New Zealand - Continued!

The nice man at the airport hotel was kind enough to let me know that if we kept going south after Dunedin, we wouldn't see anything but the 'backside' of New Zealand.  So, we decided we would add a new destination to our itinerary.  VERY glad we did that.  After Dunedin, we decided to go to Queenstown.  Queenstown is known as the 'adventure capital of New Zealand'.  Poor Devon.  The only adventure we can have with 3 children in tow is handling a tantrum in the middle of a sidewalk.  Weeee!!

There was kayaking, rafting, canyoning, jet boating, river boarding, bungy jumping, canyon swinging, hiking.  You name it, you can do it.  The town was really nice, situated on a big clear lake with a mountainous backdrop.  Lots of restaurants, and stores, brick sidewalks.  We were able to walk around a bit and have a nice lunch outside near the water.  Isla played in the fountains and the boys caught the attention of all the Asian tourists.  We got our picture taken A LOT on this trip. People apparently think we are very entertaining!

Isla and the big stuffed Kiwi

Queenstown shopping street

After a morning in Queenstown, we headed toward our campground in Milford Sound.  We stopped at a nice section of Lake Wakatipu to play in the sand and go for a swim.  It was a gorgeous day and the water was as clear as can be.  It was heaven on earth.

Isla and Ian had a blast on the beach.  Drew missed the entire thing as he was fast asleep in the van the entire time.  But honestly, it was kind of nice not having to chase him all over the place.  I was able to relax and enjoy the beauty.

The water was cold, but extremely refreshing.

Look at me!

We continued on the road towards our campground.  We decided to stay at an 'off the grid' campsite - no electricity or hookups.  So glad we did!

So pretty!

Our campsite

It was covered with these gorgeous purple flowers

At least we had a grill!

Scavenging for firewood

Cascade Creek

Oh Devon

I was yelling at Devon while taking this picture

Put the boys down and started the grill for a very late dinner.

Hot dogs and asparagus!  YUM!

It started raining right after we went to sleep and rained and rained and rained... I was cleaning up the van the next morning while everyone was still sleeping, looked out the window and the road through our campsite was GONE.

 We were completely flooded in.  The water was flowing extremely fast and was up to Devon's knees in some parts.

 The parks and rec people came by and stopped the flooding after a couple hours and we were able to get out of our site.

Beautiful rainbow after the storm

 The road up to Milford Sound was closed due to flooding, trees down and avalanches, so we had to park and wait it out until the road was opened again.  Devon cooked spaghetti in the camper for us for lunch while we waited with all the other tour groups.  We had our first paid activity planned that day.  A boat cruise in Milford Sound - the most spectacular thing you can do in New Zealand.  We were determined to get there!!

Waiting for the road to re-open

 Road re-opened a couple hours later and away we went through the mountains.  It was still VERY cold, windy and rainy but we pushed forward.  Maybe it will clear up in the next hour or two, one needs to have a positive attitude!

The mountains were COVERED in water falls.  Devon said it looked like they were crying, which was a very accurate description.  Milford Sound gets so much rain that this is commonly what it looks like.  It was spectacular, even without the sun shining.

We made it to Milford Sound, but alas the weather was not favorable for a boat cruise.  I think they were still going out on the water, but it was just not feasible with the kids and we wouldn't have seen anything anyway because the fog was so thick.  Maybe next time Milford Sound.  Devon and I will be old and grey the next time we visit!

We headed to our next campsite in Te Anau, the closest town to Milford Sound.  The following day was going to be a day for just Devon and I.  I had planned a couple of fun things for us to do - a Jet Boat ride and a tour of some caves lit up by glow worms.  FUN!  The kids were scheduled to be in childcare all day too, so it was going to be a very nice break for all of us.  HOWEVER...

The weather was still really bad the following day and our first activity, the jet boating, was cancelled.  We decided to just have a leisurely morning in town, grab some coffee and a bite to eat before our cave tour.  It was actually quite nice.  Not having to rush to our next destination or deal with the kids.  When it was time for the cave tour, we went to the meeting point and found out that the caves were flooded.  DANG!  Foiled again!  At this point, I sort of wanted to throw in the towel.  I shed a few tears, as all of my booked activities for the entire trip fell through.  At least we saved a bunch of money right?  Ugh, how disappointing.  We were told about a movie that was shown every couple of hours in town that a local guy made about the Milford Sound area.  It took him 5 years to make, with some spectacular footage of the mountains, waterfalls, wildlife etc.  They even sold beer and wine and the seats were nice and cushy.  After the movie we grabbed some more coffee (it was a day full of caffeine and beer - what else could we do??) and wrote our first post cards of the trip.  I just noticed that I didn't take a single picture this day.  I think the weather was so bad and I was in a crummy mood, so I didn't even think about it.  Sorry Te Anau, you will be remembered even though you were not captured on memory card.

I will post about the last few days later so keep checking back!