New Zealand 2024

I spent 6 1/2 weeks in New Zealand in 2024, arriving on September 19 and leaving on November 2. My first stop was Nelson on the north end of the South Island where I stayed with my friend Rebecca Bowater for nine days. Rebecca is a brilliant photographer who has published books of her photos of Fungi and Alpine Flowers. I then hooked up with a wonderful guide named Steve Attwood who took me 3,400 kilometers around the South Island over the next two weeks, showing me birds and other wildlife. We ended up in Christchurch, where I spent about a week. Then I headed down to Dunedin for a week before flying to Auckland for the final nine days of the trip. While in Auckland, I took four trips to Tiritiri Matangi Island, which is a predator free research station that allows people to visit.