South Island road trip

So, we left Christchurch on a largeish road trip that spanned most of the southern south Island. we picked up our friend Kevin, and away we went. we didn't even make it out of the city before we had to make a pit-stop. Imagine corinne's excitment to find a cookie factory on the highway. Oh wait.... you don't have to imagine. Just look!




Then, we went to Mount Cook, the highest peak in NZ. It was raining and we could barely see the bottom let alone the top. Needless to say, we have no photos. Then we went to Queenstown and partied like savage animals! Actually Corinne and Kevin watched Jason have one beer while we watched half of an all-blacks rugby game.

Then we hit the road yet again. We saw the lovely Doubtful Sound. This was taken along the bus trip to the boat trip.

Pretty nice, I guess.

Where does the poop go?

Here are some nice waterfalls...right?

Jason and Kevin obviously enjoyed the boat ride.

Next, we went to an area on the south-east corner of NZ called the Catlins. It was awesome. We found a really nice beach house and had it pretty much to ourselves. The shower was so good that we decided to stay for four nights.

This is our beach house from the front.

This was our view from the back.

on the beach...

There was some goof surfing, but it was the off-season (and damned cold) so there was no surfing lessons or rentals.

This is at the petrified forest, one of the oldest such places on the Earth. The petrified tree that Jason was inspecting dates from when New Zealand was attached to all the other continents.

Look! Forest Penguins! Who knew that penguins lived in the forest. These are actually yellow-eyed penguins, the rarest pengiuns in the world! We could only see them twice a day, morning and late afternoon when the enter the water to fish for the day, and when they come back home.

Another Penguin... we couldn't get close or else the penguins would not come out.

So, on our way back from looking at the pengiuns one day, we came across a fat blob of a sea lion sitting on the beach. "Oh, what a cute little seal", we thought. We were wrong. Next time we'll think, "Oh God! A savage flesh eating beast of the sea! Run for your lives!" Sea Lions can flop along at surprisingly high speeds.

This is it chasing Corinne.

This was the last photo Jason ever took. God rest his soul. He's sea lion food now.