Grimance: (n) 1. a contortion of the face in pain 2. a constant look on Nick's face Dec. 31, 2010 - Here we go... Got up today and had breakfast at Jim and Helen's. Before mid morning a tramping party of 11 was away. After a nearly two hour drive we got to the trail head, by a lake. We gear up and we're off. Here I encounter my first of many river crossings. This one is nearly waist deep, and moving fast. You link up with someone else, to help balance and steady yourself, and wade across. It's really not that cold. Wet boots and socks will become the norm from here. We tramp around the lake, and up a valley. It's beautiful. Hard work, but very worth it. We don't follow a trail. Instead, ... read more

Greetings everyone, Well, the hour is nearly upon me. It is Monday, December 20th 2010 and I'm exactly one week out from the start of what I hope to be one of the greatest experiences of my life. Contemplating the epic nature and potentially transformative properties of a trip of this size is difficult. Nevertheless, I shall try. When I first began considering the crazy notion of traveling so far, for so long, I had no idea it was remotely within the realm of the possible. There are some ideas that seem relegated to pie in the sky notions, seemingly doomed to forever remain fanciful delusions of grandeur. I always assumed that a New Zealand adventure was such. Happily, in one week I shall be proven wrong. There are some opportunities in life that must be ... read more