Betty, glad you arrived safely in Auckland.

Alan wants to be a jet boat driver when he grows up. On a windy day in Wanaka, we took the jet boat tour up the Matukituki River. The clouds obscured our views of Mt. Aspiring but what stupendous scenery. The wind whipped and the boat swerved from one side of the river to the other, barely skimming the surface. Of course Alan's favorites were the 360 degree stops. You have to hold on tight! We've had a great day on this combination, cultural, scenic, thrill ride.

It was hard deciding between a scenic flight to Milford Sound and staying in Wanaka for the boat ride. Since we have just been to Norway to see fjords, we opted for the jet boat. A good decision considering the strong winds. We're aleady planning "the 17 things I need to do when I come back to the South Island tour." Next time, we'll visit Doubtful Sound on a 2-day boat cruise.

Also had time to post photos of Punakaiki and Hokitika on the blog if you want to check them out.

I can't believe our land tour is almost over. Next up - Queenstown.