[singlepic id=925 w=250 float=right] Here it is. The road trip post!  A quick rundown of my week driving all over New Zealand’s south island.  The pictures are all posted on the pictures page.

Day 1 - Feb 9th - Christchurch to Oamaru:
Mike and I rented a car from a very cute little punk rock chick in downtown Christchurch.  Left in the afternoon and headed down to Oamaru.  On the way we stopped in Raikia Gorge to snap some photos.  In Oamaru we just made it in time to see the penguins come out.  We went down to observation point, but it was quite difficult to see them as we were high up on the cliffs.  That night we stayed in a little shack of a hostel, but it was run by some very nice people.

Day 2 - Feb 10th - Oamaru to Te Anau:
[singlepic id=888 w=250 float=right] Most of the morning was spent driving down the coast past Dunedin, then we turned inland.  The low hills are quite pretty in New Zealand, and there are sheep and cows everywhere.  That night we got to Te Anau and hopped on a sunset cruise and tour of the glow worm caves. The caves are quite amazing.  It is just what it sounds like, thousands of tiny glow worms light up thecave with small blue lights.  The highlight is the last room of the cave where it actually feels like looking at a starry sky rather than the ceiling of a cave.

Day 3 - Feb 11th - Te Anau to Wanaka:
[singlepic id=579 w=250 float=right] We had to wake up around 5am to drive to Milford Sound - the highlight of the trip.  The drive takes a couple hours through stunning valleys, fiords, and lakes.  Then we took a two hour cruise of the sound.  I took nearly 300 picutres while we were there.  Definitely check them out, but they don’t really do the scenery justice.  On the way out we stopped and hiked up to a waterfall coming off a high glacier.  We found out later that it was off limits.  Whoops.  That afternoon we drove back to Te Anau and then all the way to Wanaka, a small town up by a mountain lake.

Day 4 - Feb 12th - Wanaka to Hanmer Springs:
[singlepic id=958 w=250 float=right] Probably our longest day of driving.  In the morning we drove to the west coast and stopped at Fox glacier.  We hiked up to the observation point, which was quite far away from the face of the glacier.  There were all kinds of signs warning of dangerous slides, ice falls, rocks, and surging water past that point.  We promptly ignored the signs and went right up to the face and the river coming from the glacier. That afternoon we drove all the way to Hanmer Springs and crashed for the night.

Day 5 - Feb 13th - Hanmer Springs to Christchurch :
The morning in Hanmer Springs was spent soaking in hot pools and sulfer pools. Very relaxing, all though they stretched the idea of “natural” a bit.  Mid day we drove back down to Christchurch to meet some friends of my dad - Nigel and Wendy Gilchrist.  They invited us to join them for a fantastic dinner party with fresh scallops, lobster and whitebait.

Day 6 - Feb 14th - In Christchurch :
[singlepic id=968 w=250 float=right] Mike left back for the states in the morning.  In the late afternoon Nigel took me to my first professional rugby match.  It was very exciting and I think I finally have a handle on how the game is played.

Day 7 - Feb 15th - To Brisbane, Australia:
Today is day 7.  I am leaving this afternoon for 5 days in Brisbane, Australia.  Then on Feb 20th I am headed to Singapore.  It has been a great time in New Zealand.  I haven’t even been able to post about a tenth of the experiences I have had here, but I am looking forward to more in other countries!

-Steve