Next on the itinerary is the South Island of New Zealand. We arrive on January 3rd into Christchurch. We have a camper reserved and after spending a day in Chirstchurch, we'll be off on a 3 week camping adventure heading counter clockwise around the island.

Our first area to visit will be the Marlborough region with their 'wine trail'. We'll need to be sure their wine is up to our standard. Then to the Sounds which will offer some delightful bays, islands, coves and waterways. We hope to spend a day kayaking in this area then up the road to visit Nelson which boasts some of the sunniest and warmest weather in NZ. I'm sure we'll find something fun to do outside.

Next we're heading towards the West Coast where we will see some of the country that will remind us of the Pacific Northwest - wet and grey. Traveling along Highway 6 will be the Tasman Sea on one side of the highway and the spectacular Southern Alps on the other side. Traveling south we’ll visit many small quaint towns on our way to the Tai Poutini National Park where we will find the Franz Josef and Fox Glazers.

Continuing onward we’ll be headed to Queenstown and then on to Milford Sound. We have reservations for a trek that is known as one of the premier treks in the world. We can’t wait. We were told to expect rain and cool weather for most of the 33 mile, 4 day, 3 night backpacking trip. However, by the time we arrive at Milford Sound, we’ll be ready to put on the hiking boots and backpack and start trekking. After 4 days of seeing some incredible beauty will be time to take a shower, get a decent meal beside freeze dried food for 4 days and begin driving towards Christchurch for a flight to Australia. Stay tuned.

Where’s Pat and Mike?