We had the absolute worst experience when we landed at the airport. They should advise you on the plane that they will hassle you! They made us take our shoes off and they scrubbed the bottoms and then they took this handmade purse that was given to me while we were in Bora Bora. I wouldn’t rush to visit New Zealand again because of this!!! Traveling is stressful enough they shouldn’t add more drama to it.
Antananarivo – Madagascar
This was an interesting airport for a few reasons. When we first arrived and walked outside with our luggage we got swarmed by men who were grabbing our luggage to carry it to our taxi. At first, we had no idea just how poor Antananarivo was. We were completely shocked that 7 men carried two bags for us and then they all stood there with their hand out waiting for a tip. Technically we didn’t even need help with our luggage but we gave them all a tip anyway.
When we were leaving our passports and our carry on bags got checked at least 5 or 6 times. The corruption is real! If you can’t trust the airport workers it’s really sad.
Sorry, this is out of sync somehow my original post didn’t save.
February 23, 2015
Today we drove from Franz Josef to Christchurch for one night we fly out in the morning to go back home. We checked into our hotel The George which was really nice they give you a cute teddy bear at night as a gift. We ended up taking a walk and found a cool Irish bar called The Bog and we decided to have a drink and go back to the hotel for dinner and rest since we had a long travel day tomorrow.
Today we had a lovely scenic drive from Queenstown to Franz Josef Glacier we drove on Crown Range Road which had wonderful views of the valley. We saw a change in landscape and lifestyle while driving through.  We saw lakes and farmlands with amazing mountain and valley views. We arrived and checked into our Bed & Breakfast called Westwood lodge which is owned and operated by a female named Kaz Gilmore.  It was really cute it’s right by the village and has a great view of the Southern Alps.  The next day we had a glacier hike.  We drove to a secluded area and walked through the forest with a guide to a big open space where we proceeded to walk to the edge of the glacier which was about 1/2 mile walk. We had a helicopter ride to the do a glacier walk but the accident that happened in Queenstown made me nervous so we canceled the flight and decided to do the tour on foot.
Today we flew to New Zealand we had a bit of a mishap at the airport. They are so strict with people coming into their country that they hassle you. Â They checked the bottom of our shoes they even took my purse that was handmade by palm leaves. Â We understand why they go through this but they should go about it in another way. It was uncomfortable especially since they had multiple signs that said we will be charged a lot of money if we had dirty shoes.
We checked into The Dairy – A Boutique Hotel and we were greeted at the door by the owners and we had a great experience. Â The hospitality, service, and breakfast were amazing. Â I would definitely recommend everyone who visits Queenstown stays at the Dairy.
Once we got settled into the hotel we decided to take a walk around town and took a lot of the pictures of this beautiful place.  After having a quick bite to eat we decided to get back to the hotel and get ready for tomorrow.
February 19, 2015
Today we had a Milford helicopter cruise over the Southern Alps to see glaciers and frozen lakes. We woke up in the morning and while we were getting ready we got a phone call that the helicopter tour was canceled due to weather. Â Since we had the day to ourselves we decided to take a scenic walk around town. John wasn’t feeling good so we decided to go to the doctor and get him some antibiotics other than that we stayed local.
February 20, 2015
Today we woke up to horrifying news that a helicopter from the same company we hired had gone down even though they had bad conditions the owners son and a seasoned pilot decided to go up and check things out and somehow flew into a mountain.  Since that happened I had told John to cancel the helicopter ride that we had scheduled at the Franz Josef Glacier. I was a bit nervous going on a ride since that happened. After dealing with the news we finished getting ready because we had a wine tour scheduled. The winery tour was amazing we tried some really nice Chardonnay’s and John and I preferred Pinot Grigio but now we are fans of Chardonnay. We visited the Gibbston Valley Vineyard and the Felton Road Vineyard. I ended up purchasing lavender oil, lotion, and ironing water which were made by a local in the area. If anybody knows me well they know I LOVE anything handmade or homemade.
 
