Tauranga - With a piece of driftwood and a bit of imagination even a rock looks like the national bird the Kiwi.

Rotorua - I don't know why everyone jokes about there being a lot of sheep in New Zealand because it's no joke - it's true.

Rotorua - At the Agrodome we saw a display of the different breeds of sheep found in New Zealand. This shot shows a trusty farm dog taking a well earned break on a mobile Merino wool mattress.

Rotorua is proud of its ethnic history and heritage. We enjoyed a hangi (a Maori meal cooked in a hole in the ground) followed by a cultural display of Maori music and dance.

Rotorua is world famous for the geothermal activity in the area. Here is a photo of boiling mineral water at Waiotapu located a few miles outside of Rotorua City.

Boiling mud pools at Whakarewarewa, Rotorua's authentic, living thermal village since 1863.

One of the favorite local pastimes is lawn bowls. Who would not enjoy an "afternoon of bowls" with a back drop of the world famous Bath House building, home to Rotorua's Museum of Art & History.

The sunny Hawkes Bay area from the top of Te Mata Peak

Wellington is New Zealand's capital city. Here is a glimpse of the Parliament building known as "The Beehive"…I wonder why??

The food, what can I say about the food…oh yes...it was so good I tried to eat as much of it as I could . Everywhere we went we found these cute little tea rooms with all kinds of great things to sample. My favorites…chicken and mince pies, Yo Yoes, oysters, fish & chips, ham sandwiches, lolly cake.......

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island. We climbed to the top of the spire of Christchurch Cathedral, located in "Cathedral Square" in the center of city.

We stopped at Lake Tekapo to admire the unspoiled beauty of the McKenzie Country. While we were there we watched a wedding ceremony at the Church of the Good Shepherd.

Late autumn in Arrowtown (near Queenstown).

Lake Hayes (near Queenstown) reflects a backdrop of the rugged Central Otago High Country scenery.

A train famous to this area is the Kingston Flyer that runs between Lumsden and Kingston . At Kingston the love of trains is demonstrated by some unusual choice of fencing material.

Look closely and you will see someone hanging upside down (not me!) tied to a very thick and long rubber band. Bungy jumping was invented in New Zealand. Just watching these daredevils is enough to get the adrenaline pumping.

Near Wanaka is the Cardrona Hotel, a famous watering hole for the gold miners of the early 19th century and today's travelers who drive over the Crown Range that separates Wanaka and Queenstown.

A drive through the narrow and winding Haast Pass to the rugged and isolated West Coast is well worth the trip.

The Haast River cuts a path through the rocks and bush on its way to the West Coast and the Tasman Sea.

Near Greymouth is Punakaiki (Pancake Rocks). If you catch the rising tide at the right time, you will be treated to a magnificent display of the power of the ocean as the sea is forced upward through the blow holes in the rocks.

In Tauranga we stayed with Stephanie's special friends, the Haden family - Sue, Rochelle, Dave, Robert, "Ralph", and Timothy.

Have I got what it takes or what? I even have the sheep eating out of my hands within days of arriving in the country!

On our visit to Rotorua I discover I'm a natural at the finer points of the Maori Haka. The Haka is a complex dance that expresses the passion, vigor and identity of the Maori race. It is a custom of high social importance in the welcoming and entertainment of visitors.

After enjoying a traditional Maori dinner known as a Hangi, Stephanie and I pose with a Maori “warrior”.

In Napier we spend a couple of days with Linda & Louise McCormick and get to meet her neighbor's little daughter, Angie and their cat "Frog". Linda is a wonderful pianist and one of my big regrets of this trip is that I never got a photo of us playing music together. A great reason to go back to New Zealand I think!!

While in Napier we drove over to the neighboring city, Hastings, to meet with Herb and Gerry Burkin at Radio Albatross. They have a radio program dedicated to country music and I had the privilege of doing a live interview with Herb.

Herb has a few John Denver records in his collection that now have my autograph on them.

We enjoyed a relaxing lunch at the Taradale Garden Centre in the company of Stephanie's wonderful friends, David and Ann Chalmers.

I got to try my hand at riding English style for the first time, thanks to the kindness and patience of Louise McCormack and her horse Ben.

We spent a lovely evening with two inspirational people, Marge and John Yanko, at the "Cat and the Fiddle" in Hastings.

Next stop was Wellington for a couple of delightful days with Jamie, Christian and Abbey Cowan.

Duncan, Ann, Jamie, Christian and Abbey along with Ann's neice Emma Sutherland take us to the top of Mt. Victoria for a view of the city.

I jam with Jamie and his dad, Duncan, for a few tunes.

Abbey does a wonderful performance of "Larry the Lobster" for us.

Duncan and I entertain the family.

One of the biggest collections of country music I have ever seen is owned by Neil Jeffries. We enjoyed a lovely time chatting about music and eating his wife Freda's fabulous scones!

If you are looking for adventure don't fly between the islands, take the Cook Strait Ferry. The scenery coming into Picton through the Marlborough Sounds just has to be seen to be believed.

In Christchurch we enjoyed another living room jam session - this time in the home of talented duo Val Elliott & John Cooke.

I had the privilege of playing at the Hornby Workingman's Club (just outside of Christchurch) with one of New Zealand's much loved cowboy-celtic musicians, John Grenell and his wife Annie.

We spent two days enjoying the hospitality of John and Annie at Whitecliffs in Canterbury.

John and Annie bid farewell to us with John's hit song "Welcome to Our World".

We met two very special friends of John and Annie's, Paul and Annette Collins.

On our way to Dunedin we took a very worthwhile detour through the McKenzie Country in the center of the Island. I stopped to pose at Lake Tekapo with New Zealand's famous sheep stealer - McKenzie's dog.

On the way through Timaru, and now seriously behind the itinerary Stephanie had carefully planned for us, I have to stop for a fix at a driving range!

In Dunedin we celebrated a very special event. Stephanie and 2 of her friends celebrated their 50th birthdays. Stephanie's on May 6, Ruth Smith on May 12, Craig Wombwell on May 18 and Elspeth Wombwell (who celebrated being not quite 50...yet) on May 7. Ruth and her daughter Beth drove from Oamaru to spend the afternoon with us.

Carla, Elspeth, Ben, Scott and Craig Wombwell swear they enjoyed my one man performance in their living room even though the photo seems to tell a different story!!

A happier looking Wombwell family enjoy an early morning excursion with us to view a New Zealand Air Force flyover in honor of Anzac Day.

Another special meeting - this time with Lynette Thomlinson in Dunedin's Octagon. Lynette and Stephanie had lost contact 24 years ago and enjoyed getting caught up over a leisurely lunch.

Want to know where to go to get the best oysters and fish & chips in the world…the Best Café in Dunedin…end of story.

Another nostalgic time was the day we had lunch with Audrey Craighead and her daughter Dawn. They have known Stephanie since she was 7 years old.

45 minutes out of Dunedin is the tiny farming community of Middlemarch where Stephanie lived from the age of 7 to 16. Thanks to the kindness of it's present owners Bob and Joyce Renwick, we got to visit the house she seen since 1976. Stephanie was amazed that the house still felt the same after all these years!

We stopped briefly in Gore, New Zealand's country music capital.

Couldn't resist this shot. On the way to Cadrona, just outside of Wanaka, there's almost a mile of fence line covered with bras of all different shapes, sizes and colors.

In Alexandra we get caught up with Stephanie's aunt, Tove Johnson.

I learned, the hard way, why they put a "Keep Out - Hazardous Area" sign in the Kawera Gorge.

Queenstown is Aspen's sister city. We enjoyed a lovely home cooked meal with members of the Queenstown Sister City Committee, Deanie Johnstone, her dog "Lola" and friend Geri Elliott.

In Westport we spend a brief couple of days with Stephanie's aunt Julia and her husband, Stuart Cowie.

Stuart is the proud owner of this container in his back yard.

Another first for my musical career - playing inside a container.

I jam with Stuart in the container he affectionately calls "The Box".

We spend the last 3 days of our trip in Auckland and meet Susan Leaver, who heads up the International John Denver Memorial Foundation, for breakfast in Ellerslie.

We catch up with Dawn Cochano for lunch in Ponsonby. Stephanie, Dawn, her husband Rick and their son Delmar were neighbors when Stephanie lived in Auckland.

Bev Pownall (Stephanie's friend from her years in Wanganui) and her husband Geoff take us on a site seeing tour of Auckland. Here we enjoy the view from One Tree Hill.

For our last night in New Zealand we have dinner with Edwin and Adelia Shaw. Edwin and Stephanie worked for the same company in Auckland.