Waypoint Ventures - Magical Middle Earth (South Island)

Tasha and I went on a magical trip to the lovely country of New Zealand! We went from late December to early January 2024. Our excursions took us around the south island first, then moving up to the north island in the last two weeks. On the South Island, we kayaked in Abel Tasman NP, saw the famous "pancake rocks", hiked the Franz Joseph glacier (taking our very first ride in a helicopter). It was in this lovely town that we saw our first kiwi bird in a special conservatory they had for them. The bird looked at us. We looked at it. We shared a moment, and I will cherish it forever. Next, we dared across the "Lord of the Rungs" via ferrata, and were treated to delightful sights and luxury aboard the Fjiordland Navigator as we cruised through Doubtful Sound. After this, we continued our loop around the island to Kaikoura where we swam with a pod of over 400 dolphins! (This was the highlight of my life, hands and flippers down.)