family vacation!

as many of you know, my family recently ventured to the other side of the world (the antipodes as my mom was fond of saying) for an adventure-vacation in australia and new zealand. this was our first family vacation in about 10 years and we had a blast! you can go here to check out the pictures, which pretty much tell the story.

here's the breakdown of the trip...
day 1: arrived in sydney, australia after 18 hours of flying. i was glad to get off that plane! apparently sunlight helps stave off jet lag so my family kept me in the sun while we strolled through the botanic gardens in the center of sydney. later that day we took a tour of the sydney opera house and then watched a performance of the christmastime favorite, the nutcracker.
day 2: while mom and brother andrew enjoyed a ferry ride around sydney harbor, my dad and i did some more walking to get some good photos of the opera house and harbor bridge. then we met my mom and brother at the taronga zoo on the other side of the harbor. we mostly stuck to the australian animal exhibit so we saw the kangaroos, emu, koalas, wombats, and other native beasts. we had a delicious lunch with a great view of the sydney harbor. that evening we made our way over to bondi beach which is a popular surfing destination and enjoyed some tasty fare overlooking the ocean.
day 3: we flew from sydney to christchurch, new zealand. did you know that new zealand has a north and a south island? well christchurch is the largest city on the south island, with a population of approximately 400,000. it's a quaint town with lots of pretty english-style gardens. unfortunately, our dinner that night took about 3 hours to hit the table so if you visit christchurch, plan to eat somewhere other than pescatore in the george hotel.
day 4: we picked up the tranz scenic train in christchurch for the cross-country trip to greymouth. the train ride was bumpy but the scenery was amazing. we went through 19 tunnels! they even had an observation car that was completely open on top and sides for optimal viewing. we had a nice lunch in greymouth, hopped in our rental suv and started the drive to fox glacier. we had this cool gps-tour-guide system hooked up in our car. it was connected to a satellite so it always knew our coordinates on the map and would give us narration that fit according to where we were or the town we were passing through. this was so cool! there were several times where our guide, jonathan, drew our attention to various aspects of the landscape or background of the area that we otherwise would not have known! plus we learned some neat maori legends.
day 5: in the morning we hiked to see fox glacier. in the afternoon we hiked around lake matheson, which (on a clear day) has great reflections of the mountains behind. unfortunately it was a little cloudy so we had some great reflections of the clouds.
day 6: after breakfast looking out on mount cook (nz's highest peak) we made our way towards queenstown. we heard all about the adrenaline-pumping activites to be enjoyed in queenstown, though i made a mental note take the leisure route instead.
day 7: first day in queenstown. while mom and andrew braved a jet boat ride on the dart river, dad and i experienced some native nz wildlife at a bird sanctuary. in the afternoon we went mini-golfing at one of the coolest mini-golf places i've ever seen. a free lollipop appears when you get the ball in the hole on #18!! that night we dined at saffron, which is apparently on the list of top restaurants in all of new zealand!
day 8--christmas: my dad and i visited an anglican church in the center of town which was full of visitors. the service was nice and i enjoyed hearing the carols sung with a new zealand accent. my mom and brother were out on a 4-wheel drive tour of the scenes from the "lord of the rings" movies. we met up for lunch where we HAD to go to an asian restaurant. we HAD to because it's christmas tradition and because...those were the only restaurants open!!
day 9: we flew to wellington, the capital of new zealand (located on the southern portion of the north island) we didnt have too much time but we visited te papa, which is a cultural and historical museum about new zealand. it was really neat! then we made our way around a windy mountain road to the wharekauhau country estate.
day 10: we had a farm tour in the morning and then relaxing in the afternoon. a nice massage topped things off! also we got to eat dinner with the other guests and it was fun to exchange various travel stories.
day 11: time to leave wharekauhau and drive through wine country to napier. it was rainy most of the day and was still raining when we arrived. they (and i dont know who they is in this case) say that napier is the art deco capital of the world but given that it's a pretty small town, it's probably more likely the art deco capital of new zealand. the whole town was rebuilt after an earthquake destroyed everything in the 1920s.
day 12: on to rotorua. we had a mid-day stop in taupo, the home of lake taupo, new zealand's biggest lake. that evening we walked around lake rotorua and observed the behavior of some BLACK swans
day 13: full day geo-culture tour since rotorua is home to many native maori people and also a lot of geothermal activity. we saw so much--boiling mud, active geysers, steaming lakes, maori carving... it was a jam-packed day!
day 14: before driving to auckland we stopped at the tourist favorite, the agrodome! we saw an "authentic" sheep show with the parade of sheep and even some on-stage shearing. it was a lot of fun and we even got to take pictures with the sheep. do you know there are at least 19 different breeds of sheep??? amazing. then in order to quench my brother's taste for more adrenaline-pumping-activities, he braved the zorb. for those who don't know, it's a giant rubber sphere and you roll around in the sphere going down a hill. it was fun to watch and he said it was fun to do! after that we hit the road. we stopped in hamilton which is the largest inland city in all of new zealand. our in-car tour guide had told us this region was notable for its dairy and beef farming so we tried the milkshakes and hamburgers. important to sample the local product! we arrived in auckland and walked around the city. then we enjoyed a lovely new year's eve dinner on the harbor. after a rousing game of family scrabble, we stepped outside our hotel and watched the fireworks from the skytower. happy 2008!! (by 12:30am we were sleeping!)
day 15: the end of new zealand...we hopped onto a plane to cross the cook strait and spend one more day in sydney. we had a nice dinner, reflected on the trip, and prepared for our long journey back to the states.
day 16: our flight departed sydney around 1pm on january 2nd and we arrived in los angeles at 8am...january 2nd!! crazy!

if you've made it this far, i'm sure you can see why this trip was so great! i would highly recommend a visit to new zealand, especially if you like beautiful scenery, unspoiled nature, and adventure activities. there's even a few things to keep you busy if you prefer to take the leisurely route =)