Paddler2009

Today we celebrated the super sweet 24th birthday of a one of the Purdue guys. We sang him happy birthday and he got to blow out a candle and make a wish! The Purdue team is super sweet, we hope they do well in the finals. Later we went to Hong Kong's 'local' theme park, think Sea World without the brand, named 'Ocean Park'. Our 'adventure' in the sun turned into a three hour sun drenched march to our concussion-inducing roller coaster. OK, it wasn't that bad, but that kind of rollercoaster wouldn't fly in the States. Thursday, was the finals of the Global Student Challenge. We held our fingers for our friends from Purdue, though they were all good! Later that night we found out that they took home the grand prize. A truly sweet, ... read more

Hello from majestic Hong Kong! The last few days have all been all blur from driving from Savannah to Atlanta to make my three flights with barely enough time between each to even catch a breath! Nevertheless, though, we made it to Hong Kong. This is the most interesting country to see from an aerial view(airplane) upon landing. Seeing first these smaller rugged islands admist the wave-filled ocean, and then immediately coming upon larger 'island-like' formations with rugged mountainous landscape intertwined with tall, and yet taller, skyscrapers above tangled highways. It's a contrast unlike any other. The city itself is full of contrast. Huge skyscrapers with tiny, tiny, stores lining the streets. Immense technology development but a somewhat slower pace of life. Everywhere we've been so far has been greeted with kindness from of Hong Kong ... read more

Day 10: The long drive up the west coast: pancake rocks, night stars, and river crossings We left to be “On the road again” (which must be at least be a bit of our trip theme song) around 10am to drive up the second half of the west coast to Nelson. Today’s drive was absolutely stunning. Several more ‘Camera Fire Drills’ ensued as we made our way from the jungle landscape in the glacier region to the beaches near greymouth, punakaki, and others. We stopped along some beaches for pictures, some impressive swell recordings, rock digging, running, and simply admiring landscape. At one point we ran across some towering rock formations out in the beach, standing up courageously to the battering waves. We finally made it to Punakaki to the famous pancake rocks and blow holes ... read more

Day 7: Park Soundscaping and Glow-Worms We arrived safely in the southland, and after a quick breather at the hostel ventured down to the glow worm caves. Lake Te Anau (where we are staying the next few days) got its name from the Maori words for Spinning Water, later the caves were discovered. I had never seen glow worms before, but now that I have, I must say that I think they are the most beautiful bugs I have ever seen. We ventured down in a rickety wooden boat in the dark caves, and the worms lit up the cave like a night time sky. This town has a pretty boardwalk with lots of interesting wildlife, scenes, and sounds. Day 8: Milford Sound Tramping Today we journeyed to Milford sound on our own, stopping at will ... read more

Christmas morning started off as early Christmas should: early, drinking white hot chocalote, eating danish bisquits, and reading the Christmas Story! Today we drove to Mount Cook, and took many pictures and videos of the beautiful Mackequenzie Valley and Basin we were driving through. After lunch we started off on a 4 hour hike in the Hooker valley just below Mount Cook, armed with the Droid and the Sony PCM Recorder for some off the track recordings. We also got the chance to play our new instruments at the glacier lake by Mount Cook! It was quite fantastic. The lodge had a Christmas Feast tonight, and we gladly partook after our big day of hikinng. Until tomorrow's Adventures... **** Since it is Christmas, where we celebrate the Birth of Christ, I thought you all might be ... read more