Milford Track trip was booked, so our family opted for a shorter action trip w/time after the guided experience to explore South Island on our own. I personally would have preferred a more physically challenging hiking hut-to-hut excursion, but having less fit family members in our group made this selection seem an appropriate introduction to the gifts of New Zealand. This trip is an excellent first-time experience. From rain forests and glacially-carved valleys, to the sparsely populated rainy West Coast, to spectacular glaciers, we experienced some fantastic adventures. My personal favorites included hiking and summiting Ben Lomond, hiking in Siberia Valley, and hiking up to Roberts Point. The very rainy weather and river flooding prevented our group from staying overnight in the Siberia Hut and hiking to Lake Crucible (our superb guide, Liz, ensured that we @ least got to hike to the hut after our incredible airplane ride into the valley). This part of the Tui trip was my most anticipated, and thus, one of the most disappointing to me since staying overnight was ruled out. I fell in love w/NZ. Kiwi people are so open, so hearty and seem to have such a strong sense of community. The landscape is spectacular and its adventure offerings seem limitless. Our guides on this trip - Liz, Alexi and Paul - were absolutely the best guides I have ever met. They are professionals and yet very personable and took care of everyone on a personal level. The history and information they presented to us was very interesting. Accommodations and vegetarian food offerings were a little disappointing at times. (There never seemed to be enough salad @ dinner, and more beans/tofu/protein options would have been helpful.) In summary, I got a great taste of NZ and definitely will return someday!

| January 1970