Fiordlands and Queenstown (Adventure Capital of the World)

regina again. jay is so very good at writing but has a hard time sitting still unless playing a game that involves shooting and winning.

i, however, am committed to the task of sharing our travels with those we love, as well as our enemies, while jay saves the world.

in the little town of Omaru on the East Coast they have a colony of Blue Penguins- the smallest type of penguin in the world. volunteers protect these little birds from all predators. they poison rats, trap cats, shoot possums. they have built more than enough little box homes under mounds of dirt for all the pairs of penguins so they don't squabble over them. they put rocks on the roofs of their houses so when the mates get in a "row" (rhymes with cow) in their box, which apparently happens often, they won't knock they lid off their home exposing themselves to the bright light they don't like. but the volunteers do not interfer when they are sick. they said, oh no- we don't interfer in the natural process! that made me kind of chuckle. but anyway, here's a little yellow-eyed penguin up the road. these guys are on their own. and very fuzzy!!

this little tiny town (omaru) also had one of the most gorgeous public gardens. i am so happy here. the sun sets about 10:30pm, it is warm but not too muggy, it's quiet and there are gardens everywhere!!

we stopped for a few hours in Dunedin-the 2nd largest city on the South Island. Gorgeous Botanic Garden (of course), an eight-sided town square (interesting! how do you figure?), huge old imposing Victorian and Gothic-style buildings. We found a pub and drank Montieth beer (the Ragler is my new favorite!) and watched a soccer game for a while. Then back on the road! Jay really likes to make tracks!Along the coast we stopped to see the famed Moeraki Boulders. I can't remember how they got that way but it has to do with millions of years & water. But guess what- I took some photographs of them! Jay liked this one best for the blog:
Perhaps the most unbelievably spectacular and awe-inspiring things i've ever seen or done was the drive through the Fiordlands and down to Milford Sound. These images do not come close to doing it justice. It took our breaths away and we drove in silence (mostly) for what felt like hours, although LOTS of parking and getting in and out for a better look and better shots. It was a very soggy drive and had a difficult time shooting up at the fiords as the lenses got soaked. I used the fish eye lens primarily just to try to get it all in. this little parrot greeted us as soon as we got out of the car. he didn't like strawberries as much as he liked cereal. well- that's what i heard!
here we are all the way down at Milford Sound. good think jay has such long arms!! otherwise my head would always look huge. also good to do these shots with the fish eye so some of the background gets in the shot! we drove out at sunset- about 9:45pmour heli ride!! jay will have lots to say about it! he was very excited! we both also super loved the jet boat ride we had down the shotover river, but no photos as i was holding on for dear life. these kiwis are totally crazy.
view of queensland from above!

After 2 such exciting rides Jay's tummy was a bit confused so we decided to get a couple beers and then take in a movie to give it a chance to re-orient. Regina's opinion of National Treasure 2 = Zero. Regina's opinion of new Alien vs. Predator movie (saw in Sydney with a stubborn Joshy) = -16. Regina's opinion of Stranger Than Fiction (saw back at home many months ago) = 10/10.