Excited? Oh yeah!
We depart LAX in about 9 hours for a week of fishing, hiking and photography in the beautiful country of New Zealand. I am not taking my laptop but my wife is, so maybe I can post some reports from hers while we are there.
I'm taking 2 rods, a 5 and 6 wt, 2 reels and an extra spool with a sinking tip. Also taking what seems to be a couple hundred flys to leave in trees and bushes.

Serendipity: Mike and Jeff (Monday is JeffHamm's birthday) are fetching me at our first hostel for a day of fishing. I gave Mike the address where we are staying and he says it's on the road to the river we're fishing. I can walk across the road and get access to the river there. Not planned but works perfect.

Matamata, Rotorua and Tongariro, look out. Here we come.

Oh yeah, we are going on a whale watching cruise off the South Island too. Yippee.