All day long I have thought of a special way to honor our mom on her birthday.   I could not think of any words to write that seemed special enough. 

But then I found the video of her water skiing and the poem she always loved. 

Mom, 

I hope your birthday is being spent on a pristine lake surrounded by snowy mountains with dad by your side.  Your kids are thinking of you today and every day.  We are doing our best to honor and live our lives guided by your love.    

With all my love, appreciation and admiration.  
Your loving daughter.

Jill

PASSWORD: diana

Our first full day in Queenstown, Ryan and I drove an hour outside the city to horseback ride.  After the ride, I asked Ryan if he thinks horses can talk. As the horses were lined up waiting for their assigned riders I’m pretty sure mine was whimpering 

“Please not the big girl.  Not the big girl!…..."

"DANG it!”  

I only say that because while all the other horses willingly sauntered over to their rightful rider, mine pretty much looked like this guy.  

Oh Keg….we eventually bonded, didn’t we?  I think we connected once you realized I sympathized with your irresistible desire to snack.  You held strong during our ride,  and for that I am proud. 

Keg and I had a wonderful two and a half ride through Queenstown countryside.  Ryan and Enos had an um….survivable ride.  Poor Ryan strained his back pulling one of our luggage pieces out of the back of the car, so his ride was a bit unbearable.  I began calling us Brains and Brawn.  There had to be some explanation to all nearby witnesses when I was the one carrying the heavy luggage. 

Brains was a trooper though and tried his best to enjoy the horseback ride as best as possible.  How could he not???  The countryside was beautiful.  We crossed many rivers while traveling through Paradise on the Rees (an area used for many films…including the Lord of the Ring movies). 

I loved our horseback riding experience.  It was the quintessential New Zealand experience I was hoping for. 

We loved Queenstown!!!  It was somewhat like Whistler with a ski resort feel.  Tons of awesome restaurants and shops with mountains on one side and water on the other.  We rode the gondola up one mountain and took the luge down.  Fun!!  We purchased the picture posted of us on the gondola, but I wish we would have purchased the last picture in which Ryan pretended to slap my face.  Hilarious!

The last stop before leaving Queenstown was to visit the Kiwi and bird sanctuary.  Normally, this wouldn’t be my thing, but it actually was quite fun.  Birds dive bombing my head gives me the fear that spiders do for most people.   I say this, but it was I who woke my husband up from a very sound sleep our last night in New Zealand.  I was screaming “Oh my God!  Oh my God!” while throwing off all the bedding onto the floor.   I had rolled over in my sleep and saw a spider the size of my hand dropping down from the ceiling onto the comforter.  Thank God it was only a dream.  :)  Luckily he still loves me and just needed a little time the next morning before exchanging pleasantries. 

We flew out of Queenstown and stayed one day in Christchurch.  The one feeling I had from visiting Christchurch is….depressed.  Four years ago two earthquakes destroyed this city.  Where there were beautiful, historical old buildings now lay a barren lot.  If not a bare lot, there are huge vacant buildings just waiting to be leveled.  The city felt a little like a ghost town or what may have been the beginning of an episode from the Walking Dead.  (Okay….slight exaggeration…but it was pretty sad.)  After the earthquake they suffered over 300 aftershocks in the following year.  One in 10 houses we saw had major construction going on or was vacated.  I guess it is a HUGE problem because people are living in the garages or not living in their houses at all because the houses have been deemed unsafe.  Home owners are paying on their mortgages, not living in them and still waiting for repairs.  IF you are in construction and want a work visa…Christchurch may just be the market for you.  They estimate it will take 50-100 years for the economy to recover.  It was so sad and devastating, but I’m glad we at least stopped over for a bit.  It was pretty remarkable to see.

Our last day in New Zealand was spent where we started our trip, in Auckland.  We had dinner at The Depot…. The number one ranked restaurant in Auckland…and it didn’t disappoint.

Well, New Zealand, we anticipated you being the trip of a lifetime.  You did not disappoint.  Two and a half weeks together, Ryan and I (thankfully) still want to remain married.  :)  We had the BEST and most unforgettable time.  Our favorites in no order of importance:

1)      Abel Tasman – kayaking

2)      Waitomo caves

3)      Key Summit hike (Fjordlands)

4)      Horseback riding (Queenstown)

5)      Visiting with old friends

6)      Auckland

Until we come back for another short ‘holiday’ or to permanently retire…..signing off.

Sweet as New Zealand.  Sweet as.

~Brains and Brawn

A fiord is defined as a u-shaped glacier-carved valley which has been flooded by the sea.  The fiord lands of New Zealand are called the Fjordlands because the original founders spelled it wrong.  (My kind of peeps!))  It has been listed as one of the "eighth" wonders of the world.  It is a stunning part of New Zealand and is frequented by many tourists via tour bus, car or hiking for its beauty, magnificent waterfalls and serenity.  Much of the landscape is what you see in the Lord of the Rings movies and the pictures cannot come close to doing it justice. The sheer magnitude of the cliffs and mountains is breathtaking.

The closest town is 90 minutes away in Te Anau which is two hours away from Queenstown.  We flew from Abel Tasman to Queenstown and drove to Te Anau where we stayed one night before moving onto Milford Sound (The Fjordlands).  Te Anau sits on a lake and has a population similar to Manson, WA.  Small population in the winter and busy in the summer as there are lots of summer homes located along the lake.  It was pretty, but in comparison to the rest of New Zealand, it was kind of unremarkable. 

On our way from Te Anau to Milford Sounds we stopped to hike the Key Summit (a section from one of the great walks.).  It was a moderate hike in difficulty, but exceptional in beauty.  About 15 minutes into our hike, in between breaths, I told Ryan “Hey Speed Racer!  Dial it back a notch.  I’m not going for speed here!” 

I'm not sure what made me more breathless, the non stop uphill climb at a the pace of a wanna be marine,  or this view of his behind the entire time  :) 

After the hike we made our way to the one and only lodge in Milford Sound. There were a few beautiful chalets on the river and the rest was reserved bunk rooms for all the back packers.  The drive down there was like no other.   During one section you drive through a one way tunnel carved through a mountain.  The digging of the Homer Tunnel began in 1935 with just five men, their picks and wheelbarrows.  The tunnel was not finished until 1954 with intermittent deaths during those years due to avalanches.  It climbs 945 feet in just ¾ of a mile.  The rest of the drive is also quite hairy, but extraordinary.

After dinner that night (in the one and only bar/café) Ryan schooled me at Cricket.  Ahem…. I beat him TWICE at 301.  But who’s keeping track?

In the morning we woke up to take one of the smaller cruises around the sound.  The weather was beautiful and sunny which is quite rare in those parts.  It usually rains two out of three days in Milford Sound.  Crazy enough, Ryan and I had kind of hoped for rain because the number of waterfalls multiplies tenfold.  

As it was, it was beautiful scenery and I got my share of a few waterfalls here and there.  

After Milford Sound we drove back to Te Anau for one more night’s stay to break up the longer drive back to Queenstown.  As a treat, Ryan booked two massages for us the morning before we left.  She commented on how tight my shoulders seemed.  Ummm….yeah….have you not driven your roads?

One last thing before I end this post….3/4 of the visitors in Te Anau are Chinese who are driven in by chartered busses.  There was one Chinese restaurant across the street from the supermarket.  Both nights Ryan and I were in Te Anau the restaurant was packed.  This was the road sign posted across the street from the restaurant.  Does this not seem a little bit racist to anyone else??

Our first stay on the South Island is in Abel Tasman, more specifically, the town of Takaka.  Takaka is the hippie capital of New Zealand.  Dinner on our first night was at a place called Dangerous Kitchen.    Dreadlocks, hemp skirts and bare feet all over the restaurant.  Men were jamming on the piano with a flutist performing interpretive dance and singing…oh there was singing.  The food was all organic and very tasty.  In fact, most of New Zealand is very healthy with every restaurant catering to gluten free (not so much dairy free, vegetarian or vegan.)

Our first morning in Abel Tasman we woke up and drove to Golden Bay where we hiked through sheep pastures to a beautiful, white sandy beach.  The water is aqua blue and wonderful.   I practiced my ‘Warrior Three’ pose and this guy tried to show me up with his ‘Up Dog.’

After the beach Ryan and I played a little cribbage.  Then I wrote for the blog while Ryan cooked us dinner on the ‘barbie’.    Grass fed ribeye, grilled peppers, sauteed greens and baked potatoes.  He finished it off with some yummy grilled peaches. 

We are staying at a privately owned rental on a sheep farm.  Our view is fantastic and we can hear beautiful birds singing which I’ve never heard before.    The cows are mooing and the crickets are amazing.  The mosquitoes love Ryan’s blood….high HDL and low triglycerides.... they found themselves a feast.

On our second day in Abel Tasman, our most favorite day so far, we rented kayaks for the day and kayaked all through Abel Tasman.  We paddled by the most beautiful rockery islands with seals bathing on platforms.  In one inlet huge Manta Rays sailed underneath our kayaks.  Every white sandy beach was isolated and inhabited.  We paddled all the way to Separation Point on a secluded beach where we parked our kayak, ate our lunch and hiked five miles up into the mountain.  It was the most spectacular hike, experience and day I think I’ve ever been blessed with!!

After five hours exploring we decided to paddle our two hours back to base.  In the same bay where we saw the Manta Rays there was no talking to be had.  The winds had picked up a little bit and my sergeant would not allow me to talk or take any breaks.  Must. Keep. Paddling. 

It was phenomenal and I cannot wait to do it again one day soon!!  I’m trying to talk Ryan into retiring here one day or at least renting a home for a few months at a time.  We will see.  I may have to bribe him with more sweaters and socks.

Lastly, I will just leave you with this.  Ryan and I left the grocery store and I saw graffiti and free speech at it's best (worst?).  Come to find out, it's not graffiti but a company who rents vans with different racy sayings. Wha?!?!?  I've seen a few more vans since then, but not quite as racy as this one.  Supposedly, there is a lot of backlash from the Kiwi's about the level of inappropo.  :) 

After Tongariro we drove four hours to Wellington.  The drives here are extremely challenging due to VERY windy roads.  When the signs give you a warning of 15 kph (9 MPH), you MIGHT be able to visualize what we are driving.  Bridges are for only one car at a time.  You have to stop and wait for cars coming the opposite direction to cross and then you may proceed.  Almost every road in New Zealand is windy, with very sharp turns and sometimes steep cliffs off to one side.

Nothing is a straight shot, and cruise control is pointless here. The speed limit posted is primarily 100 kph (60 mph.)  In the states you can drive 20-30% faster than the posted speed limit and still feel safe.  Here, their speed limit is THE LIMIT and even then we are driving way under.  There is NO WAY you can drive 60 mph on most of these roads.  But….driving here offers the most extraordinary landscapes....IF you are the passenger and can afford to take your eyes off the road.

We have driven past so many sheep and cow pastures.  Wool and dairy are two of the primary industries here.  I can’t even tell you how happy it makes me to see all the grass fed animals everywhere we go.  They are not living in crates, but grazing all day long on beautiful pastures.  They are living my dream job!!   Eating all day long….hello…

Wellington is a neat town.  Smaller than Auckland.  Beautiful water surrounds the area.  Reminds me a bit of Alki or the Oregon coast, but with aqua blue water, breakers and surfers. By far, Ryan and my favorite part of Wellington was meeting up with a few friends for drinks.  Made our hearts happy.  Well that, and the incredible dinner we ate celebrating our two year anniversary.  It was definitely one of the top five meals we’ve ever had.  I would have liked to try one of everything on the menu. But there were greener pastures we needed to explore beyond Wellington.  Eating everything on the menu could have prevented me from fitting into my plane seat coming home.

Before bidding goodnight to Wellington and our two year anniversary date, Ryan gave me this very thoughtful and special gift.  It’s a kiwi charm he had engraved weeks ago with our second anniversary date of 3.9.15.  In return, I gave Ryan an equally thoughtful gift of a sweater and socks.  Lucky man, I tell you, lucky man.

Leaving Wellington we took the Islander Ferry from the North Island to the South Island.  The ferry is an upscale ferry.  A ferry, nonetheless, where people think it’s okay to crowd your personal space taking their shoes off and stretching their huge, dirty feet in your area.  Duuuddddeee.   Ryan and I left the rude invasion of dirty feet and hit the deck to take in the beautiful passage between the islands.

From the ferry dock we drove two hours to a small town of Nelson and had lunch.  Really really cute town.  I would have liked to spend a few more hours exploring, but Takaka (a small town on the outskirts of Abel Tasman) awaits.

From Auckland we drove four hours to Tongariro.  We had planned our trip around two things…Milford Sound and the Tongariro Crossing.  The crossing is listed as one of the Top 10 One Day Hikes in the world. It is approximately a 14 mile hike taking you across volcanoes and alpine lakes.  Unfortunately, 45 mph winds and a temperature of 0 degree Celsius (32 degree Fahrenheit) prevented us from taking this hike.  Kind of a bummer…but all was not lost…

The bed and breakfast where we stayed gave us this view from our room! 

The first night we saw the moon rise over the hill and sit above the mountain.  Extraordinary.  Being the very cool kids we are we played scrabble and sipped our tea while enjoying the beautiful scenery.

This place was wonderful!  It is owned by a husband and wife who spent five years designing the property.  There was not one thing they didn’t think of.  The whole place was run on solar energy and water they collected from the rain.  It was brand new construction, modern and beautiful.

The Tongariro hike did not happen, but sometimes straying from the original plan can lead to equally if not improved results.  Our plan B was to skip the hike, back track two hours and visit the Lost World of the Waitomo caves.  It was out of this world and beyond epic.

First let me start by saying, in New Zealand we have yet to sign a waiver.  They don’t ask you to sign your life away like they do in the states.  I don’t know how I feel about that.  I can only believe it is because the law prohibits people here from suing and there’s a 2% tax the government collects to pay for any claims of injury or wrong doing.

At the Waitomo caves we met up with our two guides, Chris and Flynn, along with four other men.  At first it was like pulling teeth for the guides to get any one of them to talk.  Hmmm… I thought…this is going to be fun.  I later found out two of them were Swedes, one was from Estonia and the other was a New Zealand gentleman who was a little softer spoken.   With most of our party not speaking very good English, Jill’s internal need for everyone to have fun clicked in and the stupid misunderstood jokes ensued.  The guides seemed to pick up what I was laying down decided to have fun of their own.

On the drive out to the caves I asked how long they had been working as guides and both of them acted like it was their first week on the job (not true).  I believed them.  Jolly Jill was now a little concerned and a little less fun.   

We arrived at the destination of the caves, changed into our flattering blue suits and big white boots. From there we needed to RUN down to the platform because torrential rain and side winds decided to up the ante on my nerves.  As I was harnessed in and sitting on a bar perched off the platform, I just told myself not to look down the 33 stories to the ground.  I began reciting in my head the possible news story of the guides who used bad judgment in questionable weather by letting us continue with our excursion.   Before we began our descent Ryan looked at me and says “This was your idea!”

And yes….I take cred for that, because it was AMAZING!!!  We abseiled down 33 stories into a lost world of caves.  The site and experience was indescribable.  We hiked through beautiful rockery which at one point used to be part of the ocean.  There was rushing water and fossilized shells and every now and then an eel who did not look all too happy to see us.  

Our guide told one of the Swedes to pet one of the eels on his head.  The ocean snake responded with a swift open jaw attempt to take off some of his skin.  When I asked the guide if it would have hurt for him to be bitten, he laughed and said “Yeah….it probably would have drawn some blood.” 

Hmmm…about that waiver.

We hiked all through the caves until we found ourselves in complete darkness surrounded by Glowworms (which really are just maggots who leave larva and create string to catch prey.)  But maggots don’t sound all that inviting so we will stick with Glowworms…and they were beautiful!”

I’m pretty sure the guides had questions about me doing this hike.  Well… with my manicured hands and not being a fit Swede and all.  But I was told, like it was a question at some point in time, “Jill, you’re moving along nicely and doing quite well.”  But the best compliment of all was when they thought I was in my early thirties and had the same facial features as Heidi Klum.  That may have only been because I said I’m often mistaken for her (lie!) and we both have two eyes, a nose and a mouth. 

To get out of the cave we had to clip onto a very scary, very tall metal ladder and climb straight up.  I wanted to stop…..so…..many….times because my arms were getting tired and I needed to catch my breath.   But I didn’t.  I climbed that ladder like a boss.    The Swedes had nothing on me.

After the caves we drove the two hours back to our place in Tongariro where we barely made it back to have dinner before they closed everything in town….AT 9:00!!

With a full belly, a day full of amazing experiences and full heart…I bid Tongariro goodnight for the last time.

I haven’t posted to this blog for a bit because I wanted to immerse myself in my travels and not in my computer.

We are eight days into our trip and so far it has been amazing.

We lost two days in travel…one full day traveling and one day with the time change (which still confuses the heck out of me).  It was a long day of travel, but really not as bad as I anticipated.   We went through security three times and customs in New Zealand where I had to claim the 15 pounds of food I packed.  I felt like the closet alcoholic who hides liquor in every little nook and cranny in the house.  I was pulling gallon bags of food from every compartment in each of our luggages to be exposed on the cold, metal table.  Quite embarrassing when the customs lady says, “You know we have food here, right?”

Ryan may have given me a hard time then, but we haven’t had to buy breakfast once.  We’ve had plenty to eat for lunches and snacks if we are out and about.  (Note…I’m not picky.  I just have so many allergens and breakfast is the hardest for me to work around.)

We arrived back at our hotel after our first time driving on the opposite side of the road.  It was similar to when we taught Austin how to drive.  We asked him to talk through everything he saw on the road and what he needed to do.  Ryan and I kept repeating “Center median is to our right…center median is to our right.” Ryan did an awesome job driving except for the windshield wipers he activated every time he wanted to change lanes and the natural tendency to hug the outside shoulder.  As a reward for his solid driving, he was treated to the awesome visual of my ankles which had turned into the size of my calves and my calves into the size of my thighs…all due to the hours upon hours in the plane.  My husband is  one VERY lucky man.

After sailing, we decided to drive an hour out of town to Piha, a black sandy beach.  When we told the concierge of our plans, he did seem to have a little smirk on his face.  Perhaps it is because he thought he could give away our room, as we were very unlikely candidates to make it through that drive unscathed.  The road was crazy scary.   Extremely narrow with cliffs on one side of the road.  Try coupling that with driving in a new city, in an unfamiliar car, driving on the opposite side of the car AND the road.   I lost a few years of my life on that drive and truth be told, Ryan was white knuckling it the entire time.  When our GPS lady announced we had a round-about approaching where we needed to ‘give way’ Ryan would respond with “Dear God!”

The second day in Auckland was spent by taking a trip up to Mount Eden where we had a vantage point to see the whole town.  Then we visited the Auckland Zoo so Ryan could finally see a Kiwi and share a special moment with a giraffe.    I guess SHE didn’t have swollen ankles.