Maddog62's Blog

25 year anniversary!!

Linda and I have been planning to go to New Zealand for about ten years.  So on our 25 year anniversary we took a three week cruise around New Zealand and over to Australia.  We are standing in front our ship.

Having breakfast at the Weston Hotel.  Funny thing happened that night.  We were woken up with the fire alarm going off at 3:00 in the morning.  It’s bad enough to have the alarm go off that early but when you have been flying for 20 hours all the humor goes away real quick and you just wake up and walk out like a zombie.

I had to pick between taking my new friends on the ship or my wife…. but when I looked at them and then at Linda it wasn’t even a question Linda didn’t have furry feet.  Oh and Linda is much better looking!!!

Harley Davidson in Auckland New Zealand

Our first stop while we were in Auckland, image that it’s the Harley dealership.

Auckland

First day on the ship with Auckland in the back ground

Hilton Hotel this is where we stayed before getting on the ship

Auckland Harbor

Tauranga was our first port of call.  It has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world.  It’s just fifty years behind the rest of the world.

Tauranga and the mud pits.  The mud pits are so hot it would take all of your skin off of you body in six seconds if you fell in.

Tauranga

Our new friends Rodney and Barbara

Rainbow from our room balcony

Valentines Day

Napier our second Port

Wellington Home of the All Blacks rugby team

Linda's birthday in Christchurch

Dunedin New Zealand

Dunedin is only 1000 miles away from the Antarctica (who knew)  We saw penguins on the beaches.

The sounds in New Zealand

the Sounds, Breath taking beauty

Another boat getting a close up of the water falls

Melbourne

This is where Linda and I got tickets to see “Wicked”  we were so lucky to get the tickets right on the floor in the front.  This is a place where I could live.  the transportation system they have in the city is amazing.

Sydney

The old and new city built together

The city laws will not allow them to tear down a building to build a new one.  So the city is a combination of building built in the 1800’s and modern building.

Our last night of our vacation

I’m convinced that we need to take longer vacations than a week.  This was the first time we have ever taken a vacation for this long and it was wonderful.  Funny thing was, work was still there when I got back and the company didn’t go bankrupt.  I’m tell you the Europeans have it right, go on at least one, three  or four week vacation a year it will make you live longer.  We take our jobs way to serious.