Things are looking up

 Vacations  2 Responses »
Mar 042008
 

Well, we weren’t able to get to Milford Sound, from Queenstown, on Monday either [because of the weather], so we decided to head to Wanaka, and then over to Haast, one of many very small towns we have encountered so far during our travels in Newontopolivinglacier.jpg Zealand, where we spent the night.

In Haast we met up with Dave at Heliventures who agreed to fly us down to Milford Sound on Tuesday.

Fortunately the weather cleared up significantly, and we had a remarkably smooth and safe trip.picture-059.jpg

To the right you can see Edie and me standing atop Olivine Glacier, and if you click here, you can see a few videos I took during the ride.

We decided to spend the night in Frans Joseph Glacier, we’re we finally have internet access and cell phone service again.

IT LOOKS PROMISING, BUT…

 Vacations  No Responses »
Mar 032008
 

it’s 44°F outside, and it’s only expected to get to 48°F for the high today.  We just didn’t bring that many warm cloths.

On the bright side, it is mostly clear, and the winds are reported as being light, so we might still get to Milford Sound after all.

Day 3, and not much change

 Food & Wine, Vacations  1 Response »
Mar 022008
 

Well yesterday didn’t turn out too bad after all was said and done.

The further we drove into the Central Otago wine area, the better the weather became. The sun didn’t shine much, but the temperatures were quite comfortable, and we tasted quite a few very nice pinot noirs and a couple sauvignon blancs. Even bought a few.

We even came across this nice running stream I thought worth taking a video of. I’m really liking this new camera.

Anywaze, we’re still concerned about getting to Milford Sound [I'm hoping to take some fantastic videos]. Even though right now it appears dry, and I can’t hear or see much wind, the forecast doesn’t look promising for today. Tomorrow looks more promising, but it’s only supposed to get to a high of 48°F. Not what we were hoping for :(

Oh well, time for breakfast! Hopefully things will look better after my stomach gets full.

It’s all about the weather

 Life, Vacations  No Responses »
Mar 012008
 

I’m reminded of that line from an old Chiffon commerical

“It’s not nice to fool mother nature.

Well, it seems we may have done just that [or just pissed her off some how], as it looks like all the bad weather we were experiencing in LA has followed us to New Zealand [at least to Queenstown].

It’s been very windy and rainy all night, and it’s forecast to stay that way through tomorrow. So that means no helicopter trip to Milford Sound, until possibly Monday, when the weather is expected to change.

We only planned 3 days in Queenstown, so I’m not sure what we’ll do if we can’t get to see Milford Sound on Monday. (Milford Sound is number one on everyone list of things to see and do in New Zealand, so it would be a real disappointment if we miss it.)

The upside to all this is, that leaves lots of time for wine tasting, and divulging of the local cuisine. I’ll just have to pace myself to make sure I don’t gain too much weight.

Oh well, such is life!

 Newer Entries