south island trippin'

since i've only recently started my blog, there are a lot of things that i need to catch you all up on. particularly, the fun trips i've taken over the past 2 and a half years, since i left my little abode in nyceeeeeeee.

my first christmas in nz was december 2004. i think the hardest thing to get used to was the warm christmas. i'm used to snow and bundling up, christmas lights and ice skating -- you know, like the postcards (snow on pine trees) and christmas jingles (and lots of red and green sparkly stuff) at the mall. andrew came to visit from rhode island, where he was on break from his first year at brown. him, mark and i flew down to invercargill (which keith richards once called 'the asshole of the world'), and then drove to winton, where mark's mom, sylvia, lives. winton is a nice wee town and it was cool to see where mark grew up (he moved to nz from plymouth in the uk when he was 6).

while we were in winton, we went for lots of lovely rides to explore some of southland. to lake te anau and milford sound -- by far some of the most beautiful sites i've ever seen. seriously breathtaking (even on a rainy, misty day). milford is one of the wettest places in the world. you wouldn't want to be caught there without a slicker. that would not be slick ...

we left winton after christmas and drove north to dunedin, then queenstown and lake wanaka. there were the moeraki boulders in dunedin, and the animal park in queenstown that were both quite stunning. at the park you could drive your car around surrounded by animals on either side. we got out to feed the deer, goat, highland cattle and llamas.

we also went skydiving over lake wanaka from 12,000 feet. what a rush.

we then drove to franz josef glacier, where we suited up and trekked the darn thing. it was raining hard (supposedly the third wettest place in the world -- we really hit those destinations this time!). but we survived (i barely survived), albeit a little numb. and damp.

we hopped in the car after some lunch and a cup of cocoa and drove to motueka and nelson. we had a spa at our b&b to relax in and kebabs for tea. lots of driving, and lots to see -- an amazing intro to the stunning south island.