New Zealand...wine, winter, and spectacular scenery

Hello from New Zealand- Part 2

This is at the top of the Gondola overlooking the lake near Christchurch

(sorry my hair is a little out of control)

We are absolutely loving New Zealand!!

We started in Christchurch and took the Tranzcoastal railway up to Blenheim, the largest city in Marlborough. We got to leisurely tour through the coastal regions of the Upper South Island and saw some beautiful countryside along the way. Here's a few photos from the train's observation car (read-very windy open-air train car).

On the Tranzcoastal Scenic Railway from Christchurch to Blenheim

Some seals lounging on rocks near Kaikoura (halfway between Christchurch and Blenheim)

We spent the next several days just relaxing, wine tasting and hiking. We tried to hike and exercise before wine tasting to maximize our days. There wasn't much happening at night so we watched lots of New Zealand Olympic coverage. The Kiwis are strong in different sports than Americans, so we ended up watching mostly kayaking, rowing and track cycling.

Chris at the beach on White's Bay on one of our hikes (notice the nice beard!)

Overlooking Cloudy Bay on our hike to White's Bay

The sunset from our motel room in Blenheim

After a few days we headed down the coast to Hamner Springs which is well known for its natural hot sulphur springs. We soaked and relaxed with mostly locals since it is winter time and low tourist season. We also did a few hikes around Hamner Springs in the morning for some fantastic views. After a leisurely drive back to Christchurch, we caught our plane to Auckland.

On top of Conical Hill in Hamner Springs

Chris next to a fallen drive on the hike up Conical Hill

We are both in a relaxed mode now and taking easy in Auckland. We are eating lots of seafood and slowly seeing the sights. There isn't tons of tourists sights here so we plan to just do a few things each day. We will probably check out the Antarctica Exhibit and do a harbor cruise. We have three days here in Auckland and then we hit the beach in the Cook Islands.