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Published: January 6th 2006
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Julia Ella May Green
Julia Ella May Green hello everybody, again its been a while since the last post, but weve been up to alot lately.
first off id like to say congratulations to the Green family. the beautiful Julia Ella May Green has entered this world. we send all our love in this amazing time you are experiencing, again congratulations and i cant wait to see her when we get back 😊 you are a wonderful family and i miss you.
we are currently in the extreme capital of the world, Queenstown, where weve made ourselves at home, staying for a week and a bit, tiring ourselves out on different activities.
me and mike bungy jumped..........if you ever have the chance to do this extremely extreme activity, dont let it pass. it was one of the most exhilerating experiences of my life. we did 3 jumps in one day, including a 143m dive into a gorge. (check the pics out) unfortunately we only have video of the actual jumps, no pics, so youll have to ask me for the video when i go home.
the pics will tell the story, so go through them, kick your shoes off and enjoy.
merry belated holidays to everyone, we were soaking up the sun on christmas...boy did that seem weird, having to put on sun tan lotion on christmas eve. and we had new years in the park followed by fireworks. and a night in the tent. ive seen so much in 2 months, and the west coast (our next destination) is supposed to be the most beautiful. go figure. with the things ive seen, im a happy camper...literally. lol. sorry that was bad. but all in all, we are fine, and have many story to tell. ill let andy take it from here, hes actually got a tale of the ages for you guys. enjoy, love from the south, dont miss us to much 😉
dano
PICTURES Contributing writer: Andrew Schmidt
We took a shuttle from Queenstown into a town called Glenorchy. We would spend the night here before our days on the Routeburn Track. None of us felt like staying in the tent that night. All we really wanted was a warm bed before the cold nights that lie ahead. We wandered the streets of Glenorchy until tusk, taking in the mountain views and enjoying a cold beer at the local pub before bed.
In the morning our shuttle took us to the foot of the Routeburn. The conditions weren't looking too promising but we were all too excited to look back at that point. We took our first steps onto the track , happy and dry. We would soon learn that times ahead would not be so pleasant. The walk to our hut only lasted a short two hours through rainforest and very heavy rainfall. Walking through the forest provided us with some shelter from the rain that morning. We arrived at our camp site, cold and wet, and decided to set up the tent. Moral was low and nobody felt like doing much other than remaining in our sleeping bags. Everything was wet with no signs of drying on the horizon. I think we must have spent about sixteen hours total in the tent that night, sleeping on and off and deciding not to make dinner because it was too cold outside. That night proved to be the coldest night for all of us.
The next morning wasn't much different. We woke up early to get moving again, with everything still cold and damp from the rain. There was talk of not even completing the track, but just to turn back and catch the next shuttle out. But the sun started to show and warm us up to the idea of finishing the track. Probably the best decision that was made. We picked up all of our wet gear and made dinner for breakfast. We found ourselves taking off our jackets once we got moving as we began to warm up. The sights were nothing short of breath taking. Walking above the treeline, seeing snow-covered mountains and rolling fiords, reminded us why we planned this trip in the first place. We looked at eachother and smiled knowing that this was "it". Everything we'd planned for, all of the struggles, all of the money. The sights alone made it all worth while. We hope you enjoy the pictures, but unfortunately they do not serve justice to the real thing.
We made our way through the track, another six hours of climbing uneven terrain, and arrived at our campsite just as the snow began to fall. This night would be no warmer than the last. Dinner was actually dinner tonight and we crawled into our sleeping bags around 7 to try to keep warm. Mike and I revealed our damaged feet to eachother. I think I took the brute of the situation, as my feet were badly blistered and clammy beyond belief (refer to picture). All we wanted was sleep, but constant shivering kept us awake. Dan had the right idea when he threw on some Bob Dylan in the middle of the night to put him to sleep.
Although we did suffer mild effects of hypothermia and dehydration I don't think we would have traded it for anything. Wounds will heal and clothes will dry but the memories will remain the same. Cheers boys.
PICTURES until next time everyone, stay safe, warm, and smiling.
dp and the schmidts
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Cathy
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Stones for us
Hi Dan. I'm sitting here with Grandma and looking at your pictures. Wow. What else can you say. Grandma was wondering if you have any room in your bag or pocket to bring back a stone from your journey? We send our love. Cath and Gram