Day 61 - Bay of Islands Boat Tour

Sailboat on the Cloudy Horizon

Hole in the Rock

Bay of Islands from the Water

Dolphins Swimming by Our Boat

One of the best parts about the trip to the North tip of the North Island was the chance to go on a boat tour of the Bay of Islands. Not only was the famous Hole in the Rock absolutely humbling, but we got a chance to see some dolphins up close and personal as they swam and played along side our boat. It was amazing!

Day 60 - Sand Boarding & Cape Rienga

Me Sliding Down a Small Hill to Work up the Courage for a Bigger One

NZ Flag at the Dunes

Dune Surfing: Large Hill

Jumping Shot, Cape Rienga

11222 km to Vancouver, BC

Cape Rienga Light House

View of the Coast Line from Cape Rienga

Today was a beautiful day! Perfect to do some sandboarding. We drove up to [almost] the most northern point of New Zealand to some HUGE sand dunes, rented a boogie board, and hit the sand. The dune that we had to climb up was really big and quite steep but sliding down was so much fun I was always motivated enough to climb back up and do it again. After sliding down the dunes, we drove to Cape Rienga. There's not much there other than a light house and some beautiful views. But views of the coastline are always worth the trip!

Day 59 - Kauri Forest

View of Some Distant Dunes

I Don't Know What These are but They're Awesome

Te Matua Ngahere (Father of the Forest)

Trunk Girth: 16.41 m

The Four Sisters

After being back in Auckland for less than 24 hours, I was already on my way up North for another adventure. We were staying near Paihia at a friend's house. The first day there was pretty rainy so we decided it would be a good day to head to Kauri Forest to see some of the largest trees in New Zealand. The natives here have many legends about the Kauri trees and the forests are protected due to nearly being wiped out by early European settlers. As usual there were also lots of views of dunes and beaches along the way.

Day 57 - South Island - Christchurch

Flower in the Botanical Gardens

Peacock Fountain in the Botanical Gardens

Cathedral Square

My last day in the South Island was in Christchurch. I only had one evening there before catching my flight back to Auckland. It was a beautiful city and it was great walking around Cathedral Square and the Botanical gardens. A nice relaxing way to spend the end of my trip. It was also a nice break from the freezing winds on the West Coast.

Day 56 - South Island - Punakaiki

Roadside View

Flowers at the Side of the Road

Kimberly "I'm Free"

Pancake Rocks

Pancake Rocks at Sunset

Hiking Trail

Stream on the Hike

A Plant You Don't Want to Mess With

Cave Entrance

Cave Entrance Ceiling

Last night I stayed in Franz Joseph, after my glacier hike, and my original plan was to just drive to Greymouth today and stay the night. But, instead I decided to drive an hour further up north to Punakaiki to see the Pancake Rocks. On the way there were again beautiful sights from the roadside. When I stopped to take a few photos, there was a trail going through the brush where I thought I could go through to get a better view, but at the end of the trail there was just a little clearing with a grave that read "Kimberly 'I'm Free' ".

The Pancake Rocks are large rock formations that were created by thousands of years of erosion and look like hundreds of pancake shaped rocks stacked on top of each other. Apparently sometimes during high tide, the water rushes up through the caverns made by the rocks and creates "blow holes", shooting water meters into the air. Unfortunately at this time of year high tide is at night, and they require the right kind of winds.

After looking at the rocks I went for a two hour hike through the rainforest. At the end of the trail, there was a cave, which I did not go into due to lack-of-flashlight. But, it was still worth the walk. The hike wasn't easy and I even had to take off my socks and shoes at one point to walk through the river. After an hour nap in the car I took a last walk around the Pancake Rocks, got in the car, and drove back to Greymouth. Another good day :)

Day 55 - South Island - Fox Glacier Hike

Sun Shining on the Valley

Going Down Into the Ice Cave

View From on the Glacier Looking Towards the Peak

Amazing Patterns Created by the Ice and Rock Sediment

Strapping on the Crampons

Drinkable Glacier Water

View from the Valley

(the glacier used to be where I am taking the photo in the 60's)

Today I did the half day Fox Glacier hike. It was so amazing. Its hard to imagine that there is absolutely no snow that falls on the whole glacier except for at the peak. The snow falls and gets packed down into the valley forming ice, and as the snow keeps packing down, it pushes the ice slowly down the valley. The Glacier is a total of 13km long and is one of the only glaciers in the world that is surrounded by lush rain forest. Its also one of the fastest moving glaciers, growing/shrinking one meter everyday depending on rainfall.

Because the bottom of the glacier is so unstable, we walked through the rain forest for 45 mins before strapping on our crampons and hiking across the ice. Half way through the forest we stopped where water was running off the rocks so we could fill up our water bottles. It was the freshest drink I've ever had! When we got to the center of the glacier, we got to crawl into an ice cave to snap some pictures. Because of the light refraction in the ice, it gives off this beautiful blue colour. Truly amazing!

We started out hike back down just as the sun was starting to set. It was beautiful seeing the rays of sunshine on the valley below. A great end to the day :)

Day 54 - South Island - West Coast to Fox Glacier

Town of Fox Glacier at Sunset

My Contribution to the Roadside Sculpture

Roadside on the Way to Fox Glacier

Knights Point Lookout

Waterfall En-Route to Fox Glacier

Blue Pools

Blue Pools

Lookout Point at the Top of the Mountains Leaving Queenstown

I drove up the West Coast of the South Island today, a drive which would normally take 4.5 - 5 hours but I took 7. There was just so much to see! I got out of the car at almost every lookout point. I didn't even get an hour out of Queenstown before the first awesome view. It was just mountain ranges and fields for miles. Then a couple of hours up the road I saw a sign that said "Blue Pools - 300m on the Right" and I thought... hmm I have to check that out. And I'm so glad I did! They were pools that gathered where two glacial rivers met, and the water was so beautiful! The next stop I made was a waterfall just down the road. It was a half hour walk through the woods to get there, and the waterfall was really big. The picture doesn't really do it justice. Another great stop was Knights Point, where you could look out to the ocean. There were a lot of really cool rock formations in the water. Once I got to the bottom of this mountain there was a beautiful rocky coastline, and all along the roadside were stacks of rocks and beach wood that people had placed strategically in weird positions. It stretched on for about 300 meters. It was very cool! I finally arrived in Fox Glacier at about 5:30 as the sun was setting. Once it was dark out, the other 4 girls in my room and myself went on a quick half our walk through the rainforest to see the glow worms. They're outstanding! This was the best day of my trip so far!

Day 53 - South Island - Milford Sound

Mirror Lakes: Upside Down Sign

New Zealand Fur Seals Sleeping on Rocks

Waterfall Just Before we go Through the Mist

Shot From the Cruise

Waterfall View from the Cruise

Milford Sound Shore

Waiting to go Through a One Way Tunnel on the Way to Milford Sound

A Stop On the Way to Milford Sound

The first day I was here I met a German girl who was more than happy to share expenses to come along to Milford Sound for the day. It was a great trip, and we couldn't ask for better weather. Although it rained for most of the ride there, the sun was hot and shinning when we got to there. After four and a half hours of driving, we finally arrived. We had booked a cruise (I had a 2 for 1 pass from the car rental place) and had an hour or so to spare, so my new friend went for a walk while I had a 20 minute nap in the car (I had to refuel before the next four and a half hours back). The cruise was great because we got to see some great scenery and some New Zealand fur seals! On the way back we stopped quickly to snap a few shots at the Mirror Lakes, which weren't too mirror-like because of all the ducks swimming in the water, but you get the idea. All in all in was a great day!