Off to the Land Down Under

It's been a while since I used blogger to document a trip but it is time to revive the ol' blog.

As many of you know, Laurie and I are off to New Zealand and Australia.  It will be a whirlwind trip with about 11 days on the South Island of NZ and about 5 days in Sydney.  We will probably try to see too much in New Zealand but it's hard to resist.

Our itinerary looks like this:

Feb 1 - Leave late afternoon from Denver
Feb 3 - Arrive TWO DAYS LATER in Christchurch, NZ
Feb 4 - Drive to Dunedin along the east coast of the south island, about 4 hours drive south of Christchurch.  Hope to see penguins and albatrosses on the Otago Peninsula
Feb. 5 - Drive to Te Anau - biking or hiking along the way or once we arrive in Fjordland NP
Feb. 6 - Drive to Milford Sound; boat cruise, then head to Wanaka, a bit north of Queenstown
Feb. 7 - Finally spending a couple nights in one place at Lake Wanaka Lodge; here we will hike/bike/kayak and maybe visit a winery or two.
Feb. 8 - Long drive to Blenheim in the far north of the south island; may see glaciers along the way
Feb. 9 - Attending the annual Marlborough Wine Festival in Blenheim; I think we might have a Sauvignon Blanc or three
Feb. 10 - Drive to Nelson for a couple days and nights; visit Abel Tasman NP; kayaking here hopefully
Feb. 12 - Back to Christchurch for some sightseeing there
Feb. 13 - We fly to Sydney in the afternoon where we will stay for the next 5 nights - no rental car
Feb. 14 - Will climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge at sunset; 3.5 hour endeavor on Valentine's Day
Feb. 15 - Visit the sights of the city; attending Sydney Symphony orchestra event at the Opera House
Feb. 16 - Hunter Valley Wine Tour - an all day affair visiting this well-known wine area about 2 hours north of the city (shuttle bus)
Feb. 17 - Visiting more of Sydney
Feb. 18 - Fly home in the late afternoon; arrive in Denver 20 minutes after we left Sydney!