Best Of.

I've found a way to put up more pictures!  I've had to shrink the file size so that I can upload more photos, so they won't be as high-quality as the ones I've posted before, but at least y'all can take a look. I've tried to pick the best-of shots from the last wonderful couple months (months already?!)...enjoy.

Key Summit.

Lupines in the Eglinton Valley.

Beautiful beech forest on the Kepler Track.

First day of an overnight kayaking trip in Doubtful Sound.  When we got to the fjord the wind was gusting up to 75 mph, so needless to say we didn't paddle, but went on a big boat cruise instead.  The rain was blowing sideways and upwards and came down in tons of waterfalls.  I have a new appreciation for how wild and nasty Fiordland can be.  We stayed in the Deep Cove hostel overnight instead of camping out in the fjord.

Just about the best view we got that day.

We woke up to the most beautiful still morning the next day.  We really got to see Doubtful Sound at its worst and its best.

Looking down into Hall Arm, Doubtful Sound.

The kayaking crew: Rob (a fellow DOC employee), Wouter, Karin, our guide Nicola, and yours truly.

Doubtful Sound from the top of the Wilmot Pass road.

The beauty of the Milford Road, at the start of the Gertrude Saddle track.

Heading up the Gertrude Valley on the way to Gertrude Saddle.

Me and Sanjay on Gertrude Saddle, with a lovely view of Milford Sound behind us.  NOT.

It cleared up on the way back down from the saddle - great view of Black Lake and the Gertrude Valley below.

Team Awesome at the start of Dore Pass: LJ, Sanjay, Lyn, and me.

Chilly early morning river crossing.  We headed up to the left of the left peak.

It was cold, but gorgeous even at 6:45 am.

Making our way up to the pass.

On Dore Pass, looking back on how far we'd come.

The Clinton River valley (where the Milford Track starts) from Dore Pass.  I'm in love.

Team Awesome at the top!  Sanjay, me, LJ, and Lyn.

On the descent, looking down on Lake Te Anau.

On the (pretty narrow) track.

We were all the way up there!  To the right of the highest peak, in the middle of the frame.

Tired tired girls on the boat home.

Kayaking on Lake Manapouri, to access a hike up to the Monument.

Another bit of Team Awesome at the top of the Monument on Lake Manapouri: Ed (hut ranger at Mintaro Hut on the Milford Track), Lyn, Rob, and me.

Beautiful Lake Manapouri.

Mt. Titiroa (the whitish part is weathered granite) over Lake Manapouri.

From my ipod: Mt. Ruapehu, the massive volcano I flew over on the way to visit Cory in Taupo.

Huka Falls, Taupo.

From my ipod: Lake Taupo, with three volcanoes (Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro) in the distance.

Cory "working" on Lake Taupo, kayaking to the Maori carvings.

Ngatoroirangi.

Friendly BBQ with Ian and Amy, two of Cory's coworkers at Rapid Sensations.

Happily reunited.

Tongariro Alpine Crossing.

Soda Springs falls.

The best view we got all day.  It was cloudy the whole time and really windy and cold at the top so we couldn't wait for the clouds to clear.  We huddled behind a rock for some lunch and that's when this wee patch of blue showed up for about 10 seconds.  Have to go do that hike again...

We're finally getting summer here, so on one of my days off I went on a massive bike ride up the Ramparts Road to this little lookout over Te Anau.

From my ipod: On another day-off adventure, I went for a blue duck survey on the Hollyford River yesterday.  Our two-man team and dog scrambled our way down the river bank for four hours and found six ducks - two pairs and two loners.  It was a beautiful day to be out but a bit hard on my knees; they're still sore today.  Worth it.

All photography copyright Kendall DeLyser.

Happy 2013!

The new year blew in with a rain storm that's lasted three days.  It's forced me to stay indoors for some quality relaxation and reflection time.  I've found, in catching up on emails, that I keep mentioning how happy I am here, but I can't quite explain why.  If you put it out on paper, there's so much going well at the moment - great group of friends, beautiful place to live, good job, people that love me... but that doesn't do it justice.  There's some kind of feeling, some kind of intrinsic connection I have with this place that I struggle to put into words.  The knowledge that there's really nowhere I'd rather be.  Of course, I miss lots of friends and family all over the world, and I selfishly want you all to come here because then there really would be nothing missing.  It's the kind of feeling you just have to experience for yourself before you understand.

I'm always a happy person and try to make the most of wherever I find myself, but this, right now, tops it all, and I can't help but feel incredibly lucky and thankful.  Once again I feel like I've magically ended up in the right place at the right time, and I do consider myself lucky for it.  I know they say happiness is the journey, not the destination, but right now I feel like it's a combination of both - I'm going to rename Te Anau and call it Happiness.  I live in Happiness, New Zealand, and you're all welcome to visit.

Here's to hoping that the good karma I have, for whatever reason I have it, reaches out to all of you too, and that your endeavors this year end well.  I hope my luck can rub off on others, and that they too can share in the felicity of being content.  I wish for a happy and healthy year for all of us, a year of growth and overcoming challenges with grace and strength, a year of happiness.  I'll toast to that!