Sperling Adventures

Before we go on another vacation, Micah thought we should post his log of our New Zealand trip from Feb. 2012. We didn't get this out before Jordan, but figured we should before we head to France.

New Zealand

February 2012

Thu - Feb 15-16

Dammam - Doha - Hong Kong - Auckland

Flight / Layover in Hong Kong

• Weather was very overcast and foggy in Hong Kong so we did not leave the airport.

Fri - Feb 17

Auckland

Sky Tower / Shopping / Relaxing

Lodging: Rydges Auckland

• First oops of the trip...Steph had booked the hotel for Thursday and Friday nights when we only needed Friday. Oh well, it only cost a little money and did not affect the trip schedule or any major activities.

• Hotel was nice and very close to the Sky Tower.

Sat - Feb 18

Auckland - Waitomo Caves - Turangi

Car rental / Cave Black Water Rafting & Glow worms in Waitomo Caves / Drive to Turangi

Lodging: Turangi Bridge Motel

• Rented a 2010 Toyota Corrola from Apex. Apex workers were nice and helpful, much better than Europe.

• Arrived early at Waitomo Caves and had lunch at the cafe at the water rafting shop.

• At 1:30 pm we joined the tour and started to get into wetsuits. Being 4.5 months pregnant, it was more difficult than normal for Steph to get into her wetsuit. The first one she tried on would have fit great if she was not pregnant, but was a little too tight with Jacob in the way...and a little funny to watch. We then drove about 10 minutes to a place where we got fitted for our inner tubes and practiced jumping off a cliff backwards with the tubes. There was another short drive and then hike to the cave entrance. The entrance was about 8 ft tall and 2-3 ft wide with water rushing in. The time in the cave was a mixture of walking through small streams, sometimes through narrow passages, and floating/paddling through slow moving water with about 3 small jumps. The guides would stop at times to take pictures and give us some interesting facts about the glow worms and history of the cave. The guide had a very interesting tongue twister for the worms, but I can't remember it. The glow worms are actually fly larvae that have luminescent poop (glows blue). Other insects see the light, go to it, get stuck in silk, and become food. Once they become adult flies, they cannot eat, so all they do is mate, lay eggs, and die. Other times we would sit back and float through the water looking up at the cave and glow worms above us. The total time in the cave was about 1 hour. We then drove back to the office, showered and changed, and ate bagels and hot soup.

• We then drove south to Turangi. The roads were rarely straight for longer than a couple hundred feet. Scenery was green, mountainous, and hilly. We occasionally stopped on the side of the road or at designated lookouts. The two best were at a platform overlooking the valley with a view of a large mountain in the background and another overlooking Lake Taupo.

• Turangi is a very small town that is mostly filled with older couples who are there for fly fishing. We checked in and then grabbed some Burger King and ate it on our porch. We sat at the bar at night while I had a beer for both myself and Steph. The hotel manager, an old nice Kiwi man, served the beer and talked to us for as long as we would listen.

Sun - Feb 19

Tongariro National Park - Wellington

Drive through Tongariro National Park / Evening in Wellington

Lodging: Novotel Wellington

• This was more of a transition day than anything else. The best thing to do in the Tongariro area is a long and somewhat difficult walk called Tongariro Crossing. With Steph being pregnant, we didn't attempt it. We drove around the park and around Lake Rotairiro and took a few pictures. The coolest thing was seeing geothermal activity causing steam come from a hole in the mountain. The Tongariro Crossing apparently has much more geothermal sites and also has some blue-green lakes set with the backdrop of volcanic soil and barren land. This is the Land of Mordor from Lord of the Rings.

• We drove along the north and west sides of the National Park. Much of the northern part was covered with evergreen trees and most looked purpose-planted as they were in rows. The northwest side of the park was green and lush with some open fields and mountainsides covered with sheep. The western part of the park turned more desert-like and was flatter with mountains and volcanos in the background. We could see a ski resort at one of the mountains. The skiing was mostly open with very little trees. Unfortunately, there were clouds that blocked some of the best views of the mountains. Being summer, there was no snow on the mountain. We drove over to Wanganui on the west coast of the north island and then down to Wellington. The road from Tongariro to Wanganui was through mountains and was very winding. The speed limit never changes from 100 km/h, but there are many caution signs showing what speed to use for the curve ahead. Throughout the drive I got more confident in the curves and with driving on the wrong side of the road and started taking the curves faster for entertainment (while staying safe the whole time of course!). There were very rarely other cars on that part of the road. The scenery looked like something out of Lord of the Rings with mostly grass covered mountains that were littered with sheep. We stopped one time because we could hear the bugs while in the car and driving. These were the loudest bugs I have ever heard and the sound was similar to what we call katydids in Oklahoma. Along the coast we stopped to look at two beaches. One was north of Wanganui and the other was a little ways north of Wellington. The sand was black and some had cliffs. The views would have been nicer if the sun would have cooperated.

• Although the drive was fun at times, this day could have been missed or replaced with a trip to Rotario. Seeing the thermal pools and geysers seemed better. The other activity in this area that would have been fun is riding a jet boat on river rapids.

• Arriving in Wellington, we checked into our hotel. We stayed at Novotel in the CBD. It was pretty nice, a typical chain hotel room.

• We walked to Courtany St. to eat at Pizzeria Napoli. We shared bruschetta and a pork covered pizza. After dinner we contemplated going to see a movie, but the times were not good and we instead opted to return to the hotel for rest.

Mon - Feb 20

Wellington - Cook Strait Ferry - Abel Tasman

Cook Strait Ferry / Drive through Abel Tasman / Tata Beach

Lodging: Everton B&B in Little Kaiteriteri

• We checked out at 6:50 am and drove to the Interislander ferry. When we checked in the guy at the booth only handed us one ticket stub. Apparently this was only for our car and we were supposed to have a separate ticket that was our boarding pass. After some disagreements with the guard (mostly from Steph) the guard radioed to the booth and confirmed we were legit. Despite the booth worker on the other end saying that he had our boarding pass with him, the guard still lectured us about not having the boarding pass. A frustrated Stephanie continued for meet his verbal attacks, but finally decided it was better to board the ferry than win the argument.

• On the ferry we spent the first few minutes on the deck, but then got cold once it started moving and went below to a warm and comfortable spot. When we entered the sounds of the south island we came back outside. The sun finally came out and offered some great views of the mountains next to the water. The sounds are a series of islands that were supposed to have been formed as the ocean overtook an old river system that had cut through the mountains.

• After eating lunch in Picton, we took the extremely winding coastal road called Queen Charlotte Drive. This drive has turn after turn up and down coastal mountainsides with outlooks over beautiful bays. We soon noticed that the tide swings are very high in this area because many of the bays had hundreds of yards of beach that had recently been uncovered by the outgoing tide. This was very intriguing but made the views not as pretty as they could have been if water had filled the inlets.

• We arrived at Everton B&B in Little Kaiteriteri near Abel Tasman National Park at around 4:30 pm. We originally were going to drive through Abel Tasman National Park and around the north side, but the B&B owner advised us that the road through the park had been washed out in the flooding in late 2011. Instead, we went to the beach just down from where we were staying and enjoyed the sunshine. There was one exhibitionist sunbathing in a thong (only). After the beach, we showered and walked to the town to eat at Shoreline Cafe. Steph had a Chicken Bacon Club and Micah had a Bacon Fetuccini dish and both were great. After dinner we chatted with the B&B owners and the others staying there and the turned in.

Tue - Feb 21

Abel Tasman

Seal swim

Lodging: Everton B&B in Little Kaiteriteri

• Breakfast at 7:30 and then drove to Marahau to do a seal swim with Kaiteriteri Kayaks.

• We suited up in wetsuits and then rode on a boat up to Tonga Arches to do a test swim. After that we rode over to Tonga Island to swim with seals. All the males were away at sea this time of year, but the females and babies were there. We had some mothers and pups and then some adult females came into the water to swim with us. One adult came swimming only inches by Micah. Most of the babies would get interested in us and come to the edge, but then get scared and turn back around. This was a great experience and fun to interact with the seals. After swimming with the seals we road the boat over to Shag Harbor, which has a very narrow entrance that can only be accessed at high tide. Through the entryway it turned into an awesome lagoon with a small waterfall at the end. This would have been a great place to jet ski. When the mother seals leave the babies later in the year the babies like to come here for safety. No seals were in there today, but it was still fun to see. Then we drove over to a cliff and Micah and the guide (Harley) climbed a cliff and did a 30 ft jump into the ocean. This was a great jump. We only did it once because none of the others joined us. Unfortunately, Steph couldn't go since she was pregnant. She was jealous when I got back into the boat. We ate lunch on a beach in Tonga Bay and were then dropped off at Bark Bay to relax for a couple hours. The tide was going out while we were there. It is pretty impressive to watch. We picked up the Aqua Taxi and headed back to Marahau. At Marahau the tide had taken the water out about 250 yards from the shore so tractors had to pull the trailers to pick the boats up way out there. We just stayed in the boat on the trailer all the way to their shop.

• We then drove back to Kaiterteri and sat on the beach for a while, enjoying a coke and sour cream & onion chips and the occasional sun. Then we went back to the B&B, showered, and sat on the porch. We enjoyed the company of the male owner and one of the other guys staying at the B&B. He shared a 6-pack of Monteith's dark beer which was surprisingly good. Just before going to dinner there was an awesome double rainbow.

• We ate dinner at The Beached Whale, which was not as good as the Shoreline Cafe.

Wed - Feb 22

Abel Tasman - Fox Glacier

Drive along the west coast

Lodging: Bella Vista Motel Fox Glacier

• Today was the 1-year anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake and it rained all day long!

• The drive would have normally offered excellent views of tree-covered mountains by the ocean, but rain, fog, and clouds made it difficult to see.

• We stopped at Pancake Rocks and Blowholes at Punakaiki, but arrived about 30 minutes after high tide so the blowholes were not going. We had read that they go for an hour on each side of high tide, but not today. The pancake rocks were cool though. They were stacked limestone that looks like a bunch of pancakes stacked on top of each other. The track is a 20 min return walk that is paved and has a few stretches of steps.

• We stopped in Greymouth for lunch before heading to the glaciers. We had another stop at Franz Josef Glacier and did a short hike to Peter's Pool, which is a small body of water cut by a glacier with a view of Franz Josef Glacier in the background. If the weather was nice then there would be a great reflective view of the glacier and mountains in the background coming from the pool. Unlucky for us, the weather was rainy and cloudy.

• We checked into Bella Vista Motel and walked to Fox Glacier Guiding to check if our heli-hike was still on for the next day. They said that they make the decisions 5 minutes before takeoff so they couldn't tell us yet.

• For dinner we ate at The Plateau Restaurant. Micah had the salmon and Steph had a pasta dish. The pasta was good and the salmon was excellent.

Thu - Feb 23

Fox Glacier

Fox Glacier Hiking

Lodging: Bella Vista Motel Fox Glacier

• It rained all night and even thundered occasionally.

• We woke up and the heli-hiking was cancelled so we changed to the full day hike (Nimble Fox) at 9:15. We dressed up in socks, shoes, waterproof pants and jackets, and packed up for a hike on Fox Glacier. We drove to the bottom of Fox Glacier and the hiked to the Glacier. It was still raining and foggy. We had to cross two waterfalls and this made our socks wet. We had to stop after and wring out our socks. We then continued to hike to the terminal face of the glacier. We attached our clamp-on spikes to our shoes and then started up the glacier. When the weather is better they take you through a rain forest track before or after (or both) the hike, but due to high rains there is more of a chance of rock falls so we stuck to the glacier. We stopped at a few features, including some ice caves and crevasses. We also ate lunch under a parachute that all of us sat on the edge to keep the rain out and heat in. We got up to the ice falls, explored for a while, and then headed back down the glacier. The experience was still great, but the views could be a whole lot better if it wouldn't have been foggy and rainy. The mountains around are like a scene out of King Kong with sharp walls of dark rock covered in rain forest. It rained the whole time, but we stayed mostly warm. Stephanie did great considering she was 5 months pregnant, but partway up the glacier Micah had to take her backpack to give her some relief. This had Micah carrying two backpacks..one in back and the other in front. He was just happy to make Stephanie more comfortable and be able to finish the hike. We got to the glacier around 10:30 and finished about 3:00. Even for horrible conditions, this was a great experience.

• We drove out to Lake Matheson even though it was rainy and cloudy to see what the restaurant looked like. After seeing it, we decided to repeat at The Plateau Restaurant. Micah got the salmon again and Steph got the Chicken bacon burger. Both were great. As was the Moa 5 Hop beer Micah had.

Fri - Feb 24

Fox Glacier - Fiordland (Te Anau)

Drive down West Coast through Mount Aspiring National Park to Fiordland (Te Anau)

Lodging: Fiordland Hotel and Motel

• The plan was to go to Lake Matheson, but with low hanging clouds and rain there was no point. Lake Matheson offers great reflective views of Mount Cook when the conditions are right, but we weren't so lucky. We did drive to Fox Glacier and to the lookout over Fox Glacier to get some pictures.

• This drive would have been great as well if there hadn't been low hanging clouds and rain all the way through half of Mount Aspiring National Park. The views on the coast are similar to the Oregon coast and views of King Kong like mountains next to the coast. The drive through Mount Aspiring National Park looked like it would have been awesome if we could have seen anything. Once the sun came out it was great, but we were almost out of the park. We then drove by Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea which are huge lakes with mountains in the backdrop. We stopped in Wanaka for lunch before continuing on through Queenstown to Te Anau. The scenery changes quickly after leaving Mount Aspiring National Park. The lush green mountains are replaced with hills and mountains covered in golden grass. The road from Wanaka to Queenstown is through the Crown Range. The road leading down from the Crown Range to Queenstown is a long, steep switchback road that was pretty cool. After passing the lakes near Queenstown, the scenery turns to grasslands before becoming somewhat mountainous near Te Anau. One funny thing about this area was that they domesticated deer and you would see large groups of deer in fences like we would normally see cows. Years ago, deer were introduced as game for hunting, but they had a negative impact on the ecosystem and were taking food sources from local birds (like the Kiwi). So they were rounded up and domesticated to provide a food source.

• We checked in with Real Journeys for our kayaking trip the next day and then went Bev's to rent sleeping bags for the kayaking trip. Dinner was at an Italian restaurant that was pretty good, but had slow service. We then went to our awesome (sarcasm) motel for the night. It was scary looking on the outside but decent on the inside.

Sat - Feb 25 -- Sun - Feb 26

Fiordland (Doubtful Sound)

2-Day Kayaking & Camping trip on Doubtful Sound

Lodging: Camping in a tent on Doubtful Sound

• The guide from Real Journeys picked us up from the secure parking in Te Anau at 6:15 and drove us to Manapouri. There we boarded a boat with people going on a boat tour and rode across Lake Manapouri. This is quite a large lake and after we embarked we boarded a tour bus to take us on a road to Doubtful Sound. Although a gravel road, this is the most expensive road in NZ because of its location and how difficult it is to cut through the Fiordland granite. The road was built to give construction access to the end of Manapouri Lake so they could build a hydroelectric plant. This water from the lake drains into Milford Sound.

• Upon arrival at Doutbful Sound we got our gear into the kayaks and got into our kayaking attire. We got into the water about 10:30. About 15 minutes after we got on the water we saw a male New Zealand fur seal. As we were looking at him our guide spotted some dolphins in the distance and we rowed over to them. The played around us for a while and then swam off. We circled an island that is a breeding ground for the Fiordland crested penguin but didn't find any and them paddled through Hall Arm. Stopping briefly for lunch, we ended up getting to the end by 3:00 before starting our way halfway back down Hall Arm to our campsite. We hit the campsite around 4:45. During the morning the weather was partly cloudy and offered good views of the mountains above. Clouds and rain set in for the afternoon and evening and did not lift until we ended our trip the next day. The rain did bring some impressive waterfalls. We paddled our kayaks by and through many of them. Since this is a temperate rainforest, the vegetation is very thick with countless trees and ferns. There were several tree avalanches where the main tree would die and the other trees with their roots intertwined would fall with that tree into the water below. The mountains are granite and do not have top soil so the trees can only use the cracks in the rocks, ferns, and each other to hold onto. Considering this, it was even more amazing how dense the vegetation was.

• When we arrived at the campground we had to carry our heavy kayaks into the campsite. This was necessary because of the tides. Micah took a quick swim to say he swam in a fiord with 52°F water. We then got dry and changed into warmer clothes. Since it was raining we didn't do much other than change clothes and get into the insect shelter. The sand flies on this beach were ridiculous and annoying. You needed to stay indoors just to get away from them. We heated up some spaghetti O's and ramen noodles to have the worst birthday dinner Micah has ever had. After enjoying the company of the others on the trip and drinking the "goon sack" (boxed) wine, we turned in about 9:30. After raining all afternoon, it continued to rain all night. Around 4:30 a thunderstorm went right over us with some impressive crashes.

• We were woken up at 6:30 to eat breakfast. We then packed up, took down our tents, and got into our kayaking gear. We were on the water by 8:30. The clouds were very low this day so you couldn't see much of the mountains above. We made the best of it and hung close to the shoreline to see the waterfalls and overhanging trees. When passing through the main channel heard a screech that sounded like a velociraptor and paddled over to fine 3 crested penguins swimming. They were a little shy, but we got some pictures of them. We then paddled around Elizabeth Island, stopped for a short lunch snack, and the paddled back to the starting point. We got there about 1:30 and were dog tired. The worst thing that hurt was our forearms and wrist, followed by our booties. The rowing motion for a kayak is different and requires rotating the wrist (especially on the right arm).

• After getting our of our kayaking gear and packing up, we were picked up by a tour bus again and taken to Lake Manapouri. We rode a boat back to Manapouri with beautiful blue skies that we wished would have been in Doubtful Sound. But with only 25 days of sunshine a year and 7 meters of annual rainfall, what can you expect but clouds and rain.

• We ate dinner at the Red Cliff in Te Anau. This is an expensive restaurant, but pretty good. Although Steph and I both preferred the cheapest thing we ordered...potato wedges. Steph had a steak and Micah had venison. Both were pretty good, but not necessarily worth the price.

• After going to Milford Sound the next day, we thought Doubtful Sound was better. It is bigger, has calmer waters, and has great vegetation. There is also an overnight cruise on a boat in Doubtful. If you aren't up for the work and roughing it of kayaking, then this would be a good substitute. I would do kayaking all over again. If I had more time and was in better shape, I would like to do the 3, 4, or 5 day trip, but it would be very tiring.

Mon - Feb 27

Fiordland (Milford Sound)

Milford Sound Drive / Milford Sound Cruise / Helicopter Ride in South Alps

Lodging: Distinction Te Anau

• This was the only day of the trip that it did not rain at all.

• Booked a Milford Sound drive and cruise with Mitre Peak Tours. Left Te Anau at 9:30 and arrived at Milford Sound at 12:10. We stopped at 4 places for photo ops and the halfway point had a restroom. The Mirror Lakes was probably the best spot, offering reflective views of the mountains in the background. The next best one was a waterfall. There are many other places to stop along the way but the tour buses aren't allowed. The weather today was fantastic...blue sunny skies. This allowed us to see all of the mountain peaks. However, many say that Milford Sound is best in the rain because of all of the temporary waterfalls that it creates. These were dried up since it wasn't raining but it was nice to be able to see everything. It even allowed us to do a helicopter ride around the area. The tour bus dropped us off at the Milford airport where we were picked up by a small chopper. It was a little scary watching the helicopters land so close to us. The flight took us above Milford Sound with views of the fiord and Mitre Peak before turning east and going over the mountains. We landed on a glacier and stopped for photos and to take in the view. From here you could see all the way to Mt. Aspiring. We then got back in the helicopter and traveled around the other sides of the mountains to meet back up with our tour bus at Hall Tunnel. The tour bus took us back to Te Anau. This was a great experience. Maybe one day we will come back and actually hope for rain (ironic).

• Mitre Peak tour company was pretty good. Their boats are smaller. The other company we would recommend is Real Journeys. Their bus is newer and nicer, but Mitre Peaks was pretty good as well.

• Probably the best thing to do in this area is the Milford Track. This is a four day walk from the Queenstown side over the mountains to Milford. It was coined as the greatest walk in the world in the early 1900s and that distinction remains to this day. You would need to be spending more time in NZ than we did to undertake this journey and book it early because it has limited spots available.

• We picked up Subway and came to the lakeside to have a picnic in the sun for dinner. The weather was perfect.

• Steph gave in to Micah and agreed to drive part of the Milford Road at sunset. The goal was to get some better pictures with less harsh lighting, but that didn't really work out. Instead we got to drive with the windows down on a great road and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Tue - Feb 28

Fiordland - Queenstown

AJ Hackett Bungy Jumping at Karawau Bridge / Hanging out in Queenstown

Lodging: Pounamu Apartments

• Left Te Anau at 9:30 am and took the 2 hour drive to Queenstown. It rained on us or was foggy for most of the way until we got to the lakes by Queenstown and then it turned into a great day.

• After checking into Pounamu Apartments, we walked to town and Micah booked a bungy jump with AJ Hackett. He was debating between the Kawarau Bridge (site of the 1st commercial bungy jump ever) and The Ledge, which is from a ledge on top of a mountain overlooking Queenstown and the lake below. Ultimately Micah picked the bridge to say his first bungy jump was at the first ever commercial site.

• We ate at Ferg Burger, which is a very popular takeout burger joint that always has a line out the door all day long. The burger was just OK. Had too many veggies and weird sauces for our taste.

• We then went to the AJ Hackett office to board a bus going out to the bridge. Upon arrival, Micah checked in, weighed in, kissed Stephanie (just in case), and walked across the bridge. You get into a harness that goes around your waist and legs and them wait your turn. There were four people in front of me. Only one of them chickened out. The my turn. They as if you want to get wet or not. This means do you want to get dunked in the river below you or stay above it. I told him I'd like to at least touch it. They asked if I would be too upset if my head went in and I said no. Upon finding out that I am a chemical engineer that lives in Saudi they had a few laughs and said at least I didn't say I was from Iran or they would have tied my legs looser. Instead they tied my legs tight and it was my turn to jump. First you wave and smile at the crowd and then get ready to jump. I jumped out a little, but mostly just dove down to make sure I got some water. If you just too far out you miss the water all together. Going down, my arms, head, and chest went in before bouncing back up. You barely notice the water (assuming you hold your breath) and then bounce up and down until you come to rest. A raft picks you up and takes you to shore for you to climb back up a walkway. Steph greeted me with big kiss and sigh of relief. She took some pictures and I ended up buying the ones they took as well. You get a free jumper shirt as evidence. Overall the experience was a lot of fun. The thrill was not the biggest I have ever experienced, but it was good.

• When we got back into town Micah decided to also do The Ledge Bungy. It was closed for the day so we booked it for noon the next day.

• We walked around and shopped before deciding to get McDonalds and beer (diet coke for Steph) and sit in the grass on the park next to the lake. The weather was perfect and this was pretty fun. There was a cat that hung around the park most times we walked by. Many people stopped to pet it and play with it, which provided some entertainment as the cat would wait for its next group of suckers. We watched as many of the Japanese tourist walked by with a camcorder recording everything they saw, at times sticking their cameras in strangers faces as they were sitting (rude...). After we had our fill, we went back to the hotel.

• We received an email from Expedia that Qantas had cancelled our flight and that we should contact them as soon as possible to discuss options. Steph spent a couple frustrating hours on the phone with Expedia and Qantas to no avail. All options resulted in us missing our connecting flight in Melbourne to Doha. They said they would talk to Qatar and call us back in the morning. Great...

Wed - Feb 29

Queenstown

Gondola up to Skyline / Luge / AJ Hackett Bungy Jumping at The Ledge.

Lodging: Pounamu Apartments

• Up at 8:00, Steph spent another couple of hours on the phone. Turns out Qantas was responsible and Qatar couldn't help. The best option we got resulted in a stopover in Sydney before going to Melbourne. This option only allowed us a 1:10 layover in Auckland, which they assured us would be sufficient time even though we had to switch from a domestic to international flight. The next day we found out this would not have been possible. Oh well, nothing more we could do.

• We drove to town today and paid for parking since there was a 100% chance of rain for the day. We took the gondola up to the Skyline and rode the luge. This is a cart similar to alpine luges but you ride on a concrete track. The first time you have to ride on the scenic track and then after that you can ride on the advanced track. Steph just did the one ride on the scenic track since was pregnant and Micah did both the scenic and the advanced track. It was pretty fun but a little expensive.

• At noon, Micah checked in with AJ Hackett Bungy at the Ledge and then walked out to the ledge to get ready. With this jump you get a body harness and tied near your waist so you can run and jump and do different types of jumps. Micah contemplated doing a gainer, but after talking with the worker, decided to do the Matrix. This is where you jump and turn backwards to shoot back, emulating the opening scene of the Matrix. Kind of goofy, but fun. After doing both the bridge and the ledge, the bridge was more enjoyable. It was more fun to look down on the water and get dunked into it. That said, the pictures from the ledge were pretty impressive. Steph got some pretty good pics so we didn't buy the ones they took. The Nevis, which is another bungy site in this area, would have been cool since it is the highest bungy in Australasia. However, the Nevis "BFS" swing would have been even better. This is the largest swing in the world and looks awesome. If Steph would not have been pregnant we definitely would have done it.

• We ate lunch at the Skyline buffet. The food was just OK, but the views were great. After lunch we went back down the gondola to town. It didn't rain hardly at all while we were up on the mountain.

• We did a little more shopping and then drove back to the hotel to pack our bags.

• We returned to town and ate an early dinner at The Cow, which has a great rustic atmosphere and serves Italian food. After dinner we went to the theatre to watch a movie. Steph picked and we watched This Means War. Then we returned to the hotel.

• There were many other things to do in Queenstown, but not for pregnant women. There is sky diving, bungy jumps and swings, zip lines, jet boat rides that do 360s and go through rivers, white water rafting, floating down river rapids on boogie boards, paragliding, hang gliding, snow skiing in the winter, and so much more. You can also reach Milford Sound by bus, plane, or helicopter to do the boat cruise. There is also an alpine track that some of the hikers we met really enjoyed that starts near here. You could stay here longer and do many activities. However, we didn't see that many camp sites near town. They may be there, but most of the activity is based out of the city.

• The landscape in this area is lots of mountains that are mostly covered in golden grasses even though it was summer. At a glance the grass just looked dead, but when the sun reflects off of it, it is beautiful. The mountains in the area are called The Remarkables and the lakes and rivers are very clear. The mountains for snow skiing do not have trees and are more similar to the slopes we saw in Switzerland than anything in Colorado.

Thu - Mar 1 -- Fri - Mar 2

Queenstown - Auckland - Sydney - Melbourne - Doha - Dammam

• When we woke up, the mountains tops were traced with snow from the night before. We drove to the Queenstown airport to start the long (and stressful) journey home. After checking in, we found that with Qantas you must check in for an international flight at least 90 min prior to departure. This meant that the 1:10 layover would not be sufficient. We called Expedia and they said our flight had been changed again, but this time in a good way. We then had a longer layover in Auckland before going to Sydney. This was welcomed good news. On the flight we got a great ariel view of the snow capped Mt. Cook.

• Arriving in Auckland, we waited forever for our bags and then walked 15 minutes from the domestic terminal to the international. We the waited though the long Qantas check-in line and made it to the counter at 1:10, which was 5 minutes before the previously scheduled departure time...so no, not enough. While checking in the lady told us we needed to see the ticketing desk for them to get us Australia visas since we were doing a domestic flight from Sydney to Melbourne. We got the visas (paid for by Qantas) and checked our bags in. The flight was even more late and we departed at 4:00 compared to the scheduled departure time of 2:40. Upon arrival at Sydney we got through customs and immigration (our bags were the last off the carousel) and then went to transfer to domestic. The guy checking is in tried to do us a favor and move us to the flight that left 30 min earlier than our scheduled flight. When we got to the domestic terminal we found out that that flight was delayed because of an unserviceable aircraft and ended up leaving 1 hour after our original flight time. In Melbourne we got to enjoy the lounge before leaving on our Qatar flight (which was late) and then had another 30 min delay in Doha before arriving in Dammam. It was a long trip, but everything turned out OK.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

29 Weeks!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

March Showers Bring June Baby

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Addison Ray Carpenter

Monday, March 12, 2012

Wow...

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

New Zealand - February 2012