We left Hobbiton in the late morning and continued our trip North. There is a lot to see on the Coromandel Peninsula, but we were running out of time. We only had a couple of days left before our flight home. Fortunately, our list of things to see was growing shorter.
Among the things left…
Rained out of Hobbiton
Rain.
The next morning in Matamata we woke to glorious rain. Or, it would have been glorious had we not been planning to pay a visit to the Shire that very afternoon. After a bit of discussion we decided to venture into town and see if we could change our Hobbiton…
The next part of our tour of the North Island took us to a spot recommended to us by our overnights hosts. Sharon and Pete told us we should stop by a nearby dam before we left Taupo. The dam releases water every couple of hours. It used to have a purpose for the…
One of the main things we learned while in New Zealand is that we liked the rural, mountainous regions. We couldn't wait to get out of the cities (so when we got home we moved to LA... go figure). We left Wellington after visiting one of the Lord of the Rings Filming Locations - Weta…
Our journey to the North Island had finally arrived. It was time to say goodbye to the South Island. It had treated us well. We were up early in Picton and made ourselves ready to make the crossing to Wellington.
The little port town of Picton.
The company that ferries from Picton to Wellington is Interislander.…
Our final few days on the South Island of New Zealand brought a lot of driving. We started our day off in Motueka a little slower. We needed to catch up on some laundry now that we had almost hit the two-week mark. Luckily, Eden's Edge had laundry facilities.
We used eggs donated by…
The kitchenette at the Ashely Hotel was well outfitted for breakfast. A typical kitchenette in New Zealand has a sink, a cooktop, a microwave and an electric kettle. I usually started my day by plugging in the kettle and preparing a mug of instant coffee. Ryan and I had become quite adept at an eggs,…
Saying goodbye to Nachos...I mean Wanaka
We decided to really go for it and make the 6 hour drive up the west coast from Wanaka to Greymouth. Our list of places to see on the South Island was getting shorter and shorter as we drove around, and thru and across the island. Our list of…
A much needed break
The constant car seat sitting of our nomadic life was beginning to give me a bout of cabin fever (not to mention a flat butt!). So Ryan and I decided to stay an extra night in Wanaka. It would be a welcome rest, and good base camp as it was centrally…
A Welcome Ritual
It happens every day - morning. No matter what has happened in the previous 24 hours, I can always count on the fact that the sun will rise again and the day will start anew. Thank goodness.
And, on this particular morning we would soon be making our way to Wanaka,…