I bought new hiking boots. They looked nice but needed to be broken in. New Zealand seemed a good place to go to break new boots in.
I departed from Los Angeles on my birthday and arrived in Queenstown on Christmas Day. Of course, Santa Claus was the airport controller.
Although it was officially summer, new snow fell just for the holidays. The white-capped summits were beautiful.
Yes, snow-capped summits were beautiful, especially when it was possible to see them through the clouds.
There were also some very pleasant days when I walked along nice meadows…
… saw beautiful valleys…
… enjoyed some refreshing waterfalls…
… and even saw and heard a mid-summer avalanche.
I felt like a free bird among the beautiful peaks…
… but in reality, I looked a bit different 🙂
I stayed in some really nice huts…
… but did not avoid civilization as well, since I needed to replenish my supplies.
Civilization sometimes seemed silly (grace to Kentucky Fried Chicken in this case)…
… so back to Nature I went.
I enjoyed big rough beaches…
… small cozy beaches…
… secluded streams…
… and high mountain lakes.
I even went to church.
I walked some very nice tracks…
… and some tracks that were not as good but still very interesting…
… and even tracks that were really muddy.
Water was everywhere!
I realized that my boots were never going to be the same again.
Nevertheless, I wanted this trip to continue for as long as possible, so I looked at saving money by taking inexpensive cruises with the locals…
… and even discovered economy car rentals – unlimited days and mileage for the price of a new key 🙂
When I arrived home, I realized I was nearly broke. No matter what, I had a great trip indeed!
