This Could Be the Most Amazing Roadtrip...

Barrantes Tour & Travel, in conjunction with the local Kiwi branch of BT&T under the direction of VJ Reddy, has put together its most comprehensive tour to date.  We've gone international, and we've gone big.  The Sweet as...A Summer Kiwi Roadtrip...in January has the potential to be one pretty kick-ass adventure.  This tour includes...

• 8 Americans (5 shipped in from America)
• 2 Kiwis (one shipped in from America)
• 3 domestic flights and 6 international flights  to get everyone to the starting point
• 2 cars
• 2 islands
• 2 ferry trips
• 8 backpackers, 6 holiday parks, 4 friends' houses, 2 hotels, and 3 bed & breakfasts
• 4300 kms

I'm so excited.  I can't even stand it.  We're going going to see a huge chunk of this beautiful country AND it's summer AND my US friends Mijin, Katie, Jim, and Mei-Yen and Elena's college friend Lorena are coming along!  There's a map of our journey, and here's a quick summary in case you're interested.

Part I: Vanessa, Graham, Laura, Todd, Elena & Lorena

Pre-December 25th: Everyone gets themselves to Auckand on all different days - Vanessa and Graham drive, Elena flies from Christchurch, Lorena flies from the US, and Todd and I fly from Dunedin - and meet up for Christmas Day at friends of Vanessa's, Nicky & Merv's house for Christmas on the beach.

Dec 26th: Black Caps (NZ Cricket team) game in Auckland and then drive north to Whangarei.

Dec 27-29th: Drive north to Kerikeri and from here explore the Bay of Islands, go to the tippy top of New Zealand - Cape Reinga, and generally lounge around on sunny beaches.

Dec 30th: Drive south to Orewa.  Hang out on sunny beaches. Mijin, Katie and Jim fly in from the US.

Part II: Vanessa, Graham, Laura, Todd, Elena, Lorena, Mijin, Katie, Jim, and Mei-Yen

Dec 31st: Drive to Auckland and meet up with Mijin, Katie & Jim and celebrate New Year's Eve!

Jan 1st: Drive south to Rotorua via Matamata where we'll be taking a tour of Hobbiton (ok where they filmed Hobbiton).  In Rotorua, we'll be enjoying thermal pools, Zorbing, and learning about the Maori. 

Jan 2nd: Drive south to Taupo, stay with Vanessa's cousin Christine, and hang out at Lake Taupo.  Elena and Lorena head back to Auckland to fly back to Dunedin and the US.

Jan 3rd: Drive west to New Plymouth, hang out at the beaches while staring at Mt. Taranaki, and go to the Festival of Lights after dark.

Jan 4-5th: Drive south to Wellington where we'll meet up with Mei-Yen! Spend a couple days exploring Wellington.  I'm particularly excited to visit Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand, and to take a tour of Parliament because friends said it was a pretty cool tour and building.

Jan 6th: Get on the Interislander and take the ferry from the North Island to the South Island.  From Picton, where the Interislander docks, drive west to Nelson, hang out with Vanessa's brother Matt, and walk to the Center of New Zealand.

Jan 7th: Drive northwest and drop off Vanessa and Graham at the southern end of Abel Tasman National Park.  The rest of us will continue driving north to Golden Bay and spend the day on sunny beaches.  Do you see a pattern?  Mei-Yen heads back to Wellington.

Jan 8th: We'll walk into Abel Tasman from the northern end of the park to meet up with Vanessa and Graham on their way out. Then we'll drive southwest to Punakaiki.

Jan 9th: Drive south along the west coast to Franz Josef glacier.

Jan 10th: Drive southeast to Queenstown.

Jan 11th: Vanessa and Graham and friends are biking back to Dunedin from Queenstown.  The rest of us will be driving back to Dunedin, staying our Vanessa's House of Fun, and exploring Dunedin.

Jan 13th: Katie, Jim, and Mijin head for home, and the bikers arrive back in Dunedin.  At that point, I'm guessing we'll all have a nap and do laundry and recover from one pretty fun trip.

I'll try to blog from the road, but if I can't I'll be back in mid-January with lots of pictures and trip stories.

In the meantime, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!