The End is Near

Dave is in his last week in New Zealand. He flies out on Saturday, and doesn't have any fishing trips planned for this week. He has had a wonderful time working on Libertas and is thankful for the opportunity. In the Truckers and Loggers tournament, they ended up with second place, which is very exciting. Dave has had a few other charters since then, with the most exciting catch being a 500 pound blue marlin that was tagged and released. The marlin pictured here is 100 kilos, which is 220 pounds. Dave is excited to get back to the U.S., but he will surely be missing those huge marlin after spending time at home.
Jill has found a house in Key West to move into upon Dave's arrival back. It's a 2 bedroom 1 1/2 bath with a great living space, and large kitchen. It even has a small dipping pool. We are both excited to be back in Key West and to settle back into life. Jill has gotten back into the swing of things at work and is enjoying the responsibilities and sense of purpose. It's hard to believe 6 months passed so quickly!

Lots of Fishing

The past couple of weeks in New Zealand have not produced very good weather for Dave. While the weather may not be the best, the fishing has been better. Dave was out fishing on a day charter last week and caught two striped marlins. One was around 200 pounds and the other about 250 pounds. The customers, along with Dave, were very excited. This weekend Dave is in the Truckers and Loggers Tournament with 4 customers. They are hopping to catch stripped marlin and maybe even a blue marlin. They will be out for 4 days and return on Sunday. We will hope for the best!

Dave's out fishing and Jill's in Florida

Jill has made it safely back to the US and spent the week with her parents. The flights went well, but she almost missed the second flight due to a delay on the first. She arrived home safely, but missing one piece of luggage, which the airline delivered the next day. The week back with family has been really enjoyable. Jess and Roger flew down from Boston and Aunt Sandy and Morgan drove up from Melbourne. Jenn and Ben were able to go out to Hilliard for the day on Saturday, so with the exception of Jacq we had a small family reunion. While Jill is almost acclimated back to the states, she did drive on the wrong side of the road today. Oops. Just a little more time and everything will be second nature again. Dave arrived back to the dock in New Zealand on Thursday after being out for 5 days. The trip went well, but they didn't make it to The Three Kings as planned. The two couples on board didn't want to get rocked around to much on the boat, so because of the weather they decided to stay in the bay area. They did do some snapper fishing and king fishing and caught some of each. Dave had a great time with the charter and with Barnaby (the captain) and Miranda (the other deck hand). He heads back out on Friday for a couple more days in the bay area. A few more weeks of fishing and that will wrap up Dave's time in New Zealand. In one months time Dave will be back in Key West.

Jill's Heading Home

This last week has flown by for us. We have been busy visiting with everyone and saying goodbye to Jill. Tuesday we cooked dinner at Barnaby and Miranda's house and stayed up late into the night having a good ol' time. Dave and I were the chefs, since Barnaby is on crutches from his wakeboarding experience with us last week. We grilled steaks, had a yummy dinner, drank a few beverages, spent a bit of time in the hot tub, and let loose. It was a great night, but we were certainly hurting the next day. On Wednesday night we had dinner upstairs with our landlords. Gill cooked a wonderful meal of lancashire hotpot, with additional sides of green beans and cauliflower covered in cheese sauce. It was a super delicious english meal which consists of lamb covered in sliced potatoes with veggies all in one pot cooked slowly over several hours. Then for desert we had a wonderful pavlova which Gill also made. Thursday we spent the day cleaning, packing, and running errands. Then we went out to dinner, just the two of us, at PureTastes. It was a very nice final dinner for us together. We did their tasting menu, which is multiple courses of small portions. Yum! Now, it is Friday morning and in just a few short hours we will be driving to Auckland to the airport. We are both going to miss each other terribly for the next month, but Dave will be so busy fishing and Jill will be so busy visiting family and getting settled back into life, that time should fly by. Dave has a very busy fishing schedule, with several multi day trips, which he is very excited about. He leaves first thing Saturday morning to head to The Three Kings for 5 days on the water. Bon Voyage Jill!

Just a Saturday in NZ

We started Saturday off by heading into town first thing in the morning to rent a boat for a few hours to get out on the water. But, because of the predicted storm, the rental company had taken all of their boats out of the water. Bummer. Even though the weather was forecasted to be really crappy, it was a pretty nice day other than a bit of wind. We went to the beach for a couple of hours and then decided to go rock fishing with our friend Dan, who works the local kayak/hobie cat rental place. We got all of our supplies and headed across the bay via vehicle ferry from Opua to

Russell. We drove thru some backroads and crossed over to the coast to Taupiri Bay. We found a great spot close to a small beach to park the car where we didn't have to far to walk to the water. Dan and Dave went out in the kayak to find a good rock to fish from. Dave returned to the beach to pick Jill up along with the rest of the gear we needed to bring out to the rocks. Our spot wasn't to far from land, so it was perfect to have the kayak to maneuver around rocks and cross the small amount of ocean. We set up shop and started fishing. All three of us had a really great time out on the rocks. The scenery was beautiful. The weather was cooperating fairly well (few spots of light rain passed us). We had great company. And we caught a few fish! Both Dave and Dan both lost several nice running fish by break offs on the rocks, but they were good sports about it. We had Dan's contour video recorder with us, so of course we were goofing off and making some good shots for the camera. We ended the day with a few

snappers to take home, and we also threw back an eel, a small king fish, and a couple small snappers. The paddle back to the beach was amazing, the tide was low so we crept thru some really shallow passages over and between huge rocks. The water was so super clear. The sun was down, so in the dim light the water was beautiful. We packed the car up and started back home. On our hour drive thru the back roads, we were keeping our eyes open for possums. In New Zealand possums are an introduced species, and are a huge threat to many of New Zealand's flightless birds. Because there are no real predators in the country like there are in the states, the possums multiple like crazy creating a huge problem for many birds. It is very common when out hiking to see many traps set out for animals such as possums by the Department of Conservation to reduce the number of possums. So, every kiwi (New Zealander) is always ready and willing to hit possums with their cars to get rid of them. In fact, they really try hard to run them over when they see them in the road. On our drive home Saturday night we were able to reduce the possum population by two. We actually pulled over and plucked the fur from the bodies of the possums because it is extremely valuable for making clothing. Keep in mind these possums are not like the ones in the states. There fur is super soft and is mixed with merino wool to make very nice, expensive jackets, sweaters, scarves, etc. I know this may sound a little harsh, but its all in the experience of living in New Zealand. New Zealanders do not like possums, even though the ones here are pretty cute. So that was our fun-filled Saturday night in New Zealand!

Leap Day

Wednesday Feb 29th we went out with Barnaby and Miranda on their boat for a bit of fun. Barnaby is the captain on Libertas (the 60 ft boat Dave is working on for the remainder of his time here), and his wife Miranda is the first mate. We have really enjoyed getting to know them and spending time with them, as they share most of the same passions as we do. We drove the boat by the owner of Libertas' property, which was beautiful. One of the caretakers was there and offered for us to take his car and tour the property. It was a treat to be able to go on this immaculate couple hundred acres of professionally manicured waterfront property with multimillion dollar homes. After wiping the drool from our chins, we continued on our boating adventure by doing a bit of fishing around the black rocks. Then we beach hopped for a bit on a couple different islands. We drove into a nice protected bay and the boys did some wakeboarding before continuing on home. We had a really fun day out on the boat, except Barns really hurt his knee wakeboarding and had to limp off the boat with Dave's help. Hopefully he isn't hurt to bad. After returning home, we went over to our neighbors Di and Davids'

house for a dinner party with our landlords and other neighbors. Di and David are from England, so they treated us to a spectacular homemade english dinner of roast beef and yorkshire pudding. We, of course, enjoyed several bottles of wine along with our dinner and delicious desert. It was a great Leap Day!

Ocean and Orchard Festival

Saturday brought sunshine and the urge to get out and do something. We decided to go down to the beach and redeem our certificate to use the hobie cat since we were rained out last time. The wind was to strong to legally rent the cats, so we opted for a kayak instead. We paddled out from the beach in Paihia to a small island in the bay. We beached the kayak, walked around for a bit, then jumped back in for more paddling. The wind did give us a bit of a workout around half of the island, but then pushed us paddle free around the other half. Once we were back, we laid out in the sun for a while to dry our salt water splashed bodies and soak up a little sun. Saturday afternoon, we drove over to Kerikeri, for the Ocean and

Orchard Festival. It was held in a nice big grassy area in the center of town with plenty of tents, chairs, food booths, drinks, and live music. We enjoyed walking around checking everything out and listening to music, but most of all we enjoyed the contests. There was a lemon eating contest, which was enjoyable to watch. There was also a kiwi carving contest for the kids, which was very interesting. The biggest contest was an oyster eating contest with three heats competing for a spot in the final round. Jill convinced Dave to partake in the contest as they were asking for volunteers. Dave likes oysters, so why not? There were six people in the heat, who all had a heaping pile of very fresh raw oysters, that had to be eaten one at a time. Once the contest started, Dave dug right in and went to town shoveling the oysters into his mouth. After about 7, he slowed a bit and had a small gag. Then a couple more went down the hatch and he realized the guy beside him was finishing up so he threw in the towel. It was quit comical to watch and the crowd really got into cheering everyone on. Even though Dave didn't win, he did have a good time trying to devour the pile of oysters.

MARLIN!!!!!!

We were invited down to Mount Maunganui to fish with Andre, the friend who has been up in our neighborhood fishing the last couple weeks, on his boat. We left our apartment Thursday and drove down to Auckland to break up the drive. Then on Friday morning we drove to Maunganui,

met up with Andre and Jared, got supplies, and hit the road to Waihau Bay to fish for the weekend. Waihau Bay was about a 3 hour drive from Andre's house, out in the sticks, but hot for marlin lately. Andre had arranged for us to use a family members property to camp on. There would be no electric or water, but plenty of room for a tent and boat parking, not to mention it was only about 100 feet from the boat ramp. Friday night we arrived just before dawn, so we quickly set up the tent and got ourselves situated. Luckily the Nationals Fishing Tournament was going on at the same time, so there were a few other people around and the local restaurant/bar was open for us to get dinner. Saturday morning we were up bright and early, with

the boat in the water around 6:30. Unfortunately while parking the trailer, Andre clipped the fence and bent the wheel well on the trailer. We would deal with that problem later before we put the boat back on. First thing in the morning, we saw about 20 dolphin, all playing around the boat. Jill got a great video (on facebook) of the dolphin at the bow. Lines were in the water by 7:15 and we were marlin fishing. By 8:30 we were hooked up to our first stripped marlin. She came up into the pattern (5 lures in the water), checked out a couple different lures, then Dave dropped back the shotgun lure and sent it straight down her throat. Andre was ready with his harness on, so he quickly got the rod in place, while Jared drove, and Jill and Dave cleared gear. Getting hooked up was such an adrenaline rush for all of us, no matter what you were doing you were amped and even a bit shaky. No matter how much you talk about "your plan", it still seems like chaos when it happens for the first time. We needed the go pro strapped

to Andre, we needed the camera on the boat turned on, we needed all lines in, we needed all lures off the floor, we needed a hook out of Andre's foot, we needed out riggers pulled in, we needed to keep tension on the line, and we needed to be ready to pull the fish in. Once everything was cleared, Jill scurried up to the roof to get pictures and video. After 15 fishing days, we had decided our first marlin would be kept and eaten, which made for a huge task. It took several attempts to leader and gaff the fish, but we worked out all the kinks. Jill drove, Dave was leadering, and Jared gaffed. Once the gaff was in, we had to get the fish around to the back of the boat and around the

outboard, so we could pull it in. With one big heave, Jared and Dave pulled it in rather easily. Yhewww! We did it! All of this happened in a small 20 minute window. It was intense and very exciting. We decided we would drive back in and unload the fish, then go back out and fish more. Because there was a tournament going on, we were able to get a courtesy weigh at the boat ramp. Usually you would pull your boat out of the water and back right up to the scale hook. However, we couldn't use our trailer because of the bent wheel guard

touching the tire. So we drove the boat close to shore, and dumped the marlin overboard. Dave, Jared, and Andre had to carry the wet, slippery, huge marlin up the bank to the scale. As Jill held the boat in place, she giggled to herself watching the three of them. It was a riot to watch. They tried several different ways to carry the fish and finally got in sync with each other. They hooked it up to the scale for the big moment. 86 kilos (190 pounds) for our first stripped marlin for all of us. What a great feeling! We were able to get in touch

with a local man who would smoke the fish for us. Once it was weighed, the guys had to carry it to the smokers truck. He would take the fish, smoke it, package it, and we would pick it up on Sunday on our way home. We all loaded back into the boat and headed out for more fishing at 9:30am. What a great morning! We fished until about 6:00pm. We did have a couple other fish come up, but they didn't eat the lures. We got back to

the dock, fixed the trailer, and pulled out of the water. With no fresh water, we couldn't clean the boat or anything, so we relaxed and celebrated with a beer. Jill filled up a couple of water bottles at the public bathroom and took a hobo shower to get the salt off and feel fresh. We ate dinner, and got ready for the next day. Sunday we were up even earlier, on the water at 6:00am. We fished until 3:00pm. We did see a couple of marlin, and got hooked up in the afternoon. Jared reeled in the fish, but once it was close, we realized it was a small mako shark. We didn't hook a marlin all day, but the mako was still a bit of fun. Once we got back to the ramp, we quickly took the tent down and packed everything up. We got on the road, stopped to pick up our smoked marlin, and headed home. What a great fishing weekend! Sunday night at Andre's, after we washed the boat and unloaded everything, we watched the videos and looked through the pictures. Of course the guys were super amped about the catch, so they just talked and talked and went thru the coulda, woulda, and shouldas with each other. All four of us were exhausted from the action-packed weekend, so we didn't stay up celebrating to late. We went to Jared and Kirsty's house, right on the beach, to spend the night. Monday morning we got on the road and headed back to the Bay of Islands. We did take our time driving back through a scenic route along the coast.

So Long Curls

After weeks of complaining, Dave finally decided he was ready... to chop off his long hair. In our 3 year relationship, Dave has always had long curls, so this is a big deal. Dave is very pleased with his hair and is super excited to not have to brush it or worry about it anymore. The side burns need a little work, but with time it will come together. It's quite a bit different short, but we both like it!

Valentine's Day

We tried to go out diving for lobster on Monday, which would have been the perfect Valentine's dinner, but our friend Vinny's boat wouldn't work. We got it in the water, started it up, and then it wouldn't go into gear. Bummer. On Valentine's Day we lounged around for a bit, then we headed down to the beach to do a little sailing. We rented a hobie cat so we could play around in the bay. It had gotten a bit cloudy out to the west, but the rental guy figured the rain would hold off a bit since there was a nice sea breeze coming from the east. About 30 seconds after we launched from the beach it started raining. O-Well, what are you going to do about it. Dave sailed the little cat around, figuring out how to maneuver it in the light wind and heavy rain, and Jill enjoyed the bumpy,wet ride. We really enjoyed ourselves and had a good time despite the weather. We stayed out about 20 minutes, then came in soaking wet from rain and waves. Luckily we got a voucher to return for a re-do on another day. For Valentine's dinner we went to a restaurant in Paihia (about 5 minutes from our house) called Only Seafood Restaurant. It does't seem like very many people celebrate Valentine's Day here, so we got right in and had a nice dinner. Then it was back to our apartment. The End

Fishing Report

Sorry if we got your hopes up with the title... there is not much to report. Dave went out Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday and still has not caught a marlin. Wednesday and Thursday were spent with Andre on the west coast in the Tasman Sea. The boat was launched from Hokianga Harbour, which has a very dangerous bar to cross. Every boat that crosses the bar must call into the coast guard before they start and again once they have safely crossed. Wednesday went well. Thursday getting out was fine, but coming back in was a bit scary. The tide was dead low so there were waves crashing all the way across the bar. We had to sit just outside the bar and watch for a few minutes to plan our crossing. We all put on life jackets, waited for a small set, and rode in between two swells. We made it safely across, but we could clearly see why some days the harbour is completely closed. Coming thru there in rough seas must be very scary. Jill tagged along on Thursday hoping to bring some good luck for the fishing, and to work on a suntan. We did get several albacore tuna, which were delicious, but no marlin. The weather was amazing though. It was flat calm which is practically unheard of on the west coast. We did see a marlin jump about 60 yards behind the boat twice, which was really cool. It was a huge blue marlin, that we would have loved to catch. On Friday the boys went out from Matauri Bay, but had no luck. Friday night we had a cook out at the campground with the guys we had been fishing with and their wives. We ate kina(sea urchin) and tuatua(clam) that they collected right on the beach in front of the campground. We also had

some fresh fish that had been caught from the boat. It was a great meal straight from the sea, that couldn't have been any fresher. On Sunday Dave went out with our friend Vinny, but they didn't have any luck with the marlin. We are keeping our fingers crossed for the next trip out.

Wairere Boulders

Dave and the guys went fishing on Wednesday from the west coast. Jill drove over in the morning with them to do a bit of exploring on her own. First she went to the Waima Forest to see a small waterfall. There was a cute little puzzle store near the park, so about an hour was spent looking

around and playing games in this tiny little family owned shop. After lunch on the beach and being taken over by two wet, sandy dogs, it was off to the Wairere Boulders. These 2.6 million year old boulders are literally out in the middle of nowhere down a long gravel road. These basalt boulders are unique because there are so many ranging in size from small cars to huge houses in a valley in the middle of clay country. Also they have been eroded in a very uncommon way called fluting. Where did they come from and how did they end up here? Apparently they are erosion remnants from a basalt layer that used to sit high above the valley floor. Walking around the park was interesting because the path went over, under, and thru the rocks. Some of the rocks are holding each other up in ways that makes small caves or passages underneath these huge boulders. The private park has been very well kept by the owners Rita and Felix. They have built all the bridges and walkways themselves with there own money. It was very enjoyable to talk to Felix and look thru the pictures of the original work and upkeep he and his wife have done. It was certainly an enjoyable park.

Determined Dave

Last week Dave was fortunate enough to get a temporary job on a 60 foot Riviera Sportfishing boat called "Back in Black" for the ElDorado Marlin Fishing Tournament as a deckhand. Dave was gone overnight on the boat from Wednesday Jan 25th until Saturday Jan 28th. Sadly they did not catch any marlin, but they did have several come up into the spread on the first day. The following days, they did not even see any marlin. They did catch a 550 pound hammerhead, which was tons of fun for all 7 of the guys on board. Only 21 marlin were caught in the entire tournament which had 25 boats. Saturday night we went to the awards dinner at Russell Sailfish Club, which was a fun time talking fishing all night. Since the tournament Dave has been out fishing several more times with Andre, a friend of a friend of ours, and still not caught a marlin. It has been 8 days on the water, hoping for a marlin, and Dave is starting to take it personal. He is now a on a mission to catch one very soon.
While Jill has not been out fishing lately, she did get to go sailing with our landlord Geoff, His 21 year-old daughter Sarah, and a little girl Sarah nannies for. While Dave was gone fishing, Jill enjoyed her time alone to relax and enjoy the beach, a few good books, a bit of shopping, and lots of catching up with family and friends back home.
On Thursday we went along with all of our neighbors to a performance by the Royal New Zealand Navy Band in the next town of Kerikeri. All 14 of us went to a nice dinner afterwards and had a good time together.

New Zealand Slang

Thought we'd share some of the local lingo with everyone...

Flat - Apartment
Mate - Friend
Jersey - Sweater
Jandals - Flip Flops
Togs - Bathing Suit
Gumboot - Rubber Boots
Ute - Truck
Boot - Car Trunk
Petrol - Gas/Fuel
Tea - Dinner
Lollies - Candy
Chips - French Fries
American HotDog - Corn Dog
Barbie - Grill
Chilly Bin - Cooler
Judder Bars - Speed Bump
Piss - Alcohol
Bubbly - Champagne
Partner - Girlfriend/Boyfriend

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Back to the Bay of Islands

5 weeks, 7400 kilometers (4600 miles), 18 different accommodations, and 25 pounds weight gain between the two of us... we have made it safely back from our road trip! We left Wellington at 4:30am Thursday morning and drove just over 11 hours straight north, back to our apartment in the Bay of Islands. Dave got this great sunrise picture from the roadside on our way. We had an amazing trip with so many great experiences and so many amazing places, but we are worn out and glad to be back to our apartment. Be sure to check out our facebook pages for GoPro videos we filmed while we were gone. Dave is super anxious to start marlin fishing this weekend, as 2 nice 500 pound blue marlins were caught in the last couple of weeks! It is going to be an exciting last couple of months on the water for us here.

Sailing the Abel Tasman

Tuesday we went sailing on a 35 foot catamaran from Kaiteriteri Beach in the Tasman Sea along the coast of the Abel Tasman National Park. There were 12 passengers, which was very comfortable on the boat, and we had a nice time getting to know some of the others during our 7 hours together. We were able to relax, enjoy the sunshine, help with the sailing, and take in the sights. It was a bit chilly with the sea breeze, but the day was perfect with not a single cloud in the sky. There were so many beautiful bays with inviting sandy beaches. Most of the beaches are accessible by hiking thru the park, but the boat was our preferred method. We stopped on

Anchorage Beach for an hour to eat lunch and explore the area. We also saw a fur seal colony, with a few new pups. One of the popular sights in the area is Split Apple Rock, which we sailed by on our way out and on our way in. Dave even got to fish a bit while we were sailing back. He caught a kawai on a cuban yoyo, which was fun for everyone to watch. There were a couple little blue penguins swimming near us also, which was really cool. We enjoyed being out on the water and had a fantastic last day in the south island. Wednesday we headed toward Picton to catch the Ferry back to the north island. We stopped along the way in Havelock to eat green lipped mussels at a very popular well known restaurant, The Mussel Pot. After lunch we continued on and checked in at the ferry terminal. We crossed the cook straight and arrived in Wellington where we checked in to our hotel for our last night on the road.

Nelson and Mapua

We stayed in Nelson Saturday and Sunday night within walking distance to all the shops and restaurants. On Sunday we went to the World of Wearable Art and Classic Cars Museum (WOW Museum). It is a weird pair of collections to have together, but they were both interesting. All the garments on display have been part of the Brancott Estate World of Wearable Art Awards, and they were all very interesting creations. The cars on display were awesome. There was a wide range from old vintage classic cars to very modern luxury cars. Our favorite was the Maybach

made by Mercedes! On Monday we went west of Nelson toward the Abel Tasman on a sickening mountainous road. We Stopped off at Ngarua Caves and did a short tour were we saw bones from the extinct Moa bird, cave coral, remnants from early explorers, and many different chambers in the cave. After the caves, we went into the town of Takaka in Golden Bay to the Anatoki Salmon Farm. This small freshwater salmon farm serves as a tourist attraction and a supplier to local restaurants and markets. They allow you to fish for free and you just pay for what you catch.

Since we both love salmon sushi so much, we stayed for a couple of hours and caught seven fish around four pounds each. They do provide free rods to use, but Dave wanted to use his own fly rod for a little extra fun. The fun we were having on the fly rod ended when Dave broke the five weight rod while reeling in a four pound salmon. Dave couldn't have been happier about the break, there is just something satisfying about pushing the limits, even though that size of fish should never have stressed the rod. Luckily the rod is under warranty so there will be no loss of value.

We had the salmon cleaned and packaged. After the salmon farm we tried to go see a waterfall along a beautiful coastal road, but due to the recent rain in the area the road was closed because of landslides. We actually drove past the closed sign on accident, but after driving by a few bad collapses on the road we decided to turn around. Once we drove back thru we realized we had driven right by a guard stopping people. Ooops! Jill drove on the way back to our hotel in Mapua so she wouldn't get so sick (Dave had to pull over a couple times on the way there). Of course we ate salmon sashimi for dinner, which was delicious!

Glacier Country

We spent 2 nights in Fox Glacier and unfortunately the weather was terrible. We should have been able to see the mountain tops and glaciers, but it was just to rainy. It was rainy, cloudy, hazy, and chilly. We were scheduled to go on an ice climb, but we decided against it in the weather. Some of the groups still went out, but we just weren't up for being cold and wet all day. If you look closely at the picture you can see a couple groups of people on the glacier. After all it was so cloudy you couldn't really see the extent of the glacier. We went to the town of Franz Joseph Glacier one day

to go to the wildlife center. We saw the Rowi kiwi, which is the most endangered of the kiwi's.
Saturday we left Fox Glacier, but stopped on our way out of town to get as close as we could to the ice. There was a wild Kea in the parking lot, just walking around checking everyone out. He was so funny. When we were leaving he was flowing Dave all the way to the car door. We would have loved to take him with us. Even though the weather wasn't ideal in Fox Glacier, we still had a great time. Maybe we can go back one day and see the beauty that was hidden by the weather. We got on the road and headed north up the west coast of the south island. With no reservations for accommodation, we decided we would stop in some of the towns and when we were tired of driving we would stop. We ended up stopping in a couple towns and drove all the way up to Nelson about 500 kilometers. We had a nice day on the road, stopping to taste/buy fresh goat cheese from a farm, stopping to shop, and enjoying the reserves we drove thru.

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It's just a hot dog...

After Fiordland, we drove to Haast, which is a small town on the western coast of New Zealand. Being on the edge of the Southwest World Heritage Area and Mount Aspiring National Park, it is the perfect place for hiking and fishing in the back country. We arrived on Tuesday the 10th, where we checked in and had a few issues. We woke up Wednesday and drove inland to look for a good fly fishing spot. We found a suitable place, parked, and got our gear ready. We hiked thru the young valley, waded over the Makarora River, and headed up the gorge along the young river. We hiked upstream, fished for a bit, then hiked back. Even though we didn't catch any fish, Dave was able to get a huge 8 pound rainbow to take his fly. He broke it off after the strike, but it was still quite satisfying. The 5 mile hike itself was beautiful and we really enjoyed our day out in the wilderness. We headed back to the hotel, but stopped at the mini grocery to find something for dinner. We opted for hotdogs because we figured they would be easy to grill and we had all the extras in our cooler. Once we got to the hotel we inquired about the advertised BBQ area. We were told they would bring the grill to us. Then we got a call from the receptionist that she was unable to bring the grill because the manager said it was not allowed. After complaining and asking to speak to the manager, she called back to say they would cook our hot dogs in the kitchen. The manager never called (he must have been scared), so we brought the dogs to the kitchen. After an hour of waiting, Jill went to the front desk to see what was taking so long. They apparently were busy and hadn't gotten to the hot dogs, so we were promised a bottle of wine to make up for it. 30 minutes later we got our hotdogs, and never received any wine. Needless to say, we were quite irritated by the time we got our dinner after 9:00pm. After all, they are just hot dogs... it's not like we asked them to cook steaks. So along with the hot dog issue, an internet issue, a sand fly issue, and a movie issue, we checked out 2 days earlier then planned and moved on. We just couldn't take any more. Once we left the hotel, we stopped to get gas and the clerk didn't want to take Dave's credit card. She said it didn't look like his signature, so he showed his id and she said it didn't look like him. Geeeezzzz... can we catch a break. We have voted Haast, New Zealand the worst place in the whole country! Now we are in Fox Glacier, which has started off as a much better experience!

Fiordland

Sunday morning we left Queenstown at 5:30am and drove to Milford Sound to go on a scenic boat cruise. The drive was phenomenal through Fiordland, which is a national park in the southwest corner of the south island in New Zealand, covering over 3 million acres. We drove thru the amazing Homer Tunnel and around and over beautiful mountains. Once we reached Milford, we boarded a boat to take in the scenery from the water. The fiords are remarkable, having been carved out from glaciers many many years ago. As the glaciers slid down the mountains, they pushed away all the soft rock, leaving sheer cliff faces behind and allowing the sea water to move into the troughs that were created. Because the cliffs are so huge they really dwarf the size of everything around them. We saw several waterfalls that were 400, 500, even 600 feet high, but

they looked very normal compared to the size of the cliffs. We were just a small speck in a very large Fiordland. After our 3 hour boat tour, we got back on the road to our hotel in Te Anau. On Monday we drove just a little south from Te Anau to Manapouri to experience Doubtful Sound. Like Milford, Doubtful is also a fiord, but it is much harder to reach from the mainland. We took a boat across Lake Manapouri, which took almost an hour. Then we boarded a bus to travel through Wilmot Pass over to Doubtful Sound, on a road that is completely isolated from any other road in New Zealand. Once we reached the edge of Doubtful Sound, we boarded another boat to cruise around

for 3 hours taking in the sites. Doubtful Sound is much bigger than Milford Sound with 10 times more surface area and 3 times longer. After our boat tour we drove back over to the lake where we took a tour of the Manapouri Power Station. The hydroelectric power station is underground in a mountain beside the lake in solid granite rock. Water from the lake is used to create electricity for parts of New Zealand. After the power station tour we traveled back across the lake, where we ended our journey for the day. The last to days in Fiordland have been really amazing. The photos and descriptions will never be able to explain this amazing untouched area of New Zealand. It is spectacular!

Day 2 of 2 featuring pure adrenaline

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early for a fun filled day of adrenaline. We drove down to the town center and hopped on a bus to go to the Nevis Bungy. Dave was preparing for the jump of a lifetime, at 440 feet high. Jill went along as a spectator, which was just as scary as jumping. Once we reached the mountain top, we had to board a high wire shuttle to get us out to the pod which you jump from. That part was quite terrifying itself because you are just on a cable system and the pod is dangling loosely in the air shifting about with the wind and movement of people. There was a huge American college group with us, so it was fun to experience it with them as well. Some people backed out once they saw the extreme jump. When it was Dave's turn, there was no hesitation. He must have jumped before the countdown was even over. Better to get it over with I guess, then stand on the edge thinking about it. He did let out quite an interesting scream. Once it was all said and done, he was super happy he made the jump. He actually wished it was longer, if you can believe that!

Once we got back into town, we grabbed a bite to eat for lunch, and then it was off to the next adventure... Paragliding. We hopped on another bus and went about 20 minutes outside of the town to a nice mountain area to launch the shutes. We flew tandem with experienced pilots from Coronet Peak, which is over 5,000 feet high. The set-up and take-off were pretty easy, just catching the wind and proceeding off the mountain top. Dave

was really brave and did some crazy spins and turns on the way down. Jill was pretty conservative with her flight, taking the easy smooth way down. It was quite an experience to be so high up in the sky with just your guide to rely on. We both had a really good time. It was a bit scary at times, but worth it. Once we were done with paragliding, we went back to the hotel for a quick break and then went straight back to it. Next on the agenda was the canyon swing, which is a 197 foot free fall that goes into a swing farther across the canyon totaling 256 feet. There are 70 different positions you can jump in. We jumped tandem in the gimp goes to hollywood position, which is head down, feet up, where they release the cord for you. Jill was absolutely horrified. Tears, screams, and clinging to Dave she managed to do it! Dave went a second time by himself doing a backflip off the edge. It was quite intense, but he loved it. We both had a great time even though there were moments of complete panic and fear. The staff were really fun and they got a good laugh out of watching Jill. No matter the hesitation and fear, we completed the jump! We have certainly covered the adrenaline junkie part of this trip! Be sure to check out our facebook pages for the videos!

Day 1 of 2 featuring pure adrenaline

Friday Jan 6th we went for a rock climbing adventure in Queenstown. We did the Via Ferrata, which is a climbing style with fixed rungs and a cable system. It was only the two of us with the guide, so we went along comfortably at our own pace. We hiked up a little and then started our climb. We climbed three sections of rock face, each with different challenges. Once we made it to the top, we took a rest, and then we abseiled down two sections. It was a perfect experience, because it was not to hard since there were easily accessible rungs, but it was still challenging and high enough of a climb to scare you a bit. After about three hours we made it back to the bottom. After rock climbing we took the Skyline gondola up to the mountain top from 1115 above sea level in Queenstown to 2591 feet above sea level. Once we made it to the top, we went on the skyline luge. We not only went once, we did it 5 times. To do the luge we took another lift just a little farther up, got into the carts, and raced down. We really enjoyed ourselves and got quite cracked up at each other and the other people on the track. While Dave was a bit rough and almost threw himself out a couple of times, we ended the 5 rides safe and sound. We better rest up for Saturday because there is a lot on the agenda!

An Amazing Place to Fly Fish

Wednesday we drove to Queenstown, which was only a couple hours west. We had a beautiful drive around Lake Wakatipu between the mountains and into Queenstown. On Thursday Jan 5th, we went fly fishing with Jeff Jones. We left right out of Queenstown on his boat to get to a secluded fishing spot. The boat sheds are really interesting here. The boat is stored in a garage like shed right on the lake edge. The boat sits on a trailer with rail wheels which is on a train track. The boat is then slowly wheeled down the rails and into the lake using a generator. It's kind of like a coal cart. Once you arrive back, the boat is just driven back onto the trailer and then the cart is pulled into the shed. We thought it was really

clever. So we drove the boat about 30 minutes across the lake to a farmers private property. From the boat we got into an old Range Rover probably from the 70s, and drove up river about 30 more minutes. The property was amazing. It was really secluded from society. The farm was between several 5,000 foot mountains right on the lake with a river running thru it. The only way to the farm was by boat. Even the cattle and sheep were transported by boat. There were so many huge pastures with grazing merino, cows with their spring babies nursing, bulky bulls ready to charge, and lots of trout waiting to be caught. It would be heaven for Jill's mom! We took the Range Rover through the pastures, up really steep hills, and even crossed

the river. It was like we were on a 4x4 safari. Once we got up the Lochy river far from any human we started to fish the river by spotting trout and working upstream. Dave had a great time with the challenge of casting in the perfect spot to intice the trout to take the fly. He caught 9 fish and lost 1. Jill fished a bit in the beginning, but she was having such a good time helping Jeff (the guide) spot fish and enjoying the wilderness, that she stopped after a short time. It was such a beautiful place to spend the day. We wished we could have camped out for a few days and enjoyed the mountains and forest. The only complaint we had was the sand flies. They were awful to say the least. We were mostly covered in clothes from head to toe, but

the few bits of skin that were exposed were in danger. We loaded on the repellant so we didn't get to many bites, but they were just plain annoying flying in and around your eyes and face. It was such an amazing place that we dealt with the sand flies and didn't complain a bit. After fishing the day away, we drove back thru the forest, over the river, and to the lake. Then we got on the boat and drove back across the lake. We really had a great day. Even though Dave had a few challenges, it was one of the best days we have had in New Zealand.

Fly Fishing in Gore

Tuesday was a fantastic fly fishing day in Gore. We went out with our guide Barry to the Mataura River which was only a short drive from the B&B he and his wife Diane own. Dave caught a couple of fish right off the bat. We did really well all day only covering a short span of the river. Dave ended the day with around 25 hook-ups, landing a total of 17 brown trout. Jill hooked up 6 fish and landed 2. Three of Jill's hook-ups were so close to landing. One was even just about to go into the net and the hook broke. This makes Jill's second and third trout on fly, which is pretty exciting for her. Dave is getting to be very well at casting and is becoming quite an incredible fly fisherman. He was thrilled to have caught so many fish in one day. This was certainly the best fly fishing day we have had yet!

A Waterfall Day

On Monday Jan 2nd we left Dunedin and got back on the road heading south. We took the Southern Scenic Route along the coast of the southern part of the south island. The route took us thru the Catlins, Invercargil, and Bluff, then up to Gore to our accommodations. We stopped at

several places along the way, including two beautiful waterfalls. We first sopped at the Golden Nuggets, which is a group of boulders that apparently look like golden nuggets. They were a bit golden in color, but not exactly what we expected. We did have fun stopping there though, because it was a nice drive out to the point and we enjoyed the excessive amount of wind we encountered. The gust could nearly knock you over. We did get to see some spoonbills, but they were so far away you couldn't really see their huge bills. Purakaunui Falls was our next stop. It was a

very short walk to the incredible falls. Our next stop was the McLeans Falls, which were a bit of a walk, but well worth every step. There were so many levels of the falls. It was gorgeous! The sides of the river weren't to steep, so we were able to maneuver all around the many parts of the falls. Dave really got some amazing photos! He climbed really far down into the falls to try and fit ever bit into the pictures. There were quite a few other people there taking pictures and enjoying the area. There was a group of girls who got into the freezing water and went under the highest fall. We

stayed well out of the flow of water, because it was way to cold for us. It was nice to see so many people enjoying the area though. After we left McLeans, we decided to go to the Niagara Falls of New Zealand, because the name sounded so enticing. It's a good thing we didn't go to far out of our way though because it was actually a small fall named by an architect in the town of Niagara as a joke. It was about a 3 inch decent of water over a few rocks. Dave did not think it was very funny! Once we got back on the road, we drove down to Sterling Point in Bluff, which is the southernmost point on the mainland of New Zealand. It was a beautiful spot right on the edge of the ocean. It is also the end of State Highway 1. In Key West we lived at the end/beginning of US1, so it was only natural for us to go to the start/finish of 1 in New Zealand. We drove thru Invercargill on our way back up toward Gore. Once we made it to Gore, we checked into our bed and breakfast and got to know our hosts. The owner Barry will be taking us out fly fishing tomorrow for brown trout. Hopefully we will catch some good fish Tuesday and Wednesday before we leave the area. We are certainly excited to get fishing!

Hello 2012

We rang the New Year in at the Octagon in Dunedin, which is a central area in the city with restaurants, bars, and shops. They blocked the streets off and had live music. We had a great time celebrating and enjoyed the fireworks show afterward. New Years Day was packed full of activities. First we went to Cadbury World, to see the production of chocolate bars. The factory was very warm and smelled delicious. We saw one ton of chocolate being poured thru a vat, we sampled several different bars, and then bought some to take home. After chocolate overload, we went to the Dunedin Chinese Garden. While it might sound strange, we really enjoyed

the garden. It is one of only three authentic Chinese Gardens outside of China. Most of the garden was actually pre-built in Shanghai, dismantled, shipped, and reassembled in New Zealand. The garden certainly gave us a feeling of relaxation and peace. After the garden, we drove east to the Otago Peninsula for a dose of nature. The Royal Albatross Centre is located at the tip of the peninsula in the world's only mainland breeding colony. We went on a guided tour to view the giant bird which can have a wingspan of up to 10 feet. We saw an albatross nesting about 20 yards from where we were in the viewing center. We also saw two of the huge birds flying in from the sea. It is incredible how large these birds are. We wished we

could have seen a big fluffy chick, but this time of year is a bit to early for that. After the Albatross, we went to a private conservation reserve to see the endangered Yellow Eyed Penguins in their natural environment. We went along with a guide into covered trenches to see these cute little animals, without them knowing we were there. We saw several chicks, a couple pairs, and some juvenile's finding their way onto the beach. The chicks grow quickly and are already the size of their parents at 6 weeks, but with fluffy feathers instead of waterproof feathers. We enjoyed the tour and were really happy to have gotten so close to these wild creatures.