Bula Fiji

I ended my time in New Zealand with what was supposed to be a quiet night before heading to the airport, but it turned out to be quite the opposite. After arriving back in Auckland I made my way to a small quiet hostel up on the hill. I had the afternoon to kill so I headed for a walk through the Auckland Botanical Gardens and to go and take a look at the University of Auckland. Heading back to the hostel I met up with my friend Lena and made plans to grab some dinner and head out for a few drinks. Lena wanted to have some martinis so we found one of the nice bars of Auckland and started drinking. Apparently martinis are not the same in Austria because she was used to more Vermouth. Well now I had two martinis and the night went on from there. We started bar hopping and at some point it was someone's idea to start doing shots. After a bit of drinking, Lena wanted to try out her party tricks by lighting some sambuca on fire in her mouth. Well all didn't go to plan and she ended up spitting the shot everywhere. With only a slightly burnt lip, the party continued. I had to call it quits at 4 so that I could head back to the hostel, grab my bag and catch the bus to the airport. I did manage to have a quick shower, but it didn't sober me up too much and I only had my clothes from the night before. It was an hour ride out the the airport and I arrived to one hell of a check in line thanks to the new airport regulations about liquids that started that day. I noticed, finally being under the lights of the airport, that I had blue spots all over my clothes thanks to the flaming sambuca spit. I couldn't wait to get on the plane. We finally boarded and I took my seat with my head falling straight for the window so I could sleep. I might have caught thirty seconds of sleep before I felt a bump. 'Ladies and gentlemen, we have had a slight accident and need everyone to take their bags and exit the plane.' Someone drove a vehicle into one of the engines. How you have a fender bender with a 300 ton aircraft, I have no idea. Now it was a two hour wait for a new plane until I could finally catch some sleep on my way to Fiji.

Landing in Fiji, I headed to Nadi Bay Backpackers. Even being tired and probably a little irritable, I still managed to talk to people about the good places to stay and go in Fiji. I headed out the next morning to catch a boat to the Yasawa Islands. The plan was to spend the next ten days island hopping around the group. The first stop was all the way to Nacula Island where I would be camping at Oarsman Bay Lodge. A quick note about Fiji weather, it can rain at any time so always have your fly on the tent. After getting settled, I decided to start my vacation with a snorkel around the bay. The reef in Fiji is unbelievable, with coral every color of the rainbow, and fish so plentiful and bright it hurts the eyes if you stare for too long. I soon realized that I was in paradise. That night I met a few of the other people that were staying there with me, but ended up spending most of the night partying it up with the locals watching the Hong Kong Rugby Sevens. This is a great game, with all of the normal rugby rules, but only seven people on the field. Fiji made it to the final only to be beat by Samoa. The next day I headed out on a boat with some people to go and explore the Qwaqwarivola Caves on Saweilau Island. It was a short walk up the hill to the cave entrance, descending down into the large cavern. We threw on our snorkel masks and jumped into the water to go and explore the caves. We had a wait in the main cave for other people to come out of the other caves so the locals persuaded us to climb the cave walls and go cliff diving into the water below. After everyone showing off their aerial maneuvers, we headed into the cave system. To get in from the main cave you have to swim a few meters down under the water and then under the cave walls to the next cave. Having never done this before it was a little nerve raking to swim under water in the dark with only a small flashlight guiding you. We emerged in the pitch black caves, swimming through them with flashlights. It was pretty cool swimming through them, exploring the different caves. We headed back out of the caves and after some more diving headed back to Nacula Island. The next few days were spent on Fiji time. I did quite a bit of snorkeling, exploring the different reefs, reading books on the beach and just lounging around. On my last day at Nacula I was able to make it over to the village. Here we were shown around the village. While everyone else went off to the shell market, I headed over to where the guys were preparing the lovo (underground oven) for the dinner that night. They were really excited to have me there and were soon showing off their skills of gutting a pig. They all wanted their pictures taken performing the autopsy on the beast. It was a lot of fun and they showed me how they cooked everything and what they would be eating. After the lovo explanation, I headed over to the school with the group where we got a tour. They sat us down in a classroom where they had the class perform some songs and dances for us. It was really cool to see the kids sing and dance, but I think it was a little put on for the tourists. We left the village and we headed back to the lodge where I packed up my things to head to the next island.

My next destination was Manta Ray Resort on Nanuya Balavu Island. This was a bit more upscale than the tent I was staying in the days prior. I arrived pretty late in the afternoon so there was only time for some reading on the beach and enjoying the Fiji sunset. That night I ended up talking for quite a while with the bar staff who convinced me to stay longer there so that I could drink kava with them on Friday night. Twist my arm... The next day I continued my usual island schedule of snorkeling with some reading in between. Sammy, one of the bartenders, was heading out in a kayak to go do some line fishing with him. We headed out just beyond the reef and drifted along trying to catch dinner. Sammy had a bit of luck, catching a snapper, while I only caught some ugly little thing that went back in the water. That night, while sitting eating dinner, a second plate came out from the kitchen with the fish that Sammy caught earlier cooked up. I shared the catch with the rest of the table because it was some of the best fish I have ever had. The next few days I continued the snorkeling around the reef. The reef at Manta Ray was even better with even more colorful coral and more varieties of fish. The highlight of the snorkeling though was a drift where I saw a white tipped reef shark, sting ray, moray eel, and sea horse to accompany the usual array of fish. I didn't want to leave because everything was so nice there, so I kept extending my stay. Friday night was the kava ceremony, a Fiji tradition. Kava is a root that grows there that they dry, grind, and then when ready to drink add water to extract the natural sedative in the root. I was honored to be the chief for the ceremony and was offered plenty of the milky drink. Kava actually tastes like what is is, a ground root that is steeped in water. It doesn't have a strong affect and just makes you tired. The next day though you feel tired still so I took it easy and spent much of the day relaxing on the beach. The weekend arrived with more of the same, but there was rugby sevens on again so the evenings were spent watching the tournament with the locals. This time Fiji won and there was a big celebration.

Leaving Manta Ray, I headed down to Waya Lai Lai Island. I would be staying at a small lodge here that was run by locals. It definitely wasn't as luxurious, but much more of an authentic Fiji experience. I spent a lot of time talking with the locals. I had a great time here and had the locals take me kayaking around showing me a bit of the island. The local elder, Lavatu, even took me for a hike to the top of the hill on the island, climbing to the top of the rocks called the father and mother. From here I had panoramic views of the entire island group and was treated to a fantastic sunset from the top of the island. We headed down back through the jungle in the dark, with my headlamp lighting the way. I was thankful to have my boots on because it wasn't an easy walk, but Lavatu did everything barefoot. Not bad for a sixty year old.

After my short stay at Waya Lai Lai, I headed down to the tiny Bounty Island. The entire island pretty much is the resort. I met up with some old friends here and quickly headed out with them to go fishing at sunset. I managed to catch two barracuda in the hour that we had out on the water. Thank goodness Lee caught a nice snapper for us to have for dinner. Unfortunately that was the end of all of the fun in the sun in Fiji. The next day was my last in the islands before heading back to Nadi. There wasn’t much to do as the weather just did not cooperate. It rained all day which wasn’t too bad because it made leaving the islands and going back to the main land bearable.

Once back in Nadi, I spent my last day doing the only thing that there is to do in Nadi, shop. I’m not much of a shopper, but it was cool walking around the stores and markets and looking at all of the touristy souvenirs they had. I got a full explanation of every single piece; my favorites being the weapons and tools of cannibalism that Fijians used to employ as part of daily life. After I’d had my share of getting harassed in the markets we headed back to chill out for a bit before heading out that night for our last meal. I had made some good friends in Fiji and it was sad to say goodbye, but I’ve become so used to it by now that it is just another part of traveling. And so I move on…

good on ya mate

Heading out of Wellington, I took the bus up to the small town of Bulls. This is nothing more than a big intersection of roads where they put a town. From Bulls I grabbed a bus over to the town of Palmerston North to go and visit my Dad's old resident Adrienne. Palmerston North is where the largest university in New Zealand is, Massey University. I walked around the town for a bit before Adrienne picked me up and took me on a quick tour of the university. The town isn't too big and it was a weekday so there wouldn't be too much happening so Adrienne took me to the local pub for a bit of drinking. I was warned beforehand by my father not to try and keep up drinking with Adrienne, but what does he know he's a lightweight. Well I pretty much went down the taps trying the different types of Kiwi beers and ciders. Soon enough I realized that my dad was right (as usual). After tap hopping at the pub, we headed back to Adrienne's place where the whiskey was uncorked. I was passed out by the end of the first glass though.

I woke up in the morning pretty dehydrated and with a bit of a headache. Nothing that some water and marmite on toast won't cure. Adrienne was nice enough to give me a ride back to Bulls where I met up with the Kiwi bus again and we headed off for the town of Taupo. The drive is quite incredible once you leave the "normal" farmlands that make up the North Island and head into the central desert. This area isn't really a desert because there is quite a bit of rain, but the volcanic terrain from the three volcanoes, Ruapeju, Ngauruhoe and Tongariro, make it very hard for vegetation to grow here. The drive through the desert is amazing and quite a bit of the Lord of the Rings was filmed here. We drove through the desert and headed to Lake Taupo, the largest lake in New Zealand. We would be staying in the town of Taupo that night. Once arriving in Taupo, a bunch of us threw on our swimmies and headed to the local river. Along the river there is a small stream of thermal water which was about as hot as bath water flowing into the river which was nice and cool. It was fun going from hot to cold and swimming in between the two. We spent quite a bit of time here before heading back into town and heading out for the evening.

I didn't stay out too late because I had to be up at 5:30 to head back to Tongariro National Park to walk the Tongariro Crossing. This is supposed to be the nicest one day walk in New Zealand. We arrived at the park by seven in the morning and I was off to do the walk. The walk starts off easy through some scenic grass lands, but soon turns quite difficult as you start climbing the Devil's Staircase at the base of Mt Ngauruhoe. Before leaving, I talked to the ranger about climbing the mountain and he said only to do it if Devil's Staircase was easy. Well it wasn't easy, but it wasn't too hard. I decided to climb Mt Ngauruho. Most people know this mountain by it's now more popular name, Mt Doom. I think that Mt Doom is a more appropriate name. It is a steep climb with no track going up the mountain. Going up they suggested to follow the lava flow, as it will provide somewhat stable footing. It was only marginally stable though. It felt like I was taking two steps forward and one backwards. The climb provided amazing views all around, but it was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. After an hour and a half of painful climbing and slipping, I reached the top. I was rewarded by 360 degree views all around with amazing views of the other volcanoes and the volcanic lakes below. Well worth the climb. After a brief rest, I needed to be on my way back down. I was a little worried about this because it was so hard climbing up. Again I took the ranger's advice and headed to the scree on the side of the lava flow. In the scree you sort of ski/run/fall down the flow. It is one of the most fun things that I have done in my life. It was a lot like skiing only you get a hell of a lot of stones in your shoes that bust up your ankles and when you fall the rocks aren't as soft as snow. It was a fifteen minute ride down the mountain. When done, all I wanted to do was head back up and do it again; but I had a bus to catch so I had to get on my way. The rest of the walk was around Mt Tongariro where we had views of sulfur lakes, thermal vents, and just unusual terrain due to the volcanic activity. After the 18 km walk I was pretty wiped and ready to head back to Taupo for a beer.

Leaving Taupo the next day I headed up to Rotorua. The first stop in town was to the Maori Cultural Center. We had a really budget tour which explained where the Maori came from and a little about them first settling in New Zealand. It was more to get people to come to the cultural night. After checking in at the hostel, I headed to the local hot springs to go and relax for the afternoon. Rotorua has always been a tourist town, famous for its natural hot springs and thermal baths. That is why the whole town smells like sulfur. The afternoon was spent sitting in the pools of "healing minerals." The next day, there was no bus to head out of Rotorua so I was there again for the day. I spent the day with my friend Lena walking around town, going to the spa museum and heading to the local hill to do some street luge. Not a bad little town, but I was ready to get out of the stinky place.

Heading north from Taupo I made it to the big city, Auckland. Arriving late in the afternoon, I walked around the city for a bit, had some dinner with some friends and made it an early night. The next day I was up early to head up to the Bay of Islands for my last few days in New Zealand. The drive up was pretty nice, but it started to rain on the way. By the time we got up to Paihia, it was pretty wet and there was not much to see or do. I thought that I'd just leave everything until the next day. Well, the next day wasn't much better and I got caught in the worst rains to hit the Bay of Islands in recorded history. The road outside of the hostel was a swimming pool with the water washing over the hoods of the cars on the street. All of the roads were closed due to mud slides washing the road away. No power, nothing to do, and no way out. Not quite the trip I had planned but not everything can be perfect. Finally the next day, the roads had started to be cleared for access back to Auckland. On the drive back though we saw how bad the storm was. There were many places that were covered with trees, mud and other debris. All of the farms were all still under water. The place was just a mess. I didn't get to see much of the Bay of Islands, but it still was a crazy experience going up there.

No wucking forries

After finishing the Milford Track it was a short boat ride into Milford Sound. The original plan was to spend two days there to be able to explore around a little bit. On the boat ride into town though, I soon found out that the town comprised of a hotel, a hostel, and the wharf. The hostel was about a mile and a half walk from the wharf. I made the quick decision to find the bus and try and hop on it that day. Thank goodness there was one seat left on the bus. I threw my stuff below and hopped on board. Seeing that it had been four days since I had a shower and I had just spent the entire day walking, I didn't think that I was smelling too fresh. I kept my raincoat on thinking that if it kept the water out, hopefully it would keep my stench in. It seemed to have worked, as no one made any comments or complained about a rancid smell on the bus. Too bad for them anyway, it was a four hour drive back to Queenstown.

After an extensive cleansing session back in Queenstown, I had a few days to kill there before catching my bus head back north. I didn't accomplish too much in town that week but a bunch of reading and lounging around. I did go on a mission checking every single bar in town for coverage of the mens basketball tournament. No luck, and I went to every single bar in town. If it isn't cricket or rugby they don't show it.

Heading back north, I hopped off the bus at the town of Twizel. This town is where they filmed the final battle scene of "The Return of the King" and if you are inclined enough you can pay to go dress up as a dwarf, elf, hobbit... and run around on the hills. I'm not that fascinated with the books or the movies so I just grabbed a bus heading up along Lake Tekapo to Mount Cook Village. Mt Cook Village is situated a few kilometers from the base of Mt Cook. It is a small town that harbors more tourists than citizens. There are two options there, stay at the hotel for $NZ800 a night or stay at the hostel for $NZ23 a night. I opted for the hostel. After dropping my bags and changing into my boots, I headed off for the base of the mountain with some friends. We passed a statue of New Zealand's most famous citizen, Sir Edmund Hillary, before heading off on the track to the mountain. The track took us through the dry plains at the base of the mountains, around lakes grey from the glacial moraine and over the murky rivers flowing from the lakes. After the two hour walk to the base of the mountain, we were rewarded as the clouds parted for the next half hour, exposing Mt Cook in its entirety. The mountain was beautiful, with the snow peaks running down into glaciers flowing down the mountain, into Lake Hooker where we were standing. The lake itself was pretty interesting with large icebergs from the glacier floating around the lake. All good things come to an end and the clouds soon returned to pull the curtains on the show, but I was thankful I was rewarded with the views.

The next morning, it was back to Twizel to hop back on the Kiwi bus and head up to Christchurch. It was a Monday night in a town that is usually quite quiet and there was not a soul out. I headed to a nice little brew pub, Dux Lux, with my friends from Mt Cook and proceeded to take full advantage of the good beer in New Zealand with a few jugs of the local brew.

The next day, after rehydrating, we were back on the bus headed back to Kaikoura. I opted not to do any of the activities again, as I'll leave the marine stuff to my sister. I did head off to the local seal colony again to walk around. Unfortunately the tide was out and most of the seals were with it on the far rocks. They just looked like dark rocks on top of the real rocks. On the way back to town we stopped for a quick bite at a local fish shack on the beach and had the best scallops I've had in my life.

Leaving Kaikoura, it would be a day mostly spent on the bus. We headed up to Picton where we grabbed the Inner Islander ferry for the trip up to the North Island. It was a three and a half hour boat ride, leaving from the Nelson Sounds and heading through the straight to Wellington. The Nelson Sounds were beautiful with forest continuing all the way through the sound with only the occasional house scattered here and there. Luckily it was a calm day and the seas were pretty calm. Even on such a massive ferry and calm water there was a bit of rocking. It wasn't so much the water that was making me sick but the groups of doddering elders trying to feel young again. Half of them decided to sing their favorite songs from their younger years while the other half had fun taking turns trying to get a brass ring hung from a string around their waist, towards the rear, around the neck of a beer bottle on the floor. There is nothing like watching a bunch of old people squat down with their head between their knees and the brass ring hanging from their asses as they try to hit the bottle. I thought someone was going to break their back, but fortunately no one was hurt in this lamentable event. A few people even managed to get the ring around the bottle and received the reward of a jelly bean. Unfortunately I have been out of practice so opted not to participate out of fear of embarrassment. Eventually we arrived in Wellington where I had an hour to run through Te Papa Museum before it closed. It was a whirlwind journey through the history of New Zealand and the start to my North Island experience... get amonst it bro.

The Milford Track

New Zealand is famous for its tracks. I was fortunate enough to get a spot on its most famous walk, the Milford Track.

I headed out to a town called Te Anau where I needed to sign in with the Department of Conservation to confirm my booking. After taking care of all of the paperwork the lovely woman behind the counter asked if I had read the weather report. Weather report, yeah right, you have better odds playing the lottery than predicting the weather in New Zealand. Let me guess partly sunny, chance of rain. It turns out that in addition to the partly sunny, chance of rain, they were also predicting snow in the mountains. Now I have avoided the fluffy white stuff for about a year now and in no ways was I expecting to see it here during the summertime. This is New Zealand though and anything can happen with the weather. So to prepare I ran to the shop and purchased a pair of gloves and another layer to throw on just in case they were correct.

Day 1:
The next morning a bus picked myself and a group of about 20 others that were walking the track up from the DOC office. The bus took us on a short drive down the road to Te Anau Downs which has a hostel and a dock. We headed for the dock and boarded the boat that would take us up Lake Te Anau to Glade Wharf where we would start our walk. The boat ride started with the sun shining as we cruised past the fiords, but in true Kiwi fashion by the time we reached the wharf it was raining. The walk the first day took us three miles up the track to the Clinton hut. This is where we would be spending the first night. It was still early in the afternoon so I convinced some of the other Yanks (actually they were Texans) to head down to the Clinton River to go swimming. We went down to "the swimming hole" where I dipped my feet in to the FREEZING cold water. I quickly was rethinking the whole swimming idea. After standing there contemplating whether going in was a good idea or not I decided to take the plunge. Now I wouldn't call it a swim, it was more of a dunk your entire body under the water and then go running out. To my surprise everyone eventually made it in accompanied by plenty of complaints and comments. After spending some time on the river we headed back to the fire of the hut to join everyone else. Back at the hut we enjoyed a feast of the various freeze dried meals that people decided to bring in. Some people brought actual food in as the rest of us sat there jealously drooling over their meals. Ranger Peter Jackson arrived to give us a nice lecture about the hut, the track and some of his own commentary. He was able to scare a few people into turning back with his talks of how menacing the track can be. It was lights out at 10 that night. I was able to drift in and out of sleep to the symphony of snoring going on. Next time bring the most essential item, ear plugs.

Day 2:
Everyone woke up early, excited to get the real portion of this walk under way. After a quick breakfast of granola bars, I headed out on the track. Even though thunder storms were predicted it was sunny outside and the weather was just fine. The track today followed the Clinton River all the way up to its source at the base of the mountains. We would be walking through the Clinton Valley. It was a beautiful walk through the lush reforests in the valley and we were flanked by high mountains on either side each with its own array of waterfalls pouring down their granite faces. It was some of the most spectacular scenery I have ever seen in my life. I have never seen water so clear, land so green or such plentiful waterfalls that surrounded me all day. I can only hope that the pictures can provide a partial sense of what I saw that day. After a wonderful day of walking, I made it to the Mintaro Hut at the base of Mt Balloon. The weather had turned slightly with clouds coming in and a slight rain. I was keen to get to the top of Mackinnon Pass that crossed over Mt Balloon that day to hopefully catch some clear views of the valley below. I talked with another American guy, Brady, about going and we decided we would climb today. Having to carry no packs with us, we made it to the top of the pass in about an hour and were duly rewarded. We had somewhat clear views of both the Clinton Valley which we had just walked up and the Arthur Valley which we were headed to. Along with the views, we were accompanied by a wacka walking around at the top of the mountain. This is one of New Zealand's funny looking flightless birds. After spending some time at the top it got a bit windy and some hail started to fall so we headed back to the hut at the base to join everyone else. Back at the hut, it was another night of freeze dried food, talks from Ranger Chris, followed by the orchestra snoring up a rendition of the 1812 Orchestra, complete with cannons.

Day 3:
Waking up in the morning, there was quite a bit of commotion in the hut. I got up and walked to the out house to find that there was snow on the ground. The weathermen were right. I have never seen such big snow flakes, as quarter size flakes fell to the ground accumulating quickly. It was as if God was having a giant pillow fight up there in the sky and all the down was falling down. Ranger Chris asked us to stick around the hut until he got the weather report. I dressed quite warmly, layering on the clothes that I had thankfully bought in Te Anau. Ranger Chris came back to inform us that we would be leaving in 15 minutes and heading up the pass as a group. He would lead us to mark the track. I was anxious to climb in the snow, so leaving the hut I lined up directly behind the ranger. This might not have been the best choice. Following the ranger, we came across trees that had sagged by the weight of the snow. Ducking under the tree following Chris, he like to shake the snow off while I was underneath. I quickly caught on and let him lead and shake before I limboed the trees. The snow created an amazing sight, turning this green rainforest completely white. Climbing from the base, we already had 4 inches of snow, and it was accumulating quickly. It was slow going today, as we waited to make sure that everyone was faring well up the mountain. About half way up one of the guides from the guided group came running past, dressed in true Kiwi fashion with boots, raincoat and shorts. I talked with Ranger Chris and he let Brady and I go ahead with the guide because we had already climbed the pass. We followed the guides track up the mountain where the snow kept getting deeper and deeper. By the time we reached the tree line there was already a foot of snow on the ground. It was slow going from here on up as my feet sank blindly looking for solid ground under the snow cover. There were quite a few times that my foot just sank so low that my entire body would follow, falling into a blanket of snow. Reaching the top we were greeted by white out conditions which allotted us no views of either valley. We rested for a few minutes taking cover from the wind behind the monument. Judging by the bright red color of the guides legs, he was anxious to get moving to the shelter hut a mile further ahead along the ridge of the pass. This was the hardest walking yet, as we hit snow drifts that had snow coming up to my hips. Eventually we made it to the hut to get out of the elements and try and warm up. While there the ranger decided to close the pass due to the inclement weather. We were here though with no turning back. Most of the people eventually made it up, with only two having to turn back due to hypothermia. The entire group rested in the shelter for over an hour before another ranger arrived from the Arthur valley to inform us that we would be heading down the emergency route due to avalanche activity. The emergency route was a more direct route straight down the mountain the had some serious switchbacks down the steep face. We headed out as a group again, but this side of the mountain didn't seem to have as much snow and it was a much easier trek down. By the time we reached the tree line, the sun had come out and it was starting to warm. From there, it was a pleasant climb down to the valley with the melting snow exposing the green again and creating avalanches that echoed through the valley. It was pleasant for most of us, but unfortunately one woman had a serious fall, broke her arm and had to be helicoptered out. We headed down to the bottom of the valley where we dropped our packs off and walked the hour and a half to go see Sutherland Falls. This is the tallest waterfall in New Zealand and the fifth highest in the world. After a brief viewing of the falls we were thoroughly wet from the mist and headed back to grab our packs and walk the last two miles to the Dumpling Hut. Here everyone closely gathered by the fire to enjoy their last freeze dried dinner and listen to the seven foot tall ranger show off his bird call ability for over an hour. Everyone was tired and not too enthused at the whistling Sasquatch. I was even tired enough to sleep through the entire symphony.

Day 4:
Waking up on the last day, my feet were still a little sore from the day before. We all headed out early in order to make the boat that would be picking us up at the end of the track at 2 that day. It was quite an easy, pretty flat walk which disappointed me a bit because there was nothing too interesting about this day. The weather was overcast and drizzling which didn't make any fast rushing stream crossings or sun to show off the surroundings. The walk was still spectacular, but after being surrounded by such wonders for three days I had become accustomed the the surroundings. I was more focused on my aching feet and knees. The walk was nice though and I was sad when I reached Sandfly Point and was done. I wanted more. We hopped on a small boat that would be taking us from Sandfly Point into Milford Sound, getting some nice views of the fiord. I now understand why this is considered the greatest walk in the world.

Sweet As

Landing in Christchurch, I took the bus into town and found a place to crash for the evening. I organized the Kiwi Experience which would be taking me by bus around the islands and made reservations to leave the next day. I walked around Christchurch for a bit and went and had my first taste of New Zealand brew... yum.

The next morning the bus picked me up early and we were off for Kaikoura. This is a small little sea town on the East Coast of the South Island. We had the option of going swimming with dolphins or seals or going on a whale watching boat ride. The weather wasn't too nice though so I just stayed in town, taking a walk to the top of the bluff overlooking the town. I couldn't see any whales from the top but the views of the coast line were spectacular. I headed down into town and did some shopping for the barbecue we would be having later that evening and then headed back to the hostel. Upon arrival I joined in an English drinking game. Good thing I took up the game quickly. We had a good old brai with lots of lamb that night before heading off to the pub to play quizo. Not a bad first day... I like this place.

From Kaikoura, we headed out the next day towards Nelson. We stopped along the way at Picton to drop off most of the people on the bus because they were headed for the North Island. After picking up a whole new crew we were off for Nelson. On the way we stopped at a vineyard in Marlborough for quite a crappy wine tasting... I'll stick to South African wines. On the road we made a stop at a small river where a few of us jumped off of the rocks into the river, braving the cold water. No worries, to warm up we just had a nice cold ice cream. We arrived in Nelson at our accommodation, the Prince Albert. Besides the name, the place was really nice and we got a cheap dinner there along with a beer tasting. The beer tasting soon turned into a beer drinking and eventually morphed into more drinking games.

I said goodbye to the people on my bus because I was headed off to the Abel Tasman National Park for the day to kayak along the coast. I arrived at the town of Kaiteriteri and hopped on a water taxi with a few other people and our kayaks and took a ride to Bark Bay beach where we would head out from. We met more people there on the beach, got set up and headed out to kayak back to Kaiteriteri. Along the way we paddled out to a seal colony at Pinnacle Island, explored some picturesque lagoons, had lunch on Adele island and then kayaked the Mad Mile back into town. It was a great day with perfect weather to enjoy this beautiful place. After a day of kayaking we headed back to Nelson where I met up with my roommate Tim and headed into town bar hopping.

From Nelson we headed towards the West Coast. We stopped for a picnic lunch in Nelson Lakes National Park at Lake Rotoiti. It was beautiful there having a nice lunch on the lake. It was a little cold for me but some people went in. After they got out I happened to notice some huge eels swimming around in the water. That was the end of swimming in that lake. After the nice break, we headed off for Westport. This is a small little nothing town on the coast. We made the most of the place though. That evening we stocked up on piss (Kiwi for booze) and headed down to the beach. We gathered the driftwood that had washed up on the beach and built a huge bonfire. It was great having a huge fire going at this social gathering of our bus. Around 11 the tide finally came in and washed away the fire. That was the end to another fabulous day.

The next morning we left Westport and took a short drive down to Cape Foulwind where we took a walk along the coast. It was beautiful scenery made even better by the local seal colony. All of the seals were accompanied by all of their brand new calf's. It was great watching them swim and crawl around on the rocks. We then headed down the coast further for Punakaiki. This place is famous for its pancake rocks and blow holes. The blow hoes weren't blowing too much, but the pancake rocks were pretty amazing. No one can really explain why they have formed but who cares, they are cool to look at. From there we headed down to Greymouth to get some supplies for the costume party we would be having that night. We left town and headed for our destination that evening, Lake Mahinapua where we were staying at the Poo Pub. The owner of the Poo Pub, Liz, is a local who is off his rocker and funny as hell. This guy is 83 and has been having this party bus come through there every day for the last 15 years. We had a wonderful meal that his wife cooked for us. After dinner we all got changed for the party that evening. The idea is to use trash bags to be anything that has the same first letter as your last name. I went as a gift. Not bad, but there were some great costumes there. We had ball gowns from trash bags, bees, Borat in his yellow thong, hells angels, and a loo man. My buddy Matt was the loo man, covering himself in chocolate sauce and pieces of toilet paper. By the end of the evening everyone and everything was covered in chocolate. I wasn't too happy about that and neither was Liz. In a drunken state it was decided that the best way to remove the chocolate was to go swimming in the lake. Maybe not the best of ideas with people camping there...

The next day we got quite a lecture from Liz claiming that we were the worst bus in five years. It was all good fun though. We left the Poo Pub heading further south along the coast. We stopped off at Bushman Pete's. Here we were greeted by Pete. Pete isn't a late drinking metrosexual boy from Auckland, no Pete is an old time South New Zealander from the time when men were men and sheep were scared. Pete had spent his life on the South Island culling the deer population. When the numbers got too low and deer farming became popular, Pete and others like him headed up in helicopters where the pilot would hover over the running deer and Pete would jump out of the chopper and tackle the deer. Pete now has built a museum to honor the occupation, complete with documentary film which has to be one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Have these guys never heard of a tranquilizer gun? From the Bushman's place we headed down to Frans Joseph Village, where we would be climbing the glacier the next morning.

Unfortunately the next day wasn't as nice and we awoke to rain. They walk the glacier rain or shine though. After an hour walk through the rainforest we emerged at the base of the Frans Joseph Glacier. It was amazing how huge this chunk of ice is, and it is still growing. We put on the crampons and headed up the glacier. We climbed a nice easy track that was carved out at the base towards the glacial moraine. After climbing up the moraine for a bit we walked towards the center of the glacier where we practiced some climbing steps and then headed off to explore the crevasses, caves and seracs. It was amazing climbing through this pure blue ice. It was quite an amazing adventure and not too hard until our guide brought us to a pond that we had to climb around. There were two steps on the sides where we could step and had to use our ice pick to stable ourselves. I was sure I was going for a swim but somehow made it around dry. After exploring for a few hours we headed back down. What a day.

The next day we left Frans Joseph and made it about five miles down the road before the bus broke down. Scotty our stoner bus driver forgot to fill up with gas. He then continued to park the bus on a slope and put the air brakes on. This guy had no clue so I went outside to help him. He was a little embarrassed and tried to play it off like there was something wrong with the bus... yeah it needs gas. A few of us didn't feel like waiting on the bus so we headed back into town and had a nice lunch under cover from the torrential downpour going on. The bus came to get us and we were finally off for Wanaka. Apparently it had rained all day in Wanaka anyway and just cleared up when we arrived. This town has to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. The town fronted Lake Wanaka at the base of the Southern Alps. I went for a walk along the lake and before heading back to make dinner. The night was topped off with a trip to the pub for cheap beer and Manchester United playing Chelsae.

The next morning I woke up early because I was supposed to go skydiving in Wanaka. We called the still sleeping pilot who claimed that it was too cloudy. Bullshit. I didn't want to go back to sleep so I took a walk over to the grocery store to get some supplies. Half way through my shopping I was interrupted by someone running into the store to get me. Skydive was on. We headed to the airport and prepared for our jump. I got suited up and was really excited to to this. The other two guys in my plane were not as thrilled, as they had panicked looks on their face... all I could do was smile. I think that my instructor Evans was a little worried that I wasn't afraid at all. Hell no, this is going to be great. We headed up in the plane and Evans pointed out the mountains in the distance, including Mt Cook. It was time to jump and I couldn't wait. Up, up and away. The acceleration as you start to fall and are spinning around in the air is the best feeling. After stabilizing facing downwards, we had a little less than a minute to spin, roll, and dive, enjoying the free fall. After an amazing rush it was time to pull the chute. After the chute deployed, it was a pleasant cruise down to the ground. Evans gave me the controls and I continued to turn us and then put us in downward spirals. He could see I was having fun so he took the controls back and took me for a bit of a joy ride. After landing all I wanted was to go back up again and do it all again. Unfortunately I couldn't. After skydiving the bus picked us back up and we headed off for Queenstown. We made a stop at Kawarau Gorge to visit the home of bungy jumping. This is where AJ Hackett first pioneered commercial bungy. We watched a few people jump, but this was nothing compared to Victoria Falls. The big bungy jump was in the Nevis Gorge. Once people were done jumping, we took off and headed into Queenstown.

While most people spend their time in Queenstown bungy jumping, white water rafting, skydiving, or any of the other adrenaline activities available, I decided to take the time to relax by the lake, take in the sights and read a book. Finally some time to relax.

Goodbye to Oz

Returning from the Great Ocean Road I met Bev out for lunch to try and plan out the final days that I had in Melbourne. I knew that it would be sad to leave again, but I have my fingers crossed that I will be back in a year for Omi's 100th birthday.

My last few days were quite event filled. Friday night the entire family was together again for dinner. Everyone was a little on edge though because Bev and Ryan had an auction the following day for the house they wanted to get. In Australia most of the houses are auctioned off at a set time right in front of the house... something quite different to what I'm used to in the states.

Saturday morning, Ryan and I headed off to take Jenna to her netball match. It was quite the entertaining game because Jenna's team is quite good. Jenna played forward for half the game and scored a few points and then was put on defence where she stood there biting her nails due to the lack of action at her end. Her team ended up spanking the other team and Jenna went off with a friend to celebrate while Ryan and I headed off to the auction.

I arrived at the auction with Bev, Ryan and Dylan. It was my job to watch Dylan while the auction was going on, quite the task. We went inside to take a look at the house. This place should be put in a museum because everything is out of the 1960s. I decided that Dylan would have the room that smelled the worst of old people. Thank goodness the plan is to tear the house down and build a new one. Right before the auction Bev found Dylan and I playing in the back yard and lectured us both to behave or else she will give us a smack. We were quiet. The auction started and was quite interesting. There were about 40 people just standing in the road outside of the house while the auction was going on. The bids were offered and the auctioneer gave the final call... sold. Bev and Ryan now owned this prehistoric house in shambles.

That night was just as exciting as the day because Peter, Chad and his friend, and myself headed off to watch a footy match in town. We headed to the game which was even more entertaining that watching it on TV. You wouldn't believe how much fighting goes on off the ball. It was a lot of fun to watch and Chad did a good job explaining all of the rules to me.

After the game I headed back to Bev and Ryan's to go and partake in the celebrations of the house purchase. A few bottles of whiskey later someone sober was nice enough to take me home.

The next few days I spent as much time with Omi as possible. I had a car and took Omi to lunch and for drives around town. The rest of the time was just spent sitting around and talking. I told her she had to make it another year so the entire family could get back together next year. The last night we had a big dinner at Ruth's house with the entire family. It was great having everyone there but I was really sad to leave. No worries... I'll be back next year.

Intermission

I decided to take a little break from the family in Melbourne to let my aunt recover from a week of having me. I headed off down the Great Ocean Road for five days to go and see what is described as one of the nicest drives in the world.

After picking up a car down in Melbourne, I headed South past Gelong on my was to the first stop Torquay. Torquay is a surf town and the home of the big Australian surf companies. Unfortunately the day I arrived it was raining so there weren't many people out surfing at all. I checked the two big surf beaches at Danger Point and Bells Beach. Bells had a few people out in the water but after waiting around for about an hour none of them had caught a wave. That afternoon I left the rainy beaches and headed for the town of Lorne. I camped in Lorne that evening, enjoying a nice cool evening in this small surf town.

The next morning I headed to the rain forests just North of Lorne to go and do some hiking. I drove up to Erskine Falls to check out the waterfall and head out for a walk through the rain forest. The falls were nothing compared to Victoria Falls but still were nice and serene. I headed out for a walk through the dense forests around the falls, enjoying the vast variety of plant life there. Returning from the walk, I headed off for my next destination, Otway National Park, where I would be camping that evening.

I arrived at Otway National Park and headed for the campsite. After putting up my tent I headed out for a walk along the Great Ocean Walk. This took me through the forests and beaches along the coastline. At the start of the walk they had a few signs warning about snakes and falling trees. Not far after walking past the signs, I came across a two meter snake sitting right there in the path where I was trying to walk. We started each other down for a minute and then the snake decided to crawl under the plank of wood I was supposed to walk on to avoid destroying this marshy area. I decided the best way to approach this now was to run across the plank as fast as possible using large leaps. In horrible triple jump fashion I made it across without any incident with the snake. This wouldn't be the only wildlife that I would see on my walk. I came across numerous koalas in the eucalyptus trees above me. These animals are cute and fuzzy, but really boring. The eucalyptus that they eat has a natural sedative in it that leaves these creatures stoned all day long. They just sit up in the trees eating and sleeping. The kangaroos that I ran into were much more active though. Once catching sight of me they would freeze and stare at me briefly before quickly hopping off into the bush. It was really cool seeing these animals in the wild, especially having a koala that liked the tree by my tent.

The next morning, after a refreshing swim in the lagoon near camp, I headed off to to more of the great ocean walk. I headed out from the Otway Lighthouse to head to a large abondoned beach. The walk first took me through some dense brush where I could hear the kangaroos hopping off as I aproached. I did was lucky enough to come across an Echidna (porcupine) that had buried itself in the sand as I approached, just leaving the spiky spines exposed. He didn't want to move from this protective position so I headed off for the beach. A one kilometer walk along the beach took me to Rainbow Falls. I'm not sure if you could really call this a waterfall, but it was a steady drip of water coming out of the cliffs right at the edge of the ocean. I walked along this 4 kilometer beach and unfortunately was unable to swim anywhere due to the strong currents and massive waves of the Tazman Sea. I headed back to the lighthouse and continued my drive to Johanna Beach. Again, I couldn't swim at this beach, but was able to camp up on the hill overlooking the beach along with a few hundred cows.

The next day I continued my trip along the Great Ocean Road, stopping to see sights like the Twelve Appostles, Loch Ard Gorge, and the Bay of Isles. The entire section of this drive was filled with the large waves of the Tazman Sea eating away at the cliffs of this picturesque coastline. Everywhere you looked it was beautiful. I left this section of coastline to head for Port Fairy, a small, old fishing village. I spent the afternoon walking around the town and the harbor before camping here for the evening.

The next morning I had to leave early to head back to Melbourne for my last days with the family there.

99 in Melbourne

Leaving Perth, I was heading to Melbourne to see the rest of the old Africa family and most importantly to celebrate my grandmother Omi's 99th birthday. Arriving at the airport I was greeted by my Aunt Ruth, Uncle Peter, and cousin Dylan. It was great to see everyone again and good to see that not much had changed since the last time I was here (Dylan is still a little monster). We headed off to Ruth's new house where I would be staying while there. At the house, the rest of the family was there for a dinner to celebrate my arrival. My cousin Bev and Ryan were there with their three children Jenna, Chad and Dylan. Most importantly, Omi was there. It was a wonderful evening of my telling stories about my trip to Africa.

That week I spent quite a bit of time with the family. I would go and visit Omi every day talking with her and telling her everything that I have been up to and plan on doing. In the afternoons I was able to go to Bev's house and play with the kids. They are great, we played lots of games and I taught them how to play the slapping game. They took to it and the next week was spent slapping each other's hands until they were nice and red.

February 14 arrived and it was the big day as Omi turned 99. For a 99 year old woman she is doing pretty well. She still can hold a conversation without a problem but has a hard time hearing sometimes. I think she just has selective hearing though. She also can move around pretty well using her walker, just watch your feet. Omi decided that she wanted to go for Chinese for lunch. Omi, Ruth, Bev and I had a wonderful lunch together and Omi got her first round of presents, chocolate and a picture from me. After lunch we headed back to Ruth's where more people came over to wish Omi a happy birthday and phone calls flooded in from family and friends around the world. That night the whole family was together again for a birthday dinner that included four generations of the family all together.

Perth WA

I finally left Asia and was on my way to Perth to meet up with my cousin Gary. He picked me up at the airport and we headed back to his house where I was able to crash after a sleepless red eye flight. Once I woke up, I was able to properly catch up with Donna and the newest member of the family, their daughter Rachel. Rachel is only four months old, cute as hell, and took a liking to me, thank goodness. It was great being back with family again.

I had a little over a week in Perth, but also was taking the GMAT in the middle of my stay which left me with a few days to study and then a few days to enjoy myself. Did I say study? Gary took me for a drive to show me where he worked, where a few places were, and then handed me the car keys. Now while I should have been at the library cramming as much as possible, instead I decided to head to the beach to 'study.' I enjoy studying at the beach, it involves getting a tan, going for swims in the ocean, body boarding, and checking out the girls that seemed to be as jobless as me. Oh yeah, I did bring my books, but they were mostly used as a sleep aid.

Beyond the beach I was also introduced to cricket and footy by Gary. I've seen cricket before and never really understood how a game can go on for five days and still not have a winner. Australian Rules Football, footy, was new to me though. This has to be the greatest game ever invented. Leave it to a penal colony to create a game like this. It is incredibly simple, you can kick, knock or dribble the ball, trying to kick it between two posts while your opponent tries to take your head off any way possible oh and yeah there are fights going on away from the ball all the time. I don't know why this game hasn't taken off anywhere else, it is brilliant. Footy season was still a month away though so I had to settle for a cricket match. The match turned out to be the day before my exam, but I decided that it would be good to try and relax a little the day before. We headed off for the WACA (cricket stadium) around lunch to watch a one day match against Sydney. Now cricket is a little like baseball where you don't really go to the game to just watch the game, it involves beer... lots of beer and conversation. The only difference is that this game is eight hours long. After a good thorough explanation of the rules I started to understand the game and it became marginally more interesting. Sydney batted first and didn't do so hot, so after four hours it was time for Perth to bat and try and score more runs. They made bating look easy and I was fortunate to watch the fastest one day century in Australian cricket. It was quite exciting to watch Perth destroy Sydney quickly, but is still is nowhere as good as footy. I guess I'm just a stupid American that doesn't understand cricket.

After the exam things didn't change too much. It was days at the beach and nights hanging out with Gary, Donna and Rachel. My time in Perth went by way too quickly though. Before I knew it my time there was coming to a close. It is strange how fast time can go by. I had such a good time with my cousin that it was quite upsetting to have to leave, but I had a birthday to get to.