New Zealand, Korea, and Now Japan!

So, our trip was almost over and we had several days of travel remaining. We flew from Queenstown back to Auckland for an overnight then on to Korea and back to the US with a several hour layover in Japan.

We decided to have dinner in Auckland at the Skytower (the “jump off the tower” place from my previous post) so we could get a good view of the city and sunset from the rotating dinning platform.

The next morning we were headed back to Korea, but our stop in Seoul was cut short due to a flight cancellation and required rebooking. We got into Incheon late and flew out early so we didn’t really get to do anything... except to have some more wonderful Korean teas.

The next day we had a 4 hour layover at Tokyo’s Narita airport, and decided to venture out to get some sushi for lunch. The plan to leave the airport got complicated so we got a recommendation for the most authentic sushi at the airport. The lady told us it was where she eats. The cuts were outstanding and we had a great experience.

The flight was smooth and surprisingly over before we knew it. We’re happy to be back home in Boston, although we’ll never forget our Kiwi Honeymoon Adventures!

Check out more pics from Japan here

And see all our trip photos and movies here

Queenstown is Remarkable!

Nestled at the foot of a spectacular mountain range known only as ‘The Remarkables’, Queenstown is a bustling, not-so-small-anymore lakeside ski town that thrives on year-round ‘extreme’ sports. It bills itself as ‘The Adventure Capital of the World’ and lives up to it.

We arrived at 5pm with little knowledge of the area, no plans, and no reservations. As it turned out, the first place we stopped had one suite left with the best view in the city, the Honeymoon suite… “We’ll take it!” Everyone was sooooo nice. They proceeded to tell us about a special little restaurant called Gantley’s that they said would be perfect for our only evening in town.

Since we had a couple hours to kill before dinner and hadn’t gotten to sail in Auckland, we thought we’d check if afternoon sailing would be a possibility. The only boat available was leaving in 15 minutes so we rushed down to the docks.

NZL 14 placed 3rd in the 1992 America’s Cup race and now takes tourists out on Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown. The captain started his speech by indicating that the winds were unusually strong at 22-25 knots with gusts up to 30 knots, and as he put it, “the absolute maximum for taking passengers out.” He went on to tell us that we can expect to get wet and they are not responsible for damaged or lost cameras.

Check out the exciting sail and more shots from our time in Queenstown here.

The Doubtful Sound

Next, we ventured into Fiordland National Park to sail the Doubtful Sound on an overnight cruise out to the Tasman Sea and back. Many people we had spoken with along the way indicated that this was a ‘must do’ excursion with expansive panoramas.

This time however, Mother Nature was in no mood to cooperate. She socked us in with a thick, drizzly fog that made viewing the entire splendor of the fiords difficult and concealed the stars in the evening. Still, the wonders of the fiords are impossible to hide and we experienced our fair share of awe inspiring scenery.

Doubtful’s rainy day benefit is waterfalls. Dozens and dozens of gushing waterfalls pour off the tree covered cliff faces and run down the mountainsides. We also saw seals and dolphins along the way and generally had a very nice time.

See additional photos here.

Fiordland Te Anau

The next stop in our travels was Te Anau, the last place to stay before the vast and remote Fiordland National Park. We stayed at a wonderful place called the Fiordland Lodge on a tussock-covered ridge overlooking lake Te Anau with the Fiordland mountain range off in the distance.

Our waiter in Wellington, Gary Cooper (no relation), had recommended the lodge and we were fortunate that they had a cancelation.

It was forecasted to rain heavily for the next several days putting a damper on our outdoor plans, however, we figured there were worse places that we could find ourselves hold-up. Surprisingly though, a little clearing of sunshine broke through wherever we were all day long creating the most exquisite rainbows everywhere we went.

Fiordland is a place of fleeting beauty where you have less than a minute to see each wondrous sight… and then it’s gone… of course there will immediately be another (but it will be totally different). We found ourselves poking each other saying, “look, look… awe you missed it” all day long.

Here are some pictures from our stay and some more of the views as well here.

Helicopter Ride of a Lifetime

So, we got to our B&B in Haast (somewhere in the middle of nowhere) and were very disappointed because bad weather had prevented us from seeing the Franz Josef or Fox Glaciers. The clouds and winds were too bad to take a group helicopter ride and we didn’t have time enough to hike.

In the evening we made it out to Jackson Bay to see the sunset over the angry Tasman Sea and spent the rest of the night discussing our travels with our B&B hosts since we were the only guests. The next morning we woke to a beautifully sunny day with clear skies as far as the eye could see.

Over breakfast we expressed disappointment to our hosts that we had been unable to see the glaciers and indicated that we were considering driving 2 hours back to see if we could get a quick flight in before making our way south on the 7 hour drive to Te Anau (this would make the drive time 11 hours).

Our host said, “Oh, you don’t have to do that. We know a pilot who will give you a private tour of multiple mountains and glaciers. He’ll pick you up here.” So, they called and we were waiting for confirmation while Kathy ran to take a shower, when a chopper landed on the front lawn of the B&B.

The next thing we knew we were at over 8,000 ft buzzing the treetops as we swept over mountain ridges in Mount Aspiring national park. Our guide, as it turned out, had been flying for over 30 years and is widely recognized as a legend in New Zealand. He is one of a handful of government commissioned top gun helicopter deer hunters from the 1970’s!

We had the most amazing flight of our lives winding along the rivers and canyon cliffs at close range. We set down twice. Once at a remote mountain stream (he said it’s a treacherous 2 day hike few would attempt) and ultimately at the summit alongside a glacier adjacent to a pristine mountain lake with the most splendid aqua colored water we’ve ever seen.

Words cannot describe the views… nor our adrenaline. Check out the pictures and particularly the movies (if you have a high speed Internet connection).