NEW ZEALAND ADVENTURES

 05/04/24 So Here is Where it Gets Interesting... Arthur's Pass Since I arrived in New Zealand, I have been told "you need to go to Arthur's Pass, that's where the kea are"! As this was going to be my last shot at seeing a kea in the wild, I really wanted to make it happen. Plus, that would mean mom could see the world's only alpine parrot with me! How special is that? Needless to say, it was a bit of a whirlwind. Still, we saw the beautiful parrot!  Here is the story:  I was so so so so so so so so so so so excited for this day! Out of all of the things I had planned for my mom's visit, this was definitely the most ambitious. I rented a car, planned for us to hike one of the most beautiful falls in New Zealand and I reloaded my Christchurch bus card for us. The plan was pretty solid, but we ended up not actually porting until an hour past our original port time. This was a minor delay as we were only going to stay at Arthur's Pass Village for a couple

01/04/24 Welcome To The Norwegian Spirit! Auckland I was blissfully unprepared for the luxury of cruising. When my mom suggested we would go on a cruise together, I wasn't sure how I felt about a potential Titanic iceberg situation. BUT, we did survive the whole thing!  I landed in Auckland a day before my mom arrived so I could meet her at the airport. Her flight landed early in the morning, so I picked up a couple quiches and an almond croissant for a nice breakfast! Once she arrived, we were able to catch up a bit and head to the cruise port. The boat itself was ginormous. I was not expecting it to hold as many people as it did. We dropped off our luggage and the proceeded to use our little time in Auckland. I haven't spent much time in New Zealand's largest city, so it was neat to explore the cute Saturday market and Auckland Art Gallery! The gallery even had a Picasso! When we finally made it to the ship, we were able to grab some yummy food at the Garden Cafe and expl