February 19-28 (See the rest of this story in the next post with our NZ Glacier photos!)
We actually crossed over to South Island of New Zealand on February 19. We took the ferry for the Cook Strait Crossing… ‘Wild and Crazy’ van and all.  The ferry lands at Picton and from there we journeyed through wine country…of course we stopped for a taste! … Around the mesmerizing bays of Abel Tasman area,  Cable Bay, Golden Bay, to the renown protected sand spit of Farewell Spit. I was quite enraptured with the black swans that are prevalent there.  Then there were the really big W O W moments. It was an interesting trek to the beach of Wharariki. The hike began on a narrow foot path at the top of a steep hill, sheep grazing freely and rolling hills in all directions. The climb was evenly distributed between short ascents and descents, but became more challenging when the hills turned to sand dunes. It was like trudging up fresh powder on a ski slope to retrieve a lost pole.
The reward came at the tip top of the tallest dune… There before us unfolded a plethora of undulating dunes followed by astonishing rock formations looming out of the sea, crashing waves retreating from the coves as the tide went out. This beach has to be one of the most beautiful in the world!