Having arrived in Christchurch a couple of days early (to get used to the time change and bikes), we wandered around on our own to get a feel for the place. After all the folks on the tour arrived, we set off across the Canterbury plains to Twizel. After a while, Mount Cook (the highest mountain in New Zealand) became visable - that's it in the distance. After many great sights and wonderful riding, we met up with our luggage at the hotel and settled down to the first of many great feasts (all trips should be done this way).

To begin the second day, we immediately got lost for a while after we detoured to see the 'Clay Cliffs' (10km - according to the sign). An hour and a half and 25km of gravel tracks later, we gave up and headed south for Dunedin, where we were lucky enough to see the Royal Albatross return from feeding at sea and watched them soar around the headlands.

On our way to Milford Sound, we stopped just before Homer Tunnel (a one kilometer, unlit, wet, one lane tunnel through the mountain - we waited for a tour bus and followed it through!) Although it had been a very dry year, there were still some impressive waterfalls, as you can see in the background. The southwestern coast of the island is full of fjords and rain forests - awe inspiring!!

This is some of the group on the tour. Four other group members and the two guides are not in the picture. It was taken on the deck of the restaurant at the top of the tram above Queenstown. The area is known as a mecca for outdoor adventure attractions, from para- sailing to riding a rocket.

Our day began by running off the side of a mountain suspended from a parasail. Luckily, the pilot came along for the ride and to take the picture. What a view from 1,000 feet up! The touch down was in a school football field. Jym followed shortly (after one aborted takeoff) and missed the ridge lift that took me high above the launch site.

As soon as we both landed, we jumped on the bikes and rode an hour to Glenorchy where we changed into wet suits and took a jet boat ride up the Dart River. These boats only need six inches of water and can turn 360 degrees in their length (which we did). Once up the river, we changed modes of transportation - from major power to muscle powered "funyaks" (inflatable kayaks).

After pumping them up and a discussion by the guides on how not to get stuck on a rock or turn over, we headed back down the river. After a few small rapids, we portaged over a sand bar to a smaller stream and shared our lunch with New Zealand's sand flies (carnivorous). Then we paddled up a glacier fed stream into this incredible chasm. What a beautiful spot! When we got back to Queenstown, the pictures of our day's adventures were ready and waiting for us.

The next morning, Jym started by jumping off a bridge (142' to the water). This is the site of the first commercial "bungee jump", and has been in business for more than ten years (with no serious injuries). If you have to jump off a bridge, what better place?*! We bought the video as proof. Maybe next time Ann will jump with him. They have it down to a science at this site and even send little old ladies off the edge.

After a delightful ride up the coast, we stopped and walked to the terminus of Fox Glacier, and later met up with the group in Franz Josef.

Many of us then took helicopters to the top of the glaciers, where we had the requisite snowball fight. It was wonderful shirt sleeve weather and the scenery and ride were spectacular!

After two days, we arrived at the northern end of the island. It was the only day on the tour that we had to pull out the rain suits (after we got wet riding through a low flying cloud). This is at Queen Charlotte Sound, with the BMW R850R that Ann was riding.

In Nelson (and after the first stop light we'd seen for a week), the tour guides made our 20th anniversary the event of the evening. Throughout the trip, the food and accomodations were first rate. At dinner, the various routes for the next day were explained along with the attractions of each. After breakfast, we were free to choose our day's ride - to run with the pack, or go off on our own (which we mostly did). At the end of the day, our luggage was in the room and dinner was not far off. It sure worked for us!

Traveling back down the west coast, we stopped at Punakaiki in cottages off the beach. Once there, we went to see the 'pancake' rocks - a formation of weathered rock along the coast that is fractured horizontally throughout. There were also rock bridges and 'blow holes' that the surf played around. On our last day, we traveled back across the island to Christchurch. Stopping at an animal park, we saw live kiwis and New Zealand's only native mammals - big bats!

We kept the bikes for an extra day so that we could ride out to Akaroa to swim in the ocean with Hectors Dolphins (the smallest of all dolphins at an average length of about four feet). On our last day in Christchurch, we turned in the bikes and spent some time walking around the town before heading for the airport and 18 hours of immobility.

We were sad to see the tour and the trip end, but thanks to Beach's, our guides (Al Walker and Graeme Beker), and the folks at Te Waipounamu Motorcycle Shop (who prepped the bikes - and ferried us to and from the airport), it was an incredible adventure and we would do it again in a heartbeat. Everyone involved made it seem like they were there to insure that we had a great time, especially the MacDonalds who opened their home (a working sheep, cattle, deer ranch) to us for a two night 'farm stay'!