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Published: January 29th 2007
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Well well well...look who it is
Jan 19/07
Lesson of the day: There are no straight roads in New Zealand...since this would only cause you to get to your destination far too quickly.
A single tear went down my face* as I realized this was to be my last day in the glorious bay of islands (*a single tear may or may not have fallen). Despite this fact we did make this day count. My dad and i rented a set of kayaks and took them up a local river, which was surround by a mangrove forest. It was awesome as the forest buzzed around us with millions of insets calling out, in what can only be described as very loud static which could even be heard above the worst traffic. This river eventually led us to a sweet waterfall which cooled us down after an hours paddle, and even gave us the current needed to push us back down the river towards open water. Later in the day as we drove back to Auckland we then decided to check out a local glow worm cave, which at first glance looked like an old run down house beside
a hole in the ground. Now in all situations which involve shabby houses and wide open spaces the side of me which believes that the texas chain saw massacre and deliverance movies are based on reality takes over, and I waited…baited breath to be taken into the earth and robbed at gun point. But once again….this did not take place. This actually turned out to be a major highlight on this trip as we looked towards the ceiling deep within to cave towards thousands of glowing worms…which is unlike anything you have ever seen before…unless you have seen stars before…then its exactly like something you’ve seen before. It was quite a show as we were led deeper and deeper into the cave as whole communities of glow worms almost lit our way. CRAZY
Jan 21 or 22/07
Lesson of the Day: I hate flying…and now I hate it on a level never before seen
Today we packed up and head for the south island, which would take us only a few hours, including a layover and plane change…. Now I don’t want to get into too much detail…but I will say this…when a pilot uses the word
“severe” when describing the wind conditions on and around the runway, you are in for a hell of a show… I nearly had a heart attack. These winds were only magnified as we got onto a smaller plane to go to Blenheim…which made me happy* (* this did not make me happy)
But we did arrive in one of the most beautiful places in all of NZ… more so when I read on the plane it was -12 in Toronto… and 30 + on the ground in Blenheim...sweet
Jan 23
We have arrived in wine country a.k.a Marlborough. This area creates nearly 60% of all wine made in NZ, so you know they have quite a few vineyards. Our hotel is located in a quaint little town called Picton, which gave us a million dollar view off the balcony. I was very happy that we decided to rent a car here for any other form of transport would be very difficult to come by, as you are nearly in the middle of nowhere. With such a perfect day in front of us, we decided to go on a few wine tours…umm to make sure that they know
what they are doing. As it turns out the Kiwi’s know exactly what they are doing, as we got to enjoy many different types of wine. After this little adventure we took an amazing drive up into the mountains and the small communities speckled amongst the massive mountains, which surrounded us. Named the Queen Charlotte drive, this two-lane road gave us a view that would make even a Nialist care. And to top it all off we had the good fortune to watch the end of a regatta on a backdrop that looked like someone had painted it.
Jan 24/07
Lesson of the Day: 8 hours of sun is exactly 6 hours more sun then you really need…but what the hell I’m on vacation
Well the water in the ocean surrounding Picton is cold…despite what my mom says… so my dad and I found another way to enjoy it, as we took out a few Kayaks for a couple of hours. The water here is ridiculous, as it remains crystal clear up to 15 feet down… it was quite the show as we felt that we were floating on a giant aquarium….which I guess we were. There
were millions of mussels, starfish, sea urchins, and my dad even managed to spot a 3 foot ray. After this we went out on a 3 hour cruise in an amongst the small communities surrounding picton, which was amazing as the thick forests around us reminded me of King Kong country.
Jan 26/07
Lesson of the Day: When thinking of something to scream when jumping off an 180 foot cliff… think of something tasteful, as everyone will hear what you said with perfect clarity.
I am now in Queenstown…a.k.a paradise. This is truly the adventure capital of the world, and will definitely be a place I will live in, in the near future. It has everything for people who want to scare the crap out of themselves…so I thought maybe I would take a taste. I looked at all the various events this place had to offer and I ended up picking the one that freaked me out the most. Called the canyon swing this little jewel boasted a 60 meter drop (180 feet) into a 108 meter swing into a huge canyon. Now I hate heights, and I hate the feeling of falling…so I certainly picked
a good choice. While I waited to be picked up by the tour company to be taken to the jump… guess who walked right in front of me? Ryan Lutz..Crazy eh? I had known that he was doing a contiki trip through the country, but neither of us knew that we would be in the same city at the same time…what a small world. After a brief chat with Lutz I walked onto the bus for our little adventure as I felt my stomach turn…in a good way. And once we got up to the jump site my body started to really hate my brain into thinking this up. This place was crazy high… I had decided to do a running jump off the platform, but only after I had both instructors talk me down from having a heart attack as I looked over the edge… but in the end I jumped…while yelling the words “F$^& me sideways”…which I thought was special.
Now after this little show I hung out with a few other guys who had done this and it turn out that we all got very drunk in the process. Now at any other time this would
have been fine… but I had kind of promised my parents I would meet them at 4…and I ended up drinking till 8 without notifying them… I found out their response to this when I entered the local KFC to get some food, as a police officer walked up to me and said “are you Ryan”… “yeah” I murmured.. “your parents are looking for you…they put a missing persons report out on you.” Now I don’t know much in this world, but I did find out that day that hearing that, plus being drunk is possible the worst combination of things to have happen in this world… you don’t need to hear the rest but in the end we all met up and I believe a rainbow formed over our heads.
Enough said
Well I am once again tired of writing so I will catch ya on the flip side.
- Ryan
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Dino
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Oh Ryan
Oh Ryan, Ryan, Ryan...