We had a well-timed visit of family during Angie’s School break in August. Angie’s Mom, Aunt, Uncle and Cousin came all the way from the states just to see us.And as long as they were here, we decided to see some of New Zealand also. So after a few days in Wellington, we all headed for the South Island. Our 10-day trip covered a lot of ground, from Dunedin to the Milford Sound to Queenstown and Christchurch. This was also the first time for Angie and I in that part of the country and we were all blown away.
(Aunt Elaine, Uncle Fred, Mom, Angie and Cousin Colleen)
After a day near Dunedin watching rare Yellow-Eyed Penguins coming in from work, we headed for Milford Sound, one of the most awe-inspiring places on earth. Like all nature shots, the pic and video here hardly does it justice.
These mountains come right out of the water and with the recent snowfall, there were giant waterfalls cascading down everywhere we looked. As if the boat tour wasn’t cool enough, they also threw in a pod of dolphins jumping along side the boat and a few whales on the horizon.
Then off to the adventure capital of Queenstown, the birthplace of bungee jumping and all things sorts of adrenaline thrills. So whom of this crew do you think jumped off the mountain at the first opportunity? You got it, the youngster with the mustache. Fred and his daughter Colleen didn’t even need a push. They were either tired of traveling with us or up for the biggest thrill of the trip.
I guess Queenstown really brings out the adventurer in everybody - even Angie’s mom threatened to bungee jump. Instead we opted instead for the wineries down the road that were the most stunning we’ve ever seen, nestled in a narrow mountain valley.
We had way more fun than should be legal while the family was here, including scrap iron art, castles, chocolate fountains, almost-Ritz Carltons and getting stuck in two-inches of snow, like they had to come all the way from Minnesota for that.
