Six months ago I went to New Zealand with my older brother, James, who was selected to give a talk at an atmospheric chemistry conference in Christchurch. He was nice enough to let me tag along. This was just like our trip to Europe in 2002, when he attended a conference in the Netherlands and let me come with him.
We arrived at the tail end of winter. This meant that without ever going to Queenstown, we got to experience the cold weather, enjoy the sight of fresh snow while tramping, and witness a side of New Zealand many tourists miss when they elect to visit during the warmer seasons.
The one downside to the timing of our trip was the lack of royal albatross sightings. Like so much of the native wildlife there -- particularly the birds -- in addition to being humongous, royal albatrosses are unbelievably cute.
Amy
Toitu he kianga, whatungarongaro he tangata.