New Zealand Wrap-Up

Our road trip down the West Coast of the South Island was really cool. The thing about New Zealand is that there are interesting walks and waterfalls and viewpoints and rivers around every corner. So as we were driving along, Jasson and I would see a sign for something like "blue pools" or "seal colony" and think, "why not?" And we'd get out and stop and look around, take photos, get back in the car, and drive some more. Here are some little bits and pieces that were cool, but not enough for their own blog posts.

Picton, the town where we arrived at the South Island, picked up our rental car and started our road trip.

The Pancake Rocks.

Mirror Lake.

The Blue Pools.

Swimming with dolphins in Akaroa. The dolphins were fairly elusive, and darted around so fast it was difficult to get any good photos.

Do you see that faint silver smudge in front of me? That's a dolphin!

Our impression of New Zealand is that it is an overwhelmingly outdoor country. It isn't the place to go for indoors activities or urban culture. The big cities are a little on the dull and unattractive side -  even New Zealanders will admit this. There's not much in the way of of outstanding museums, interesting architecture, cool fashion, good shopping, special food or fast internet access.

New Zealand's strength is in its natural beauty - the abundance of waterfalls, mountains, beaches, streams, volcanoes and forests. The hills the color of emerald and rivers of opal and sapphire. The space, the crystal clear air, the quiet broken only by birdsong. It's the place to go for camping, hiking, snorkeling, mountain biking, kayaking, rafting, bungee jumping, skydiving.

It's a country of adventures.