The Catlins are outstanding. Make sure and hit the Cathedral Caverns at low tide. Say hi to the yellow eyed penguins and albatrosses!!

If you have time, do the Kepler Track. The first day is a rough climb, but worth it. The second day is like walking a day amongst the gods, on the spine of the world, aretes and keas, glacial lakes on all sides. fantastic stuff. Of course all pales before Stewart Island, the closest NZ has to what it actually looked like(read: the land before time), so I am hopeful you are headed that way after the Catlins. On the way, remember that Mick Jagger once called Invercargill the “***hole of the world.”

(Lisa, the good fight misses you here in D.C. but we go on…)best wishes to you and Mark, George