What Do You Mean We Can't Go?

Queenstown is one of the major bases for touring Milford Sound and seeing the sound was the main reasons I came to Queenstown. There are a few options from Queenstown. You can:

• Coach-Cruise-Coach
• Fly-Cruise-Coach
• Coach-Cruise-Fly
• Fly-Cruise-Fly

I found really good ½ price deal for the Fly-Cruise-Coach deal which meant I was to take a 35 minute plane ride to the sound, board a 2 hour cruise on the sound and then take a 4+ hour bus back to Queenstown. I was picked up at around 11:30 p.m. and we headed to the airport. When we got there, I had a bad feeling because the pilot/head of the company had us sit and wait for about 25 minutes as he was waiting on the weather. It was pretty windy out, but it did not seem too bad. Well, it was bad and our tour was cancelled due to the windy, rainy weather at the sound. Apparently, the weather at the sound can be completely different than the weather in Queenstown. I was so disappointed. I did not have a Plan B for the day so I asked our driver to take me to the tourist information center so I could evaluate my options for an afternoon activity. Queenstown is the capital for adventurous and fun activities. I read that there are approximately 200 different tours/activities you can do from and in the town. Anything and everything you’d want to do is here:

• Bungy jumping – done it - check
• Zip lining – done it - check
• Canyoning – done it - check
• Sky diving – won’t do it - forget the check
• Lord of the Rings site tour – no thanks - forget the check

And the list goes on and on…

At the end of the day, the wind was taken out of my sails and nothing appealed to me. I rescheduled my tour to Milford Sound for the following day - this time I decided to forgo the flight and take the bus to get there. This way, I knew I’d make the boat tour, it just meant it was going to be a really long day.

I walked around town and called it a night.

Off to the Beautiful Queenstown...

I was off, bright and early, heading further down the west coast and then inland. The scenery continued to amaze - beautiful green mountains, rivers, waterfalls, orchards, vineyards and of course sheep! We stopped at an amazing fruit stand - the colors of the fruit were so vibrant. At one of our stops, I tried to get a photo of the stags, but they were a bit far away. We passed through the very popular Lake Wanaka and other towns that were once booming during the New Zealand gold rush. There is still some gold mining happening here. Rumor has it that a man was walking down by a local river and found a large gold nugget that sold for $50k on ebay! It was a very long bus ride, approximately 9 hours, to arrive at the town that is fit for a queen - Queenstown.

Queenstown is in Otago in the south-west of New Zealand's south island. It's built upon the beautiful Lake Wakatipu, has spectacular views of the surrounding mountains and it is a resort town - skiing in the winter and adventure/outdoor activities in the summer.

When I arrived, I took out my handy dandy street map and headed for the Hippo Lodge. Anja and I had made plans to meet in Queenstown and Hippo Lodge was going to be the accommodation. Well, my handy dandy street map was not a topographical map. The lovely Hippo Lodge, it turns out, was up an extremely steep hill. I thought my heart was going to come out of my chest lugging all my stuff up that hill! It was the first time I had to convert my bag into a backpack. I trudged up that hill like the little train that could..."I think I can, I think I can..."! All that work paid off with an incredible view.

There are hundreds of things to do in Queenstown, but my purpose was to use it as a base to see Milford Sound. I booked my tour to Milford Sound for the next day, headed down the hill and met up with Anja and her new friend, Michaela (I think that was her name). We went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant - well, a wanna be Mexican restaurant. The Mexican food here is not what we are used to. They had fake sombreros, like the ones at Chevy's, only these were more the shape of witches hats...Ay yi yi! I MISS our REAL tacos, burritos, enchiladas, huevos con chorizo, horchata...and the list goes on and on!

Nature Girl Parte Numero Dos...It's A Bit Colder Today...

Franz Josef is a town, but it's also the name of a very large glacier on the West Coast of the South Island (Ka Roimata or Hinehukatere in Maori). The primary purpose for visiting the town is to visit the glacier. Some people take a walk to the edge of the glacier, take some pictures and walk away, but noooo, not me - oh no - I booked a full-day guided trek onto the glacier! What was I thinking? I was a bit worried because, well, I don't feel like I am in that great of shape. No time to contemplate, I had to get moving!

The glacier was named after Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria by the German explorer, Julius von Haast in 1865. He was the first European to document the glacier from a steam ship in 1859. The glacier is currently 12 km long and terminates 19 km from the Tasman Sea. It is the worlds steepest and fastest flowing commercially guided glacier and it is an amazing site!

I arrived at the tour office at 9:00 a.m. We were given the run down on how to collect our equipment. Jacket, over-trousers, socks, boots, crampons, hat and gloves - check! We boarded a bus, arrived at the national park, were separated into groups and headed for the bottom of the glacier. The walk to the bottom of the glacier itself was a good distance - over 2km, although the distance was deceiving - it did not look as far as it was. We proceeded past the "Do not pass" sign (gulp) and just before we hit the ice, we put the crampons on our shoes. Up, up and up - through crevasses and up ice hills. Our guide, Troy, was awesome! He made sure out path was good, carved out steps in the ice and helped a few of the "less sure footed" hikers, but not me - I was loving it - let's go higher! There were parts on the trek where you had to squeeze, really squeeze, yourself through the crevasses! For the "squeezing" parts, we had to wear our jackets to elbow our way through the ice. Unfortunately, I did not check the size of my jacket before I left the tour office. The guy gave me an XXL - huh? I know I need to loose a few L B's, but c'mon! We were really lucky - we had great weather - no rain, which for this area, is very unusual. Anyway, the jacket worked fine and I'm happy it wasn't raining.

It was a full day of hiking and I loved it! Nature Girl did it again - Gucci sunglasses and all!

Greymouth to Franz Josef...

I was ready to get a move on from Greymouth. For my travel on the South Island, I chose to buy a flexi-pass on the Intercity Bus Line. The one unfortunate thing about their bus system is that the bus times can be a bit limited. So, for example, I was ready to leave Greymouth bright and early in the morning, the bus, however would not be there to pick me up until 1:00 p.m. - time to hurry up and wait!

The bus finally came and I was off on a continued journey down the West Coast and had a 4 hour bus ride to see the Franz Josef Glacier! By now, I have seen quite a bit of the landscape on the South Island - besides a beautiful ocean, there are heaps and heaps of farms, orchards and vineyards. YES, I have seen sheep, cows, red deer, llamas and elk - all being farmed. The deer and elk surprised me - coming from a family where hunting is a sport, it was odd to see a huge herd of male deer with a very large set of antlers corralled on an acre of land. I asked about the deer and the bus driver said that they are farmed for their meat, primarily sold to Germany and the antlers are primarily sold to China for Chinese medicine. There are also certain farms that raise huge stags and some rich guy will pay to come to New Zealand and shoot him - what a fake, that is not hunting at all - not cool! These deer are not even afraid of people. I am still working on getting a good picture of the deer - it's not so easy on a moving bus.

I arrived at the Glow Worms Cottages, checked in and Anja was there after her long day trek. We met up with Karoline and headed to the glacier hot pool. Three invigorating pools, one warmer than the next. It was very relaxing! We headed back to the Hostel and made dinner. I went to bed fairly early, because...we haven't seen the last of nature girl!!!

Nelson to Greymouth...Just Because...

Anja, my new friend from Germany, and I woke up early to catch the bus from Nelson. I was headed to Greymouth and she was continuing on to Franz Josef. Honestly, I don't know why I was going to Greymouth. There are hikes and other activities to do from Greymouth, but I wasn't very interested in any of them. I really just wanted to make my way down the west coast and stop along the way.

From Nelson, the bus made a few stops along the way and one of those stops was in Punakaiki. We had about a 25 minute stop over, enough time to see the Pancake Rocks. Anja and I were headed for the trail to the water when I heard someone "holla" my name. I looked over and it was Karoline! It was a little shocking to have your name called out when you wouldn't think you'd know anyone. It's a small traveling world here in New Zealand. It turns out that Karoline was on her way to Franz Josef too. The three of us made our way to see the Pancake Rocks. The Pancake Rocks are a heavily eroded limestone area where, during high tide, the sea burst through blow holes in the rocks. It can be quite dramatic - sometimes I feel like the pictures don't do justice to the amazing nature here. The layering of the limestone makes the rocks resemble a stack of pancakes.

We made plans to meet up the following night and I off boarded the bus in Greymouth to do - Nothing!

Greymouth was not an interesting town. I splurged for my own room, which happened to be the Elephant Room (still a shared bathroom), ate, did some work emails and went to bed!

New Zealand and Kiwi tid bits...

Some random observations:

Language, yes we all speak English, but here are a few things, I've had to ask about...

• Boot of the car = Trunk of the car
• I pay my mortgage every fortnight = I pay my mortgage every 2 weeks
• How much would you like to top up? = How much credit do you want to buy on your calling card?
• Don't forget your togs and your jandals = Don't forget your swim suit and your flip flops
• A chilly bin = a drink cooler
• Sweet as = all good, I concur with what you propose
• Fringe = bangs
• Bloody, Cheeky, Dodgy - all a result of British influence. Alive and well here in NZ.
• Jumper/hoodie = sweatshirt
• The letter Z is pronounced Zed

Additional Notes:

• You must end your sentence with AYE for confirmation...ie. That guy needed a shower, aye? I can now hear aye in my head!
• People from New Zealand are referred to as Kiwis, not because of the fruit, because of the Kiwi bird that is national symbol. The Kiwi bird is flightless and nocturnal so it's not easy to spot. The Kiwi is endangered, but is making a come back.
• Pounamu (Greenstone) is the traditional name for local jade from Aotearoa. Typically worn as a necklace. There are different meaning for the shapes and they correspond the the world. Descriptives after native birds, fish and plants are linked to storytelling and some by location.
• Fat Freddy's Drop and The Black Seeds = Bands from Wellington, NZ
• Pineapple lump is a favorite kiwi candy (chocolate covered pineapple candy) and L&P is a favorite softdrink (refreshing, similar to ginger ale).
• Food is really good here. Lots of fresh veggies and variety!
• The New Zealand Dollar is currently equal to about .77 cents USD
• Prices are not cheap low. Some things are definitely more expensive here than the US. A few things are cheaper, but not many.
• There are no coins less than 10 cents. No pennies or nickels. All prices are rounded to the nearest 10 cent.
• The public bathrooms are generally really clean. No need to BYO TP here!
• At certain major crosswalks, ALL directions of traffic stop and pedestrians can cross both ways AND diagonally across the intersection - cool!
• Many cafes are BYO - you can bring your own wine, beer, etc.

Nature Girl Makes an Appearance...

Hellooooo Nature Girl!

I booked a tour to Abel Tasman National Park. Agenda for the day: A full day of Hiking and Sea Kayaking. The park is on the north west corner of the south island which is actually further north than Wellington, the southern tip of the north island - a hard concept to grasp unless looking at a map. From Nelson, in order to get to the park, we were bused to Marahau which is the closest town to the National Park. There are no roads into the park. You must access the park via boat or if you are super rich, via helicopter. Our water taxi dropped us off at Barks Bay and we hiked 6.4 km to Torrent Bay. It was an up and down trek, but not too strenuous (I can still hang a bit...). Along the way, people were stopped to admire a baby bell bird or Korimaku in Maori. He/She was calling to its mom. The birds have a two tone whistle which sounds like bells. It was very cute. He/She did not want to fly out of the tree and momma bird was trying to coax him/her out. Upon arrival at Torrent Bay, we had some time to hang out and eat lunch and admire the area. One thing that was really obvious was the tide level. Initially, our water taxi had to be "tracktored" into the water. The tide was so low, a tractor backed the boat into the water. Virtually all the boats around the bays were sitting on land and later in the day, when the tide came up, they were in water again. The people with boats have to plan their day around the tide movement.

From Torrent Bay, we boarded another water taxi and arrived at Watering Cove. Here we had an "afternoon tea" break and received a Kayaking lesson. And we were off! My Kayak partner was Alec from Germany. He was on holiday with his mom and dad. He had spent a few months in Australia and now they were together for holiday in New Zealand. He was such a nice kid. We paddled and paddled, 8 km. It was beautiful and pretty smooth going. We spotted a sting ray in the water right under our Kayak - pretty cool. Toward the end, my hands were pretty tired, not so much my arms, but my hands. I think I was holding the paddle too tight. I'm glad Alec was young and strong, he pretty much paddled us back the last km. It was another successful adventure for Nature Girl! I would recommend MSK (Marahau Sea Kayaks) for kayaking in Abel Tasman - knowledgeable guides and well planned trip!

It was back to the hot, stuffy, overcrowded room in the Hostel - Nature Girl needed a shower desperately! The only good thing about my room in Nelson was that I met my new friend Anja!

Last Day in Wellington - Finally Sunny!

My last day in Wellington and, go figure, out comes the sun!

With the morning sunshine, we decided to get in some of those touristy Wellington attractions. Michaela took me to the Botanical Gardens. We hiked up a hill to an awesome setting. There are a couple of concert venues where they have outdoor concerts amongst the gardens, really cool. From the gardens, we rode the cable car from the top of the gardens to the city center. We grabbed a coffee and I stopped at the isite (tourist information center) to make some plans for the days to come. We picked up some grab-n-go sushi. Sushi "takeaways" here are pretty convenient. A display case with different rolls, nigiri, etc. is there and you take the pieces you want - you don't have to take a whole roll, just a piece. This was the first time I had a roll with prepared tuna inside, meaning tuna that we normally put inside a tuna sandwich - not bad, interesting, but not bad. We had to race back up the cable car to the gardens and walk back down the other side of the hill to her car. We were "racing" because we were worried about her car getting ticketed or towed! We made it, no ticket - whew!

From the gardens, we picked up Michaela's friend Sam and headed to the beach to eat our Sushi. It was such a nice day. I said goodbye to Sam and we went back to her place.

I packed my things and Michaela took me to the ferry station. I was sad to say good-bye. We are already planning her next trip to visit!

I caught the Interislander ferry (a very LARGE ferry) to Picton. The ferry was transporting cars, big rigs, freight cars and people - this boat was LARGE! This was my transition sail from the North Island to the South Island. The ferry ride was pretty smooth and I really enjoyed the end of the trip which sailed through the Marlborough and Queen Charolette Sounds. Upon arrival in Picton, I caught the bus to Nelson. There were so many vineyards along the way. The Marlborogh region is known for it's wine production and it's Sauvignon Blanc. I arrived in Nelson, actually at the front door of the hostel I had booked, Accents on the Park. My room was hot and stuffy and too crowded - boo! I crashed almost right when I got there. I had to get some sleep - Nature Girl planned to make an appearance the next day!

NOTE: On a side note, the bus here, specifically the Intercity Bus Company, is awesome. The normal bus lines are like tours. The drivers commentate on the area that you are driving through along the way. I've learned a lot about the outlying regions of the areas thanks to the bus drivers and, when they can, they'll find out where you are staying and drop you off right in front of your hotel/hostel!

Lunch In Wine Country...

On Monday, Michaela and I decided that we were getting out of the house rain or shine. Unfortunately, most of my time in Wellington thus far has been rain or overcast.

We headed for wine country. Just over the Tararua and Rimutaka mountain ranges near Wellington is the Wairarapa region. The region has traditionally been a sheep farming region (yay...sheep!). Now, many wineries and vineyards are scattered amongst the sheep farming land. We headed to the little town of Martinborough had a coffee and then headed off to the Tirohana winery for lunch. What a cute place - the restaurant was small and the food was wonderful. We enjoyed our lunch in spite of the very large hen's (bachelorette) luncheon happening just a few tables away. They were pretty loud, but I guess that is to be expected. The country side is beautiful and reminds me very much of Sonoma's wine country.

It was a great day - great wine, great food, great friend...all these greats offset the fact that it was still raining...not so great, but I can't complain, I'm on holiday!

The Day After A Night Out...

If Saturday was a lazy day then Sunday was down right lethargic and sloth-like. It was raining and both Michaela and I were out late the night before so, it took us a while to get going. I kinda had a headache most of the day - ugh! We wandered on over to her mom’s, Madeline, house to use the internet. Madeline gave me some tips and books on my future travels to the south island. They are an incredibly hospitable people – these Kiwis!

We decided to go to the cinema that afternoon. We went to the local mall, walked around a bit. I compared prices on a pair of Nike running shoes I just bought at home. I paid $78 USD. Here in NZ, they were $200 NZD which translates to about $150 USD! The same shoes were double the price. Shopping for clothes and fashionable items is definitely cheaper at home. We watched The Fighter with Mark Wahlberg. I loved it! San Francisco movie guys should be up out of the chair clapping for this one!

A very relaxing day. I didn't take one picture all day and went to bed early - this is what happens when I go out, down for the count the next day! That's ok - I'm on Holiday...

Food Network and Salsa Dancing...is Alive and Well in Wellington!

Saturday started out as a lazy day. Michaela and I motivated ourselves to get up and get to work because we had big plans to make a gourmet meal from her new vegetarian cookbook. We spent the morning chopping, cutting sautéing and measuring for our dish. The measuring was tricky because the recipes are in grams, milliliters, etc. Fortunately her measuring cups had the equivalents noted on the bottom. The special for the day was Mushroom Ragu with Homemade Croutons and a Pouched Egg. It turned out delish and it was paired nicely with a glass of Sauvignon Blac from the Marlborough region. Our dish looked exactly like the picture in the book! Not too shabby…we are now waiting for a call from the Food Network…waiting, waiting…

Michaela had a wedding to go to on Saturday so; I was on my own for the rest of the day – well kind of. Her mom and I “crashed” the wedding ceremony. We snuck in the back of the church to see the bride. We wanted to see her brother all dressed up, but he was too far away. After the “crashing”, I headed to Te Papa, the main museum in Wellington. It’s filled with so many wonderful facts and pieces from the Maori culture. I wish I had been more in the “museum” mood. I just wasn’t. I walked around a bit, but just couldn’t do it. I took the train back to Michaela’s, hung out for a while got and then...got ready for SALSA!

Karoline, my new friend that I met in Taupo, and I had made plans to meet up in Wellington on Saturday night. I had researched Salsa dancing in New Zealand and there is a club called Estadio just off Courtneay Place. We met up, went out for a drink on the famous Cuba Street and headed to the club. The club was great, not too big and no cover charge. The live band was excellent. This was the first time I’ve gone salsa dancing where he majority of people are NOT Latin. It was truly and international salsa party – people from China, Sri Lanka, Kiwis, Brazil, Ukraine, Germany…a melting pot of salseros. There was definitely crow of “regulars” that go to this club. I danced with a guy that grabbed me and said “just follow” – ah, OK. We ended up doing this salsa sequence with 2 other couples. The three couples make a circle and you dance moves with your partner then he turns you and you switch partners – it was so fun! Karoline had fun too. She now wants to take lessons. I had no intention of staying out that late. I ended up running to catch a cab to the train station so I wouldn’t miss the last train of the night back to Petone. Salsa dancing in Wellington – check!

Wellington, The Capital City and my Dear Kiwi Friend...

I arrived in Windy Wellington Thursday evening and was greeted by wonderful friend Michaela, the Kiwi. Michaela has made an appearance in previous blog posts. And now, for her encore...

Michaela and I met while hiking the Inca Trail in Peru. We spent 5 brutal days hiking, camping, and being in awe of the beauty of Peru. We met up again in Buenos Aires and again, about a year later, in Los Angeles. This time, it was my turn to visit her!

She picked me up at the airport and we headed to her adorable house in Petone, a suburb of Wellington. I got settled and we walked to Jackson Street and had a great turkish dinner and talked, talked, talked - there was so much catching up to do!

The next day was a "take it easy" kind of day. We walked to the waterfront and around the shops on Jackson Street, had a great brunch at Go Bang Cafe and went to the grocery store.

I asked Michaela to give me a driving lesson. I thought it would be safer for ALL New Zealand if I had a little lesson, just in case I decided to rent a car. So, first off, my car is a manual and so is hers, however, you have to shift with your left hand - a bit weird at first, but not too bad. Second, the turn signals are on the right which means that turning the windshield wipers on instead of signaling was inevitable. And the kicker - Roundabouts! There are many, many roundabouts here. I am definitely not used to them. I was doing great, well kind of - it's very weird to be the driver on the right side of the car, I kept wanting to position myself on the left side of the road which meant that poor Michaela was getting nervous because she was almost in the margin on the left! Anyway, I was kind of doing great, until we came to a roundabout and she said, go right. So, I went right - literally. Thank goodness for her quick response - NO, NO left around then right! Whew, I corrected quickly, but that could have been ugly! Now in my head, all round abouts are AROUND to the left and then right! Yikes - I think I need more practice!

Later that evening, we went to Oriental Parade Beach for swim practice - not mine, hers! She was training for a 1000 meter swim in the ocean. I went with her friend Sam to watch. She did great and I know will do great on the big day.

Back to Petone where we all hung out, drank some wine and had authentic Fish and Chips! Crumb filet for me please...

Leaving Lake Taupo - Ay Yi Yi, Wake Up Mujer!

I woke up bright and early the next day - 6 a.m.. The night before, I had decided, with the corroboration of my new friend Karoline, that I would hike to the Huka Falls before I had to check out and wait for the bus. I had plenty of time. The hike would take about two hours there and she recommended that I ask for a ride back to town from another tourist visiting the falls.

No problem, I woke up and started hiking. The hike is along the east bank of the Waikato River and there is a hot springs crossing along the say. You can jump in and enjoy the warm water - I didn't, but it looked nice. I reached the falls by 8ish and they were beautiful, they aren't Iguazu Falls in Argentina beautiful, but they were beautiful nonetheless. I was there so early, there was no one there to ask for a ride back. I waited and started getting a little worried. I could start walking back and be late or hope for someone to come by and they'd give me a ride. I know what some are thinking, don't take rides from strangers right? I promise, this is totally safe otherwise I never would have done it. Finally, a group a 3 really cool travelers came around. They gave me tips on the South Island and we talked for a while. They were awesome.

I packed up and left my bag at the hostel until I was to catch my bus at 1:50. Karoline and I walked to the lake, had a coffee and chatted up a storm. We made plans to meet up in Wellington the upcoming Saturday night. I went back, picked up my bag and off to the bus station. This is where I am actually embarrassed to write what happened next. Where is everyone? Isn't there a bus at 1:50 p.m? Oh please don't tell me...I missed the bus! My bus was at 12:50, not 1:50. Geez Loueez! What is up with me? So frustrating because I had plenty of time - I had just been killing it until 1:50. I have noticed that I am "TOO RELAXED". It's much easier traveling here. I don't feel like I need to be "on guard" as much. In Central and South America, I felt like I had to be more "aware" - is the taxi guy trying to rip me off, is this a safe place, is it clean, don't go there because of the hooligans, etc., etc. It's definitely not like that here and the fact that everything is in English helps. I think I have just become too complacent. Wake up woman!

So, with that confession made, I decided I would bite the bullet and drive to Wellington, on the wrong side of the road! I went to two car rental places and they didn't have any cars - que? One place might have been able to wrangle one car, but it was going to cost more to rent the car than to fly. Off I went, to the airport and I flew to Wellington on New Zealand Airlines. I got a decent rate and some beautiful views from the 19, yes only 19, passenger plane! It was pretty windy when we left Wellington, but the ride was smooth. Whew, I made it!

Goodbye Rotoroa and Hello Lake Taupo...

Next up, Lake Taupo...

I caught the intercity bus line and arrived in Lake Taupo at 10 a.m. I checked into one of the best hostels I've stayed in so far, Blackcurrant. I had a big comfy bed and room all to myself. The room was "dorm" style ie. shared bathroom, but the space was great. As soon as I was settled, I walked to the lake harbour and booked a Sea Cruise to see the famous Maori carvings. I picked a larger boat because the lake looked a little bit choppy and I didn't want to be sea sick.

Lake Taupo is the largest lake by surface area in New Zealand. The surface area is 625 square kilometers. Lake Tahoe, which is my frame of reference, has a surface area of 495 square kilometers. Yes, this lake is B-I-G! The lake was formed by a supervolcanic eruption approximately 26,500 years ago. Both the Chinese and the Romans recorded an eruption as the "days of nights" when 1200 cubic kms of matter caused global darkness for 3 days! According to Maori legend, the lake was originally discovered by Ngatoro-I-Rangi of Te Arawa Conoe. He named the Lake, Taupo Nui A Tia = The cloak or shoulder of mat of Tia (a lesser High Priest of the canoe). The white caps of the water represent the white feathers of "the cloak". The lake waters originally did not support any sea/lake life. In 1898, rainbow trout from, of all places, California's Russian River were imported along with German brown trout. The lake now boasts some of the best trout fishing in the world. Trout are not allowed to be bought or sold in New Zealand and they can only be caught and taken by sports fishermen.

The Maori rock carvings were commissioned by the Queen Elizabeth Arts Council in 1980. They feature mostly Taniwhas or protectors of the Lake, whose power extends to include the Island of Motukaiko where tribal chiefs are buried.

Our boat tour was nice and yes, it was choppy. One poor guy lost his lunch overboard! I had to move away from him otherwise, I was next. I chatted with a couple ladies from Australia and really enjoyed being on the lake. The backdrop to the lake was "Mordor" from Lord of the Rings which is located in the Tongariro National Park.

I saw this pretty Black Swan at the Harbor. I don't believe I have ever seen one in person and in light of the movie, I had to take a photo. I took this photo right after a little duck got too close to the swan and the swan opened its wings and whacked the duck away - no joke! The black swan lived up to its reputation!