NZ Exploration Begins - Stewart Island

Greetings!

Yes, it's been a while, the adventures are continuing. A few posts to fill you in:

After speding the weekend it Christchurch I had a vessel to adventure with (rented from Scottie's Rental Cars). Name: Scottie. Type: Mazda. Seats: 4. Steering wheel: Right side. Color: Gold. Brakes: Very squeeky. We were ready to go. And yes, I like to have my own vessel.

The New Zealand extravaganza begins. Traveling with my friend Krista from the ice (she was a shuttle driver), we headed south- happy to be out of Christchurch. To Dunedin for a few days of winding down and a bit of hiking, then on to Stewart Island. It was wonderful to be on a boat again and neat to be at the southern tip of the south island of New Zealand. Did some day walks with wonderful tropical views. So nice to have the luxury of free time.

The sunsets were beautiful and it was hard to go inside during the tranisition from day to night, now that darkness, for a long time, was not a given. The maratime air was fantastic. I could stand in the wind, close my eyes, and feel like I was right back on Crazy Horse. I felt right at home. Too bad the haus wasn't there anchored in the cove to go exploring with. Alas, it was time to leave, so we headed north in Scottie to Te Anau, the jumping off place for the Kepler Track and the Milford Sound area.