New Zealand turned out to be that lovely pastoral country, whose responsible appreciation for their environment, we all admire. One day we toured cosmopolitan Auckland, where the Kiwis are excitedly preparing to defend their Americas Cup within the next few weeks against a challenge from the Swiss team. Auckland is well named the "City of Sails" as her harbor is a sparkling display of literally thousands of sail boats. (More boats per capita than any other place.) The next day we visited a family farm of sheep, cattle and deer, whose pastures sprawled over the rolling highland hills. The gracious laid-back farmer sheared a sheep for us and his clever vigilant border collies flawlessly performed their remarkable herding techniques. His wife served tea in their wonderful perennial gardens, which in this extended growing season produce huge vigorous plants. (Hydrangea heads the size of bushel baskets.) We also traveled to the west coast to view thriving gannet nesting colonies on the rock shelves of towering cliffs plunging into the ocean. In this part of the world, it seems that every view of rolling ocean waves is punctuated with a surfer or two. Here is where the movie, "Piano", was filmed, as well as the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.

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