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Published: April 27th 2006
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Sailing in Abel Tasman
Heaven on Earth? I think so! I know it has been far too long since our last update, but when each day presents exciting adventures, glorious scenery, intriguing people, and the mysterious unknown, it becomes quite challenging to sit down at a computer to write...but here goes nothing...
You know you are a backpacker when…
-Sleeping on the family room floor of a house seems like a 5-star hotel!
-You get excited about having 4 different cereals to choose from!
-Writing this blog is the most challenging goal you set for yourself in a week!
-You pack your backpack in less than five minutes in order to catch the next bus!
So what have we been up to you may ask?? The better question is probably, what have we NOT been up to? Although we are in Western Australia right now, let me backtrack a bit to recapture some of our previous activities. Before beginning however, pleeeeease do us a favor. If you have not been to the South Island of New Zealand, pack your bags and GO! It is probably one of the most stunning places in the WORLD!
South Island Highlights…
-Sailing the sparkling sea in Abel Tasman and spending
Bone Carving in Barrytown
Look at the focus and intent in her face...now that is a true bone carver! St. Patty’s Day overnight on a floating hostel.
-Watching a full moon light up an entire sky and an entire ocean and becoming “Moon Sisters”…heehee…the small things that amuse us!
-Hand-carving necklaces out of COW BONE in Barrytown.
-Braving ice tunnels and trying to stay upright as we climbed a full-on ice glacier in Franz Josef.
We need a drum roll for this one please…
-BUNGEE JUMPING OFF ONE OF THE HIGHEST BUNGEES IN THE WORLD…TWICE!
As you know, Dawn and I can never turn down a challenge. Usually, when someone says JUMP, you ask HOW HIGH?? Well...when they said JUMP, we asked HOW FAR??? And when they told us 134M…we said BRING IT!
Ok, ok, so maybe our stomachs dropped and our hearts stopped beating for a brief second, but we still knew we couldn’t leave Queenstown without jumping the Nevis Bungee…so we did! It was without-a-doubt, hands-down, no-questions-asked, one of the most frightening, yet coooolest things we have ever done…so cool, we begged for a second jump…heehee!
-River surfing down level 4 rapids on the Kawarau River. To let you appreciate what this activity was, we were basically white-water rafting
Climbing the Glacier in Franz Josef
Keep it steady ladies...an icicle in the bum does not sound appealing! on BODY BOARDS! Thank GOD we had helmets on because I think I was swallowed up by the bold and bountiful rapids a few times. No worries though…it just really makes you appreciate breathing;-)!
-Last, and definitely NOT least...swimming with HUNDREDS of wild, beautiful dolphins in the middle of the ocean in Kaikoura. If watching Flipper doesn’t entice you to have a pet dolphin, swimming with them will! It was absolutely brilliant and such an exciting feeling to have these wild animals circling you, playing with you, and even flirting with you!
Needless to say, leaving New Zealand was difficult. It is such a magical place, with such magnificent people. But when you are leaving one fascinating country to head to another fascinating country, you realize that life is good, and that you are blessed.
So, here we are in Perth staying with my Auntie and Uncle. Australia is just fantastic. Beyond the cute Aussie accent, I am most tickled by the joy and happiness that surrounds us daily. Aussies (like the Kiwis) know how to appreciate and savor life…a quality that tends to escape us more often than it should.
Some Aussie Highlights…
-Prancing
Ready, Set, JUMP!
Yeah, looking down is not so fun! around Sydney’s remarkable Harbor and beaches (if my morning walk/jog included passing through Coogee, Bronte, and Bondi beach, I may actually enjoy waking up to exercise each day!)
-Spending time with Dawn’s Uni friends at the opening of THE HORSE RACES! Although Ro and I lost all the money we bet, we still enjoyed dressing up and pretending like we were not backpackers for the day (I think we even fooled some people).
-Meeting up with our darling friend, Kimmy, from San Francisco!
-Going back to my old stomping grounds in Brisbane.
-Relaxing at Brissy’s man-made beach in South Bank.
-Celebrating my mate’s 30th birthday with him and his friends!
-Spending Easter with my cousin, Amanda, and her boyfriend, Tony. Enjoying some delicious Columbian food and then hitting up the Latin club for some salsa dancing. That's right, these Aussies actually know how to Salsa! I guess I need to catch up on my Latin dancing…apparently the Macarena is just not that sophisticated these days!!!
-Driving to Bryon Bay with the girls to embrace this hippy town's astonishing beaches and relax in the sun!
-Going to the Whitsunday’s with Kimmy for a
THE RETURN!
But returning and surviving sure IS fun...can I have another please? 3-day sail/dive trip along the Great Barrier Reef! Although sleeping on an old, dirty mattress about 5cm away from the kitchen and wiping your bum with one sheet of toilet paper became old, it was still incredible! We played beach volleyball on White Haven beach where the sand was beautiful and soft and made of 99.9% Silica…if I am correct, I think you can run columns with that type of sand!
This is when I stop, get out of my chair, jump up and down, throw my arms in the air, and scream THANK YOU, THANK YOU, I LOVE MY LIFE!
Kimmy and I split up from Dawn and Ro and Dawn’s friend, Cassie, when we were in the Whitsunday’s so that they could check out Fraser Island (the world’s largest sand island). From their stories and pictures though, I am pretty darn sure they managed to have a great time! Driving a 10 passenger 4WD through the sand dunes (only having to stop and dig themselves out 1X) and swimming in crystal clear lakes doesn’t seem like a half bad life to me! Camping the entire time though. So I thought my one sheet of toilet paper
Dolphins EVERYWHERE!
Don't you just want to hug and kiss them??? was bad, at least I had a toilet ;-)
So 3 days without a shower for each of us. Come on now, showers are so overrated anyway ;-)
I was happy to reunite with my girls after a few days apart though, and now we have resumed our journey together at my Uncle's beautiful home in Perth. What’s on the agenda…we are not too sure yet? All we know is that it feels wonderful to have home-cooked meals and clean showers!
We’ll probably try to catch a surf, maybe rent bikes on Rottnest Island, have a night out on the town with my cousin and his Uni friends, and just relax and reflect on how lucky we really are.
We hope this finds you in good health, with loads of love, and unrelenting happiness! You are as always in our thoughts and prayers.
Next stop....Bali!
Much love from the Indian Ocean,
Team America
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Katie Maran
non-member comment
Wow!
Hi girls! I am so glad that you have added me to your blog and I am even happier that you are having such a wonderful time! Please keep the blogs coming so I can enjoy them from my cubicle! Love, Katie