Amazingtravels.com

We started amazingtravels in 2003 as a way to keep in touch with family and friends while we traveled around the world for a year.  Well, it’s now 2009 and we’ve really neglected our first website – but that should end.  I mean, come on Amy, get to work already.

Yes…we are home. It’s wierd but we are liking it. But before I get into that I would like to recall our last week in NZ or my Uncle John might burst!

Last time I wrote was March 17th in Queenstown, one of our favorites. We spent the day touring around to the little town of Arrowtown (where the LOTR Ford of Bruinen scene was shot) and then drove up the coast of Lake Wakatipu (beautiful azure blue water) and did some Geocaching in the town of Glenorchy. We spent our evening with the locals at The Loaded Hog and went for live music at Pog Ma Thoin Irish Pub (kiss my butt in Irish Gaelic). It was a proper St. Patricks Day!

The next day we slowly made our way to the west coast stopping off in Wanaka. Ryan and I could have spent our entire NZ time in this little town but instead made the most of the afternoon we had. What a great lake front area they have with Lake Wanaka and the mountains in the distance. We spent the night at one of NZ’s many free campsite right on the lake. We had the whole area to ourselves to watch the sunset on the mountains.

Up the west coast we checked out the two more famous glaciers in the world. Famous because they crawl nearly to the coast and are actually coming back from their recession. It was a rainy day or maybe I should say rainy year…the west coast gets about 7 meters of rain a year so it rains nearly everyday. Unfortunately the clouds managed to mask the higher peaks in the area so we moved on a little dissappointed.

After another free night, but this time on an ocean beach, it was off to the north coast to Abel Tasman National Park. We spent the next day hiking around to the scenic beaches and vowed to return to NZ with kayaks (or just buy used ones). There is so much to see up here but kayak would be the way to go.

Nelson was a really great town. They get more sun than any other city on the South Island and after the chilly west coast we needed it. Nelson is a city of artists. They have many cute little shops and the whole city has a creative vibe to it. The jeweler who made the One Ring for the LOTR is in Nelson and we were dissappointed to learn that, while he does make replicas for purchase, they are made without the Elvish inscription as this was computer generated onto the rings for the movie. So basically it is just your typical gold ring. Other local jewelers are cashing in and making versions with the writing.

The brewery that made the beer for Lord of the Rings (The Prancing Pony) is also here. It is a dark stout made by Harrington’s Brewery. The really nice lady working the shop gave us the taste test. The movie version was the 5% stout watered down to a non-intoxicating 1% brew. I am sure you won’t be surprised that Ryan preferred the 5%.

After a couple days in Nelson we drove a little further North and checked out the Marlborough Sound area…another place best seen by kayak. We found a senic secluded bay with a DOC campsite to settle in for the evening and prepare for the trip back to the North Island the next day.

The ferry was non-eventful but a much more somber trip than the southbound trip a couple of weeks ago. We were really not wanting to leave New Zealand yet and the reality was setting in on the boat. Our drive up the North Island took us back around the beautiful Tongariro National Park and Lake Taupo area and culminated in a Holiday Park just south of Auckland where we disposed of our extra food and prepared our bags for the trip home. We ate dinner that night a little stunned that the whole International part of our trip was coming to an end. We have been on the road since June…a new place or country every few days and that would soon be over.

We left Auckland on a Thursday at 4:30 pm and arrived 22 hours later on that same Thursday but at 5:30 pm. That international date line thing really is cool! We arrived in Oakland via Fiji and LAX or as Ryan and I call it, HELL! It was so great to see my Mom wandering the baggage claim looking around for us. Luckily I spotted her first and got the video camera rolling to get her surprise on film. Ahhh, there really is nothing like a hug from Mom.

We are back in the US but not yet done with our journey. We have been quite busy since our return to US soil and have already made a quick trip up to Oregon for an education job fair…reality setting in. Most of our time has been spent at my parents vineyard hanging out with my brother Tim, who manages it. We will be returning to the city to make future plans (travel around the US to visit my Dad and Ryan’s parents and brother.) For the meantime we are content with staying in one area for awhile, visiting the city and the country, and making the occasional visit up to Oregon for job interviews (hopefully). But eventually we will head out across the US and will update again. Pictures will be coming soon…not all 7500 of them but some of the selected “good ones”. More later! Amy

Posted by: Amy on Apr 02, 04 | 11:03 am |

Sometimes you just gotta’ figure it out for yourself!

After a few nights of trial and error, I am now finally able to incorporate pMachine into pages created using Frontpage for our site.  But, my eyes hurt, I’m tired, it’s -15F outside… I should go to bed.