Capturing the Moment

Bo and Holland   One of the wonderful things about living in Oahu, Hawaii is that so many friends and family stop here on their travels. So from time to time I get surprise calls from long lost classmates, friends of friends, or in this case my cousins! I was pretty surprised to hear that my cousins Josh and David where here with their families and my Aunt Linda and Uncle Bruce. I don't get to see them very often since I have been working and living around the world so I jumped at the opportunity to catch up. Josh and I figured out that it had been 15 years since the last time we saw each other! So crazy how time flies. And after a wonderful Hawaiian style dinner at the Side Street Inn, and a wild bit of surfing at Waikiki Beach, we did a little flying of our own...in a helicopter! Erica and David Diamond Head   For many of them this was their first time up in a helicopter. Everyone did great. I've seen Maui and Molokai from a 'copter before but never Oahu. ...

   Fjordland National Park is the biggest national park in New Zealand. It covers the southwest corner of the south island and has ice carved fjords, massive sea cliffs, lakes and valleys, and towering waterfalls. Multi-day hikes abound and since you can fill your canteen with water straight from one of the thousands of waterfalls your pack won't even be that heavy. Although it might be wet, everything is saturated here with the incessant rain. Looking back from the mouth   Of course as we neared the town of Te Anau, the gateway in Fjordland National Park, the rain started and didn't stop all day. Luckily the rain does not stop things here in the Fjordlands. In fact it just brings more waterfalls. Some of which dry up shortly after the rain stops. Our final destination was Milford Sound, the end of the road. From here boats leave a tiny harbor and spend a couple hours motoring around the fjord and out to the opening to the Tasman Sea. Fur Seals are often seen fr...

After winding our way inland through the Haast pass we arrived at the cozy town of Wanaka. Located right on the shore of beautiful Wanaka Lake and surrounded by Middle Earth time scenery, it is easy to see why people always end up spending more time here than they expected. I have very fond memories of Wanaka from my previous travels through New Zealand and was very excited about coming back. Cinema Paradiso Inside the Theater After checking in at our very nice backpacker hostel our first stop was right across the street and the Cinema Paradiso. This mom and pop run cinema is a must do for any New Zealand traveler. The have one small theater filled with an eclectic mix of couches, loveseats, lazy-boys, and even a convertible classic car for seats. And it gets better. Halfway through every movie the screen goes black for intermission and the smell of freshly baked cookies wafts under the door. Everyone streams out to the concession to pick up their cookies and a beer or glass ...