Kiwiland

Nueva Zelanda por fin! Oh wait, English now Eddie....riiiight. Welp after eight spectacular months in latin america with my partner in crime, Mr. Van Fleet, I made the long flight to New Zealand -- the land of kiwis, sheep, Lord of the Rings, and.....ostriches? Yup. While staying at a little B&B my buddy Ross here introduced me to his strange looking livestock and shared some ostrich fun facts. These crazy birds are amazingly fast -- able to reach a top speed of 80 km/hour in only four steps -- and amazingly stupi,d equipped with brains smaller than their eyeballs, but their ginormous eggs do make for a pretty tasty omelet.

I wonder what's going on in those tiny heads of theirs. Not much is my guess.

The beginning of my stay in New Zealand was highlighted by a couple of highly anticipated visits from some familiar faces from home, including Papa Kingman. The Kingman boys are joined here by our guide through the Waitomo Glowworm Caves. These sweet wetsuits and sexy spaceboots kept us warm during our 2 km ride down an underground river with a highway of lights guiding our way courtesy of the glowworms. There are hundreds of caves around this area that Gollum himself may have called home back in the days of Middle Earth.

The glacial-blue waters of the Waitahanui river near Lake Taupo. Looks cold.

On the ferry crossing from North to South Island.

Our transport 28 km up the coast to the trailhead of a two day hike through Abel Tasman National Park. Abel Tasman is a spectacular place on the northern shore of the South Island with gorgeous horseshoe shaped bays, golden sand beaches, and crystal clear waters that are home to all sorts of seals, dolphins and other aquatic creatures. Dad and I spent two days taking in the scenery on the walk back. Fantastic.

Ferns.

One of many gorgeous beaches along the way.

25 kms later and still smiling.

The Kingman boys having a chat with some curious cattle. MOOOO!!!

WOW. I still don't know what this wispy New Zealand bush is called, but they're everywhere. So are the rainbows.

The gold at the end of the rainbow.....my new ride, Mitzi.

This smile was plastered on my face all day.....skiing again for the first time in a year and a half.

A view of the Southern Alps near Christchurch from Mt. Hutt. This incredible range of mountains rise up out of nowhere to form the spine of the South Island.

Doin' a jig on the shores of Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown with my Argentine amigo, Andy. Shake it eddie, yeah!

Andy getting reacquainted with snow for the first time in 7 years!

Mitzi in the mountains.


Milford Sound. One the most beautiful places on Earth. It may be a bit of a tourist trap, but this place is well worth it. Huge cliffs peppered with waterfalls falling over four thousand feet straight into the sound. You can't help but feel like an insignificant speck compared to the majesty of nature when cruising through this place. Absolutely amazing.

That tiny little waterfall you see there in the distance is about 350 feet high.

Hi. This is me on a boat in Milford Sound.

As if it could get any better, we got to cruise next to a family of dolphins on the way back.

Getting together with a long lost friend again. Me and Mr. Beam.

Sandfly bay on the Otago Peninshula. That's the phonetic spelling of how they pronounce peninsula here. It's really pretty annoying, but I put up with it. This place is home to colony of Yellow-eyed penguins who come and nest on the beach after their long days of fishing out in that beautiful blue water. I didn't get to see any penguins this time, but I did come across a few of their good friends the sea lions.

I literally came with 15 ft of tripping over this little family as I was taking a walk through the sand dunes. I don't think the big guy in the middle there appreciated me so rudely barging in on their nap -- he gave me a good little workout chasing me back to the beach.

Dunedin is home to two delicious factories that both offer tours and tastings of their products. It's hard to go wrong with a day full of chocolate and beer at the local Cadbury factory and Speights brewery. Pictured above: a couple of Cadbury Umpa Lumpas.

Like a kid in a candy store.....literally.

Our tasting session at Speights got a little rowdy.

Andy, our knowledgeable Speights guide, and me pouring myself a tall glass of one the finest beers on earth, Speights Old Dark. mmmm

Some job training.

That's a big cave behind me. I guess I was surprised?

A parting view of Long Beach near Dunedin from atop a tall outcropping. Stay tuned, there's more to come!