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Continued from page 31 grounded due to fog, so | hired a single-engine, which provided the most turbulence I've ever felt on an airplane. My head constantly banged against the ceiling as the tiny plane was jostled through the air and when it landed in Milford Sound | kissed the ground vowing never to fly again. | wasn't serious and you can imagine my disappointment when | learned | could not get a flight out at the end of the day and ended up spending six hours in a bus. The experience to Milford Sound is not to be missed, nor is a helicopter flight to the top of Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest mountain, reaching nearly 4000m. Although the heli- copter ride was quite bumpy due to turbulence, once it landed everything was forgotten by the sheer beauty of the surroundings: untouched snow, bright blue skies and vistas as far as the eye could see. | had only been there for 20 minutes, when the pilot told me we had to leave. | was surprised and expected it to be a longer visit, but he pointed to fog in the distance and as | stared at it | was astounded at how quickly it moved. | no sooner got into the chopper and we lifted off and were totally surrounded by fog. My heart skipped ——_ —_= ray Hoses GARAGE EW YerRR Call Brian Tassell zZO148. today and find out i Since 1996 ‘signs ~ vehicle graphics ~ what good customer service is all about! 182 Northport Road ‘Scugog's Vehicle Wrapping Specialists Units 8 & 9, Port Perry Reach & Northport Ra, Port Perry 905-985-0059 905-985-0802 www.rayhobbsgarage.aaro.ca green-apple.ca 48 Water St., Port Perry, ON (905) 985-3767 32 FOCUS - JANUARY 2014 The Rotorua Museum of Art and History is housed in the old Bath House iad at the spa town of Rotorua, located in the Government Gardens in New Zealand. a few beats, but luckily the helicopter rose above it and again | was surrounded by spectacular views. My adventure continued onto the Franz Joseph and Fox Glaciers, located near the western coast. It was hard to believe that only a few hours earlier | was swim- ming in the warm waters of Lake Wakatipu and now | was standing on frozen ice. | finished my New Zealand adventure with a visit to Christchurch, the city that takes you back in time to historic England. In fact, crossing New Zealand from the Fox Glacier to Christchurch one has to travel over the Canterbury Plains. These beautiful lush pastures are home to many of New Zealand's 6 million sheep. | noticed many of the sheep had coloured markings on their back and when | asked a local farmer why this was he explained they use a breastplate on the males with coloured crayons. Then, when a ewe gives birth to twins, they know which male was responsible and keep him for future use - sounds a bit exploitive if you ask me. If you have plans to visit Australia, stop at New Zealand first. Take at least two weeks to visit the coun- try, you will not be disappointed. In fact, you may decide to apply for landed immigrant status and stay there permanently. Many readers enjoy cruis- ing and | wanted to mention that just after last month's article about Venice was pub- lished it was announced that 2014 will be the last year to book a cruise to that wonder- ful Italian city. If a cruise to Venice is on your bucket list, hop over to a travel agent and book it in. Follow Jonathan van Bilsen’s travels and exploits at www.photosNtravel.com.