Dunedin, South Island Friday, Mar 11 2005

We have arrived in Dunedin…the Scottish City on the South Island…just finished a 1 hour city tour of the city’s historical sites…very interesting as Canada settled very much the same time as New Zealand and the architecture is very similar…great churches and great stone buildings…the Methodist Church finally got it right they are now a theatre company in Dunedin…over 20 beaches on which to surf on the Pacific Ocean…the University of Otago has 20,000 students and pretty well take over the City…it was a beautiful drive here from Te Anau…mountains…green rolling hills covered with sheep/cattle/deer and lush fields…sun shining…first day in a week where we had more straightaways than we had curves…beautiful day…beautiful setting.

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Nelson, New Zealand Monday, Mar 7 2005

Right now I am sitting at the computer in the home of Steve and Diane where we had a lovely meal and a great visit. Steve and Diane are good friends of Dan and Cathy, and Anna is a good friend of Jesika’s. It is amazingly beautiful here…we strolled in the ocean today…temperature is great…not too hot and not too cold…too cold for Tamara and just right for Gloria. This is an amazingly beautiful country. We took the ferry over from Wellington to Picton on the South Island. The ferry ride was wonderful…it is hard to find the words to describe what it is like here…you have to be here to experience the beauty of this country. The drive from Picton to Richmond, where Pat and Anna live, was breathtaking and also more sharp curves than I could handle…I told God that I would never complain again about the straight road from Saskatoon to Calgary with its two curves and one tree…but my gravol worked and I was able to keep my lunch in my stomach. We have stayed with Anna and Pat…there first overnight guests since they were married 6 weeks ago…they took us to church on Sunday and then showed us around the area…they took us to her grandfather’s place on the ocean where they were married 6 weeks ago…unbelievable to think that people have this beauty around them all the time. Today we took time to wash our clothes and do a bit of shopping in the neat shops here where all there summer clothes are on sale as they are heading into Fall…great time for us to stock up for summer in Saskatoon. We are heading down the west coast of the South Island tomorrow and hope to head down to the Franz Joseph Glacier and town…and then head down to Queenstown…for those of you who would like to follow us on the map. On the North Island we went from Auckland to Taranga to Rotorua to Matata to Waitomo Caves to New Plymouth to Wellington and then across to Picton, South Island. We did numerous stops along the way…we stopped in little towns that were exactly like Morden, Manitoba, 35 years ago…some of the stores I went in had nothing that was newer than the 70’s…very interesting…great fun…like I said this country is amazing and the people we have connected with are just as amazing…the best part of travelling here has been the people we have connected with. Off to Queenstown we go…

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Wellington, NZ Friday, Mar 4 2005

We spent the night in Wellington at Kate and Jamie, Anna’s sister, as we were unable to find a room in Wellington. This was far better and they gave us a great tour of the city this morning. We have not had access to a computer so hence the absence of blogging. We are heading over Cook Strait this afternoon and will spend the next few days in Nelson on the South Island. We will be staying with Anna and Pat…we are looking forward to that. I will bring my blog up to speed when I am there as we hope to relax on the beach for a few days. The travelling through New Zealand has been absolutely amazing, it is hard to believe that one small island could be so beautiful. The South Island is to be very different…slower and more rural…so far it has been a great journey with few mishaps…like driving on the wrong side of the road…and only a few tiffs over where and what to eat. We are off to the ferry…we set us back $500.00 for a return trip…nothing is cheap here…but we are doing fine.

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