David and Karen Journey – DNKJOURNEY

It’s been a long-lived love affair, this relationship between Shadowcliff and us.   It has been my home away from home, an extended family, the place where we volunteered and dreamed possibilities, the place we were married – a place that inspired our journey.The Executive Director (ED) approached us as part of a pilot program to separate the duties of running Shadowcliff into two pieces: the ED and the Operations Manager. We were up for the adventure.

When you live in a place, versus visiting . . .you see it differently. During early season, there are moose alerts when the garden holds irresistible nibbles for the animals that come “down” from the snowy hills to munch greens; or the fox that burrowed under one of the buildings for the winter, but moves onward as too many people disturb the peace of the place, the endless elk in our meadow.

There was staff to guide, and computer systems to tangle with, and guests to greet. There are groups that have been coming since the beginning, 25 or more years. It was fascinating to hear their stories about how their lives evolved and how Shadowcliff was a touchstone for them all.   Shadowcliff is just off of the Continental Divide Trail, and it was those guests that inspired me most of all. Hiking 3,000 miles from Mexico to Canada, we are the half way point and many hikers lingered a couple days, enjoying town food, and perhaps family visit. The great room was alive with people, from so many different backgrounds who happened to find this one spot at the same time.   It was exhilarating.

Then, at times it would be so quiet you could drink in the view of the lake, the turn of the season, snow receding from a ledge, the greening of the hills, the apex of summer with July 4^th fireworks and the journey into fall colors. It snowed the day we left.

We are off to new adventures, but it will be a long time before we forget our summer at Shadowcliff.

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The only thing better than traveling on the other side of the world is coming home. There really is a friendly face there to meet you at the Los Angeles airport after a 14 hour flight (thanks Jeanne) and it feels amazing to have choices beyond 10 blouses and 4 pants – 5 months. I took the travel clothes and put them waaaaaay back in the closet; didn’t look at them for quite a while. We departed Bakersfield, CA in mid March for San Diego and Yuma, AZ.

David, always abreast of new products coming on the market, noticed that a new Keystone Montana Fifth Wheel model had come on the market, while we were gone, that would be “interesting” to see – just take a look – have another data point. That is code talk for buying a new rig. Driving into Yuma, there was a Montana dealership along Highway 8, and David was sure it would provide a couple hours entertainment for a couple of lookie loos.

A deal was struck and locked within 24 hours. Viola! We have a new home! Little did we realize that March and April represent the “end” of the season in Arizona. The snowbirds are gone, and remaining inventory must be disposed of before the new season brings the latest models. We love the new rig which has all the features we enjoyed about the old one, functional kitchen and lots of storage, and improvements we wanted like a coat closet as you come in the door and two sinks for easier bathroom sharing. With our old RV and new RV side by side, we moved our belongings from one RV into another, which took several days.

The only regret was we were only able to be in the rig for a few weeks before our summer adventure began.

Our purpose of checking out Arizona was to visit the Over 55 RV parks with amenities like concerts, classes, and resort facilities so we can spend some months in the winter in the south if our overseas travel desires move to summer. Prior to putting our new RV in storage in Denver, we spent two weeks in Cherry Creek Reservoir in SE Denver. David hosted a poker game in the RV with his poker buddies and lost his $10 ante. We also hosted a family gathering: see photo of our grandson Jonathan enjoying s’mores.

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When it rains it pours, that’s what the weather was in Christchurch today, along with gale force winds. Our connection time in Auckland was a little over an hour. In light of Christchurchs weather, we went to the airport early and was able to depart on an earlier flight. Even with an earlier flight we were delayed out of Christchurch by an hour. Good thing we tok an earlier flight, now waiting 3 hours for our LA bound flight.

Wander where we have been over the last 5 months, check out these photos.

The eastern portion of the Otago Central Rail Trail starts in Middlemarch, about one hour drive west of Dunedin. It is a continuation of an earlier post. We started and ended our ride at Hyde, midway on the eastern section of the trail that took us over two bridges and through one tunnel. The NZ Cycle Trails have been a highlight.

When we finishing the days ride we stopped at the Hyde Hotel and Cafe for the highly recommended piece of carrot cake. While enjoying a cold beverage and the cake we observed a film crew from Australia shooting video for their show named Places We Go at http://placeswego.com

This is a travel show that airs weekly on Australian television. We believe that the program filmed on the Otago Central Rail Trail and their other NZ adventures will air in mid April, but will be available later in April on their wesite, placeswego.com

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To sight a soaring Albatross is unforgettable – a spectacle touched with a dignity and majesty no other bird can excel; seeing the endangered Yellow-Eyed Penguins; and the Little Blue Penguin in their natural habitat; gave us reason to visit the Otago Peninsula near Dunedin City.

The Royal Albatross Colony is the only mainland place in the world to view Northern Royal Albatross in their natural habitat. Held aloft on slim wings up to 3 metres (9’6″) across, the great Albatross is capable of swooping speeds of at least 115kph+. It’s pure ecstacy in the air, yet distinctly clumsy on the ground. When we were there, several albatross were nesting with their chicks who were only 3 weeks old.

Kororā, the Little Blue Penguin, the world’s smallest penguin (9-10 inches tall). The Royal Albatross Colony offers nightly tours to view the Blue Penguin at dusk when penguins come ashore and make their way to their nests where they feed their chicks or roost. The viewpoint was located at their natural habitat – scurrying up to their cliff-face burrows at Pilots Beach. After a day at sea, the penguins congregate in groups known as “rafts” not far offshore where they often can be heard vocalizing – usually short, loud squawks. They came in rafts of 5 or 7 at a time. The night we were there, approximately 50 blue penguins came ashore right in front of us!

New Zealand’s native Hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin) is the world’s rarest penguin. There are about 1,000 in New Zealand and another 2,000 near Antarctica. We toured the Penguin Place, a private conservation reserve, dedicated to helping the endangered Yellow Eyed Penguin survive. We experienced the penguins natural activity at close range (some were sitting in the grass, in their molting period) through a unique system of trenches and viewing hides. The Penguin Place provides habitat restoration, predator control, a research program and on-site rehabilitation care for sick, starving and injured penguins. They raise chicks that have been rejected by their parents, and even though they saved 60 chicks this year, only 15 will be alive by next year.

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We drove from Te Anau to Owaka. This route, 8 hours including stops, took us through the most southern part of the South Island and up the south eastern coast and through Catlins Conservation and Forest Parks. The Catlins – the name that conjures up images of a corner of New Zealand untainted by the modern world – a place where time has stood still and a visitor may enjoy forest, wildlife and the life-style of a bygone era. This image is a true reflection. Accidents of history have favored protection of the Catlins and it still retains many accessible wildlife havens in its varied hill and scenic coast.

Coastal Catlins – Here, close to the rich Sub-Antarctic feeding grounds, are some of the world’s rarest marine animals – Penguins (including the worlds rarest penguin, Yellow-Eye Penguin), Hooker’s Sea Lions, as well as New Zealand Fur Seals. The scenery Rocky platforms carved by the sea, secret coves and sweeping beaches of gleaming, wave-combed sand are all part of the exhilarating variety of coastal scenery. Our stops included Curio Bay and Nugget Point to view the Yellow Eyed Penguins; Purakaunui Falls a cascading multi-tiered waterfall on the Purakaunui River; Cannibal Bay to see sea lions, and finally a walk through Cathedral Caves.

The cathedral caves stand statuesque, and barnacled awash one moment with the tide and the next travelers are wandering down the beach marveling at its lofty ceilings and view to the ocean and islands beyond. The petrified forest of Curio bay bares a stone kingdom of logs laying entrenched where they have rested for 170 million years.

Cannibal Bay, is home to sea lion colonies. The sea lions lay on the beach gathering in the suns warmth. Sensing we are in their space, they toss back their head, focus on us, and roar! They glide on the sand moving toward you on all fours, nearly a half ton in weight. Being smart humans, we run in the opposite direction, till we turn around and snap pictures once again.

Views are gained over rocky headlands, sandy bays and bush fringed estuaries. There are many short forest walks to beaches, streams, lakes, waterfalls, caves or blow holes.

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Ten years ago we did the 4 day hike of Milford Sound and took an overnight cruise. Enroute to New Zealand we toured Fiordland by cruise ship, and this month we drove from Te Anau to Milford to cruise again and to photograph some of the great sites. One stop enroute was Mirror Lake which reflected the close by mountains on a still lake, a stop at the tunnel allowed Kea Birds to climb on your vehicle to eat exposed rubber.

The scenery on the drive in is amazing, even though the drive was a bit…challenging at times. The scenery of Milford Sound by airplane was also amazing, awe inspiring and challenging as David over flew it in. Cessna 172; see those photos in previous post.

Described by Rudyard Kipling as the ‘eighth wonder of the world’, Milford Sound was carved by glaciers during the ice ages. Milford Sound is breathtaking in any weather. The fiord’s cliffs rise vertically from the dark waters, mountain peaks scrape the sky and waterfalls cascade downwards, some as high as 1000 metres. When it rains in Milford Sound, and it often does, those waterfalls multiply with magnificent effect.

The only way to get a bit of space and experience Milford from the view of ancient glaciers is on one of the many boat cruises. Cruising through the sound we saw incredible waterfalls cascading down from hanging valleys and heaps of wildlife including seals and many birds.

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David rented a Cessna 172 with a certified flight instructor from a Queenstown Aero Club. We flew over the NZ Fiordland National Park which included mountainous terrain, glaciers and lakes from Queenstown: Mount Aspiring; Mount Earnslaw; Milford Sound; Lake Te Anau; and return to Queenstown. The last photo in this post illustrates our flight path. The flight instructor worked the radios to obtain the required clearances and provided David directions for the nearly two hour flight. We were at awe as we flew over this amazing scenery.

This was David’s third flight during this adventure, first one over the Great Barrier Reef; then Melboure; and this flight over NZ Fiordland National Park.

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Just brilliant! We were in Queenstown 10 years ago, during our last visit to NZ, and remember it was the capital of adrenalin adventures. Being 10 years elder we were a little more conservative in choosing our adventures. A jet boat ride is an iconic activity on Queenstown’s lakes and rivers.

The jet boat skims over the water very fast. We raced downstream for over 43 km through canyons, rapids and shallows missing the canyon walls by inches, seeming to drive over the pebble banks beside the river and executing several 360 degree spins just for the thrill of it and to soak the passengers with flying spray! The return ride was a repeat performance with a few spins. It was a great one hour thrill with gorgeous scenery.

Yes, the water really is this blue, you could just spend the day trekking or driving around taking in all the beauty. Snow capped mountains surround this great town.

Stay tuned for the next post of David flying an airplane and Karen taking photos during a flight over this beautiful scenery of mountains and lakes.

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New Zealand’s original great ride and opened to the public in 2000. In 2012 it became part of the New Zealand Cycle Trail. Developed for walkers, cyclists and horse riders, the Otago Central Rail Trail follows the former Otago Central branch railway line for 150 kilometres.

The Rail Trail provides access to some truly spectacular scenery not seen from the highways including mountain ranges, hills and gorges, the vast Maniototo plain and old gold mining towns – and it finally ends in the bountiful fruit growing heart of Central Otago. The Otago Central Rail Trail is also a testament to human endeavor. The detailed workmanship of the stone bridges and tunnel facings along the trail have stood the test of time and the mountains still bear scars of the races, built back in the 1860s to bring water to the long gone gold mines. The rail trail is similar to riding or walking on a reasonably level gravel road or track, as the gradient rarely exceeds 1 in 50, but it isn’t an asphalt pathway.

Trailside pubs are available for a quick break, or a proper lunch. Small towns offer accommodation if you plan to traverse the entire trail in one go. David and I chose to bike the trail in sections, accounting for good weather, amount of climbing terrain, and sore bottoms. Our longest ride was 28 miles. Rested a day, then rode the next day for 22 miles, or in total 80 kilometers over two days on the western section of the trail.

In a few days as we drive to the eastern central coast of the South Island, we will cycle the eastern section.

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The Transportation and Toy Museum in Wanaka is said to have over 50,000 items and is described as a informal pandora box of surprises. They invite you to visit, explore and imagine. The museum has a collection of movie props from movies filmed here in New Zealand. The source of my problem.

We found among the many Star Wars memorabilia a Star Wars Star Fighter interactive game. There was a sign that said feel free to crawl in for a great photo opportunity. Before I could think, I crawled in. BEFORE I COULD THINK, Hmmmmmmm. Well never mind, I was part of the Rebel Alliance, shooting laser cannons and imagining the trade Federation doing battle. I was Luke Skywalker.

Luke Skywalker is a 15 year old boy, I am, ahem, a lady of some years. Once I crawled in and slipped into the hard plastic, very tight seat, I knew I was in trouble. When it was time to get out, I just could not. I have a store bought knee, so I could not bend enough to send my legs out of the opening. There were no handles, so there was no way to pull up. Besides, we were laughing so hard over the whole affair, I was just weak, which only brought more gales of giggles. David’s advice of just point your head toward the cement floor and you can fall out, was ignored. David was busy clicking away with the camera, but ultimately, he got under my armpits, and hauled. Freedom. Fun. Never again.

We then spent the next couple hours looking at cars (one of which is the yellow pull – push car). It drives in two directions, no need for a reverse in this guy. The old Austin’s, Wolseley’s, Hudson, Chevys. Much less all the classic planes. All in all a fun way to spend the afternoon.

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We thought we had our fill of Glaciers in Alaska, but two more highlights when driving down the west coast of the South Island is Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers. We spent three nights visiting the glaciers and enjoying a massage and soaking in the nearby hot spring pools.

New Zealand’s Glacier Country, on the South Island’s West Coast, is at the heart of the broader UNESCO World Heritage Area, Te Wahipounamu – South West New Zealand.

The Maori name for the glacier is Ka Roimata o Hinehukatere (‘The tears of Hinehukatere‘).

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Lake Rotoiti, Nelson Lakes National Park

Mankind have been floating their boats for hundreds of years. Mainly to get from point A to point B. But when “modern man” put boat travel into the realm of recreation, it was important to look good. Boats are a thing of beauty.

We stumbled on the New Zealand Antique and Classic Boat Show at Nelson Lakes National Park (the original goal was a bike ride) but what an interesting diversion. My favorite find was this floating bicycle from the 1800’s and the ability to attract women when riding it by the seashore. I just want Dave to make one, I’ll follow him anywhere.

Pancake Rocks

The west of New Zealand contains one of the most spectacular coastal highways. The dramatic limestone forms what is known as “Pancake Rocks”. The Pancake Rocks that Punakaiki is famous for, are limestone formations that began forming 30 million years ago, when lime-rich fragments of dead marine creatures were deposited on the seabed, then overlaid by weaker layers of soft mud and clay. The heaving swells of the Tasman Sea then carved that coastline for millions of years. The power of the sea is mesmerizing as it surges into the sea caves and regularly blasts sea spray high over the top.

West Coast Cycle Trail

Near Greymouth we stopped for a quick 2 hour ride on the West Coast Cycle Trail. The west coast cycle trail, one of the New Zealand great cycle trails opened to the public in November 2013 – just 3 months ago. In its entirety it is 135 km; but the pleasure of their design is you can do as little or as much as you desire. For us, an afternoon. We bicycled on sea walls, beach tracks and some converted rail trail all in one afternoon. Imagine hearing the roar of the ocean and the turn of your pedal crank a fine combination.

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A highlight not to be missed in Blenheim is the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre. Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre houses a display like no other and you don’t have to be an aviation buff to enjoy it! Human stories from the Great War come to life in a theatrical treatment, which is both innovative and visually stunning. Captivating scenes depict the aircraft in context, some recreating actual incidents. The rare memorabilia is worthy of any national collection and ranges from beautifully crafted ‘trench art’ through to personal items belonging to the famous Red Baron himself.

The Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre features Sir Peter Jackson’s own collection of WW1 aircraft and artifacts. This story of aviation in the Great War is brought to life in sensational sets created by the internationally acclaimed talent of WingNut Films and Weta Workshop.

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When do you attach a wine glass to lanyard and wear it around your neck? Answer: At the Annual Marlborough Wine and Food Festival.

Blenheim is the heart of New Zealand’s Marlborough wine region. Imagine 60 tents for wineries, 12 restaurants with food pairings, 6 bands providing a continuous, live music atmosphere and one park. All of this is combined with a bus service to reduce the drinking and driving component and you have all the ingredients of a great day.

A wine festival offers a convenient way to taste a lot of different wine in one place, and to get to know the people who are involved with winemaking. It’s an experience that you can only approximate when you visit a wine region, because you’ll either have to drive to wineries, or be driven around — an activity that certainly has its charms, but cuts down on the amount of wine you can physically consume on an hour-by-hour basis.

The Marlborough wine and food festival provided wine seminars, educational demonstrations and delicious tastings. The event includes nationally-renowned chefs, regional restaurateurs, entertaining seminars from award-winning local and international chefs. We were inspired to find new ways to cook our Alaska salmon!

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The Abel Tasman National Park is New Zealand’s only coastal national park – and its golden sandy beaches and clear turquoise water makes it popular. The sheltered bays are popular for cruising, sailing and sea kayaking. On land, the Abel Tasman Coast Track follows the coastline through lush native bush, over limestone cliffs and along golden sandy beaches.

Walking the length of the park requires a 3-5 day walk, kayaking involved too many hours of a repetitive motion for us two old kids with shoulder surgeries in our recent past. Taking a water taxi for a day was an option but did not divert to the seal colonies which we thought was a highlight.

Golden Futures Conservation tours was our winner. A charter boat operator who asked what we wanted to see in the park, and showed us the full length of the park in a way that made total sense. Stew, the owner/operator and a naturalist, used the tides to determine the days itinerary. In low tide we found small tide pools to investigate, or made sure we made it to the backside of a particular island because its highlights were best seen at that time. In high tide there were back bays to be found with the Maori history and stories of their warrior canoes. With mountains, valleys, river plains and all flavors of coastline, Golden Futures promises to keep you captivated. Point yourself in a different direction and discover a new view, don’t forget to bring great cameras.

Stew has a passion for the outdoors. His goal is to promote an appreciation and understanding of nature, to preserve and enjoy it. He manages to explain the impact on the food chain, and weather and importance of original forests and many other concepts at an inter-related conversation. When our goal was to see the seal colony off Tonga Island Marine Reserve (because we read it) Stew knew that the seals had repositioned themselves. (because he lives it every day). Sure enough, he knew exactly where to go. I believe that the opportunity to experience this place with Stew was a joy and a privilege.

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Picton is a town in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. It is close to the head of Queen Charlotte Sound near the north-east corner of the South Island. Picton connects the South Island to its northern counterpart by sea, the Interislander and Bluebridge ferrys both leave for Wellington on a regular basis.

One of the coves in the sound is Ships Cove and is a New Zealand Icon Heritage Site used by Captain Cook in the 1770′s to anchor his ship the Endeavour for provisioning and repair. Cook spent more time at Ships Cove than anywhere else on earth, other than his home town in England. The cove is much the same today as it was in 1770, when Cook first stepped onto it.

Marlborough Sounds breathtaking coastline is 1,500 kilometres – one fifth of New Zealand’s total coastline – a magical place for exploring bays, coves and inlets. We saw many privately owned speed and fishing boats and just itched to use one for a day, poking in and out with who knew what we would see. Found just the thing with a boat safari where we hired a two-passenger boat and a guide who knew the sounds like the back of his hand. He showed us his favorite bush clad hillsides and secluded sandy beaches. We were lucky, we had a private tour as no others had signed up for the journey. We made several stops to see the amazing scenery including a stop to look at a working mussel farm and how they harvest 60 tons of green lipped mussels every day (two years to grow one from start to finish), the virgin forests and and of course lots of photography.

The drive to/from the put in point is known as the Queen Charlotte Drive. The windy and wind swept road passes sleepy bays and overlooks distant islands. Magnificent views of the sounds can be had from many vantage points, including rainbows after a light rain shower.

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Unless you’re a migrating whale, you don’t go past Golden Bay on your way to anywhere. Imagine a region with endless variety, breathtaking scenery, where golden beaches, alpine valleys and tranquil fishing rivers share a close proximity with the sea. At the north eastern edge of Able Tasman, the well known national park, Golden Bay seemed the perfect place for a short while.

Firstly, New Zealand has a series of Holiday Parks which most closely resemble KOAs in the states. When the name of your holiday park has beach, seaside or seal colony in their name, you just know it is going to be special. The park has campers, tenters, and cabin dwellers. We are cabin dwellers, however here they cabins are a series of prefab “batches”. A open space with a bed, small kitchenette, table/chairs and perhaps a sofa and an attached bathroom. It’s all you need, an oversized hotel room that comes with your own patio or yard and in this case your own beachfront. Happiness.

This huge bay was the perfect place to kayak. High tide and flat seas — we are off through the rocks, (literally) and morning coffee on the beach. In the afternoon, when the winds were howling, blo carts on the beach were just too tempting. Described as sailing on hard packed sand, the driver maneuvers the cart across the beach and turns HARD and QUICK into the wind to reverse direction sometimes coming up on two wheels and screeching back on yourself before careening in the opposite direction again. Think figure 8. Combine that frenzy with both of us hurtling our carts at each other, you get so many giggles, you’re just exhausted in the end.

Low tide on another day brought us to Wharariki Beach. The sand dunes here are magnificent, or the limestone rocks pounded by the surf is really something to see. The real highlight is the baby seal pups in the tide pool learning to swim and play with their new mates. They were so much fun to watch and photograph.

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The Cook Strait ferry sailed us to Picton on the South Island on January 21. Picton is the port city for arriving ferries from the north and where we stayed before driving to Christchurch the next day. We hurried to Christchurch to enjoy the fifty five acts performing in the 2014 World Buskers Festival. There were performers from ten countries in indoor and outdoor theatre style shows, ranging from stand–up comedy to cabaret to circus–arts performances.

The home-grown event continues to get bigger and bigger; thrilling and captivating audiences during the 10-day festival of fun, laughter and chaos. The world’s best street and stage performers turn New Zealand’s second-largest city into one big, brash street party.

Christchurch has a violent quake history. On 22 February 2011, a quake killed 181 people. Thousands more were made homeless, and an area more than four times the size of London’s Hyde Park was deemed uninhabitable. 1,500 buildings and 7,500 homes have been/are scheduled for demolition. The quake moved the ground north and south, so the utility infrastructure was torn at nearly every coupling. Less than three years later, the equipment that rattles about Christchurch’s gridded streets are a constant reminder of how far there is to go to recreate what was once there.

Until recently, you could look through the dusty windows of a closed down cafe and still see an untouched 22 February 2011 edition of the local newspaper. And while creative novelties such as a retail mall made entirely out of steel shipping containers draw increasing numbers of visitors, the city’s other main attraction is the battered and broken cathedral in the middle of the main square – a monument to what was endured.

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Hawke’s Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island had many bike trails. We bicycled thru Vineyards, along the Esplanade, and thru an estuary. As usual, paper maps are confusing to us and we got a little lost. We knew we were close to home but how close. We saw a police car at a Bakery (some things are universal) and decided to make the stop useful by asking for directions and also having a meat pie and pastry. It turned out that we were only a few miles from our accommodation. One of the wine estates was Alpha Domus which produces wines under three labels – AD Range, Alpha Domus Range and The Pilot Range. What caught David’s eye was the name of the wine bottles: First Solo Chardonnay; The Barnstormer Syrah; The Wingwalker Voignier;The Navigator; and The Aviatrix.

The next Lower North Island stop was Palmerston North, a small town in the southern central part of the north island. We stayed in a great B&B and made this day a catch up day, since we had great Internet. We also streamed two of the latest episodes of The Big Bang Theory. Driving thru town we saw a cinema and stopped to see what was playing. We saw Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. After the movie in the food court was a take away Roast Deli. These are delis that prepare different roasts such as: pork; lamb; and chicken, all with fresh home cooked veggies. We chose pork it was great.

The next day we headed to Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, and the port city for taking the ferry to the South Island. We detoured a bit and drove to Martinborough to sample more wine. We tasted a Reisling, probably the best ever.

We had an apartment for the 4 days in Wellington. Our first task in Wellington was to search out a sports bar that would had ESPN so that we can watch the Denver – New England game at 9am Monday morning. We found a bar named Chicago that opened earlier than normal to allow fellow Americans to watch the game.

We toured the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, the national museum and art gallery. A great museum and a must do if in Wellington. Some of the exhibits showed maps of NZ with all the fault lines; another was the earthquake house a motion simulation of an aftershock earthquake felt in 1987.

On the Eve of the game we took a tour of the Weta Workshop. Weta Workshop is a multi-award winning conceptual design and physical manufacturing facility servicing the world’s entertainment and creative industries. Some of the best known for the company’s design and effects work on award-winning film projects, including Lord of the Rings Trilogy, King Kong, Avatar, District 9, The Adventures of Tintin and The Hobbit. See our blog photos for some of their creations, sorry we were not able to take photos of their workshop.

The audience in the bar were split with fans cheering for their favorite team. We went back to our apartment after the game, prior the the end of the Seattle game we walked to a hotel located next to ours and watched the end of that game. Just as the game was finishing, the hotel was rolling and shaking, (which we thought were from Seattle fans) only to have experienced an 6.5 (severe) earthquake centered about 80 miles north of Wellington. But we were prepared having been shaken at the earthquake house exhibit at the New Zealand museum.

The next day we took the Bluebridge ferry crossing Cook Strait arriving in Picton 3 hours later.

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Ten years ago we had BALL rolling down a hill, at that time called Zorbing. We remember it well and knew it was not our last time. It was like rolling down San Francisco’s Lombard Street in an inflatable ball.

We sought out other Zorbing sites in the world and returned to NZ to do it again. This time it was called H2OGO on a longer 350 meter zig zag course down a grassy hill. We loved it so, we not only did one run, but three.

What is H2OGO? The OGO ball is a large inflated plastic ball, with another ball inside in which you roll down a hill—reaching speeds of up to 50 kilometers per hour! Once the operator puts a few gallons of warm water in the ball, we did a Superman-dive into the OGO before rolling downhill.

The first run was on the sidewinder which is the world’s longest track! 350+ meters with 6 massive corners that sent us in different directions as we zig zaged our way after down the hill in a wash of water and mixed up craziness. It was non stop giggling and laughing as we rolled uncontrollable down the hill.

The second time rolling down the hill was on the straight track. After hauling our selfs into the OGO ball and we rolled quickly down the 250m course straight down the hill. The third roll was the sidewinder.

We were like hamsters in a ball rolling down a hill, it was not enough we want to do it again and again……..

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