An Explanation

In New Zealand, hiking or backpacking is known as "tramping." Kiwis don't "hike" on "trails" as we do in the US, they "tramp" on "tracks." To make the most of our experience of the scenic South Island during our brief time in New Zealand, my wife, Claudia, and I signed up for a "tramping safari" with Hiking New Zealand. We chose the Secret South Safari because it would take us into areas that we most wanted to see, and it fit our schedule over the Christmas holiday. Of course December is early summer for New Zealand, so even on the cooler southern South Island it would be a welcome change from the harsh winter of December at home in Chicago.

Despite unseasonably cold and wet weather in the weeks preceding it, we were very fortunate to have abundant sunshine on most of our safari. It exceeded our expectations for content, enjoyment, cost-effectiveness (there was kitty money left over at the end even with 2 big Christmas meals, though those who wanted to added additional money for wine and beer) and camaraderie, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

For some pictures from previous Hiking New Zealand safaris, check out their links to other tramper's web pages.

FYI, the time stamps on the posts are set to Greenwich/UTC/Zulu time for the benefit of the majority of the participants who are from Europe, and are in 24-hour clock format. Dates are "day.month.year" to follow European conventions also. The local time here in Chicago when I post is actually 6 hours before the time indicated on the posts. New Zealand is 19 hours ahead of Chicago, and 13 hours ahead of the Greenwich/UTC/Zulu time. Hence by being in New Zealand we were some of the first people on the planet to celebrate Christmas!