brett's finale in New Zealand

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g'day all,
I'm off to Australia later today and thought I'd give an update of my last few weeks in New Zealand.
It's been an amazing time here. The country-side is beautiful, the sheep are plentiful, and the good times are great.
Since my last update, I visited the culturally and geyser rich town of Rotorua (which Graham visited earlier). I saw some of the same sights and tried something new...Zorbing..its a New Zealand invention--basically its a huge 10 ft. plastic ball that you hop in. It gets filled with a little hot water and you start running down a big windy hill inside the ball...you do your best to stand, gain any semblance of orientation, and apologize to any previous hamsters you had. That's right, you become a human hamster, it's invigorating, disorienting, and wilder than Mr. Toad's ride. I definitely recommend it.
After Rotorua was Wellington for a few days, where I enjoyed the cosmopolitan, artsy feeling of this city.
Then it was time to escape from the cities with a four day hike through the Abel Tasman. This track is along the north coast of the south island, blessed with golden sand, crystal clear waters, deep woodlands, and beautiful granite mountains. It was a very easy pace and I had plenty of time to enjoy the picturesque scenery. An Auckland family adopted me along the track, as I enjoyed playing with their 3 daughters, Zoe, Kelly, and Fiona, who are the cutest 10, 6, and 4 year old Aucklandians I have ever met. Our time at the huts was full of running along the beaches, cooking together, and listening to their stories of their many boyfriends. I'll hopefully get a photo of us up soon.
One highlight of the track was taking a morning swim at Te Pukatea Bay, one of the most picturesque beaches in the world. I had the whole bay to myself on a beautifully brisk morning.
After tramping, I made my way to Christchurch. A British pal I met before hiking was in Christchurch at the same time, so we spent our first night watching the New Zealand Crusaders crush the South African Sharks in a great game of rugby.
We later took a road trip along the coast to experience the same dolphin experience Graham previously raved about. I must concur that it is a dream come true. We were dropped in a group of what felt like hundreds of frisky dolphins who would swim and play with us. Unbelievable. Then we got an extra treat of witnessing some dolphins play with 3 Orca (Killer) Whales. These whales were amazing full grown beasts that came right up to our boat. Despite their name, they were very docile and social with us and the dolphins. So we witnessed these animals of the sea and a flock of Albatross all in the same scene as the sun was starting to set. It was one of the most amazing sights of my life.
Whew, so now, off to Brisbane, perhaps dive the great barrier reef, perhaps do some surfing on the coast. We shall see, and I shall keep y'all posted as these travels come to an end in the next month.
ciao for now,
brett

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Photos

Abel Tasman
This Great Walk is situated on the northern coast of the south island and stretches across 40km of beautiful scenery.

Zorbing!
The art of bouncing down a hill in a big ball. Why the ancients didn't think of this is a mystery.

Orca Whales
These are the type of whales our group saw..now imagine 3 of them with dolphins jumping and albatross flying.