NEW ZEALAND

Pity the place is so far away, otherwise, it would be perfect. On the other hand, if it was closer, it would lose much of what makes it so perfect.
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The west coast of the south island of New Zealand is as beautiful as any place on earth. You think you have died and gone to heaven. But the north island is nothing to throw away, either.
On the north island, we stayed at a place near Lake Taupo- the same place where Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip stayed when they made the Grand Tour a few years ago. In fact I was in the same bed the Queen was in. Get your mind out of the gutter. Same bed. Not at the same time!
You’d think being in a wheelchair would keep you from enjoying such a place, but the maitre d’ came up with a neat suggestion: He would book us an afternoon sail on the lake. We could fish (neither of us ever had), and the crew would cook whatever we caught for dinner. Just to be on the safe side, he packed us a full picnic basket and a bottle of wine. You know, just in case.
He need not have worried. We caught several fish. The captain and his mate filleted them for us, and then cooked them over a small barbie they had on board.
Best darn seafood we ever had!
And we really appreciated being cared for by someone who could not only “think outside the box”, but was willing to go the extra distance required to meet the needs of a physically challenged person.