Obligatory Trip Agenda

Focus now gone, out the window, haven’t seen it for a few days.  And now we have our trip pretty much set…

So what exactly are we going to be doing on this trip?

December 30th:  Fly LAX – Papeete, Tahiti overnight and arrive early on the 31st.

December 31st:  Arrive in Tahiti, beach, snorkel, NYE

January 1st: Tahiti, beach, snorkel, boat

January 2nd:  Tahiti, beach, snorkel, boat

January 3rd:  Leave Tahiti early morning for flight to Auckland, cross International dateline so skip a day

January 4th:  Arrive in Auckland at 1pm, pick up rental car, lunch in Auckland before heading south to Waikato (2.5 hrs drive)

January 5th:  Three hour tubing adventure through the Waitomo Glowworm Caves.  Drive to Tongariro and camp

January 6th:  Shuttle to Tongariro Alpine Crossing trailhead, day hike through the alpine crossing (12 miles), drive to Wellington (3.5 hrs drive), drop off rental car, wine and dine in Wellington (check out night life and breweries)

January 7th:  Take the Intercontinental ferry from Wellington in the North Island to Picton in the South Island (3 hr cruise), pick up rental car in Picton, drive to Blenheim (30 min drive), either bike or drive wine trail to try the local wineries (world renowned for sauvignon blanc and pinot noir)

January 8th:  Drive to Abel Tasman (2.5 hrs), pick up our tandem kayak, kayak to Anchorage to reserved campsite, beach, play

January 9th:  Kayak from Anchorage to Tonga Quarry, reserved campsite, beach, play

January 10th:  Drop of kayaks at Onetahiti, hike along Abel Tasman track to Awaroa, water ferry back to start, drive south, probably overnight in Greymouth (location of pancake rocks) (4 hrs drive)

January 11th:  Drive to Franz Josef (2.5hrs drive), hike on Franz Josef glacier (2 hrs roundtrip), drive to Makrora Center near Haast (2.5 hrs drive)

January 12th:  Start on backpacking trip of Gillespie Pass Circuit, hike to Young Hut (12 miles), stay in Young Hut

January 13th:  Hike Gillespie Pass from Young Hut to Siberia Hut with detour to see Crucible Lake (12 miles)

January 14th:  Hike Siberia Hut to Makarora (16 miles), drive to Queenstown (2 hrs)

January 15th:  Either tour bus or drive to Milford Sound with nature cruise around Milford Sound, back to Queenstown, drop off rental car

January 16th:  Day in Queenstown, sightseeing, cable car, shotover boat, fly back to Auckland at night, meet Amy and Colin

January 17th – January 22nd:  Spend time with Amy, definitely undecided but potential day trips to Rotorua for Hangi experience, ferry to Waiheke, drive to Hawke’s Bay for winery tour by bike, cooking class with Amy in Auckland, beaches around Auckland, sailing, etc

January 22nd:  Leave New Zealand at 4:25pm, fly to Tahiti, fly to LAX, fly to SEA, at some point it is January 21st again, arrive home in Seattle at 4pm on the 22nd

Hopefully then want to do it all over again!

Chelsea