October 19th, 2009 through October 21st, 2009 Queenstown, NZ

Hello Everyone,

Sorry it has been so long. We have not been able to get to a computer until now.

October 19th, 2009
We got into Auckland on Monday morning and then we flew directly into Frankton, a suburb of Queenstown. When we arrived at the airport where we were met by Dawn's, our itinerary specialist, family which consisted of her brother Paul and wife Sandra, her brother Alan and his wife, spoken like shampoo-We are sure it is not spelled that way, her sister Anne and husband Ken, and lastly her father Dick and her mother Noleen. It was so great to have a family greet us and we felt so at home. We went directly to Dawn's parent's house for lunch as we waited for Cveta, Mom's friend from Koehler and Hawaii, to fly in. We had a wonderful but simple lunch. Next we went to Paul and Sandra's to meet their children and then decided to meet their son and daughter at the coffee shop where her son works. (As you will see we stop to have coffee alot-Its not always coffee) Finally made it to our "short term" apartment. Now understand that all three of us had not showered at this point for three days and were very eager to take one. The apartment was great and had three rooms for all three of us. We were very happy about the heat in the rooms and the towel warmer in the bathroom. At about 8pm we all went to bed and slept through the night.

October 20th, 2009
Mom and I got up at 6am ready to go for a walk around the Lake Wakatipu in town. We asked Cveta if she wanted to go and she said "I'm too cold" and then we set off. We started in the direction of the lake where Dawn had told us how to get to the sidewalk around the lake. We felt lost and asked a man walking to direct us to the lake. He was was from Brazil and he directed us right to the lake. The lake is 84 miles around and we probably walked 1 mile out and then 1 mile back. The wind was blowing alot and it was cold coming off of the lake. We were ready by 9am and off to the Kiwi Wildlife Bird Park. Dawn's father bought some land in 1996 which in his words people said he was a "crazy man" because the land was a dump site full of random things and lots of growth. The family worked hard and cleared the land and made the Kiwi Wildlife Bird Park. No the locals think he is in his words "a sly fox". The birds were beautiful. We saw the feeding of the Kiwi, which we had to do in the dark since they are nocturnal birds, the Kea, it is described as a "cheeky" bird which is our new favorite word, and many other birds and some reptiles. Then Dawn, Mom, and Cveta went through the bird park, with approval, and started cutting down branches of greenery for the flower show in the afternoon. Mom and Cveta even went into a "prohibited" parking lot of a school next door and were about to be caught until Dawn and I drove up to get them outta there. So much passion for greenery that they took the risk of being arrested. Next we went to the Lake Hayes Pavillion out side of Frankton to do a show for The Women's Institute which is a woman's organization that promotes woman and their talents. Several other floral organizations and artists attended which filled the Pavilion. The local press attended and took pictures as well. It was a great success for Mom, Cveta, and Dawn. We had tea and biskets and took off to Arrowtown. Arrowtown is a town that originated from the Chinese for gold mining. It is the most charming town that we had ever seen. We visited a cinema that had huge seats, bean bags to sit in and had quilted tapestry filling the ceiling and walls. Cveta absolutely loved the walkway up to the cinema. It was beautiful. there was even a motel named the New Orleans, which reminded me of my Dad since he loves New Orleans. Next we left to drive back into town for dinner with the family and then back to our apartment. I was not tired so I went over to the Pub across the street and had a couple of brews.

October 21st, 2009,

We got up and were ready by 7:30am off to Milford Sound. Paul and Sandra drove us which is a 4 hour drive. The time passed so quickly and before we knew it we were in Te Anau, which was half way, and we had "coffee" and did a little shopping. Before we left town we stopped by the "supermarket" to get sandwiched and snacks for the boat ride. The next 2 hours were the most spectacular as we drove and spoke our "oohhss" and "aahhss". The best was going through the tunnel under a gigantic mountain then down the mountain on a winding road. It was pouring rain the whole boat ride which was great since we saw thousands of waterfalls. The front of the boat even went under once of them and we got soaked. Cveta was taking pictures left and right, we saw seals and penguins, and we all got a little sea sick as we approached the opening to the Tazman Sea. It was the most awesome scenery we have seen. As we headed back we stopped at the some big rock waterfalls in the pouring rain. It took another 4 hours which also went pretty fast as we all talked most of the way-imagine that. Mom and Cveta went back to the apartment and I went out to dinner with Paul and Sandra.
Cristin