Category: Travel

NZ Partial Panos (Part 3: Queenstown & The Matakauri Lodge)

We so enjoyed Queenstown and staying at the Matakauri Lodge from our first visit to New Zealand, we scheduled an extended return at the end of our vacation. We highly recommend the Matakauri Lodge. Their service is impeccable, and the views from the room are magnificent. The lodge sits on Lake Wakatipu, which is unusually long, deep (averages 900 feet… Continue reading

NZ Partial Panos (Part 2: Abel Tasman National Park & The Waters)

About halfway through the trip we took the ferry from Wellington (the North Island) down to Picton (the South Island) and drove from there to our hotel, The Waters, in Tasman. The Waters served as home base for our explorations of the Abel Tasman National Park. The Kiwi fellow seated in this photo (below) taking in the tranquil vista joking… Continue reading

NZ Partial Panos (Part 1: Waiheke Island)

The Project Goal It’s been over a month since our last trip to New Zealand, and I’ve been working feverishly on the 2,500 photos and videos I shot during the trip. My goal is to post my travel journal for each day, which I wrote during the trip, along with the now-completed photos. I also want to create a video… Continue reading

Bathrooms & Sundry Other Tidbits: Delta Airlines vs. Air New Zealand

I have flown a lot, too much, waaaaay too much actually. The vast majority of my flights (at least 96%) have been on Delta or one of its sky team partners. Sadly, I have always found the bathrooms on Delta’s domestic and international flights to be filthy. The toilet floors are almost always sticky, and I can’t recall a flight… Continue reading

New Zealand ’17: Day 14 – Farewell NZ (Wed)

Flight Home: Air New Zealand Date During Trip: July 12, 2017 I awoke this morning and Steve had already left to go workout. He left the fireplace on. It was fabulous! It was snowing and had obviously snowed a good bit in the night! Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. I began organizing my suitcases for the trip home. It was a big… Continue reading

New Zealand ’17: Day 13 – Glenorchy (Tue)

Lodging: Matakauri Lodge Date During Trip: July 11, 2017 It rained this morning. No snow, yet. I’m still holding out for some. Everyone else seems to have come to the conclusion that the snow will arrive tomorrow. We decided not to drive up to Glenorchy, which is at one end of Lake Wakatipu. We saw it yesterday from the helicopter.… Continue reading

New Zealand ’17: Day 12 – Queentown (Mon)

Lodging: Matakauri Lodge Date During Trip: July 10, 2017 This morning we got up early to be ready for our helicopter ride. Our waiter, Wyatt, the same young man that we had as our server for breakfast yesterday, greeted us and asked, “Are y’all ready for breakfast?” “Y’all?” I questioned. He seemed embarrassed, and corrected himself, saying he was from… Continue reading

New Zealand ’17: Day 11 – Queentown (Sun)

Lodging: Matakauri Lodge Date During Trip: July 9, 2017 I’m starting the day here writing at the desk by the roaring fire. Steve is off to the gym (6:30am). Today I’ll sift through my clothes to see what needs to be washed so I can make it to end the trip. While far from over, this trips has been wonderful:… Continue reading

New Zealand ’17: Day 10 – Abel Tasman National Park to Nelson (Sat)

Lodging: Matakauri Lodge Date During Trip: July 8, 2017 We had a leisurely morning. I figured out how to use that weird, new-fangled coffee/espresso maker—after several horrific failures. The silly little single serving coffee container goes in sideways of all things! Anyway, Steve had 3 tiny cups of coffee. We drove to the tiny little Nelson Airport, which, especially for… Continue reading

New Zealand ’17: Day 09 – Abel Tasman National Park (Fri)

Lodging: The Waters Bed and Breakfast Date During Trip: July 7, 2017 Today was a catch up day for me. I wanted to catch up on my journaling and backup all of my photos and videos from the trip. The Canon backup process was a flop. The iPad appeared to ingest the photos, but too quickly. Then it said it… Continue reading