It started out as a challenge, but turned into a serious pursuit. Lord of the Rings, the Two Towers movie was just coming out ...how could we pass up on this opportunity? We didn't actually see any of the locations where the movies were filmed in New Zealand; instead, we purchased all three books in the trilogy and spend countless hours reading to each other out loud while driving through the country sides. 

Totally spoiled. Plums, a good book and a great boyfriend who even bought me flowers just because.  

We landed in Christchurch. From there, the road took us south, along the east coast. Lots of sheep and beautiful rolling hills. 

Hey, it has been a long trip and chocolate sounded really good. The city of Dunadin boasts one of the Cadbury chocolate factories...we left loaded and bloated, but Lenka's mood was so ... ecstatic... the rest of the day.... 

The city of Dole (15 minutes west of the city of Clinton, kid you not) prides itself of its sheep industry. The center of the town is adorned with this big...sheep.  

An oddity of sorts - New Zealand actually has farms with deer. Sometimes you can see the deer and sheep intermixed within the enclosure. It certainly struck us as a peculiar sight. 

Our primary goal of the trip was a four day hike on the Kepler Trek in the South West fiords. This absolutely exhausting (for us), breathtaking (literally) hike deserves its own page. A must if you are in New Zealand. 

Geoff got a buzz in Argentina, Lenka got a style in New Zealand. As always, the beauty salon is the best place to catch-up on the local gossip. Psst...did you know that the other day Harry, the local sheep farmer, couldn't find one of his sheep?!? 

Life's too short to not jump on a trampoline! 

New Zealand's Franz Josef Glacier 

The sea between the South and North islands is famous for its amazing water color. It is also a home to the New Zealand muscle. 

What happens to sheep after they go to heaven... By total chance we drove by a local tannery on the SW North island. The local guy was kind enough to give us an impromptu tour. Did you know that before a sheep's hide is the nice fluffy rug that we all know and love, the skin is handled 23 times by a human to go through the tanning process? 

If you are ever in the NW North island, don't miss the glow worm caves. And by all means, take the cave tour that includes floating through in total darkness on inner tubes.

At 9am in the morning, this was our last stop before heading off the Auckland for an afternoon plane flight to Fiji. A bit of a rush, but definitely worth it.