Leaving Queenstown

 

We’re leaving Queenstown today and heading to the Marlborough Region farther north.  It was a beautiful day so I headed out for a long walk with camera in hand.  

BTW the average annual temperatures in New Zealand are between 50F to 77F, most people assume it is a lot colder.  It’s perfect here, I hate to leave!

Can you spot the kiwi(s) in these photos?

 

If you guessed all of them you’re right.  Any person born and raised in New Zealand is called a Kiwi.  It’s not derogatory, it’s considered a term of endearment.

  

The kiwi bird on the next page is the national bird of New Zealand.  It’s a cute little flightless bird and is only found in New Zealand.

And of course we all know the kiwi fruit named after the cute little kiwi bird.

Kayaking through thousands of years of eroding rock water ways

 

We kayaked through these water canals which took thousands of years to carve through the rocks at the bottom of waterfalls.  The light danced through the crystal clear water.

Fiordland National Park

 

We took a boat ride through the Fiordland National Park which is one of the biggest fiord areas in the world.  Fiords are defined as steep glacier carved mountains that connect to deep lakes that ultimately connect to the ocean.

We had an unusually cool, snowy day but we made the most of it and loved the journey.  I think if I were to do it again I would go on an overnight boat cruise so I could also see the fiords in their dynamic colors at sunrise and sunset.  And see the stars at night with no competing light.  Oh well…next time.

New Zealand’s history is built on respect for the environment

 

The more we focus on the wonders of nature, the less taste we have for destroying it.

Adventure Capital of the World

 

Queenstown is known as “The Adventure Capital of the World”… so when in Rome….we went on this jet boat down the Dart River with great views and lots of thrills, then kayaked through the mountain passes. Queenstown is also where bungy jumping was invented…hhmmm we’ll have to think about that one???

Queenstown, New Zealand

 

We arrived in Queenstown today.  What a contrast!  Vietnam is about the same size as New Zealand however Vietnam has 100,000,000 people and New Zealand has only about 5,000,000.  They say there are more sheep here than people.  The air is clean, cool, crisp and my lungs are thanking me for it!  Because we are in the Southern Hemisphere its Spring here rather than Fall.  We’re looking forward to exploring tomorrow…