The Adventure Continues...South Island

From Tauranga we drove down the coast to a little town named Ohope. We camped in the grasses right along the beach. This was the sunset! Ok I may have done a little fancy camera work for the intense color, but it was pretty amazing :)

We drove straight south through beautiful Te Urewera National Park where Lake Waikaremoana is located. This is the biggest national park on the North Island. This is also a pretty isolated national park. Even though a state highway goes right through the middle of it there are several km of unsealed (dirt) road.

For example..... Windy mountain road? Who needs guard rails? Not kiwis!

On the way to Napier down State Hwy 2.

Napier is known for it's Art Deco architecture. After being destroyed by a massive earthquake in the 1930s they rebuilt the city with some spunk. We enjoyed a picnic along the beach in downtown Napier.

Hawke's Bay, where Napier is located, is known for it's wineries. So of course we made our way to one that Fodor's claimed as a "must see". This is Mission Estate Winery the oldest winery in New Zealand, established in 1851. It used to be a seminary. When the boys weren't working on their studies they worked in the vineyards.

The view from the balcony was amazing! I bought a bottle of Merlot that you can only purchase at this location.

Cape Kidnappers is about 15 miles south of Napier. This location got it's name after a local Maori (the native people) tried to kidnap Captain Cook's interpreter. Legend has it that the boy escaped only after plunging into the sea from these rocks.

About 10km (one way) from Clifton, the town farthest out on Cape Kidnappers, there is a huge gannet colony. This is the largest gannet colony on a main land. This large white seabird has wings that can reach a span of 6 feet! We hiked 2.5 hours each way to see these amazing birds. It's an easy hike along the beach. You just have to time the tides right or there isn't any beach left to hike on!

We took the Interislander Ferry across the Cook Strait from Wellington, on the north island, to Picton on the south island. Yes, Black Betty got to go too.

Driving onto the ferry. It's cold and rainy.

Driving off the ferry. It's cold and rainy here too!

There is a beautiful drive down the east coast from Picton to Blenheim called Port Underwood Road. We did most of the drive during an overcast day, but came back to some of it the next day when it was sunny. Quite a difference the sun makes!

We did a day hike along the Queen Charlotte Track. This track goes for about 42 miles along the Marlborough Sounds. In our short hike we saw beautiful native bush (forest) and nice sandy beaches.

Evidently the latrines along hiking trails don't like trash. :)

If you ever travel on any "off the beaten path" roads in New Zealand, you should just assume you'll be going through some farm land. This beautiful location was the road to French Pass.

French Pass is the location where the waters of the Tasman Bay meet the waters of the Cook Strait. This narrow stretch of water moves at up to 9 knots during the high tides and makes boating through very dangerous. It sounds like white water rapids on the river.

Laundry Day at a campground near Nelson.

Back to the land of the Kiwis :)

After waiting in line for over an hour, a brief argument with the check-in lady, an express pass through security, and sprinting through the Sydney airport we were on a plane back to New Zealand. Here is what we have been up to in the last two weeks since we've been back....

We helped with a dirt bike ride school fun raiser for the Smith family kiddos. John was testing out the track. :)

A short hike to Hunua Falls.

The Smith's beach house that we got to stay in for several days in Whangamata. Thanks Lynley and Alan!

The Whangamata Beach. So beautiful!

Another beautiful waterfall. Owharoa Falls in the Karangahake Gorge.

Karangahake Gorge hiking trail.

Karangahake Gorge hiking trail. The trail hugs the side of the mountain just above the river.

This tunnel is 1km long and really, really DARK! We didn't walk all the way through. Not all the lights were lit and it was really creepy!

We hiked to the top of Mount Maunganui. This extinct volcano is nearby Tauranga.

View of the ocean from the top. If you look closely in the lower right hand corner you can see very tiny people walking on the trail.

That hill in the distance is Mount Maunganui from the Tauranga suburbs.

The Great Barrier Reef, Cairns

Sydney

We had about 12 hours in Sydney before we flew to Cairns, so we rented a car, picked up Bill & Nicole, and visited some places we missed last time.

Olympic Center from the 2000 Olympics. This is a view from a balcony in one of the hotels. We visited the visitors center, the ring walk, Olympic Boulevard, and the tennis center.

This is the thing where they put the Olympic Flame after it's been lit.

We drove over the Harbor Bridge!

The little neighborhood we ate lunch in on the other side of the Harbor Bridge. The trees all have beautiful purple flowers on them. This photo was taken through a polarized filter.

A view of the Harbor Bridge and the Opera House.

We drove under the Harbor through the Sydney Harbor Tunnel on the way back.

Cairns

This is a beautiful little town on the far northwest coast of Australia. Most people venturing off to see the many reefs that make up the Great Barrier Reef start here.

We took a boat out to see the Great Barrier Reef. The company we chose took us to two different reefs. This company let us snorkel and try diving.

First reef: Hastings Reef, The fish bowl area.

All geared up and ready to go.

There goes John.

After about 30 minutes of snorkeling we both got to try scuba diving. Angela didn't feel very comfortable so she continued snorkeling. John loved scuba diving and got some great photos about 10 meters under the water.

John's great photo of a clown fish. Just like Nemo!

Second Reef: Saxon Reef, Canyons area

This fish looks really colorful, but don't get too cozy. It has huge teeth!

Just outside of Cairns: We took a historic train through the rainforest to a little town called Kuranda. There are markets and little restaurants here.

This is a local coffee shop. Each time we drank down the foam the barista put more foam on top! So tasty!

We thought we would import some local Kuranda honey back to the US, but New Zealand won't let it in. Guess we'll have to settle for a photo this time.

We rode in a gondola over the top of the rainforest on the way back. The gondola is 7km long!