New Zealand

Always in the big woods, when you leave familiar ground and step off alone into a new place, there will be, along with feelings of curiousity and excitement, a little nagging dread. It is an ancient fear of the unknown and it is your first bond with the wilderness you're going into. What you are doing is exploring. You are undertaking the first experience, not of the place, but of yourself in that place. It is an experience of essential loneliness; for nobody can discover the world for anyone else. It is only after we have discovered it for ourselves that it becomes a common ground and bond, and we cease to be alone. - Wendell Berry

Greetings all from Christchurch, New Zealand! We have been quite busy driving around the South Island on the left side of the road. We have seen, this is a rough estimate, 20 million of the 40 million sheep in New Zealand. A few were being chased by a few eager male human Kiwis. They said that the "baaahhh" from the sheep means "more." Today is our last day in New Zealand as tomorrow we head to Australia and warm weather.

From Lake Tekapo, Nadine and I headed further south to the town of Wanaka. Our sole goal here was to ski, ski, and then a little more skiing. Nadine had been suffering from a 2 year dry snow spell. We had two ski fields to choose from, Cardrona and Treble Cone. From eager pushing by a wild haired Aussie, we decided to go to the Cardrona Ski Fields first. This was a good choice too. Cardrona turned out to be the easier of the two places.

As we drove to the mountain after having had picked up a Japanese snowboarder hitching a ride, we climbed the steep "35 minute from the bottom to the top" dirt road with no safe barriers to prevent our long fall. It was here that we realized a 4X4 vehicle would be nice compared to our little go kart. BUT, the view from the top was amazing. Nadine and I spent the morning and afternoon tearing up some major green and blue routes on the mountain. It was good for Nadine to be back on skis and good for me not to fall the first day. Now for an American or European, when you think of a place to ski, you think of long ski trails lined with trees that you can ride for a long while. That is not the reality in New Zealand. In New Zealand, the ski trails are short and you have to avoid rocks sticking up out of the snow. Those prove to be more dangerous than the snowboarders flying by. It was a great chance for Nadine to hit the slopes, and a sort of a warm-up for a more challenging day.

The next day, we drove to Treble Cone Ski Resort. Same thing, drive small car up steep dirt road for spectacular views along the way. What was great about this place is that if you purchased a 15 pack of Speights Beer, there was a coupon on the packaging that allowed you to get two ski lift tickets for the price of one. Great deal, plus the beer! Good thing that one of us got in free, that person being me, because this place proved to be more difficult than the previous day. After two runs on greens that had me falling all over, I called it a morning and spent it with some hot cocoa, a camera, some crazy green birds and spectactular views. While I was sipping on some hot drink, Nadine had the freedom to run around all of the runs. She immediately headed over to the blues and blacks. She became so excited, she almost went out of bounds on the other side of the mountain. Fortunately she composed herself and decided to stay on the trails. We finished the afternoon with a couple more runs together on some kiddy runs and greens, and Nadine had had her skiing fix for a "wee" bit. She really wants to get back to the slopes of Colorado.

After our four days in the Wanaka area, we quickly drove to see Queenstown, "capital of extreme sports" in the country that is "home to all extreme sports." If you wanted to use the word "extreme" for any part of the U.S., you could use it with New Mexico and the fact that they use green chile on all dishes. Cereal included. Now that is extreme! I would like to see anyone from Queenstown try a little green chile on their Weet-Bix in the morning. Wowzers. After our quick visit to Queenstown, we continued our circular driving route up the western coast. Along our way, we passed the impressively calm and dark blue Lake Hawea. A lake similar to this back home would have been built up years ago and full of people. We saw one single boat the entire time.

Our first stop along the Western coast was the town, and they are all towns on the South Island, with the exception of Christchurch with its whooping population of 320,000, of Fox Glacier. It has this name due to the fact that, well, it's at the bottom of a rather large glacier. You could call this the glacier district, because 25 kilometers north is the Franz Josef Glacier. What makes these two glaciers so unique and spectacular is that they have advanced so close to the sea. Both glaciers average about a meter, 3 feet, of downhill descent everyday. On a good day, they may move as much as 15 feet. Imagine this scenario - driving along a two-lane road and seeing a vast sea to your left and a humungous mountain capped in snow on your right and in the ridge of that mountain, a big ol' glacier just hanging out. That is New Zealand for you, full of jaw dropping shots.

The first glacier we visited was the southern Fox Glacier. We hiked through the valley to the terminal face of the glacier. You were miniscule compared to the glacier. It was here that you felt like a Pepper at a dance full of WNBA basketball players. Think of the bright side though, if you were throwing a party, you would have an unlimited amount of ice. Barry! Can you climb up the valley and get some more ice. No dirt this time though.

The following day, we travelled north to the Franz Josef Glacier. The Maori legend states that this glacier was created when a girl lost her man when he fell climbing the local peaks and died. She searched for him at the top of the mountain and her resulting tears the loss of her lover froze and created the glacier. I can't actually vouch for that, because when we drove up, there was a full gale wind storm smacking us in the face. So I didn't actually see her at the top. Honestly, the wind was strong enough that we were able to lean into wind and not fall over. Eventually, I ran to the terminal face, took a few pictures, did NOT pee into the wind, and ran back to the car where Nadine was waiting. Both glaciers were still quite spectacular.

From the glacier district, we traveled north to the small town of Punakaiki. It's here that you find another unique geographical anomoly, pancake rocks and blowholes. Not two items you associate with breakfast. What has happened is that the limestone at this point have been eroded over time and looks like stacks of skinny pancakes. When the high tide comes in, the water rushes in and explodes out of blowholes similar to geysers. It is a sight to take in. I felt like a kid at Disneyland running from spot to spot trying to catch the "money shot." It was so good that we first took it in the evening, like it so much, went back in the morning to watch the show again.

Our final noteworthy experience was in the city of Kaikoura on the eastern coast. It doesn't take long to travel from coast to coast. Maori tradition holds that the demigod Maui sat on his boat, the southern island, at the point where the penisula of Kaikoura rests and fished up the northern island, where we decided to hike the peninsula. There were two routes you could choose, hike along the top or walk along the beach. We went with the hike along the ridge that provided excellent views, and on the way back we returned via the beach. This is where it gets interesting. We passed a small point along the beach where we saw a colony of seals, no relation to the singer Seal. Upon our return we had to pass a small and wet jetty. As the tide was coming in, you had to time it perfectly to reach the next high and dry rock. As Nadine panicked and scared of having return to the hostel wet or dead, we turned around and did something much safer. We climbed up a grass cliff to get to the top. We did return home safely and the nerves still intact.

I already have named our first entry from Australia. I will not reveal it until week, but it is does have its origin from Dumb and Dumber, the greatest movie of all time. Hope all are well and enjoying the blog. I have to note that the top commenter of the blog is a New Mexican, Jeremy Pepper. You may not be able to win with stamps, but you can win by total comments. Keep up the good work buddy.

Peace from Kiwiland

John and Nadine

Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes.
- Herny David Thoreau

Howdy yall! Hope this latest entertaining blog entry finds y'all doing well. Nadine and I are currently here in Lake Tekapo, New Zealand. This little town of a couple of thousand Kiwis is located on the South Island and surrounded by towering mountains covered in snow and a few sheep.

Since our last email from Taupo on the North Island, we have visited Wellington, Christchurch, and now Lake Tekapo. Nadine and I have started a new little tradition. Not the climb to the top of a mountain and take a naked photo, but the day that we leave a city, we take an early morning walk through a park or forest. As we were leaving Taupo, our favorite place on the North Island, we took a nice long walk through a park that ran along side the Waikato River. The Waikato River is the largest and longest river in New Zealand and originates from Lake Taupo. Lake Taupo was created 26,000 years ago, before both Nadine and I were born, my parents might have been kids at the time, when the largest volcanic explosion of all time took place. The result was Lake Taupo, which created Waikato River, which created a perfect place to take a walk during the day. Several miles away from the lake, there is a spot where this mighty river is crammed into an area the size of a Texas sized truck. The result is a mighty, baby blue waterfall that you wouldn't want to kayak on your best day. These falls are called Huka Falls. Have I mentioned that all the water in New Zealand is really clean? If not, the water is clean and tastes so good when it hits your lips.

Anytime that you have an experience with locals that are not involved in the tourist industry, it is always a pleasure. This past Sunday, we had searched for a church, but could not find one in the phonebook, on any maps, until Nadine was luckily able to locate one very close to our hostel. We had no idea how what time it started, so we headed off around 9:25. As we walked up, we learned that church started at 9:30, perfect timing. After mass, we sat in the conference room jabbering with some local Kiwi ladies. This group of ladies that we were talking to were more or less all part of the same family. And this was a big family. The ladies we were talking to were part of a family of 9, and they each had enough kids to form at least a basketball team. Thus, after each question they posed to us, it was hard to get a word in edge wise. Here is a blurp from one of our conversations:

- So where are you heading to next?
- Well, we were . . .
- Hey Lisa, here are two Americans traveling around our clean water country. Where are you going next?
- We were thinking of . . .
- Stop that Margaret, be nice to your little sister.
- thinking of filming the next Lord of the Rings movie and slapping a few sheep around, you know, the usual.
- That sounds great, enjoy your time here.

Come to find out, they gave us the location of a great little diner where we could have a large, greasy breakfast which were craving for a good long time. They also gave us a lift to Brooklyn Cafe.

Throughout the North Island, Nadine and I traveled by bus. We decided to travel the South Island via another mode of transportation, not the scooter of the Cook Islands, brace yourselves, but an actual rental car. It's the first time in our lives of traveling internationally, that we have rented a car, and for two weeks. Identical to the Cook Islands, everyone drives on the left side of the road, and the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. Fortunately, we have an automatic transmission, and if not for that, we would still be in Christchurch a couple of blocks away from the rental facility. From Christchurch, we drove here over a span of 3 hours. Half of that time, Nadine was screaming at me to avoid that concrete barrier, that sheep, as well as that 18 wheeler. The car tends to pull to the left a little more and I am used to, and as a driver, used to being on the left side of the lane when driving, you can understand Nadine's preoccupation with my driving. It's her turn today.

Last of all, as we sat here relaxing in Lake Tekapo with not much to do other than read, we decided to finally wash our clothes in an actual washing machine. Since we had a room to ourselves, I decided to wash ALL of my clothes aside from a red rainjacket. While our clothes were washing, I played backgammon naked with a fully clothed Nadine. When it came time to put our freshly cleaned clothes into the dryer, Nadine and only Nadine went to do the transfer. Come to find out, the spin cycle did not work at all. Thus, our clean clothes were still sopping wet AND freezing. No worries on my part, I was stuck in the room naked and unable to help. Nadine had to do it alone. Nadine came soon after frustrated that I coulnd't be of clothed assistance. Being the problem solvers that we are, I put on my red raincoat and Nadine's only pair of white longjohns. The result was Nadine laughing like she hadn't laughed before, almost causing a serious asthma attack on her part, but I was able to help now. For the next 2 and a half hours, I was prancing around like an elf at Christmas time. Minus the elf shoes. Did I mention that it was cold?

Life is good, we are heading to Wanaka for some much needed time on the slopes for Nadine. We have added some photos to a few of the previous entries. Enjoy!

The human race has one really affective weapon, and that is laughter.
- Mark Twain

Well today you are getting an entry from the other half of this dynamic duo travelling around the world. I feel inspired to write today, as we have done something that was the biggest adrenaline rush either of us has ever felt.

We went crazy and decided to fall out of a tiny plane from 12,000 feet up in the air. We are currently hailing from Taupo, New Zealand, and the opportunity of skydiving presented itself so we did it. I can hardly believe it as I am writing it now. The town of Taupo is right by a huge lake and some huge mountains, so the scenery was fantastic from way up there.

Both John and I were ancy all morning in anticipation of our jump around 12 noon. As we got all suited up there was no turning back. We got on the plane and flew around for a magnificent view for about 20 minutes. John jumped out first with Ollie, a Polish man, strapped to him tightly. I think he was glad to be that close to a man for once. After that it was my turn, strapped to Mike. I was pretty terrified sitting on the edge of the plane, but once we took the dive, it was absolutely surreal. The freefall was 45 seconds, but it felt like 10. After that, the parachute opened and we gracefully glided down towards the airport. The gentle coasting after the freefall was the best part for me since I got to take in all the scenery and my surroundings. John liked the freefall the best, on the contrary.

So now we are back on safe ground and feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to skydive in Taupo, New Zealand.

Nadiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnne

The road goes ever on and on. Down from the door where it began. Not far ahead the road has gone, And I must follow, if I can. Pursuing it with eager feet, until it joins some larger way where many paths and errands meet. And whither then, I cannot say.
- J.R.R. Tolkein - Fellowship of the Rings

Nadine and I have made the successful journey from the Cook Islands, warm islands, to New Zealand, cold islands. Once again, to make it perfectly clear, we are in New Zealand where it is currently winter, and by the temperatures here, I think that that would be the equivalent of being on the North Pole. We are currently in the city of Rotorua which is located in the middle of the North Island. And yes, the mullet is still in style here in New Zealand.

We have found that there are three types of travellers that we keep running into : A) people traveling for a short vacation B) folks taking between 7 months and a couple of years to travel around the world AND C) English teenagers that just graduated from high school and are traveling anywhere Nadine and I are headed. I will let you pick which one has been a big pain in the arse. We've experienced it here in New Zealand and in the Cook Islands, English teenagers get their first taste of freedom, travel to another country, and decide to go plum silly drinking lots of beer and alcohol, being loud, and not really seeing the sights other than the local liquor store run by Ned. Ok, not every English traveler is like that, i.e. Jason and Sarah (currently in Las Vegas), but we have met more than one that is annoying. Which leads us to Auckland.

Thus, our first stay in the land of Lord of the Rings, extreme sports, and friendly folks, we stayed in a crap hole called the Fat Camel. Better yet, call it the Fat, Smelly, Dirty Camel's Butt Hostel full of slime balls. Travel presents different types of people and different views on life by people. Needless to stay, our hostel was "special" in that it was nasty, but it did do one positive thing, it forced us to see Auckland and it's many treasures from the early morning until the late evening.

Don't misinterpret the above paragraphs to mean that we are miserable and not having a great time, quite the contrary. We are having a great time, feel fortunate to be able to travel, and have met loads of great people. Earlier this past week, our credit card was being charged for bus tickets to explore the North Island, and a couple leaned over and said that we could have theirs, for free, and it takes us to the sights we wanted to visit. Talk about a good deed, and the couple wouldn't accept any money from us in exchange for the tickets. I am convinced that there are more good, quality people than bad. I am sure of that.

This past Thursday evening, Nadine and I went to see one of the movies showing at the Auckland International Film Festival, the Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada. The movie was quite interesting and the fact that the movie was based in West Texas, not Western New Mexico, made it even better. Odessa was mentioned several times along with a couple of scenes actually filmed in Odessa. There isn't nothing like seeing Odessa when you are in Auckland, New Zealand! Once again, wasn't New Mexico. As intriguing as watching a movie featuring West Texas was the theatre itself, the Civic Theater. This elaborate theatre, used for plays, only shows movies during the film festival. On top of that, while the movie was playing, there was a simulation of the sky, stars, and clouds on the ceiling as they were on April 21st. Pretty cool stuff. I wasn't sure whether to make a wish when the the shooting star passed by.

One of our final excursions in Auckland was a ferry over to the volcanic island of Rangitoto. Rangitoto is a volcanic island that was formed 600 years ago, very young for a volcano, ancient for a human, and is located across the whale, dolphin, and sealife infested Waitemata Harbor. On the black island, we climbed the 260 meter tall cone for another superb view the Auckalnd cityscape and our surroundings.

After a short lunch trying to feed ourselves and the small green bird ressembling Tweety, we walked around the lip of the volacno and then on to some caves. At the caves, Robin, an engineer from Maine living in Cali, and I explored the volcanic caves with the aid of a small "Curves" gym light. It started offf somewhat tight but expanded into a tall, circular cave. We were able to see roots hanging from the ceiling. When we came to the end of our cave expedition, we had to climb out of a jagged exit, and our freedom. As soon as we poked our heads out, and Nadine knew that it was doable, she jumped right in and did it herself. She exited with a non-claustrophoby induced smile on her cute little face.

A little side note. New Zealand is very environmentally conscious. You can tell by the way they talk and carry themselves that they are making a genuine effort to protect the environment. As a result of their effort, the place is clean, clean, and clean. As one little boy on a trip back from Minnesota mentioned, this place is "way to green."

From Auckland, we traveled by bus, a free bus trip that is, to Waitomo wiht their famous underground caves and glow worms. Let me drop a little knowledge on y'all. The Maori word Wai means "water,' while "tomo" means hole, cave, or space. Thus Waitomo is the "water hole". This is where you can find hundreds of underground caves to explore by boat, innertube, swimming, upside down, basically anyway that the Kiwis can think up. This is where you will also find the "arachnocampa luminosa," for those of you not as scientifically blessed as myself, those are glowworms, or honestly, "glow maggots," and they are unique to New Zealand. Our trip in an underground river with glow maggots overhead was amazing! It ressembled a bright night sky in West Texas where you can see all the stars, yet this time, they were maggots. I did resist the temptation of placing a few in my mouth and to scare small children. Maybe next time.

The most recent extreme sport we have tried has been zorbing. Zorbing originated here in Rotorua and it is a sport? where you jump inside an oversized plastic ball that is full of water, and you roll down any hill or mountain that is close by. It's not dangerous, because you are in a space that is soft and plastic, which is surrounded by another ball of plastic and you have lots of cushiony air in between the two. It was great fun. That must be how a baby feels for 9 months.

Nadine and I have spent a week here already and been able to experience some great things so far - eating lots of sushi, visit a few volcanoes, Mt. Eden, Achilles Point; free bus tour of the city; try some Hokey Pokey; Nadine talked to her parents, I talked to Tim; be up close to stingrays, sharks, and penguins; reach the top of the Sky Tower (tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere);

Life is good. Over the next 7 days, we hope to skydive!, finish visiting the North Island, travel to the South Island, and find some clean hostels along the way.

Hope all are doing well and enjoying the blog as we globeblog. We hope to get a few more photos on the website at the beginning of August. We are only allowed a certain amount of photos per month.

Peace and love from Rotorua, New Zealand

[/b]Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. - Unknown[b]