Days 156 & 157

Day 156,

Woke up, took some showers and packed the car. We had a nice little breakfast then headed down to the National Aquarium.













It was a really cool building located right on the waterfront. The Aquarium had all kinds of nice exhibits about prehistoric fish...



















tropical fish...













upside down fish...













animated Andrea fish...













invasive fish...













and New Zealand fish...













Oh wait, that's not a fish, but the aquarium did have a lot of information about the fish and aquatic life of New Zealand. It also had a bunch of exhibits about other wildlife and the nature of New Zealand. We even got to see a real live Kiwi!!! The room was real dark, because they are nocturnal, so we didn't get any good photos, but it was awesome to see a live one. They are an incredible animal with their big bodies, short legs and super long beeks.

They had a cool walk/ride (moving walkway) through a very large tank.













They also had great lunch options...



















Well, they wouldn't let me eat the crayfish (rock lobster), but it was nice to be up close and personal with the lobster. Overall the National Aquarium was awesome, a very cool destination in Napier.

After our visit to the aquarium we headed to the Silky Oak Chocolate factory for a chocolate overload. We learned a little more about the history of chocolate (with a few free samples), then headed into the cafe for a chocolate snack and a coffee, then we headed into the gift shop for a few more free samples (I thought I was going to die of a chocolate overdose).

We had a little snack (not chocolate) then headed over to the Church Road Winery for a little tasting. The Chardonnay was awesome so we had to buy a bottle.



















From the Church Road Winery we headed up to the Mission Estate Winery.













We tasted a few wines there and checked out the cool old estate. Another New Zealand must-do completed (wine tasting in the Hawke's Bay region).

With the wine tasting complete we headed back into town to grab some late lunch and work our way Northwest toward Taupo. Along the way we saw a small sign for a waterfall, so we decided to stop.













WOW! We were so glad we stopped. The waterfall was amazing and no one else was at the viewpoint. What a cool find.

We arrived in Taupo as the sun was setting over the lake.













It was a beautiful sun set so we took a couple of pictures before heading to our hostel. Once we reached our hostel we made some dinner, did a little work on the computer and watched some TV before heading to bed.

Day 157

Woke up early for another big day in NZ. Fly fishing in the famous Taupo region! We packed up our stuff and started the car to warm it up (-5 C this morning).













On our way to meet our guide we stopped for a coffee. We meet our guide, put on some waders then loaded up and headed down to the river. Along the way we picked up a license.













We made it to the Waimarino river and started fishing. It didn't take too long before I had this baby...














It was a beautiful Steelhead (rainbow trout). Our guide Shane said they came from Canada. Andrea caught one at about the same time as I did.

We fished and caught more incredible Steelheads.



















This is Andrea pulling in her second fish.














The scenery was beautiful, but cold.














Shane said this is the coldest day he has had in 5+ years of guiding.














Andrea caught one more huge rainbow! The largest fish of the day. Look at that smile on her face.














After fishing up river for a few hours we headed back towards the car.














What a beautiful cool, crisp, clear day.














Andrea took some beautiful pictures along the way.





























We got back to the car then headed downstream to fish one last hole.














We had an awesome time fishing the Waimarino. Andrea won the fishing contest catching 3 steelheads to my 2 and catching the biggest one.

After an awesome morning fishing we headed back toward town stopping along the way to take a few pictures.













Back in town we stopped by the McDonald's to get a picture of their gimmick...













and grab a snack and some coffee. We had some lunch by the lake before heading Northeast toward Whakatane.

On our way we saw a small glass blowing shop and decided to stop. The glass work was amazing.













While at the shop we got to watch one of the artists do some work.













After our stop at the glass blowing shop we finished our journey to Whakatane. We checked in our hotel (not hostel!) and then headed out into town to look around a little. We (Andrea) took some beautiful pictures of the awesome sunset.













When we got back to our incredible room we made some dinner then sat in the jacuzzi tub for awhile. We watched a little TV before heading to sleep. Another day and another NZ must-do completed (fly fishing around Lake Taupo)!

Days 154 & 155

Day 154

We (Andrea) woke up early to check the Mt. Hutt ski report. She came back to the room to report that the mountain was on hold (road closed - wind) with an update to be sent around 8am. So we got up, got dressed and packed up our car. We made some breakfast and waited for the next report. Finally the ski report came...road to open at 10am!!!! AWESOME. It was still pretty early, so we headed to town to get a good cup of coffee and wait a few minutes before heading up to the mountain.













We left at about 9:20 and hit the line waiting to go up the mountain at 9:45. We ended up waiting in line for over an hour to get some chains fitted to our Ford Focus and start our journey up to the ski resort. Man was it a journey!! The road was narrow, snowy, icy, windy and had huge drops off the edges.













We crept our way up the mountain...seriously crept. We forgot to turn off the traction control and the car was going crazy not knowing what to do with the chains on the tires. It went something like...spin...catch...spin...catch...spin...catch. Just to get the full idea!













We finally got things figured out and made it up to Mt. Hutt! I was stressed to the max by the time we made it to the resort. My hands wouldn't stop shaking and my heart was racing. I need to hit the slopes!













We got parked, got on our boots and purchased some lift tickets. On the mountain at 12 noon!















We ripped down the mountain tearing through the fresh powder...well not really, we slowly worked our way down the slopes not having skied in a year and a half and getting used to our rental equipment. Making it down to the lodge we stopped for a couple of minutes to make some adjustments to our boots. After making things a little more comfortable we headed back to the top.














With things adjusted and one run under our belts we proceeded to tear up the mountain.














The snow was awesome, the scenery was incredible and the company was magnificent!














We made turn after turn and run after run down the sweet slopes of Mt. Hutt














After hundreds of runs (or 10...or less) we ended our day with a quick picture at the base. Then we shuffled our way back to our car to head down. Man your legs get sore when you haven't telemarked in over a year.



















After an uneventful (good!) trip down the mountain we got our chains removed and headed back to Big Al's to return our ski equipment.













Then we made our way back to Christchurch to return our rental car. After dropping off our car we walked (wobbled) down to our hostel to do some laundry, take a shower, have some food and watch a little TV before hitting the sack. Of course the laundry had to be a couple of stories up and the only way to get there was by stairs, shaky legs! It was an awesome day. One more of our must dos complete.

Day 155

We woke up early, had a little breakfast, and packed our bags. We caught the super shuttle at about 6am and headed to the airport. We decided to fly to Wellington instead of driving up to Picton and taking the ferry. It was $5 cheaper per ticket and we didn't have to drive for another day. The flight was nice and quick and we flew over Kaikoura, so we got to see it from above, very cool. Once in Wellington we picked up our rental car and headed north toward Napier. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was even more beautiful.













We made our way up to Napier stopping along the way to have some lunch and enjoy the beautiful rolling hills. When we arrived in Napier we checked into our backpacker then headed out to walk around town. The town was very quiet and most of the stores were closed, so we headed to the grocery store to get some food then went back to our hostel to make some dinner. After a nice dinner we watched a little tele before hitting the sack. Another day with beautiful New Zealand scenery.

Days 152 & 153

Day 152,

We slept in a little bit to get ready for our big day. After some breakfast, a little computer work and a quick stop at the coffee shop we headed north and then west toward Aoraki (a.k.a. Mt. Cook). Aoraki/Mt. Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand at just over 3,750 meters. The drive was incredible.













We cruised along in our Focus admiring the scenery as we passed through forest,













and along the reservoir.













The weather was still a little windy and wet at times, but that didn't dampen our spirits as we drove through some of the most impressive mountain scenery we have ever seen.













We were on our way to Mt. Cook Village in Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park to visit the...













The Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Centre is a very cool information center that has all kinds of information about Sir Ed, his adventures and his philanthropy, information about Aoraki/Mt. Cook (both Maori and European), Mt. Cook Village, New Zealand aplinists, and a theater/planetarium. We spent many hours looking through the exhibits and watching the videos. We also watched a movie about the Maori legend of Aoraki in the theater and watched a couple of shows about the stars and the universe in the planetarium.

After a quick picnic lunch we headed back east toward the town of Lake Tekapo. Along the way we took a few (thousand) additional pictures of the awesome scenery.













Once we reached Lake Tekapo we checked into the hostel then headed down to the lake to check out the view.













As you can see the view is pretty amazing. We spent a few minutes enjoying the view and taking a few pictures of the lake and the beautiful little church located right on the edge of the lake.













The Church of the Good Shepherd is still regularly used by a few different faiths. After our visit to the lake we walked back to the town and sat down for a beer and an awesome pizza at the local pizza joint. After dinner we headed home to watch a little T.V., work on the computer, and get some sleep.

Day 153,

We woke up, got cleaned up, got packed, and loaded up the car. Then we ate some breakfast and made some picnic lunches before heading down to town to get a coffee and do some computer work (free internet at the cafe). After we finished our coffees we headed out to work our way toward Methven (closest town to Mt. Hutt ski area). Along the way we stopped to have some lunch and enjoy the view.













We continued along the road enjoying the view all the way.













Once we reached Methven we stopped by the hostel, but our room wasn't ready yet, so we headed into town to find some telemark rental skis and check out the town. We found some skis, so we headed back to the hostel to get our car then headed back to the ski shop to pick up our boards. Back at the hostel we got into our room, unpacked, and made some dinner. While eating dinner we learned that Mt. Hutt opened this afternoon for the first time in 3 or 4 days and the snow was excellent. So, excited for the day tomorrow we went to room to prepare and get some sleep.