On Jan 11, I flew from San Francisco to Los Angeles and then had a 12 hour flight to Auckland, New Zealand where I arrived on Jan 13 after crossing the international date line. My friend Robin Steel (from Edinburgh but living in Sydney) joined me in Auckland. We set off the next day in a rental car on our 12-day whirlwind tour of Kiwi Land: Auckland (Jan 13) – Kakawa Bay - Matamata - Tirau - Rotorua – Huka Falls - Taupo – Tongariro – Whakapapa – Holdsworth Lookout – Wellington – (ferry from North Island to South Island) Picton – Christchurch – Mt Cook – Queenstown – Milford Sound – Routeburn Track (3d trek) – Queenstown – Lake Hawea – Fantail Falls – Fox Glacier – Franz Josef Glacier – Hokitika – Arthurs Pass – Christchurch (Jan 24)