Banned hobbits. Bilbo Baggins home in the Shire in middle earth...

Rainbow Falls New Zealand

Rainbow Falls New Zealand...travel channel rated third overall in the word swimming spot. Mike went behind the falls too!

Mike

We are alive we just been out of wifi area. Drove up to a peninsula on the curves road in the world!!! And the locals drive extremely fast... the speed limit tends to be between 80 to 100 meters per hour..can someone translate that I to mph for us an d post it to the blog?  Yesterday we went to the black sand beach in Murkowski...stunning and breathtaking g. Huge cliffs and rocks and caves..the sand wAs shiny!!! Climbed down and back up a mountain to get there..so if you get any black sand from me you know I think highly of you...
We just got back from the hot sand beach and we will be taking a little ferry over to Cathedral beach and then back over the curviest mountain ever and down to hobbits for the tour. Tonight we will be dining at the Green Dragon inn at the Shire and toast our adventures with a flagon of ale and then spending the night at opal hot springs. Then we will be going to the village of Rotuarau and hang out with our cousins the Maori...maybe get a new tattoo...even if you don't care for them they have some beautiful tribal ones. This country is absolutely stunning and almost surreal in its beauty. I have also been having difficulty posting pics as the wifi isn't very strong but when we get back we will have many memories to share. Love to the daughters and grandkids...We will be checking in again as soon as we can...
One more great thing here..I don't have the DTs...no news of Donald u know who....paradise

getting ready for the long haul

Spirit for the first flight

Getting ready for the first leg of the journey

One last candlelight bath in FLORIDA

Starting to get excited!!!

Our first craft show in Bartow FLORIDA November 12, 2016. It was a lot of work but it was fun

Our first craft show in Bartow FLORIDA November 12, 2016. It was a lot of work but it was fun

Woke up today and it is confirmed...the world has gone mad and there are very few intelligent people left to have a decent conversation with.

Day 7 Saturday the 26th of November. We disembark the ferry and head to the town of Nelson to check out the farmers market. After that we journey to the Abel Tasman national park. Checking out the beaches here and the wildlife and then heading south to Punakaiki (pancake rocks). Spending the night at the Punakaiki beach camp.
Day 8 Sunday November 27th...and Monday day 9 November 28th we will spend driving the coastline and the southern alps.

Day 6 Friday November 25..that's thanksgiving back home...We drive to Wellington either by going down toe coast so we can stop and play in the Tasman Sea. If we do that it's about 9 hours unless we choose to arrive straight down which is around a 6 hour drive. We have a tour of the Weta Studio where they filmed Lord of the Rings. The larger than life sculptures are at the Wellington airport so we are going to go play tourist there and we plan on watching a movie while we are in this famous town.  Then we go get in line to board the ferry. The ferry ride is from 3:30 to 7:00 am so we will be on the water when the sun comes up headed to the south island. We arrive at Pictin and start our second leg of our trip.

Day 3 of our journey. Leaving Hot Water Beach and driving to Cathedral Cove. We will play here until noon and then drive to Matamata where we will visit Opal hot springs.....We will start looking for Hobbits about 4 pm we drive about 30 minutes to Hobbiton. Out tour starts around 5:15pm and after touring the Shire we will have dinner with fellow like minded travelers.. We are going to enjoy a Clayton of ale at the Green Dragon Inn where Merri Pippin Sam and Frodo used to hang out. After dinner it's back to Opal Hot Springs holiday park where we will stay the night.
Day 4 Wednesday November 23.. Leaving Opal Hot Springs and drive to Waitomo Caves which are about an thousands half drive. We plan on spending about 5 hours touring the famous glow worm caves. After spelunking we will have lunch
And then head out to Rotorua..famous land of the I indigenous Maori. This will be about a 2 hour drive from the caves to Rotorua. We plan on checking in to the Rotorua Top 10 holiday park around 4 pm
Day 5 Thursday November 24 (they are a day ahead so it's not thanksgiving back home yet) we spend all day with the Maori people in their community. We will see the Geothermal Park in TePuia. Evening with dinner and entertainment and stay a second night at Rotorua Top 10 holiday park.

New Zealand itinerary

Day 1....we arrive in Auckland Sunday November 20th at 6 a.m. on air New Zealand flight NZ29. Pick up the Mighty double up RV at 9:30 am from Mighty Campers company #1_917_677_0257.. on the road by 11 am. First destination is Rainbow Falls in Kerikeri on the north island. About a 4 hour drive. We will be staying the night at the Stone Store Lodge.
Day 2....Monday November 21...leave Stone Store Lodge and drive to Muriwai Beach. Another 4  hour drive. Black sand beach..yes getting sand to bring back. Stay here for about 2 hours and then drive to Hot Water Beach where we rent shovels and dig out our little spa area...it's a 3 hour drive to get there. We will be staying the night at Hot Water Beach Top 10 holiday park.

Bad grandpa

Remembering the best dog ever R.I.P. Onyx

Wacky Wyatt wearing papas slippers

Red headed granddaughters make the world a better place

Flowers from our Indian silk tree