New Zealand South Island

New Zealand South Island is filled with beauty – mountains, rain forests, fjords, glaciers, plains, rolling hills…  just about every type of terrain on the slender island.  Went out on Doubtful Sound (south of Milford Sound) yesterday which was pristine and gorgeous.  Upon entering the Tasmine Sea, the tour boat hit a submerged rock which left a shimmy in the boat for the remainder of the trip.  Definitely not the Skippers fault, but it startled all of us on board!  After arriving back on harbor, I drove the rental car towards Invercargill – a very southern city on the South Island.  On the way, Cyclone Gita made landfall over the South Island near Nelson where we visited just a week ago.  The radio news reported many road closures and Christchurch initiated a ‘state of emergency’ for the city.  My mom and I are very fortunate to be south of the major storm and plan to stay in Invercargill as it passes over the island. 

Interesting note – Many places in New Zealand collect rain water for the house water system.  To safely drink, one needs to either deionize or boil the water.