Glacier Heli-Hike

We were very excited about our heli-hike as we tried to do one last year, but it was cancelled because of thick fog. With clear skies and not a cloud in sight, we were pretty sure we were going to fly today.

Our group of 11 outfitted in jackets and warm gear before splitting up for the helicopter ride. Jeremy and I were picked to ride up first with a family of 3. We eagerly jumped into the helicopter with our guide, Julia, popped on our headsets and held on tight. The flight was about 10 minutes long and our pilot gave us some good views of the glacier before popping us down to the ice.

Once we landed, we were given axes and crampons for our boots, which made it much easier to walk around. Once the second group arrived, we set off on our two hour hike. Julia worked with a bigger axe to chop away a clear path in the ice (we were the first trip of the day). She tested spots to make sure we were safe and cut away steps when we had to climb up and over larger pieces of ice. We ventured through ice tunnels, into caves and even had to slide through tiny holes to make it back to the helipad for our pickup.

To give you an idea of the size of the glacier, the ice above the black spot behind us is more than 50 meters thick. We were like tiny little ants out there:

The glacier is constantly moving and while we were there we heard a very loud ice slip. Huge chunks of ice (bigger than cars) just fell straight down. It's very dangerous there. The day after we left, two guys were crushed to death by falling ice. Our flight back was just as amazing as the trip there. As we said goodbye to the glacier, we thought about how lucky we were to have experienced something so awesome.

We relaxed over lunch and browsed some shops before meeting up with Tim and Jackie. They did a full day hike and were finished in the late afternoon. Our next stop, Queenstown was about a 5 hour drive from there, so we wanted to get on the road as fast as possible. We certainly were keeping to our schedule until this farmer and his sheep got in our way. It didn't take them long to get out of the way, but we've never seen a sight like this - even in NZ!

Quad Biking

Just outside of Westport was a seal colony we visited on our way out of town. We couldn't get too close to the seals but there were lots of little babies that were really cute. There were also some spectacular views from the ocean cliffs. We also spotted a World Traveler's sign that told us we were 12, 749 km (7,922 miles) from New York City! Too bad they don't show how far away Boston is, but I guess we could do the math if we really needed to.

We decided to stop an show Tim and Jackie Pancake Rocks which we had visited on our trip south last year. They were just as amazing as they were on our first trip: Day 8 Last Year


By the time we finished our walk through the Pancake Rocks, we were getting pretty hungy for lunch. We decided to continue on our way and hoped to find something to eat relatively soon. We were very excited when we saw a sign for a cafe, but not only that, they advertised 4x4 adventures. We knew then that our next stop was going to be a long one.

After enjoying a lunch of french fries, corn dogs, and fish sticks (they didn't really sell anything else) we hopped on some wheels for a one hour adventure through the Hokitika countryside. The trip was great. Tim got in trouble only a few times for breaking the rules, and I only crashed once, in a creek (I claim that was my only opportunity to try riding in "Reverse", but I'm not sure anyone believed me.) We travelled through the woods, up and down steep hills, and even through a deep river.

Our day ended in Franz Josef Glacier. Tim was really excited to try a restaurant Jeremy and I had eaten at the year before. We couldn't remember if we liked it or not and it looked fun from the outside, so we decided to try it again. Bad decision. The food was pretty average. The guys wanted to try the Mixed Grill special. What arrived wasn't so yummy: Venison Sausage (the best meat was made into a sausage - we should have known better!), Goat Chop and Rabbit (very dry). The best part of the meal was the enormous garlic bread we had as an appetizer. If only we had stuck to that!

Wine O'Clock

We enjoyed a bit of a sleep in and reorganized/repacked all of our gear before heading out of Havelock. We grabbed a bite to eat for brunch in Picton, another town along the Marlborough Sounds.

Our journey continued to Marlborough, which is a wine making region of New Zealand. We stopped for tastings at five vineyards – Whither Hills, Villa Maria, Highfield Estate, Isabel Estate and Te Whare Ra. Our favorites were definitely the Sauvignon Blancs and the Pinot Noirs. We purchased a couple bottles of “Sav” to share during the remainder of our trip.
Our next destination was about 3 hours away so we got back on the road towards Westport. Along the way we spotted a sign for the longest swing bridge in New Zealand. I’m certainly not a fan of swing bridges, but when we saw another sign for a flying fox ride back we decided to take in a little adventure. A flying fox is essentially a harness ride across a cable. It was lots of fun but we were attacked by mosquitoes (it was becoming a regular occurrence) which wasn’t so enjoyable. Once we arrived in Westport we checked into our motel and drove to a restaurant that the motel owned recommended. The restaurant was called Porto Bella and the meal was certainly the best that any of us had enjoyed at that point.

Stay tuned – coming up soon is our adventures at Franz Josef Glacier!

Green Lipped Mussels

As soon as our kayaks were unloaded we left Marahau en route to Motueka, where we had spent our first night. This part was a bit of a back-track as our next destination was in the Marlborough Sounds, towards the east (we were currently in the west.) We stopped by a craft fair in Motueka to browse for souvenirs. Jackie and Tim were lucky enough to find a beautiful platter, while Jeremy and I left empty-handed.

The rest of our drive was rather uneventful. The road took us along the beautiful coast and then through the mountains, right into our next stop, Havelock.

Havelock is a very small town, but is known as the Green Shelled Mussel Capitol of the World. Perhaps this is why I chose a motel in this town? Once we had checked into our room, the boys explored town and picked up some beer and wine, while the girls got showered and ready for dinner.

When everyone was sparkling clean (showers after three days of no showers can be pretty long) we walked to Slip Inn, a restaurant on the water to try some mussels. We found the food delicious, but the service was sub-par, so we decided to try another restaurant for round two. On the way to our second stop, Jeremy noticed a bus with Bedford written on the front parked in a trailer park. The owner was very friendly and invited us inside to see his home. It was amazing to see how much stuff they fit into such a unique space. Outfitted with a new flat screen TV, I think Jeremy would have stayed for much longer but our stomachs were rumbling so it was time to press on. The Mussel Pot was certainly the better option of restaurants. In the relaxed atmosphere, we enjoyed mussels in garlic butter, in blue cheese sauce, in sweet chili sauces, and even baked with cheese and bacon bits. By the end of stop #2 we were stuffed, the mozzies were biting and it was time to head home. Jeremy, Tim and I stayed up chatting for a couple of hours, while Jackie (who won the I Can Sleep ANYWHERE award on the trip) curled up in a little ball and caught some zzz’s.

Abel Tasman Kayaking

I've just arrived home from a work BBQ and it's 10:51pm. Erin is asleep next to me here and she hasn't done anything with the blog tonight except for pick some new colours. So, here I am blogging by myself, no thanks to my wonderful wife. OK enough of that, back to our trip...

After arriving in Nelson (north part of the south island), we drove to Motueka where we would be staying the night before our 3 day/2 night kayak tour. The four of us were staying at a Top 10 Holiday park in one of the smallest units I've ever seen. (sorry no pictures) The day we arrived entailed preparation for our trip and a good nights sleep.

We woke up early and headed to the Ocean River kayak's to get our 2-3 hour safety briefing which started at 8:30am before heading onto the water. One thing we forgot was that we were on KIWI time, which is sloooowwwww. After a lengthy briefing and a lot of standing around in the sun, we were in the water and kayaking at 1:30pm. After eating some lunch we were in our kayaks and the sky's turned on us and the heaven's opened up with plenty of wind and rain. Luckily after a couple hours of paddling and raining, we arrived at Mosquito Bay which was our first camp site (maximum capacity 40 people). It was a very secluded bay and we were able to set our tents us right next to the beach.

The rain stopped eventually and we cooked up some beef schnitzel and peppers for dinner. This was New Years eve and we celebrated it with beers and rain of course (needless to say we were in bed by 12:15am).

The next day was beautiful and we started the morning early with some beers and pastrami sandwiches. Why not breakfast food you ask? Our ice was melting quickly and we figured our meat may not last too long, so the quicker we ate it, the better. We relaxed at the bay, went for a swim and talked with some of the other campers. Tim and Jeremy went for a little hike to see some Waterfalls that one of the campers was raving about, but it wasn't as spectacular as we had hoped.

We then hopped in our kayak's and set off for another couple hours of paddling stopping in a bay along the way, we made it to Te Pukatea Bay which was absolutely stunning. This campsite only had a maximum capacity of 28, so a little smaller than the first night. We relaxed on the beach, played Frisbee, and drank some beers. After going for an hour and 1/2 hike, we decided to cook up our dinner which was dry food which were great after we added some boiling water and let sit for 6-8 minutes. Around 8pm, on the 2nd night we had run through 39 beers, a box win (bladder of wine as Erin called it), and 2 small bottles of bubbles. It may sound like a lot, but what else are you supposed to do when you're hanging out at the beach and kayaking.

On the 3rd and final day I had the bright idea of watching the sun rise, so I asked anyone who was up at that time to wake me up. Around 4:30am I felt a tapping on my shoulder and Erin was telling me to go take some pictures. So up I went to the beach to take some nice shots. After waiting on the beach for 2 and 1/3 hours the sun has rose and I hadn't gotten many good pictures, oh well. We kayaked for a couple of hours, then stopped at a beach where we had lunch and then took our time getting back to the base camp to return our gear.

It was an awesome trip and we had a blast!

Visit to the South Island

Tim and Jackie arrived from LA bright and early on the 30th which marked the start of our South Island adventure. We whisked them back to our apartment for showers before running to some local shops to gather last minute supplies for our trip. By mid-day the four of us were fully packed and on a flight to Nelson, excited about what the next 11 days would hold for us. We had a great time and are sad that the time has come that we must return to work. (Tim and Jackie are lucky to have another week in Australia before heading back to Boston!)

Some of the highlights from our trip included:
- Surviving 3 days kayaking and camping through Abel Tasman National Park
- Eating more than our share of green lipped mussels
- Wine tasting in Marlborough
- 4 wheeling through a river
- Riding a helicopter over and hiking on a glacier
- Bungy jumping off a bridge
- Paragliding off a mountain
- Swimming at a hot water beach

Stay tuned for more details of our fun times with Tim and Jackie!

Time in Boston

It's been a while since we have posted a blog, and for all of our avid followers we are sorry that we haven't posted sooner. The past 10 days have been extremely busy as we travelled back home to Boston. We were very busy during our time at home, but I'll provide a brief summary below. Sorry if I left out certain things as if I put everything down, this entry would be extremely long:

-Arrived home late at night and were greeted by M&D Ciaccia at the airport.
-Got our first glimpse of our nephew John Jacob who was born in January as well as our new niece Mirabella who was just born in November. We also spent a lot of time with Avery and saw Will for the first time in a year.

-Spent some time at PwC Boston speaking with colleagues about my return in May while Erin and her Mom got a massage. At night, we hung out with friends and had some drinks while the snow continued to come down hard. We hung out at JC's place which was great and got a Birthday cake for Erin and 1/2 Birthday cake for me (Thanks Tim/Jackie)
-We also got our teeth cleaned (we don't like the dentist)
-Attended Mirabella's baptism where Erin had the honor of being her Godmother. We continued to battle the snow and partied to celebrate her baptism

-Spent a couple days up in Old Orchard Beach with Erin's Mom, grandmother, sister Julia (boyfriend Mike), and dog Bosley. While there, we did some shopping, lots of eating, and more.
-Hung out in LAX with Erin's Dad and Grandmother who flew down from Northern California to visit with us during our layover.

We wanted to express a special thanks to M&D Ciaccia who allowed us to use their car the whole time we were home, gave us a place to stay, and picked us up and dropped us off at the airport. Also to Erin's Mom (Peggy) who took us in for 2 nights as well.

We're off to travel the south island for the next 10 days with Tim and Jackie who are flying in tomorrow from the US. Stay tuned for updates from those travels as I'm sure we will have some great stories about the adventures that we encounter.

Kiwi 12 Days of Christmas

I realise that here in NZ there are only 8 days until Christmas, but figured that people around the world would like to see the words for the Kiwi 12 Days of Christmas. If you know what all of those things are then you are a TRUE KIWI.

On the twelfth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Twelve piupius swinging
Eleven haka lessons
Ten juicy fish heads
Nine sacks of pipis
Eight plants of puha
Seven eels a swimming
Six pois a twirling
Five - big - fat - pigs !
Four huhu grubs
Three flax kits
Two kumera
And a pukeko in a ponga tree.

Rangitoto

After 2 previous attempts to do our kayak trip to Rangitoto, we were finally blessed with a sun filled sky and very little wind. Rangitoto is an island in Auckland Harbour which was formed 600 years ago through volcanic eruption. Our trip started at 10am in the morning with a safety briefing about the double kayaks that we were able to cross the 5km harbour in. Stephen and Deon (from the US) joined us for the trip as well as about 8 other people and 3 guides. The trip over was about an hour of kayaking, then an hour hike to the top of the island (then 45 mins down), and a little over 1 hour kayaking back. The sun was shinning the whole time which was great.

Yes I'm very sweaty

Click on it to make it bigger and you can see the cityWe practiced our kayaking skills for the 3 days/2 night trip that we will do when Jackie and Tim visit us the end of this month down in Abel Tasman (north part of the south island).

After the kayaking, the 4 of us stopped in Mission Bay and had some fish and chips!

On Sunday, Erin and I did a lot of shopping for Christmas presents. We felt as though we had been doing a lot of shopping over the past weeks, but we spent about 3-4 hours out and about getting stuff today.

Only a few days left until we head back to the cold/snowy Northeast.

Promotion

We have received some good news from Erin's work. She's worked very hard in her new role in establishing the Hudson Career Center here in New Zealand and has been rewarded with a much deserved promotion to Consultant. I spoke with her boss at her work party on Friday and she commented how well deserved this promotion was.


Great job Erin!!!


As a nice husband (I need a little credit) I bought her a very nice arrangement of flowers in celebration. As you can see a wonderfully crafted home-made congratulations card went along with the arrangement.

Kylie Minogue

Last week when one of the partners offered me 4 tickets to see Kylie Minogue at Vector Arena here in Auckland, I wasn't sure how I would like the concert even if I would like it at all. Leading up to today, every person I tell that I'm going to the concert tonight has been very excited and said how she will put on a great show, and the costumes will be spectacular.

Tonight, Erin and I along with one of my clients and his wife headed to the concert and it was GREAT! Our seats were very good and had a nice view of the stage and the performance. There was a lot of dancing, very cool costumes, and of course many different songs that I know. We bought one of her CD's on iTunes yesterday to ensure that we would know here songs and there are a lot from a while back and even more recent ones that are very popular and you would know the songs.

Overall a very fun night.

Spraying confetti over the crowd

James and his wife Caroline

Us enjoying the concert

Party, Soccer, American Footbal, and SUN

We've had a very busy weekend here and we have been very blessed with wonderful sunny days.

On Friday, Erin's Christmas Party (We don't call them Holiday parties here, because people think that we are going on "vacation" or a holiday and wonder where we are going) for Hudson took place at a restaurant called Toto. The whole downstairs was rented out where we had food, drink, and a live band. It was a lot of fun and we did a little bit of dancing on the floor as well.

On Saturday, we walked around the city and did some Christmas shopping. At night, we met up with one of my clients and his wife (James & Caroline) and headed to Mt. Smart Stadium where the LA Galaxy played the Oceania All-Stars. There's been a lot of hype with David Beckham being in town and it was good to see him play. On Friday he did the jump off of the SKY Tower which if you remember I did about a year ago. Here are a few photos from the game:




On Sunday, I ended up playing some American Football with a bunch of people from work. There were about 10 of us that played (3 people from the US), and it was a lot of fun. We then had a BBQ and ate Burgers, Hog Dogs, Sausages, and drank Budweiser!

Not much time left here before we head back to the US for some Christmas celebrations.

Another new picture

We decided to print one of Jeremy's amazing photos onto a large canvas as a way to remember our time here in New Zealand. The photo we chose was from our trip to Queenstown this past July. The print arrived today and we are very pleased with the outcome! It doesn't look very good in the photo, but we wanted to share it anyways - in real life it looks great - you'll just have to visit us in Boston to find out!

Don Quixote

Tonight we joined our Culture Vulture friends for a night out. We started the evening with a delicious dinner at Tanuki's, a Japanese restaurant in town. Some of the group shared a massive 2 litre beer. We then feasted on some ice cream before heading to the theatre to see Don Quixote, the ballet. We had a little mishap during intermission - Jeremy stepped outside for some fresh air and got locked out. The ushers couldn't even figure out how to open the door to let him him. Fortunately, he made it back for the rest of the show (after walking around the whole building). The guys in our group weren't sure how much they were going to enjoy a ballet, but we all thought the performance was outstanding and would highly recommend it!

We also learned a new word/phrase today. The word is bags. It's used when someone wants to call something such as the last cookie, or a special seat in a living room. Someone would say "Bags it" or "Bagsy". Not sure if we'll start saying it, but time will tell. In the definition on Wikipedia it says that it's commonly used in the US but not from what I've heard.