It's been awhile since I've updated this blog, mostly because we've been quite busy exploring New Zealand. At present, we are on the hard awaiting parts and battened down for cyclone Pam, so it seems a good time to work on catching up a bit.

In January we took an extended road trip to explore the South Island in our trusty little Honda CRV and we had a blast! Our first day was a marathon drive (12 hrs) from Whangarei all the way down to Wellington on the south end of the North Island. Unfortunately, we had just enough time for dinner and a quick look around before catching our ferry in the morning. Wellington is a beautiful city with a vibrant CBD (central business district) and waterfront. We planned to see more on the return leg.

The big car ferry across Cook Strait to the South Island was an interesting 4 hr ride with the last bit winding in through Marlborough Sounds to the landing in Picton. Here we had a nice lunch and a quick look around the small harbor for a couple of geocaches. Next we pushed south to Blenheim, which is the heart of wine country. It reminds me a bit of California (see pic). Here we lingered a few days tasting wine, and geocaching.

Finally, with the boot full of wine and bellies full of pizza we continued south to Hanmer Springs; site of a large geothermal hot spring. In the 1800s there was a Sanatorium (Health Spa) here that catered to the rich and famous from Christchurch. That building is now a museum and an interesting walk. Next to the Sanatorium is the modern Theme Park with assorted public and private pools at all different temperatures as well as the obligate frolicking area for children (OK, I tried it too...fun!). Sufficiently pruned and smelling slightly of sulfur we continued south to Christchurch, with the windows down.