We're back in Taiwan, back to listening to continuous CNN reports and surfing the Internet on broadband, after 20-some days in Middle Earth. It all seems like a dream now, when we were in Auckland just hours ago.

Before we went, we thought we might see a fjord, swim with the dolphins and go whale watching, have helicopter rides on glaciers, ride the Alpine Tranz train, and trek by horse. We wanted to see glow worms, penguins, gannet colonies, albatrosses, and of course parrots. We wanted kakapos and ... (more)