Auckland, NZ

Our last stop in New Zealand was Auckland.

Auckland is a vibrant city and we enjoyed exploring.

We also took a ferry ride to nearby Waiheke Island, visiting wineries, olive groves and sightseeing.

We even learned how to make own flavors of gin & tonic using essential oils.
Fun!

 Back in the city, we explored the fish market,

Sampled some sweets from the sweet shop

 And decided to have our last meal in New Zealand in the Sky Tower.

 It was a great way to end our trip!

We really enjoyed Australia and New Zealand.
They are clean, modern countries with warm friendly people.
Fond memories!

Glowworms, Picnics & Peacocks

On our way to visit the national park, 

we toured a glowworm cave.

The glowworm glow due to bio luminescence to attract prey.

They like the humid climate in caves.

 No photos were allowed in the caves, but we did ride a boat through an marvel at the glowworms over our heads.

We also had lunch at a New Zealand farm

where they served us some of the best meatloaf I've ever had.

The owner had lovely gardens and look who we found in one of them!

 Stopped at another waterfall, Huka Falls.

And visited the Red Barn Experience to sample a farm-to-table meal

complete with our own self-churned butter!I think we got a pretty good taste of New Zealand!

Tongariro National Park

Next we took an overland trip to Tongariro National Park located in the central North Island.

The park is New Zealand's oldest park 

and is recognized for its Maori culture and volcanic features.

We stayed a few nights in the quaint historic lodge at the base of Mt. Ruapehu.

We hiked with our Maori guide, Kenny who proudly showed us the park. 

This is Taranaki Falls, about 65 feet high.

We hiked about 6 miles round trip from the lodge to see this pretty falls.

This is Tawhai Falls, a much more accessible waterfall.

About a 15 minute walk from the parking lot.

 The views are spectacular.

 Did I mention volcanic features?

I really enjoyed visiting my first international national park!

Rotorua, New Zealand

Next was a steamin' hot place called Rotorua.

Its a geothermal area which we explored by bike.

Surprisingly, the geothermal area was in a park right in town.
The dangerous ares were fenced off.

 We rode our bikes all over the park and around a lake.

A bubbling mud pot

 The steamy bike trail

 The beach along the lake looked like a moonscape.

We rode past the old thermal bath house,
now converted into a museum and art gallery.

On our way back to the ship, we toured a kiwi orchard.

 The kiwi are trained to grow up these teepee cables.

Harvest season was over for now, but theses kiwi cars look kinda fun!

Wellington, New Zealand

Next we arrived at the "coolest little capital in the world", Wellington.

 Here's a view for the city rom an overlook.

 We visited the parliament precinct and saw more lovely architecture.

 This is the executive wing of parliament, known as the Beehive.

 And Wellington had some nice playgrounds for the kids in the precinct too.

We also visited the Lady Norwood Rose garden in the Botanic Garden.

That afternoon, we visited Zealandia, an urban ecosanctuary.

Its 500 acres are fully fenced, allowing only native species to inhabit the area.

20 species of native wildlife have been reintroduced while non-native species are trapped.

 This is a Korimako or Bellbird

 A kakariki or red crowned parrot

 This chicken-sized bird is Kereru or wood pigeon.

 A curious Kaka

This is a Tui, called the R2D2 bird because it sounds like the droid in Star Wars!

Can you see him?

This is a Tuatara, a descendant of the lizard-like retiles that lived here over 200 million years ago.
Tuatara means "spiny back" in Maori.

Wellington really was cool!

Christchurch, New Zealand

The next port of call was Christchurch.

Our itinerary for the day was a trip to the high country,

hiking and jet boating on the Waimakariri River.

 On the way there, we saw lots of cows.

This is dairy country!

 We arrived at the river to find our boats waiting for us.

We boated through the deep gorges of the river, doing 360* turns for excitement.

 We got stuck on a sandbar and and the other boat had to tow us out!

 After a country lunch, we took 4X4 vehicles to the top of the Southern Alps for some incredible views.

 This is typical of the farmland out here.

 Of course, we found a friendly sheepdog.

 And some friendly sheep.

"Come back soon!"