Home Sweet Home

The good thing about coming home is --- we live in Colorado.

I LOVE COLORADO!

Of course it's really great to be back with our family and friends too.  My conclusion is that home is where your family and friends are no matter where you are in the world.

My sister, Lilli and her husband, Pete, as well as Lea and Luke's friends met us at the airport.  Lea and Luke left Greg and I at the airport.  This made us question our parenting skills -- we just brought them 1/2 way around the world -- Lea for six months --- and as soon as we land in Denver they leave us, even before we drove home! 

Thanks to those friends and family who have read the blog and told me you've enjoyed it.  It felt like a chore at times but I'm so glad I've got something to look back at to help remember all the highlights.

And thanks to EVERYONE who helped make this job exchange adventure work for us.  We owe you and hope we can return all the favors you've done for us. 

Cheers mates! 

Warm and Sunny in Rarotonga

Rarotonga is the largest of the Cook Islands.  The Cook Islands are a country in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and the US.  New Zealand Air has a route from New Zealand to Rarotonga to Los Angeles.  Great!!!

Cook Islanders have New Zealand passports and New Zealand currency is used there.  There are a lot of New Zealand and Australian tourists there but it definitely is not like New Zealand.  The native people have beautiful cultural shows, I can't believe the can do dance moves like they do.  

Anyway, the entire time I was chilly in New Zealand, I thought about the fact that we'd be going to the Pacific Islands before heading home.

We enjoyed the best snorkeling of my life, tropical weather, tropical vegetation, beaches, rum drinks, driving scooters around the island, exploring and relaxing.

It was lovely and fun.  The photos speak for themselves.

Enjoying drinks before dinner (I made my head piece!)

Smile children!

Afternoon cruising

Yeah - it's that pretty.

Had to try the coconut drink - with my handy guide, can't live without Lonely Planet when travelling

Our fun mode of transportation

As it is for everyone else

Evening cocktails

A little ukelele music to sip by

And a pretty sunset to sip by

The beach at the place we stayed

Our alarm clock

Highest point on the island - the Needle

View from a trail across the island

The hike was steep

Cultural show - love all the plant weavings

Amazing dancers

Nice headware!

At the local market

Lots of native people with beautiful tatoos

Still has the English influence - I loved getting an entire pot of tea when I ordered tea

Yeah - it's been a good trip

A scene to remember

Swimming with 800 dolphins

Kaikoura, a town on the east coast of the South Island is a mecca for sea life.  A shop owner and a few other folks we met in earlier months gushed about swimming with dolphins in Kaikoura.  This is the big activity I really, really wanted to do before leaving the country, however, I was really apprehensive that I would be sooooooo cold in the water that I wouldn’t enjoy the experience.  The plus side of doing this in July was that we were told the pods of dolphins are much larger in the (NZ) winter.  Anyway, I should not have worried, it was so awesome, I kind of forgot that the water was like 50 degrees F.   

Full wet suits (including hoods and gloves), masks and fins were provided.  We drove out on a boat and the captain of the boat was able to find pods of dusky dolphins through morning scoping trips and communication with fishermen who were already out in the area.  After finding a pod of dolphins, the boat stopped, and all the people on the boat, maybe 15-20 of us, slipped off the back, into the water and swam among the beautiful, playful dolphins.  There were so many! We were limited, by the permit the guide company has, to five swims, each about 15-20 minutes long.

We were told to sing, make noise, circle, dive and essentially play with the dolphins and they would play back.  It was true! Between trying to sing in my snorkel and being so amazed at being at an arm’s reach from  the dolphins, I tried not to hyperventilate.  The song I kept singing was the Beatles song….I want to be under the sea, in an octopuses garden in the shade….I was so excited that every time I tried to dive down I mostly got a mouthful of water.  

 It was incredible making eye contact with a dolphin and having them not only swim by, but, then swim back and circle around you.  They really are a mystical animal!  Not it’s my turn to gush to someone else about this adventure. 

In the room getting the prep talk - Greg was really, really prepping

Heading out

A bit nervous about the water temp

Found the dusky dolphins

Thrilling enough just to see them jump and flip

Jumping all over

So fun! 

Closer photo

Albatrose - hard to tell but the wing span is about 11 feet

Happy swimmers

Blankets and jackets were nice

Fur seals on the coast

Fur seal pump

Last day in New Zealand - lovely but I was looking forward to warm weather by now

Kayaking and Hiking in Abel-Tasman National Park

Nearly every guide book or article about travelling in New Zealand lists visiting Abel-Tasman National Park as a must do.  It’s located on the north end of the South Island and lives up to all the recommendations.  Located along the shore of a beautiful bay there’s an awesome coastal track with beautiful turquoise blue bays, sandy beaches and amazing rock outcrops.  There are endless possibilities for spending a ½ day to more than a week kayaking from spot to spot and/or hiking from location to location.  There are several DOC huts (you should know all about these by now) and campsites to stay at along the way.  The biggest challenge is deciding where to go, how to get there, and how many days to take exploring the beauty. 

Along the coast

Nice day!

Lunch break

Cool coast

Huge tidal fluctuation - Luke and Greg trying to help out...never mind wait til the morning and let nature do it's thing.

Coastal find

Sunrise

Not too many people around

Warming up in the hut

Hanging in the hut

One of the bunk rooms - we got it to our family alone...kinda nice

Trying to wake up in the AM

Hiking on the coast

Still smiling!

My fashionable hiker

A view from the coastal track

Another beautiful view

6 1/2 hours later we reached our destination