New Zealand: The Summary

Days in New Zealand: 21

Days lost traveling to NZ: 1

New Zealand is very unique. Its natural beauty steals the show, from its amazing mountain ranges, to its pristine beaches and all the small towns in between, this country has something for everyone. New Zealand is part of the British commonwealth which we found out is important to some people more than others. They depend on tourism in many of the smaller towns. New Zealand is extremely ecofriendly. They have nothing less than 91 octane gasoline. This helps keep the air clean.  They have the cleanest lakes and rivers and their city streets are immaculate.

New Zealand Pt. 4: Nelson goes to Nelson and lots of fun beaches!

Allie and Nelson after kayaking to a far off island from the shore in the Bay of Islands. This was our celebratory picture.

The beaches in New Zealand are truly beautiful. The water is pristine blue and green. The sun is strong. The views were great. We traveled up from Franz Josef Glacier to Nelson! We couldn't miss the town that bears Nelson's name! We saw some nice beaches and a beautiful sunset in the beach town. Then we traveled far up to the northern most part of the North Island to the Bay of Islands for some spectacular views and blue waters. We went kayaking, had great seafood, and enjoyed blue skies by day and starry skies by night! As we bring our time in New Zealand to a close, we head next to Australia! 

New Zealand Pt. 3- Milford Sound and Franz Josef Glacier

Spectacular sunset from our hotel room in Te Anau

New Zealand's breathtaking scenery is in full effect in our Pt. 3 blog post. From Queenstown we continued our Southland tour by visiting the Milford Sound and staying in the small town of Te Anau. The Milford Sound is actually not a sound at all. It is a fjord which is defined as a crater formed by a glacier that has filled up with ocean water. We then traveled north, stopping in Wanaka again, and making our way up the west coast to the Franz Josef Glacier. We did a full day tour of the glacier and experienced quite a workout! Not to mention an extremely wet, rainy, cold, day out on the ice. Luckily our tour included all the necessary rain gear and foot protection. The glacier tour was such a neat experience and unlike anything we had done so far. Enjoy our photos! Next we take you up north again to some beautiful beaches! We felt we really had to thaw out! 

New Zealand Pt. 2- NYE in Queenstown and video of Nelson Bungy Jumping 154ft!

Allie and Nelson in downtown Queenstown right before midnight on New Year's Eve

We had an awesome New Years Eve 2011 in Queenstown. Friends of family who live in New Zealand told us to go to Queenstown for NYE and their advice was spot on. The town was bustling. People were out everywhere and there was live music all day. We had a great time. At midnight the town sets off fireworks over the water. The day was perfect in terms of weather as well. It was 80 and sun during the day and just slightly cooler at night. The sun set past 10pm so it was daylight only an hour and some change before the clock hit midnight. Next, Nelson bungy jumped! Queenstown is the birthplace of bungy jumping and Nelson did so high above Queenstown at "The Ledge" run by AJ Hackett Bungy Company. He jumped from 154ft. above the town! What a rush! Allie captured it on video and we purchased some professional photos as well! Enjoy! Next up, the beautiful Milford Sound and we scale some ice at the Franz Josef Glacier!

New Zealand Pt. 1- Our Kiwi Christmas, driving on the "wrong" side, and wow, some amazing scenery!

Nelson and Allie on the ferry back to Auckland with Waiheke Island in the background.

Oh, New Zealand! We now understand. Everyone who we have talked to who has visited New Zealand has nothing but great things to say about the country. They ooo and ahh over it like it’s a magical place. On our 13hr flight to Auckland we said, “I don’t really know what to expect, but I’m excited to see what everyone’s been talking about!”… Now we know. This place is amazing! We love it and we can safely say, even though our time here is far from over, we would recommend this place to anyone! The scenery is beautiful, the people are beyond friendly, and did we mention the scenery is beautiful? We arrived in Auckland on Christmas morning and after a few days of getting adjusted to the time we made our way down the North Island to Wellington, the capital. We then took a 3hr ferry with our car to the South Island. We traveled along the west coast stopping at quaint towns along the way. We also spent a night in Wanaka, a beautiful small town fittingly on Lake Wanaka. Enjoy our pictures! Next up, we ring in 2012 with the kiwis in Queenstown and Nelson goes bungy jumping! 

Peru: The Summary

Plaza de Armas in Arequipa, Peru

Days in Peru: 14 (Lima 5, Cusco 3, Puno/Lake Titicaca 2, Arequipa 3, Aguas Calientes 1)

Peru Pt. 3: Lake Titicaca, home stay with a family and floating islands!

Allie and Nelson dressed as locals on the Uros Islands.

Hola! We traveled 8 hours by bus from Cusco to Puno, a small town right next to Lake Titicaca. We spent 2 days exploring the islands on this large lake. The Uros Islands (floating islands made of reeds), Amantani Island (where we stayed with a local family for a night), and Taquile Island. We had a great time and gained a new perspective for the way these Peruvians live. We were thankful for a hot shower and running water when we left but we were so glad we took the opportunity to step into a whole new world in order to better appreciate our own. Next up will be Arequipa, Lima, and our Peru Summary!

Peru Pt. 2: Machu Picchu- disclaimer pictures DON'T do it justice!!

Allie and Nelson with the classic view of Machu Picchu. Behind the morning clouds is Huayna Picchu which we later hiked to the summit.

Everyone we spoke with about our travels to Machu Picchu stressed how beautiful and breathtaking this place was, but once we got there we realized that words or pictures did this place NO justice. Machu Picchu was built in the 1400's by the Inca empire, it was built as an estate for the Inca emperor. Located 50 miles northwest of Cusco, situated on a mountain ridge high above the Urubamba river. The site was abandoned 100 years later during the conquest of the Spanish. The advanced empire was slowly phased out by multiple factors including diseases brought by the Spanish.  In 1911 the site was rediscovered by an American archeologist Hiram Bingham. This site is located 8,040 ft above sea level. The city sits between two mountains Machu Picchu (old peak) & Huayna Picchu (young peak). The peak of Huayna Picchu is 8,920 ft above sea level, making it a perfect place to view the entire city of Machu Picchu as you can see in our pictures. The site is truly an archeological marvel. We were taken back by the natural beauty of the surrounding mountains, the ingenuity of the Incan people and the peacefulness of the entire site. Enjoy our pictures of this truly amazing and unbelievable site! Next up is our home stay with a local family on Amantani Island in the middle of Lake Titicaca! Another truly unique experience!

Peru Pt. 1: Cusco- Our culture shock experience

Allie and Nelson at Inca ruins outside of Cusco, Peru

When we arrived in Cusco, Peru we were amazed at what we saw. There were so many people, a fairly large city, and we experienced some culture shock! Women carrying their children on their backs, people walking sheep down the road, and alpacas staring you in the face. It was quite the experience. Its a beautiful city rich in pride and history (and tour companies). We visited old churches built by the Spanish when they conquered Cusco and the Incas in the 1500s. They would tear down the Inca temples and build Catholic churches in their place often leaving the original Inca foundation. We flew high over the Andes, tried homemade ceviche, alpaca, and coca leaf tea, and visited some nearby ruins. Enjoy the pictures! Next to come, a whole post dedicated to Machu Picchu! (too many pictures to fit it in here!)

Argentina: The Summary

Argentina, from what we saw was beautiful. Man-made beauty. Buenos Aires was much larger of a city than we had anticipated but definitely had the European charm that everyone had talked about.

Days in Argentina: 13 (1 in Colonia, Uruguay)

The People:
For the most part we found Argentinians extremely friendly. We had many instances where taxi drivers went out of their way to have a pleasant conversation, give us pointers on where to go, and give a tutorial on spotting counterfit money! The servers we ran into were more than happy to help us understand menus. Even the people on the street helped to steer us in the right direction when we were lost. The people speak Spanish but it has a unique dialect where “ll” is pronounced “sh” and they use “vos”. People seem to work to live, not live to work. They are in no hurry whatsoever. We found ourselves walking very fast with no where to be (must be our nature when in a big city). We had to slow ourselves down and learn to stroll. Many people will visit a café, alone or with a friend, and sit and talk for hours, or read the paper over a coffee or beer. The check will only be brought to you when you ask for it. The servers are even more hands off than in Brazil. We found this annoying at first but learned to appreciate the hands off service, very different from the US. Eating late is the norm. People eat dinner no earlier than 10pm. It is not uncommon to find a whole family with young toddlers out to dinner around midnight. Argentinians seem to be very family conscious. On Sundays there were many adult children out walking with their parents. We also found several ads promoting children to spend time with their grandparents.