Ah, it’s hard to sit inside and blog when the sun is shining. Another beautiful summer day here in Nelson, New Zealand. I appreciate our time here all the more after reading about the cold back in the U.S.! Sending warm thoughts your way!
We’ve had a wonderful month here in Nelson, a town located on the north end of the South Island. We took three days to drive here from Wanaka. Our trip up the west coast was beautiful…lush rain forests, glaciers, fascinating rock formations, glow worms, quaint towns, beautiful coastal views.
Fox Glacier
Hakitika Gorge
Pancake Rocks
Nelson has been great. We have a rental house up in the hills just a few minutes from downtown. Walking and bike trails are minutes away, and the view from the deck is incredible. Our landlord neighbors are wonderful people, and their ten year old daughter has been a great companion for Caroline. We have all the cable channels, including ESPN, so Bill was able to watch all his favorite teams compete in the bowl games.
Nelson has a great beach, with lots of playgrounds and other activities for the kids.
Caroline and Daniel trying out zorbing, which originated here in NZ
We made several day trips to other lovely beaches in the area. Farewell Spit, the northernmost point of land, was notable for the incredible winds that were blowing that day…we are still getting the sand out of our various orifices!
We stayed here for a month so we would have some stability over the holidays. It worked out great. We decorated, baked, shopped, ate lots of treats…we had all the good aspects of the holidays, but without the jam-packed schedule of events and obligations normally associated with them.
Over the last week I’ve been back in trip planning mode, booking hotels, apartments, and flights for our last three months. We’ll be returning to Michigan on April 15. As much as they appreciate the experience, the kids are really excited to get back home and get settled in a place of their own. In the meantime, we are all trying to learn some Spanish in preparation for our final continent…South America! However, we have a few more weeks of adventuring in New Zealand before we go!
Our view for the last month…I’m going to miss this!
ABCD World Travels 
It is great to hear of your travels again and how incredible your trip is and will last a lifetime in your memories. Happy New Year! Love, Aunt Jan
Happy New Year to you too! Looks like you had a great time in California; I bet you were glad to get to the sunny West for awhile.
Hello All… Wow what a great adventure and such nice photography you share!
I am headed back to Seattle this afternoon after spending the last 4 days here in St Peteresburg with Seaman Huston.
I was 1 of 4 guests who were invited to join the crew of the USCG Resolute for a overnight ops cruise!!!
It was so incredible… They were all so nice and respectful people… Commander Miller and I had a chance to chat several times about many subjects…. He loves good merlot and smoked salmon so it was a good thing that I brought him a gift of each from the northwest…. Capt Miller offered me a ride on a small boat with the very capable persuit team. Donning a full mustang suit the gave a awesome thrill ride! Then after dinner I was asked by the chiefs to join them in their quarters to watch a movie!!! Very cool experience for sure…. Connors good buddies are all nice young men as well!
Enjoy your last weeks in NZ and safe travels to South America!
Cousin,
Mark
Mark, what a great opportunity for you! We are so glad Connor is doing well, and had the chance to give you a taste of his new life. Bill and Anita
Yes it was… I want to send you you some private photos… What e mail should I use.?
Wmlchaney@gmail.com
Sorry we weren’t able to join you at this stop; but; the pictures in your posts made me almost feel like I was there. We look forward to joining you at a future stop on your adventure.