivership in the late 90's. They have discovered the "bones" of much of the gardens and have extended the gardens beyond, beyond, beyond!!!!!! I am so happy that we were able to stays there! We drove down to Oamaru. We are staying with my sister-in-law's cousin Graeme for the night. He prepared fa beautiful dinner. We went to see the blue penguin colony. That was so much fun and interesting. Cute little critters! And I got to help feed the baby lambs!

Jimmy, the head chef, at Otahuna serving us omelets for our yummy omelets.

Barry and I in front of Otahuna on our grand garden tour! What am impressive and special sight! The head gardener, Steve, is quite a visionary.

Happy Thanksgiving Day from Down Under!

I have never spent a Thanksgiving day apart from my family.....I must admit that I have been a little weepy about it today! But, we have been in one of the most beautiful...if not THE MOST BEAUTIFUL place in the world......Banks Peninsula. Wow! Fantastic! Hard driving to get to the little seaside villages! We were rewarded with drop-dead, jaw-dropping beauty! We loved it all! We ran out of time and didn't make it everywhere on the peninsula ...... But we tried! We came back to Otahuna to another dining experience!!!!!! Wow! As great as this is, I will happily admit that I miss all of the commotion, food, touch football games on Thanksgiving Day! Happy Thanksgiving yall!!!!!

Barry's Bay!!! Just charming!!!!

We were the only people at Le Bons Bay on Banks Peninsula....just us and a seal...

Looking down on Akaroa.....if there is a prettier place than the Bank's Peninsula....I don't know of it!

Otahuna....a touch of the South on the other side of the world.......

WOW!!!!!! What a FUN driving day we had today! WHEW! We are so glad to have finally arrived at Otahuna! I think we were in the car for 8 hours. I must first mention something that we have loved looking at while we were at Eden House.......their neighbors's private golf course. Yes! It is a little ways down the road from Eden House. Evidently, the man's 17 year old son loves golf! WOW, And it is just beautiful. I am putting pics on FB of that little gem of a course. We drove in a steady rain down to Murchison. We drove along the Buller River ....it is a great place to fly fish...when it is pretty! When we left Eden House we ASSUMED we had plenty of gas in the car until we could fill up the car. All I can say is that the light came on when we had over 40k's left to go to get to Murchison....and we had to go through several other towns in route. Who knew that not every town has a gas station!? It was very tense until we glided in and filled up our car.....and it cost over $120 NZ to do that! We stopped for a quick lunch before we went up and over the pass at a place called the Honeybee Junction. I don't recommend it! We had a long drive up and over the pass. Mostly we couldn't see much until we got to the other side of the pass due to the pouring rain and the thick cloud Barry was driving through. When the rain finally let up a little and the clouds lifted, we could see that we were in a beautiful place! Driving up the long driveway to Otahuna was like gliding up to a big Southern mansion. It is just fantastic! The grounds are beautiful.....the food is fantastic! Fiona prepared the most lavish tasty 5 course dinner for us last night! Wow! And if that wasn't enough, she gilded the lily, by placing home-made chocolate truffles at our bedsides. Mmmm.......

Otahuna. At sunset!

We had a very tense half an hour with the gas indicator light on and Zero gas stations!

We had quite a drive over Arthur's Pass through the rain and in a cloud!

Otahuna.....on the Banks Peninsula....where we are now! Reminds me of antebellum homes in NOLA or Natchez.

Boating at Abel Tasman....

This morning, we drove over to Abel Tasman National Park and chartered a boat with 2 other couples. One of the couples we knew because we are all staying at Eden House. They are from the Yorkshire area of England and are so much fun! We had a ball driving to and from the boat plus spending the day with them. The other couple had their 7 year old daughter (adorable) with them....from London...staying at a different place. The weather was absolutely perfect! And the sea conditions were too! We saw lots of seals, fish, backpackers!, kayakers and so forth. Wilson Hood had told me that Abel Tasman was not to be missed....thank you, Wilson! You were right! We 4 did about an hour hike up and over from one beach/bay area to another. It was beautiful! We had a lovely lunch on the boat, too. We had one more unbelievable meal with our friends from Yorkshire, Joyce and Tom, and also our friends, Bobbie and Peter, the owners of Eden House. We laughed and laughed while enjoying the BEST FOOD IN NEW ZEALAND!!!! Simply fantastic!!!!!

The Abel Tasman National Park. We went in with 2 other couples and chartered this boat...with the captain for the day. Thanks to Bobbie and Peter..... the fabulous proprietors of Eden House that organized this very special day for all of us!

This was taken while on a hike in the beautiful Abel Tasman National Park.

Playing Chicken on 100 One Way Bridges!

We awoke to a gloomy, rainy morning. But, when you look outside and see these gardens at Eden House, everything looks sunny...even when the sky is covered with thick clouds. Of course, I think my husband looks at inclement weather as a challenge! I think he really loves it....like I know my friend Melissa Abraham does! So, we of course did not play it safe today by going into Nelson and visiting art galleries....OH NO....we drove over mountains! The rain stopped and the clouds began to flee when we started our trek over the mountains...which was great! We must have encountered over 100 one way bridges! And Barry is not shy about racing to the bridge with an oncoming car or truck to see who can get there first! And I might ad that I have never gone around as many curves as we did today! John and Elise must NEVER take their "prone to car sickness" children to Farewell Spit! Ever! I felt like we were in a time warp when we went through the town on Takaka. I haven't seen that many tie-dyed shirts, bellbottoms, and bare feet in a very long time! We went through a tiny town called Collingwood....TINY! But I found a chocolate shop there! And WOW!!!! It was fantastic! When we came to a dirt/gravel road (and might I add that it was after a LONG one-way bridge!!) did Barry hesitate to take it...even though our car rental agreement says NO UNPAVED ROADS....of course not! At the end of that up and down dirt road, we finally made it to Farewell Spit. And it was beautiful! On our way back, we stopped at a beautiful spring called Pu Pu Springs....huge! It is supposedly the cleanest, purest water on earth. It produces over 450,000,000 gallons on water every 24 hours....but yes, they call it Pu Pu Springs!

Farewell Spit....the most northern point on the South Island. Pretty fabulous!

View from my cottage at Eden House

No Worries!

We flew to the South Island today. I heard several things today at the airport from Air New Zealand that I have NEVER heard in the US from an airline before:
"Lovely, thank you." when I handed the boarding passes to the attendant.
"No worries!". When I asked to check an extra bag!
"We apologize for the late arrival into Wellington. For the 2 passengers that are on the flight to Nelson, we have contacted the pilot and they will wait on you!". We were late because of the long process of disembarking a handicapped lady.
And the owner of the Eden House unexpectedly met us at the airport and had us follow him to Eden House. It was a 45 minute drive each way! Peter was so very nice and thoughtful to have done that! It was a beautiful drive! Our cottage is so fabulous! And the food!!!!!! The food!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!! Our dinner tonight was grand!!!

Eden House in New Zealand....pretty fabulous!

Eden House is stunningly beautiful!!!!!

In one of the garden's at Huka Lodge.....

At the bottom of Huka Falls! Just beautiful!!!!

Barry waving on the bridge over Huka Falls. We both agree that it is the most beautiful and clear water that either of us has seen in a river!

Rainbows and more Rainbows!

After saying good bye to our new friends from Melbourne, we left with our favorite fishing guide, Steve, for the day. We had a ball fishing on one of the rivers! We had a great picnic lunch....and kept fishing! Steve is a great instructor! I have learned a lot! We had a great dinner tonight and enjoyed talking to a couple from Manchester. Great day!

Bringing it in!!!

At the end of a long and successful day!

Barry is a happy man!

Huka River and Falls from floatplane

Fly fishing in Taupo

Fly fishing in Taupo

Flyfishing and Floatplanes!

Another great day at The Huka Lodge! Floatplane and fishing! Doesn't get much better than that! Well, maybe it's about to get better.....the chef is preparing our trout for dinner (for which we are late!!) We love our guide....Steve! He was actually born in Leesville, Louisiana! More fishing with Steve tomorrow!

Flyfishing and Floatplanes!

Another great day at The Huka Lodge! Floatplane and fishing! Doesn't get much better than that! Well, maybe it's about to get better.....the chef is preparing our trout for dinner (for which we are late!!) We love our guide....Steve! He was actually born in Leesville, Louisiana! More fishing with Steve tomorrow!

Huka Lodge......really awesome!

Barry checking out the Huka Lodge activity list in our cottage. The beautifully clear Huka River is flowing right outside.

Sitting on the terrace at Huka Lodge! Pretty wonderful!!!

Where is my invitation???

After a long breakfast with new friends from Manchester, England, we rode around the golf course just to see it. It did not disappoint. Thought about my golf playing sons-in-laws, brothers, and friends and how much they would love it....I think! What do I know about golf.....very little! We left our new favorite place and decided to stop in Napier and just walk around and grab a bite. The town is right on the water. It was totally devastated by an earthquake in 1931. The entire town rebuilt.....in Art Deco style. It is great! The Cannon's would love it! We do! We left Napier and drove over the mountains to Taupo. We drove along Lake Taupo and then headed north. We arrived at our newest home away from home....Huka Lodge. I have wanted to come here to stay and to fish for as long as I can remember. We love the grounds, the lodge, the people, our cottage, and the food! Will let you know how the fishing goes tomorrow!!! This started out as a fishing and hunting camp in the 1920's....the original lodge has been added on to....but it is pretty awesome. 2 weeks ago, Peter Jackson (director of LOTR and now directing The Hobbit movies) had his 50th birthday party weekend here. My invitation must have come to our home while we were in Africa!

The Farm at Cape Kidnappers

On the 15th hole at the Farm at Cape Kidnappers

Gannets and ATV's!

We woke up to a gloomy day But after a fantastic breakfast, the rain blew over and we were able to have a great day riding ATV's all over the 6,000 acres of this wonderful property...minus the golf course!! Can't imagine why we were not allowed to zip over the beautiful greens on our ATV's! We loved riding out to see the largest gannet colony in the world right here on the property. It was amazing! They are very large birds with wide wingspans. They are here for 10 months of the year to nest, and lay eggs. They stay until their chicks can make the flight to The Great Barrier Reef where they stay for 2 months before returning to New Zealand. The property is filled with sheep and some cattle....rivers and mountains....and a championship golf course. It is going to be really hard to leave!!! We woke up to a gloomy day But after a fantastic breakfast, the rain blew over and we were able to have a great day riding ATV's all over the 6,000 acres of this wonderful property...minus the golf course!! Can't imagine why we were not allowed to zip over the beautiful greens on our ATV's! We loved riding out to see the largest gannet colony in the world right here on the property. It was amazing! They are very large birds with wide wingspans. They are here for 10 months of the year to nest, and lay eggs. They stay until their chicks can make the flight to The Great Barrier Reef where they stay for 2 months before returning to New Zealand. The property is filled with sheep and some cattle....rivers and mountains....and a championship golf course. It is going to be really hard to leave!!!

Gannets everywhere!!!!!!!

Another beautiful view of the sea from the Farm at Cape Kidnappers!

Barry and I on an ATV tour of the property which includes the largest gannet colony in the world. It was fabulous!! I was wishing for my sister-in-law, Rachel! She would love it!

Cape Kidnappers

It is so beautiful landing in Napier yesterday. We saw our destination area from the plane. The Farm at Cape Kidnappers. We have thought of our golfing pals, Stephen and Charlie, and how much they would love this place! The lodge and accommodations are truly topnotch! Last night our dinner was a treat. One of the premier chefs from Australia and one of the premier winemakers for 3 NZ vineyards were doing a special dinner here. It was a 7 course extravaganza! We met some interesting people and had a lot of fun. It is going to be hard to leave this place!

We are out on that point in the distance at Cape Kidnappers on the north island in New Zealand. I may never leave!

Please notice what is on either side of the runway at the Wellington International Airport!

Escape from the Nazgul location in LOTR

River Anduin and Rohan River location sites for LOTR!

Loving LOTR location sights and Wellie-world!

We leave Wellington tomorrow for Cape Kidnappers close to Napier. It has been a fun couple of days, but we are ready to move on down the road or should say island! On our first day, we took a tour of the city with a guide from our hotel. While we loved going to the Weta Cave and seeing as the locals call the suburb where Weta Works and the Weta Cave...Wellie-world, we got really bored with our tour of parliament. Yes, the buildings are all pretty, but we had 6 Chinese men, 4 Germans, and 2 Australians on the parliament tour with us. Only one of the Chinese spoke or understood English.....and there was no translating going on....they got bored quick! They kept clapping and saying the only English words they knew throughout the tour...."Thank you!" and they would try to leave. Well, you can't leave during the tour....you are a prisoner of then tour! And then you had one German man asking all kinds of political questions that were really statements. Our guide was really nice and trying to make it interesting. Today, was my favorite. We went on a Lord Of the Rings tour of locations where different scenes were shot. It was all so much fun and very interesting. All of the sets and any sign of them are gone except for the signs for Rivendell at the Kaitoke Regional Park. The park rangers grew weary of tourists asking for directions. Our guide was in the trilogy in several different parts. He was the driver of the mumak (that looks like an elephant) that Legolas killed.
Some of then places that we got to see that fellow LOTR lovers will recognize were: The Pelennor fields, Dunharrow, The Black Gate, Minas Tirith, Helm's Deep, River Anduin, Rohan River, Isengard Gardnens, the Orc Tree, the Fords of Isen, Lothlorien, the Gladden fields, and the Paths of the Dead. I did learn that with many of the scenes, it may consist of being shot here with a background from the south island and with eith computer imagery or sculpters and sets that were made out of styrofoam! We were joined by 5 cute college freshman from Northeastern in Boston. Wellington is a beautiful coastal town!

Baby, It's COLD Outside!!!!!

Brrrrr........it is feeling a lot like Christmas! We left a hot and humid Sydney early this morning.....and arrived in a very chilly Wellington! When we finally got off of the plane, we were in for quite a surprise!!!! It is so, so cold!!!! And,NO, we do not have the appropriate clothing!!!! Our plane flew to the south island and came up the middle over beautiful snowcapped peaks. We couldn'tget over the beautiful azure clear water....I could see whales! There are so many beautiful islands with gorgeous crescent beaches! I wrote, "finally got off the plane for a reason...". We actually arrived 20 + minutes early to Wellington. The captain of the flight was so excited that we were going to have such an early arrival that he just couldn't contain himself throughout the flight....he got on the PA system several times and threw that into every announcement. We were excited, too! Until we pulled up to the gate....... There was a power outage at the airport! We had to sit....and sit......and sit! New Zealand was not willing to receive us until all electricity was back on. There were 2 young moms on the flight with toddlers. They were not sitting close to me....and I will admit that I was maybe a little too happy that neither of them were. Didn't matter!!!! They just let their kids run up and down the aisle through out the entire flight...didn't phase them that the fasten seat belt light was illuminated.....or that the stewardesses were trying to serve hot coffee and breakfast....or that some passengers were trying to nap or work! I could go on and on! I was wishing for my mom who would have just had to have a few words with those young mamas!!!! But, last night I was glad that my mama was not with us.....because she would have had to correct a man that was dining very close to our table in a fine restaurant last night in Sydney! There were 2 Aussies and 1 AMERICAN... The loud American went into great erroneous detail about New Orleans, South Louisiana, Mississippi River, The Delta, Memphis, Tuscaloosa, New York, Baltimore......he was just starting on Miami when we happily paid our tab and left. I especially loved it when he was describing Commanders Palace in NOLA....bet y'all didn't know that it is atop one of the tallest hills in New Orleans and has a fantastic 360 view of the city! And they are known for their fried chicken!

Lazy, Lazy day in Sydney

We spent the morning eating breakfast and Skype-ing with our kids. It was great fun to catch up with all of them! We then went on a 2 hour cruise around the harbor..which is HUGE! We window shopped around and walked around a lot...before and after the cruise. Lazy, lazy day. It is hot and humid here!
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The Opera House and the bridge in Sydney today!

At the Saxon with Chris for brunch

World Cup Soccer Stadium in Jo'burg

At the Apartheid Museum

Legadema is a fantastic hunter!

Big Mouth in Mombo!

Hello Sydney!

We so enjoyed the time we spent in Africa! We were sad to leave! We arrived in Sydney a few hours ago. We had a great time in Jo'burg. We met our new friend, Chris Ford, for bunch at The Saxon. Or rather he collected us at The West Cliff and took us to brunch. WOW!!!! It goes down as one (if not THE) most fabulous dining experiences ever!!!!! We loved the West Cliff...but will stay at the Saxon next time! Yep, already planning a next time! We are hoping that Chris and Mandy will make plans to visit us in the USA! On Saturday, we had a private guide and he took us to The Apartheid Museum, Soweto, Nelson Mandela's former home, Walter Sisilulu Square, Hector Pieterson Museum, and the world cup soccer stadium. It was a very educational day. We both learned a lot! We are here for 3 nights until we leave for New Zealand.

The Legadema!