Photos of New Zealand (Dec '04)
   Photos of Family
   Photos of Friends
   Leslee and Jude
   Airstream Renovation
   Airstream Final
 
   Minnesota (Jan 04)
   Iowa (Jan 04)
   California (Feb 04)
   Baja, Mexico (Mar 04)
   The West (July 04)
   The Midwest (July 04)
   Alaska & Canada (Aug 04)
   Log Building (Oct 04)
   Great River Road (Nov 04)
   Southwest (Nov 04)
   New Zealand (Dec 04)
   Grand Canyon (Jan 04)
 
  Cool Side Trips!
  Roadside Wonders
 

On an impulse, Leslee and I headed out to New Zealand for Christmas with my Southern Hemishere relatives, canyoning, mountain biking, and hiking. It was a great Kiwi Christmas.


Planning our trip in Christchurch, we only booked one thing: a night at the YMCA.

 


Something scary hatching from a boulder.


Our sporty little Kiwi-mobile. The left-hand driving was uneventful, thank God.



The Peregrine Vineyard where we downed more than our share of their generous tastings.

Lupens are everywhere in the South Island, but I guess locals despise them as a non-native specie.
 

Contemplating the Skinny Dip outside of Queenstown. It took awhile, but it was worth it!

This beautiful home on a cliff over the beach was what passed for a "hut" on the Banks Peninsula Track.

Another "hut" on the Banks Peninsula...

A Kiwi Farmer showing us how it's done in Rotorua.

Leslee meeting some locals.

 

 


The famous boulders of Moeraki.

 


The inside of those boulders was brown and light quartz. They were like giant geodes.

 


The sea coming in on the Dunedin Peninsula.

 


The Carrick vineyard, where our tasting was interupted by a VIP in a helicopter.

 

 


Awww.....

 
 
A statue dedicated to the noble Kiwi sheep dog.
After climbing over headlands on the beach, we dipped down into these rain forest gullies.
 
Leslee feeding the lambs in Rotorua.

 

Leslee and I and were elected Chief and Chieftess of the Tribe of 18 Nations. Some of my subjects were not immediately open to the idea.

Back in Christchurch, we ran into this great store of goods from the UK. The proprietor was on vacation, his first since WWII.

Giant Chess in the Cathedral Square in Christchurch.

My Kiwi Cousins Murray and Judith. We shared a wonderful Christmas with them.

 

A Maori Hangi, where we were greeted with the traditional dance and Haka. It was wonderful.

Rotorua's famous bubbling mud. We never got a chance to hit the hot springs.

Regent Street in Christchurch, where I got my kiwi haircut.

The Cathedral in Christchurch.