During the last twelve months we have eased into the slow pace of village life in the highlands of Mexico. Apart from the occasional trip back to the States to visit with our girls, travel to far aways lands has taken a back seat until recently, when we decided to visit New Zealand.
We arrived in Auckland after a 13 hour flight from LAX, and hopped a commuter flight for an hour to the small town of Gisborne where Lindy's long-time friend Rosi lives. Gisborne is the first place in the entire world to see the sunrise each day.
Once we recovered from our jet lag, we jumped aboard the Magic Bus with a bunch of twenty something backpackers to begin a "magical mystery tour" of the North and South Islands.
New Zealand is a vast country of incredible beauty and contrast. Thousands of years ago glaciers carved out valleys and rivers.
Mt Ngauruhoe (7,442 feet), one of three active snow capped volcanoes located in the Tongariro National Park, was chosen as Mt Doom in the movie "Lord of the Rings".
Who knew New Zealand offered world class skiing? The Whakapapa and Turoa ski areas are pictured above and are overrun with skiers from June-October.
The Franz Josef Glacier is located roughly three miles from the town of the same name and four miles from the coast, a situation found nowhere else in the world. Due to large amounts of rain and snow, the glacier advances down the valley at a speed of three feet a day. The glacier can be accessed via a strenuos half day hike. However, we decided to admire only from afar.
The town of Ohakune, near the Tongariro National Park, is the self-proclaimed "carrot capitol of the country" and hosts an annual Carrot Carnival each October.
On the western coast we visited the Pancake Rocks.......
These rocks are heavily eroded limestone formations formed 30 million years ago. The "pancake'-layering of the limestone was created from fragments of dead marine creatures and plants landing on the seabed just over a mile below the surface. 
There are no highways in New Zealand, except a few in the major cities. The roads wind through the mountains and valleys, and most of the bridges are single lane, often sharing the bridge with a railway line. This, together with the fact that New Zealanders drive on the "wrong" side of the road, makes for exciting travel.
The town of Ross was the site of a gold rush in the late 1860's, and in 1907 New Zealand's largest gold nugget was discovered weighing over 4 pounds. It was a rowdy town and the stockades were regularly put to use.
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