So we headed to Northland in search of warm weather. We found warm welcomes but not much for weather. Stopping in Whangarei to visit family friends Chip and Barbara (who moved from Wilmington a number of years ago) and explore the area on our way north. In light wind we sailed around infront of their beautiful farm estate, hiked Mt Manaia in heavy winds and caught some fun surf on a sunny day. The sun here is stronger than about anywhere else, because of the weak ozone above, so a clear sky goes a long way in warming you up. We [View Full Entry]

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Out of desperation and essentially survival Allen and I departed the cold-weather-plagued island named after the dutch province of Zeeland. We walked, almost sprinted from excitement out of the Nadi airport to start ten days of vacation from vacation. Small swells and high prices of the Tavarua and Cloudbreak resorts kept us from channeling our innner Kelly Slaters/Jeff Hubbards. We settled on settle on island hopping up the Yasawa Islands. Nadi was unimpressive - picture a Indian populated, tropical town that was the destroyed by WWIII, crap everywhere - but very friendly people. Within [View Full Entry]

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"Like children realizing they are in candyland!" thats how a bystandard would have described my facial expression. With 2 scooters with plenty of coastal roads to explore, it's quite liberating going 60+ km/hour on the duct-tape bound instruments we hired on Waiheke Island. Only stopping for a little lunch, a wine tasting and what turned out to be 30 min of laughing at the alpacas, we navigated most every road on the island. We returned to Auckland, for one of the best nights out yet, at the Physio Ball, in Mission Bay (Auckland), with all the Physical therapy students - a [View Full Entry]

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On down (via a $40 plane ticket - so cheap it was sketical) to Christchurch (which is actually the furthest thing from Christ or a Church) and then piled into the nissan that we came to know as "Bessie" or "All The Stuff I Own." Salvador Dahli was the inspiration for our van's graphic presentation, which drew plenty of attention and laughs. We headed west towards Arthurs Pass for snow, and after getting half way up the learning curve of driving her, on the left, up n down moutain roads, in the snow and rain and wind, we crashed......for the night, [View Full Entry]

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Since I first recieved a warm kiwi welcome from complete strangers in Auckland, it's been a blurr. The first few days consisted of wondering around Auckland jet-lagged, a little confused and completely lost. Things started to pick up when I headed for Hamilton to pay Jacob a visit. After a night on the town with some of his fellow med student flat mates, we headed to Mt. Manganui on the east coast to catch a few waves. I managed to find a decent bodyboard in Jacob's buddy's garage. 12C and blowin stink. I paddled out into a lineup of mostly kayakers [View Full Entry]

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Just some notes for now: The law enforcement isn't very good here - 18 and 19 year olds are drinking along side us adults in the bars, I saw a lot of people driving on the wrong side of the road and it's got to be illegal to have everyone enjoying themselves and be in such good, friendly spirits... Working on 4 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours, I stumble into my hostel, pitch-black at 6am. Almost claiming an already occupied bed, I finally pass out. I meet to kind ladies, Ellen from Germany and Laura from the UK [View Full Entry]

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So after venturing through 4 hours of 5-8ft seas down to Nassau we meet up with the lovely women, Melissa and Sigrid. We took off immediately after our lunch at the Poop Deck Restaurant and Bar. First on the list was Allen's Cay, where a horde of Iguanas greeted us gingerly on the first beach we visited, eating any apple slices we provided. Hank suggested Macduffs Restaurant for dinner after anchoring on Norman's Cay for the night. Each of us doubting that this Mac Duff's place really existed, we ventured through the lonely forest and finally found it. We briefly snorkeled [View Full Entry]

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The adventures finally begin when the weather cleared and we motored over to Sea Spray Marina in Elbow Cay, south of Hope Town. Golf carts, rocky roads, perfect weather and plenty of terrain combined with a little Kalik (Bahamian Beer) and two 7 year old minds, created plenty of mischief. We explored the island up to Hope Town, where we ate and drank at Harbours Edge and Capt'n Jack's and down to Tahiti Beach for more coconuts, and even ran into someone from Hank's Boy Scouts Troop, David. David and about 8 of his UNC friends showed us to a chill [View Full Entry]

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So after an early (10am) flight out of Wilmington on Tuesday, and some delays in Ft Lauderdale, I made it. Capt'n Hank was waiting with roses (actually a cabbie named Rosie) and we drove back in the rain to get some dinner and a few drinks at Abaco Beach Resort. The weather didn't allow us to cruise about, so we stayed docked up to find activities on the island. We grabbed some breakfast, explored the resort for a bit and then called a cab to run some errands. Loading up on food, liquid beverages, and only the essential supplies we headed [View Full Entry]

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