New Zealand looks like paradise; it feels like paradise. A place of stunning mountains and turquoise water, both lakes and sea; ferns growing taller than humans, and nothing here that can hurt you. No snakes. No mosquitoes. No Trump administration.

Twenty-five years ago Ben and I had a six-month sabbatical, and we decided to take Abby and David out of school and travel around the world (after getting the okay from Needham schools to homeschool them). We took about a month driving across the US and flew from San Francisco to New Zealand, a perfect start for our adventure into the world.

On this trip we’re seeing our favorite places and adding some new ones. We’re staying at Airbnbs for 3-6 days in each place except when we did the the Alps to Ocean bike tour, a six-day memorable experience.

Here are some of the highlights:

From Queenstown:

Hikes – The Queenstown Hill Walkway (amazing views & sheep!), and in nearby Arrowtown, the Sawpit Gully Trail is a great loop.

From Te Anau:

The Te Anau Golf Club was so fun – great views and some tough holes.

Hikes – Key Summit is amazing; it’s on the way to Milford Sound and part of the Routeburn Track. Parts of the Kepler Track as day hikes via water taxis.

Day trip to Doubtful Sound – we had been to Milford Sound 25 years ago and wanted to see something a little different and a little less touristy. Wow, this experience delivered. It was really one of the most sacred, untouched places I’ve ever been: through the fiords out to the wild Tasman Sea with seals and dolphins along the way. Nothing but nature. In Māori this area is called Patea which means “the place of silence.”

An eight-hour driving adventure on the left side of the road…it sure makes you feel present!

And we were off on six days of biking in wild, wonderful mostly single track trails from Aoraki/Mount Cook to the Pacific Ocean. It was incredibly fun, sometimes a little scary, and always beautiful. Our guides were amazing and the other people in the group quite fun.

And now we are in Ruby Bay, close to Abel Tasman National Park where we’ve been hiking for the last three days. Oh my goodness – water taxis to trailheads or pick/-up spots on beaches and just staggering beauty and birdsong on the coastal trails.

We’re having our first rainy day since arriving nearly three weeks ago (hence the time to write 😊).

Tomorrow is Abby’s birthday. Twenty-five years ago we were celebrating her 11th birthday kayaking in the Tasman Sea around the second most photographed rock in the world (the first is Uluru/Ayers Rock in Australia), Split Apple Rock (just minutes from where we are right now). How grateful we are to be back in this paradise.

Tomorrow morning we leave the South Island and head to the North Island for a week.

Be safe, everyone. Stay strong and laugh as much as possible.

Love,

Sarah