Fiji

• First Landing and Vuda Point. Depending on who you ask, First Landing is either where the first people to come to Fiji landed or where Captain Bligh landed after being set adrift by the HMS Bounty's mutinseers. Or maybe both. Either way, It's a nice place to stay and walking distnace to Vuda Point Marina.
• Garden of the Sleeping Giant. The shape of the mountains suggests the form of a Sleeping Giant. On the slopes of the Sleeping Giant is this garden, which once was the private orchid collect of the actor, Raymond Burr. The Garden is now open to the public.
• Natalau Village. We visited the little village of Natalau. This included ceremonially asking permission to visit, drinking kava, getting a tour of the village by the wife of the village chief, having lunch and ceremonially asking permission to depart.
• Latauka Market. Latauka is one of the larger towns on the island of Viti Levu. The market, where produce, fish and handicrafts are sold, is quite large.
• Home-hosted Lunch. Our group was invited to have lunch at the home of the Bishop of the Mormon Church. This was quite different than expected as the home was quite humble and consisted of bare lumber and corrugated metal. Lunch was quite tasty and after lunch the Bishop's daughter demonstrated some Fijian dances.
• Savala Island. Savala Island is basically a sand spit surrounded by coral reef. Palm trees have been planted and there are some shelters. The primary activity is snorkeling.

New Zealand

• Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand and a major port.
  • Te Wharewaka o Poneke is a Maori cultural center. It is built on the site of Te Aro Pa, a large Maori community until the 1880's. The Wharewaka houses ceremonial wakas (canoes). The plan was that we would have a chance to paddle a waka, but high winds prevented that from happening.
  • Wellington Cable Car and Museum. This tramway provided a way for people in the main city at Lambton Quay to ascend to the hills above the city. The original tramway had a continuously moving cable and used a grip system, making it a true cable car railway. The grip system was replaced in 1979 with a funicular system. At the top of the tramway, the old powerhouse serves as a nice museum about the history of the cable railway.
• Nelson is a small town on the north end of the south island.
  • World of Wearable Art (WOW) is museum dedicated to the fashion competition also known as the World of Wearable Art. In addition to many of the winning WOW entries, this museum also hosts an extensive collection of classic cars.
  • The Abel Tasman National Park contains several of New Zealand's "Great Walks". By boat, we traveled from Kaiteritei to Medlands Beach in Bark Bay. From there, we hiked south to Torrent Bay and then returnd by boat to Kaiteriteri.
  • Mapua was the location of a small port in the Waimea inlet that supported apple growers and later a large fertiizer plant. The wharf is still there but now it hosts art galleries and restaurants. The primary traffic from the wharf are hikers and mountain bikers taking the ferry to Rabbit Island.
• The Eglinton Valley, north of Te Anau is the only terrestrial route to Milford Sound.
• Milford Sound is not really a sound, but rather it is a fjord. It is located on the west coast of the souuth island in Fjordland National Park. The Maori call it "Piopiotahi". Milford Sound is part of the Te Wahipounamu UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Queenstown is on the shores of Lake Wakatipu. It is famous for its views of the lake and the Remarkables mountain range.
  • Mount Nicholson Sheep Station is a large sheep station on the western shores of Lake Wakatipu.
  • Kawarau Gorge is a major river gorge, located in Central Otago. The gorge is famous for bungy jumping off the Kawarau Gorge Suspension Bridge.
  • Skyline Gondola ascends Bob's Peak and gives access to many adventure activities such as paraglising and ziplining.