TRAMPING to (and through) New Zealand

Many have asked, "how long does it take to get to NZ"?  The answer...a very long time.  We begin our "tramp", otherwise known as a long, arduous hike in the US, with a 14-hour flight from Houston to Auckland, that was preceded by a morning drive to MCO in Orlando and the flight to Houston where we then have a 6-hour layover in the United SkyMiles Lounge (courtesy of 3 free day passes).  Since we are actually starting our NZ trip in Queenstown in the southern part of the South Island, we have a 2-hour layover in Auckland and then a 2-hour flight to Queenstown.  I calculate 30 hours of airplane/airport time, plus drive time.  NZ is 18 hours ahead of Florida, so as you are having dinner on Saturday night (remember we are leaving Stuart at 7:00 am Friday morning), we will be arriving at our hotel.

Now might be a good time to get out your map of New Zealand so you can see where we'll be going the first 2 weeks of our 3 week trip.  I'll wait.  The two islands of NZ are about the length of California, with every terrain possible from snow peaked mountains, glaciers and fiords, to volcanos with bubbling pits and geysers, to tropical rainforests filled with waterfalls, swing bridges and strange trees and flora and is a place where it is possible to experience all 4 seasons in a single day.  We start in the south and criss cross up the South Island for 2 weeks before we hop on the ferry and head to the North Island.  To start, we spend 3 days in Queenstown participating in all sorts of extreme activities like bungee jumping {not}, high speed jet boating through narrow canyons, gondola rides, and a side trip to Glenorchy for our first tramp on part of the famous Routeburn Track.  We then head southwest to Te Anau and Milford Sound for a misty day cruise and kayaking, with some tramping along the way.  We'll stop at Wanaka for boating and maybe a day flight over the Southern Alps.  After we go to the highest peak, Mt. Cook, to explore glaciers and ice filled rivers, we head out through Lord of the Rings (LOR) country towards Christchurch, before driving through the Southern Alps via Arthur's Pass to the rugged, cliff-lined West Coast, stopping at Pancake Rocks.  Our last stop is Abel Tasman Park at the top of the island, which looks like something out of Tahiti, where we'll do some sea kayaking and tramping, before driving through the island-filled Marlborough Sound where we catch the ferry at Picton around January 6.  Stay tuned for what we are doing the third week in the North Island.

Stay in touch!  Hopefully it will be an adventure for all of us!