New Zealand

" I " enjoyed NZ...the country is very green and lush, and the people are wonderful.  I enjoyed the South Island more than the North, although we drove to the very north tip of the north island to Ninety Mile beach and the drive along the coast was beautiful and Ninety Mile beach was incredible.  Enjoyed Napier, Gisborne, Rotorua (didn't smell the day we were there) and the Coromandel area.  We started on the South Island in Christchurch and it was eye opening to see the destruction wreaked by the earthquakes.  It is a testament to the character of the people who are still living there, as there are aftershocks almost everyday.  We woke up in the middle of the night twice because the earth was moving...lol.  We moved onto the Nelson area where we spent a day hiking in the Abel Tasman Nat'l Park, which was gorgeous...right along the coast, along beautiful beaches and blue, blue water of the Tasman Sea.  Then the drive from Westport to Greymouth was the most beautiful drive on the island.  Rugged coastline with the pancake rock formations and blowwholes.  We rolled in to Queenstown in a torrential downpour, but the next day it cleared up and we were able to tour the town, which reminded me a bit of Banff, that kind of atmosphere.  From there on to Milford Sound which was beautiful.  We had a gorgeous day and because of the rain the day before, there were all kind of waterfalls on the rock faces.  We also had a gorgeous day when we drove by Mt. Cook and we could see it clearly in all it's glory.  On to Dunedin, which had a lot of historic buildings, which I love.  Then back to Christchurch to fly to Australia.  
On the negative side, we experienced cooler and wetter than normal weather, which was a bit disappointing.  And it is expensive...they charge you for everything.  I think if they could charge you to breathe the air they would!!!  I think that is what frustrated Glen the most about NZ...and you know when you hit Glen hard in his pocketbook he doesn't react well....lol!!!!!