Grasmere

The heli ride south to Grasmere Lodge was absolutely stunning.
Leaving Stonefly




Flying south through the New Zealand Alps












Our pilot, Tim, flew us through mountain passes and right up next to the sides!








It was about an hour and half flight to Grasmere, but one of the prettiest I have ever taken.
Grasmere



Upon landing, we were shown to our cottage. What a view!



At this lodge you can do all sorts of activities. We decided to go skeet shooting before lunch.




Then the girls went for a ride. Me and Clyde.




We rode all around the property- through paddocks with sheep, across ponds (a little deeper than expected)




Up many hillsides












And through the woods.




It was the most beautiful ride I have ever been on, mostly because where I've ridden in Wyoming doesn't have the same variety of landscape (in such a relatively small space) or vistas as New Zealand.
That evening we had dinner at the lodge with two other couples. One was from Scotland, the husband was a novelist on tour promoting his mystery, and the other was from Lichtenstein. Very nice people and they made for interesting conversation.
After a full day of activities, everyone was exhausted and went to bed getting ready for another day on the helicopter going further south to Queenstown.

Location:Cass, New Zealand

Return to Kiwi

A year later we are back in beautiful New Zealand! Our descent into Auckland, around 8am, was just as stunning as I remembered from last year with crystal clear blue-green water surrounded by rolling green hills.



We immediately took another flight to the South Island (which we did not visit last year) to a town called Nelson, the northern most city on the south island. We traveled on a small prop plane which flew us along the west coast of the north island. The view was also incredible.






After landing in Nelson, we drove through town with our guide, John, and learned that it was the second oldest city in New Zealand and the first place rugby was ever played in this country. It also hosts some very unique terrain. It is a large port city with beautiful beaches but is surrounded by mountains.



After our city tour, we drove a short ways the Waimea vineyard for lunch. The climate around Nelson is perfect for wine making- cool, lots of sunshine, and the perfect ratio of dry air and humidity. The vineyard is situated just inland of the ocean and its pristine beaches, in a valley between large green hills and snow-capped mountains. We had a delicious lunch with fantastic wine overlooking the vineyard and New Zealand's northern alps.







After lunch we headed to out first destination, Stonefly, a fly-fishing lodge situated on a hillside just above a river.



That evening we had dinner and crashed! It felt very good to sleep in a bed again.

The next morning we woke up had breakfast with the very sweet German Shepard, Sophie, and fed the ducks.






Mom just had babies



Then the helicopter came in to take us to some remote fishing spots



View from the helicopter



Our pilot was very talented and very nice. He told us all about the different sets he had choppered on, including transporting the cast of Lord of the Rings (specifically Peter Jackson and all the main characters) and the New Zealand version of Survivor.

This is where he dropped my mom and I off with our guide. My dad and my sister went to a different hole with their guide.



Unfortunately, it was not the ideal day for fishing. Although the sun was out, the wind was very strong, with gusts up to 30mph, which made it nearly impossible to cast. Although I had a few bites and even hooked 2, I did not succeed in landing one. However, my mom did catch one!








Still, it was a beautiful day with stunning scenery.






The next day was much better with perfect conditions. We went to a different spot that somehow was more beautiful than the day before.






The water was emerald green!


And I caught 2 fish! One was about 21" and 4lbs, the other was 24" and 6lbs, both brown trout. The bigger one was such a fighter! I had him on the line for close to 15 mins before he tuckered out. FYI, New Zealand is all catch and release, so every fish was thrown back.






Mom and I only fished for a half day, so we were able to fly back to the lodge, clean up and relax. Everyone was exhausted from traveling and fishing, having walked quite a bit across some tricky terrain for 8 hours the day before. It felt good to kick back and relax.

Picture from the flight back to the lodge



Tomorrow we will leave Stonefly and take a helicopter south to another lodge called Grasmere, which is closer to Christchurch. On the way we are supposed to stop on a glacier, weather permitting. I will update from there!


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Location:Nelson, New Zealand

Kiwi-land

Once my counts were coming up, my mom and I left AMA (I know as a former hospital employee i shouldn't do that, but c'mon, it was time) and met my Dad and sister in Auckland. Since we were a few days late my dad and sister had time to explore Auckland on their own. They went on an America's Cup boat around the harbor and saw a natural history museum and a national forest.












When we got there we stayed at a place called Mollies which is a charming boutique hotel that used to be a private home. My room was pretty awesome and had a view of the harbor, so at least I got to see a bit before we left the next morning for our first stop at Poronui Lodge for a few days of amazing fishing and outdoor activities.

Part of Auckland harbor, view from room




Auckland's space needle, downtown


I must also mention that flying into Auckland has been one of the most beautiful things I have seen in all my travels this year! We came across from Sydney, which was also a great view of the bridge, opera house, and harbor (missing my term abroad), into the west coast of Auckland and then we came around to the Pacific Ocean before we landed. During this time I saw the most green and lush country I've ever been exposed to... And, well, that's saying a lot! (though in fairness I haven't been to Ireland, yet) The water is also unlike anything, an incredible mixture of bright aqua and dazzling emerald, scattered between rolling green hills and black and white beaches. It was breathtaking and if there hadn't been crazy turbulence I would have some insane pictures to show you.

The next day we were to fly but the weather was pretty bad so instead we drove to Poronui, which is close to Napier. Honestly, I'm glad we ended up driving because we got to see a lot of the countryside which was absolutely stunning. Everyone says how the South Island is amazing, and I'm sure it is, but this was truly beautiful as well.

Poronui is a fishing and hunting lodge where you can also shoot clay, ride horses, and hike. They have a very large property and something special they do is take you in a helicopter to find the best spots!

The main grounds. I took these pictures on our first full day. The rest of my family went fishing but I still wasn't quite up to par, so I walked the grounds and slept.









I walked across this field to get to the stables. The grass was very fluid in the wind and looked like waves on water.


Charlie- He was a very beautiful thoroughbred who was extremely friendly and came right up to me and let me pet and hangout with him for about an hour. He's also 17 hands!












My dad had "The best trout fishing day of my life" and here is why, they don't make 'em like this in the States!
FYI, for you fish lovers, don't worry, it was catch and release... plus fish don't feel pain silly!


























Yeah... ridiculous! Needless to say he's an amazing fisherman and the rest of us did not get quite as many.




As our day came to an end we received devastating news and decided to end our trip early.



A beautiful sunset on the sunset of a beautiful life. In memory.

















As we had a few days before we were to head home, we completed the rest of our time at Poronui. I was able to fish in the morning of the next day.

Ready for take off















First cast :-)



And after a five minute fight the slippery sucker coughed it out! Grrr!

The water is SO clear here you are sight fishing and literally cast right to them! For you non-fishers, that RARELY happens. It was an amazing experience. Growing up fishing waters in Wyoming and Colorado had nothing on this place!

I caught this boy right as the chopper was landing to pick us up















Team Trout!




That afternoon Lisa and I went horseback riding. After bonding with Charlie the day before, I knew we were ready for the next step in our relationship.

A happy reunion



Having ridden a Western saddle since age 2, it was fun to try an Australian-English, albeit a little strange.



Lisa on Little Man



On the trail









Charlie was all I'd hoped he be. It was a lovely ride with beautiful scenery and a fun run at the end.

That evening we had dinner in their famous wine cellar





The next day we left Poronui and did a day helicopter tour around an active sulfuric volcanic island called White Island. On the way we stopped on the top of a small mountain















Views from chopper



Mount Doom from the Lord of the Rings in the background on the right.









Guess where I get my love of maps...


Geothermal springs






























White Island










































It all smelled just super!


















Anchor!





After the island, we choppered back to Rotorua. On the way back we saw dolphins and pilot whales in the water! In Rotorua we took a tour of the Maori, New Zealand natives, museum which was really amazing to learn about their incredible culture!

After we drove to our hotel for that evening and bit of the next day before our flight. We stayed at a place called Huka Lodge. This is one of the top hotels I have ever stayed in. The scenery on the grounds was magnificent and we had our own cottage on the riverbed.
























Amazing roses!





New Zealand could quite possibly be the most beautiful land I have ever been to... and I've only seen a quarter of it. We are all looking forward to coming back soon and continuing to marvel in the glory of this stunning and happy country!

Location:North Island, New Zealand