Much like the Hawaiian "Aloha", the words "Kia Oro" mean hello and goodbye in the Maori language. The cities and towns, rivers and beaches and mountains all have Maori names in New Zealand, and one of the things we have appreciated most about this country is the way that all Kiwi's honor their Maori heritage. Everywhere you go there are information plaques describing historical events and places, and Maori culture is an integral part of New Zealand's day to day life.

We are still struggling to enter pictures into our blog - never thought that would be our biggest frustration. The ipad and blogspot don't want to talk to each other. But if that is the biggest problem we encounter in six months, we'll be very happy!

As Pat wrote, we left Auckland for the Northland in our little Hyundai, seeing the area around the Waitangi Treaty House where the British and Maori achieved a peaceful settlement. The Maori warriors dance the Haka before battle - which you can still see when the New Zealand Rugby Team takes the field. We visited a Maori Village in Rotorua, where they still cook traditional "hangi" meals by steaming them in the earth which has geothermal geyser activity.

We made our way to the Wellington Ferry which takes you from the North to the South Island, a lovely trip through what is called New Zealand's norther fjord lands. We spent a few days in the Marlborough Wine Region, home to many wonderful Sauvignon Blancs. We sampled fresh New Zealand Havelock Mussels, wished our fine dining group was here! And we found a restaurant in Nelson with a name so unbelievable that we just had to dine there - "The Honest Lawyer", have you ever heard of anything so crazy? Sorry to Kim P, Rob L, Chris K, Jerry VK, and the rest of our attorney friends. We are attaching a picture .... they sold great T-shirts, but we couldn't afford them for you ...

That brings us to Christchurch, where we arrived at our hotel to find it is closed due to damage from the earthquake a few weeks ago, so we were scrambling for digs at 8 pm. We found a great place, got up early and caught the bus to Dunedin, formerly "New Edinburgh", a city of Scottish heritage in the buildings and people. My dad (a proud Sinclair) would have loved it here. Took a tour of the coastal peninsula to see nesting yellow eyed penguins, blue penguins, and Royal Albatross as well as furry seals and sea lions. A beautiful day!

We are off to Te Anau for our four day Milford Sound trek tomorrow ...