Dreams in the Making

It's pretty obvious that my husband and I like to travel. It's also well known that we've had an emotionally and physically demanding year. So it may appear to all of you that we looked at a map and tried to figure out how to get as far as away from our lives as possible. While, subconsciously there may be some truth to that -- the reality is that traveling to New Zealand has been a dream of ours for a long time. And one week from now, that dream will become our next big adventure.

I have decided to blog about our trip like I did for our Tour de France journey in 2010 (I can't believe that was two years ago already!). For full disclosure, I blog these trips mostly for myself. How else am I going to remember every delicious meal, every curve of the trail or the stories behind the smiles in the photographs? Blogging my trips is the perfect way to encourage the memories to last forever. Plus, it's a fun way to stay in touch with friends and family back home so everyone can share in our discoveries of new places. I'll try to update every day - or every other (I have to chill out now and then). I'll also publish photos as we share our stories. And shortly after we return, we'll publish our full Flickr album. I can already say with confidence that you won't want to miss these photos...because, speaking of another dream, Dave finally purchased the camera he has wanted for a very long time. Be prepared for some awesome views.

We leave for New Zealand the day after Christmas. I suspect that the coming week will be a blur of shopping, cooking, wrapping and enjoying, so I may not have another chance to launch this blog before we leave. Now would be a good time to follow Tiki Touring, so you can be sure not to miss a step.

Dave and I will be traveling for 20 days. We'll kick it off with our longest plane ride ever and 24 hours later we'll arrive in Queenstown on the South Island of New Zealand. Over the next almost three weeks, we will be exploring the most beautiful sites around the South Island - and perhaps some of the most beautiful sites in the world. After a few days in Queenstown, we'll head to Fjordlands National Parks, then north along the West Coast to the Southern Alps and glaciers. Then further north and east to Nelson Lakes National Park for a few days. From there we'll head north, hop on a water taxi and spend three days in Abel Tasman National Park. Finally we drive South along the East Coast to Christchurch where we'll catch our plane back home.

Here is our agenda:

Dec 28-Jan 1: Queenstown
Jan 1-3: Te Anau
Jan 3-4: Overnight on a ship in Milford Sound
Jan 4-8: Fox Glacier and Westland National Park
Jan 8-10: Nelson Lakes National Park
Jan 10-13: Abel Tasman National Park
Jan 13-14: Kaikoura
Jan 14: Christchurch and flight home

Please join us on this adventure. Send suggestions, ask questions and say hello. Let us know that you are following along. We hope to surprise, enthrall and entertain you. Perhaps, we'll even inspire you to take a leap and make your own dreams come true!

Happy holidays. One week until liftoff.