Hey, just a short note before my internet money runs out and I leave Wellington. We checked out the free museum in Wellington, which was really cool, better than a lot of paid ones in the states. It had a ton about Maori culture too which is really cool stuff. I took some pictures of the Maori weapons and sailing craft. I'll see about posting some on here when I get a chance.
Lijanne and I rented a car for 9 days. It's going to take us up the east side. We will stop in Napier, which is wine country and a art town, that should be cool. Then it's off to Maori land and the East Cape. It's supposed to be beautiful there and really neat cultural experience, here's hoping! After that we go to hot water beach, where you can dig you own hole in the sand if the tides right and it fills up with super hot water you can soak in!
The rugby game was pretty cool. It was about the worst seats in the house, but it was a smaller stadium, so I could still see quite well. Got a couple good videos in there, hard to capture as I just wanted to watch the game the whole time, obviously.
Times almost up, things are still going great! More when I can!
Friday, March 28, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
The Northern Circuit
Well, after four days in the bush, it's nice to sleep in a real bed again!
It was an adventure, but an amazing trip. Lijanne and I decided to do the four day Northern Circuit which includes the famous Tongariro Crossing, the best one day tramp in all of NZ. We did that on our first day and it was bruuutal. We brought a regular backpack and my big bag for the trip. I think my bag weighed roughly 400 pounds, but I never got an measurement so I may be off by 10-15 pounds. You start the tramp by doing what they call the Devil's Staircase. I think the name says enough. I went picture nutty while
I was up there. I think in total I have about 280 pictures and about 10 minutes in video. I would have done more but my batteries ran were running out and I didn't want to have to miss something at the end. I'll be putting 4 albums up on facebook for all the pictures. I'm sure some aren't the most exciting, but I can't be bothered trying to sort through all of them right now. There are some amazing shots and some not so, I'll try and make another album of just what I think are the best, but if you feel like running through all of them I think you won't be disappointed on the whole.
I was up there. I think in total I have about 280 pictures and about 10 minutes in video. I would have done more but my batteries ran were running out and I didn't want to have to miss something at the end. I'll be putting 4 albums up on facebook for all the pictures. I'm sure some aren't the most exciting, but I can't be bothered trying to sort through all of them right now. There are some amazing shots and some not so, I'll try and make another album of just what I think are the best, but if you feel like running through all of them I think you won't be disappointed on the whole.Anyway, lots and lots of hiking the first day. We went to one of the summits, not the Mt. Doom one, it was entirely too steep to do with a huge pack on and we had a long ways to go to our first hut for the night. I got a great video of LiLu trying to pick up my pack and put it on to see what I had to carry. She couldn't even lift it off the ground, it was pretty funny because she didn't realize I was recording the whole thing. I also got a silly video of me pretending my bag was Mr. Frodo and I was Samwise. I was acting out one of the last scenes where Sam picks up Frodo and carries him the last bit up Mt. Doom, it's a laugh as well. When we finally made it to the camp site about 8 hours later I was completely obliterated. I didn't ev
en want to eat I was so tired. I think I slept (fitfully in my tent) about 12 hours that night after eating. We tried of course to eat the heaviest things first to lighten up the packs. In the morning was the most amazing sunrise. I think I took about 15 pictures of it. From about 6000 feet up we were above the lower cloud line and could see the sun shining over the top with a lake under the clouds. The pictures were simply incredible!
en want to eat I was so tired. I think I slept (fitfully in my tent) about 12 hours that night after eating. We tried of course to eat the heaviest things first to lighten up the packs. In the morning was the most amazing sunrise. I think I took about 15 pictures of it. From about 6000 feet up we were above the lower cloud line and could see the sun shining over the top with a lake under the clouds. The pictures were simply incredible! The next day was much better, after a full nights sleep I was ready to go again, and with some of the heavier canned soups gone the pack was much lighter. LiLu said it was still the same so I think it was a combination of a lighter pack and getting used to carrying the weight that made the second day so much easier. More pictures of everything along the way were taken and I was in high spirits. We made it to the second hut and I set up my tent again. I was on a cliff edge and I had a great view of the valley and a waterfall in the not too far distance. LiLu and I went down to the waterfall for a quick bath, which was great, though quite cold, which you can tell from my facial expression in the picture. Nights on the track tend to end when it gets dark and start when the sun rises, which means lots of sleep, for so mu
ch hiking I wasn't complaining with that. Day three brought our shortest day. There was a group of girls that didn't have inside voices that were driving me crazy in the morning, at 7:30 you shouldn't be shouting (talking waaay too loudly) at each other. The hike to the next hut was supposed to be 3 hours, but LiLu and I made a game out of catching people that left before we did and we were trucking it all the way to the next hut. We ended up making it in an hour and 45 minutes which was pretty sweet and a good workout (especially with a full pack as LiLu carried the food which was diminishing and I carried everything else). We ended up to a little natural spring that wasn't too far away and going for a quick rinse and to fill up our drinking water. The water tasted amazing. I got some right from where it was coming out of the ground from an underground stream. It was brutally cold, much colder than any other water I've been in except for Chelan in the middle of winter (though maybe just as cold).
ch hiking I wasn't complaining with that. Day three brought our shortest day. There was a group of girls that didn't have inside voices that were driving me crazy in the morning, at 7:30 you shouldn't be shouting (talking waaay too loudly) at each other. The hike to the next hut was supposed to be 3 hours, but LiLu and I made a game out of catching people that left before we did and we were trucking it all the way to the next hut. We ended up making it in an hour and 45 minutes which was pretty sweet and a good workout (especially with a full pack as LiLu carried the food which was diminishing and I carried everything else). We ended up to a little natural spring that wasn't too far away and going for a quick rinse and to fill up our drinking water. The water tasted amazing. I got some right from where it was coming out of the ground from an underground stream. It was brutally cold, much colder than any other water I've been in except for Chelan in the middle of winter (though maybe just as cold).We met a family of Kiwis there and had a great time laughing and playing cards with each other. I got there names and they are from Christchurch on the south island. Another connection for when I come back (perhaps with some fellow Americans this time)! The last day 
we went back to Whakapapa Village to catch our ride back to Taupo where I am now. On the way we stopped and took a few pictures of a lake which looked really cool, I wanted to go for a swim but we had a bus to catch and would have taken us about an hour to get too from where we saw it. We also stopped at some falls on the way back. I waited for there to be just a few tourists around and then run under it for a photo ( I didn't want to ruin every ones photos by being in the middle of it). It was really cold water and stung when it hit me. When it dumped it nearly knocked me over from the force of it. So much happened and at the same time it was so chill, I know I'm forgetting parts of it. Hopefully the pictures will tell more of the tale that I may have forgotten. It was an amazing trip, though I never got a good nights sleep and my feet are pretty wrecked now. It was well worth it and I'd do it again (and climb Mt. Doom!) in a heartbeat.
we went back to Whakapapa Village to catch our ride back to Taupo where I am now. On the way we stopped and took a few pictures of a lake which looked really cool, I wanted to go for a swim but we had a bus to catch and would have taken us about an hour to get too from where we saw it. We also stopped at some falls on the way back. I waited for there to be just a few tourists around and then run under it for a photo ( I didn't want to ruin every ones photos by being in the middle of it). It was really cold water and stung when it hit me. When it dumped it nearly knocked me over from the force of it. So much happened and at the same time it was so chill, I know I'm forgetting parts of it. Hopefully the pictures will tell more of the tale that I may have forgotten. It was an amazing trip, though I never got a good nights sleep and my feet are pretty wrecked now. It was well worth it and I'd do it again (and climb Mt. Doom!) in a heartbeat.Tomorrow is my birthday and LiLu and I are going to have a Mexican night! We'll go out and get some Mexican (or stuff to make it if we can't find one) and get a bottle of tequila with some lemons (the limes here suck!) and have a fun night out!
After that we are off to Wellington where we will check out the capital city and all it has to offer. From there we want to rent a car and tour around the east cape of the north island, which is all Maori land and supposed to be a truly amazing experience (along with the views of course). One spot on the cape is supposed to be the first place (arguably) to see the sun rise each morning! I've heard you can take a horse ride really early in the morning and see the sun rise from horseback which would be super sweet! We'll see what we can get our hands on.
On the bus ride home from the Northern Circuit I started talking with an older Kiwi couple that lived in Kerikeri, which is really close to Paihia where I spent a month of my time. They were really nice people and we talked about the man's boats. He has an 18 foot class A Cat! As they were leaving they gave me there names and told me to look them up if I make my way back up to the Bay of Islands and maybe they would take me out for a sail! LiLu and I were planning on heading back up that way because it's so nice and relaxed and I've got tons of connections for free accommodation and cheap living. I think we'll head back up there for the last week or so and see another side of it!
It's great to hear from everyone through facebook and through comments on this blog, I really look forward to reading and hearing from people back home. Keep it coming!
Photo Albums 1-4 for the Northern Circuit:
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Rotorua and the Waitomo Caves!
It's been on adventure after another here in NZed!
We went to Rotorua, which is a natural hot springs town. All the water is heated naturally by the boiling water running through everywhere in the town. It is full of sulfur too so it smells mildly like rotten eggs, it wasn't too bad though. I dipped my hand (finger) in the water, way to hot to have a swim in though I wanted to! I got some really cool pictures of the hot springs which I will post to facebook shortly and have a link to at the bottom of this post.
On Tuesday night in Taupo we met up with Rosie, a girl I cleaned and lived with for the month I was in Paihia up north. She was there too and we met up at a bar, where we met a couple of her roommates, both from the states! Amazing, 3 of us in the same place at the same time abroad! I think I've met a total of 7 Americans since I've been in NZ. Anyway, they were pretty cool guys and through the night we all decided to go to Waitomo the next day for a day trip. It was perfect because we were going there anyway and the bus would have cost us $45 a person and we got to ride in an old beast of a van on a road trip over for free! When we got into Waitomo (known strictly for it's caving, which is the reason we were there) myself and the other guys went down to the local rugby pitch and had a toss/kick around. It was quite a fun time.
The next day LiLu and I went on an amazing caving experience. We went with absolute adventures, which is basically the non-tourist group in the area. They don't hold your hand going through and the concept is to teach you about caving as well as challenge you and push you beyond your comfort zone. I never really got out of my comfort zone, but I live for this stuff! Even so it was an amazing experience! We repelled 20-30 meters down waterfalls, had to hand over had climb ropes up wet rock to get into the next bits of cave, and many other crazy things!
Probably the hardest bit for me was a spot where you had to stand on one side of a cliff edge and reach your foot across to the other side, free falling a couple feet before your foot hit the other side and you were straddling a 20 meter fall bouncing down the crevasse. Of course we are clipped in to ropes so you wouldn't fall, but it's still a little tough to let your body go and you would still fall and bang yourself on the rocks if you did slip. Being the guy I am I kept asking the guide to give me some particularly challenging bits to do. Towards the end he tried to step it up a bit. One of those bit was a squeeze flat on my stomach through a passage that was 3/4 full of water! We were in overalls and two layers of thermals and the water was still freezing! Granted we'd been in the water the whole time pretty much, but only half way up to your shins up to this point. I was pretty much submerged in the water except for half my head which was turned up so I could breath going through the squeeze. It came out into an opening and the only way out was to squeeze through another whole which would put me right back into the water on the other side. I couldn't where my helmet through these bits because it was just too tight, so I had to take it off and let it float backwards pointing at me so I could see. It was pretty intense but not too scary. Another really cool bit we did was in a part of the cave that was more or less straight (I think), our guide had us turn all our lights off on our helmets. Then continue to follow the river/stream forward (upstream) in the dark. He went ahead and we could hear him whistling. I was leading the group at that time and so we continued in the dark. Then I realized part of the reason he did it. There were glow worms on the ceiling and walls around us! It wasn't packed full of glow worms like in the tourist caves but you could still see there blue light shining on the walls. It was amazing to see! As one point I passed within inches of one, right at my face level. They are so small you can't see anything, even from that distance, but it was really neat to be that close. One we saw was so bright I could see the rock around it in a 7 inch diameter! He must have been hungry! We continued on for about 80 meters winding through this cave following the river. In some spots I could hear Doug's whistling echo so I knew we were coming into a big cavern, as well as being able to hear my own voice echo once I reached it. It was really cool to completely lose your ability to see and try and rely on your other senses to navigate. In total we spent 4 and half hours underground, with the end having a bunch of waist and chest deep pools to wade and climb through before we saw sunlight again. Overall the trip was a ton of fun and a great experience. By the end of it Lijanne was beat to a pulp, bruised from head to toe, but she loved it.
Tomorrow we are going to do the Tongariro crossing, which is meant to be the best hike in all of the North Island and if you do just the day trip it's supposed to be the best in all of NZ. We are going to do a couple more days after the day trip and head up to one of the summits so we should be up there for 3 days in total. This is where Mt Doom is from Lord of the Rings and Mordor, so hopefully I can get some awesome pictures of it and we can match them up later! I won't be on a computer again for 4-5 days probably, until around my birthday I guess. Then I'll have some amazing photos! I put a video up you can find from my profile on facebook of the huge tree Tane Mahuta and our guide Taf singing in Maori for those that have access to that.
I have a bunch of video's too, and a couple I've already put up, but it's really slow to load them and costs my a lot to stay online for that amount of time. I've been thinking of sending you a CD with a bunch of video's to put online or pass around Timmy, send me your address and maybe when I get a chance I can send a bunch out to you.
Sounds like everything back home is going well from those I've heard from. Things continue to be amazing around this way! More in a 5 or 6 days!
Here is a picture of Lijanne for those who care!
Links:
I put a video up you can find from my profile on facebook of the huge tree Tane Mahuta and our guide Taf singing in Maori for those that have access to that. This is the link, but it may not work for everyone...
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=522233123730
This is the link for the Rotorua Hot Pools and the Caving Trip:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2106890&l=d1e70&id=25904364
We went to Rotorua, which is a natural hot springs town. All the water is heated naturally by the boiling water running through everywhere in the town. It is full of sulfur too so it smells mildly like rotten eggs, it wasn't too bad though. I dipped my hand (finger) in the water, way to hot to have a swim in though I wanted to! I got some really cool pictures of the hot springs which I will post to facebook shortly and have a link to at the bottom of this post.
On Tuesday night in Taupo we met up with Rosie, a girl I cleaned and lived with for the month I was in Paihia up north. She was there too and we met up at a bar, where we met a couple of her roommates, both from the states! Amazing, 3 of us in the same place at the same time abroad! I think I've met a total of 7 Americans since I've been in NZ. Anyway, they were pretty cool guys and through the night we all decided to go to Waitomo the next day for a day trip. It was perfect because we were going there anyway and the bus would have cost us $45 a person and we got to ride in an old beast of a van on a road trip over for free! When we got into Waitomo (known strictly for it's caving, which is the reason we were there) myself and the other guys went down to the local rugby pitch and had a toss/kick around. It was quite a fun time.
The next day LiLu and I went on an amazing caving experience. We went with absolute adventures, which is basically the non-tourist group in the area. They don't hold your hand going through and the concept is to teach you about caving as well as challenge you and push you beyond your comfort zone. I never really got out of my comfort zone, but I live for this stuff! Even so it was an amazing experience! We repelled 20-30 meters down waterfalls, had to hand over had climb ropes up wet rock to get into the next bits of cave, and many other crazy things!
Probably the hardest bit for me was a spot where you had to stand on one side of a cliff edge and reach your foot across to the other side, free falling a couple feet before your foot hit the other side and you were straddling a 20 meter fall bouncing down the crevasse. Of course we are clipped in to ropes so you wouldn't fall, but it's still a little tough to let your body go and you would still fall and bang yourself on the rocks if you did slip. Being the guy I am I kept asking the guide to give me some particularly challenging bits to do. Towards the end he tried to step it up a bit. One of those bit was a squeeze flat on my stomach through a passage that was 3/4 full of water! We were in overalls and two layers of thermals and the water was still freezing! Granted we'd been in the water the whole time pretty much, but only half way up to your shins up to this point. I was pretty much submerged in the water except for half my head which was turned up so I could breath going through the squeeze. It came out into an opening and the only way out was to squeeze through another whole which would put me right back into the water on the other side. I couldn't where my helmet through these bits because it was just too tight, so I had to take it off and let it float backwards pointing at me so I could see. It was pretty intense but not too scary. Another really cool bit we did was in a part of the cave that was more or less straight (I think), our guide had us turn all our lights off on our helmets. Then continue to follow the river/stream forward (upstream) in the dark. He went ahead and we could hear him whistling. I was leading the group at that time and so we continued in the dark. Then I realized part of the reason he did it. There were glow worms on the ceiling and walls around us! It wasn't packed full of glow worms like in the tourist caves but you could still see there blue light shining on the walls. It was amazing to see! As one point I passed within inches of one, right at my face level. They are so small you can't see anything, even from that distance, but it was really neat to be that close. One we saw was so bright I could see the rock around it in a 7 inch diameter! He must have been hungry! We continued on for about 80 meters winding through this cave following the river. In some spots I could hear Doug's whistling echo so I knew we were coming into a big cavern, as well as being able to hear my own voice echo once I reached it. It was really cool to completely lose your ability to see and try and rely on your other senses to navigate. In total we spent 4 and half hours underground, with the end having a bunch of waist and chest deep pools to wade and climb through before we saw sunlight again. Overall the trip was a ton of fun and a great experience. By the end of it Lijanne was beat to a pulp, bruised from head to toe, but she loved it.
Tomorrow we are going to do the Tongariro crossing, which is meant to be the best hike in all of the North Island and if you do just the day trip it's supposed to be the best in all of NZ. We are going to do a couple more days after the day trip and head up to one of the summits so we should be up there for 3 days in total. This is where Mt Doom is from Lord of the Rings and Mordor, so hopefully I can get some awesome pictures of it and we can match them up later! I won't be on a computer again for 4-5 days probably, until around my birthday I guess. Then I'll have some amazing photos! I put a video up you can find from my profile on facebook of the huge tree Tane Mahuta and our guide Taf singing in Maori for those that have access to that.
I have a bunch of video's too, and a couple I've already put up, but it's really slow to load them and costs my a lot to stay online for that amount of time. I've been thinking of sending you a CD with a bunch of video's to put online or pass around Timmy, send me your address and maybe when I get a chance I can send a bunch out to you.
Sounds like everything back home is going well from those I've heard from. Things continue to be amazing around this way! More in a 5 or 6 days!
Here is a picture of Lijanne for those who care!
Links:
I put a video up you can find from my profile on facebook of the huge tree Tane Mahuta and our guide Taf singing in Maori for those that have access to that. This is the link, but it may not work for everyone...
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=522233123730
This is the link for the Rotorua Hot Pools and the Caving Trip:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2106890&l=d1e70&id=25904364
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Tauranga and Mt Maunganui
Well, pictures just won't load properly on this site, which is too bad. What I have found is that I can easily put a link at the end of my post to my facebook albums and there you can see all the pictures I have up, not just the 4 or 5 I liked best! Most of the pictures have some sort of caption on them so you can get a feel for what's going on, otherwise it'll just be a picture of some amazing NZ scenery.
LiLu and I went to Tauranga, which is on the Bay of Plenty and went for a hike there up Mt Maunganui which was really cool. I got some great shots which are already on facebook so I'll make a link to that at the end of the post. We've been eating quite well too. Lijanne's father is a chef in the military so she grew not eating crap, as such I have been adapting to this behavior myself. We made a noodle dish the other night that Quan and I used to eat back in college. Then we made some excellent spaghetti with meat sauce, a pork dish with risotto rice, peppers, carrots, broccoli and seasoned to perfection! I might come back with more skills than I left with! Currently we are in Rotorua, which is a natural hot springs town, it's smells of sulfur to some degree at every point in the town and there is no need for hot water heaters, they just pump the natural hot springs through piping to heat everything up. We have an excellent view from our hostel and are going to head out to the local hot springs park today where I'll be sure to take tons of pictures!
Tomorrow we head of to Waitomo, which is a town based solely around huge underground caves! We are doing a caving trip that should be an experience of the lifetime! It's not like the normal commercial guided tours and is a five person max group that is guided through caves deeper than any commercial trip out there! It sounds really intense and I hope it is! They have a waterproof camera that the guides take pictures with and a CD with them is part of the package so you will all get to see part of what I see too!
It's too bad that St. Patty's day falls the day before our extreme tour as that means it'll be a quite night for rest for us. It's my favorite holiday too!
I was planning on doing a bungee and a skydive in Taupo in the next week, but funds will probably not allow such behavior. The skydive above lake Taupo is said to be amazing, and because Taupo is the skydive capital of the world, there is no cheaper place to do it! I'll be this caving trip is going to beat the pants off of it though. With 4 hours underground I can't see how 45 seconds of anything could beat it.
Anyway, I still really don't have any pictures of LiLu, I'll try and get some of her today in the hot springs posing away.
Tauranga and Mt Maunganui: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2106586&l=798b2&id=25904364
LiLu and I went to Tauranga, which is on the Bay of Plenty and went for a hike there up Mt Maunganui which was really cool. I got some great shots which are already on facebook so I'll make a link to that at the end of the post. We've been eating quite well too. Lijanne's father is a chef in the military so she grew not eating crap, as such I have been adapting to this behavior myself. We made a noodle dish the other night that Quan and I used to eat back in college. Then we made some excellent spaghetti with meat sauce, a pork dish with risotto rice, peppers, carrots, broccoli and seasoned to perfection! I might come back with more skills than I left with! Currently we are in Rotorua, which is a natural hot springs town, it's smells of sulfur to some degree at every point in the town and there is no need for hot water heaters, they just pump the natural hot springs through piping to heat everything up. We have an excellent view from our hostel and are going to head out to the local hot springs park today where I'll be sure to take tons of pictures!
Tomorrow we head of to Waitomo, which is a town based solely around huge underground caves! We are doing a caving trip that should be an experience of the lifetime! It's not like the normal commercial guided tours and is a five person max group that is guided through caves deeper than any commercial trip out there! It sounds really intense and I hope it is! They have a waterproof camera that the guides take pictures with and a CD with them is part of the package so you will all get to see part of what I see too!
It's too bad that St. Patty's day falls the day before our extreme tour as that means it'll be a quite night for rest for us. It's my favorite holiday too!
I was planning on doing a bungee and a skydive in Taupo in the next week, but funds will probably not allow such behavior. The skydive above lake Taupo is said to be amazing, and because Taupo is the skydive capital of the world, there is no cheaper place to do it! I'll be this caving trip is going to beat the pants off of it though. With 4 hours underground I can't see how 45 seconds of anything could beat it.
Anyway, I still really don't have any pictures of LiLu, I'll try and get some of her today in the hot springs posing away.
Tauranga and Mt Maunganui: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2106586&l=798b2&id=25904364
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Tane Mahuta
These are pictures of my tour to Tane Mahuta, the "Lord of the Forest." He is the largest Kauri tree in the world, and actually the largest tree in the world, as far as useable timer is concerned. The tallest trees in the world are in the Redwood forest in California, but nothing beats the massive girth Tane Mahuta has for such a height! He is nearly 14 meters around for 18 meter straight up! Standing at 51 meters at his highest point, they say 9 houses could be built out of the timber from this tree. Our guide Taf sung Maori songs and prayers to Tane Mahuta. His voice was amazing and enhanced even more by the accustics in the forest. Just seeing Tane Mahuta was pretty awe inspiring, but having it coupled with the singing, stories and prayers all in Maori (then translated) was what made the trip! Here is a picture of our guides, Taf (bigger fella) and William. Both were excellent Maori guys! The picture of the little sappling in front of the hand is a Kauri that is three years old! They start growing very very slowly but never really stop! Tane Mahuta is in the other pictures, he is 2000 years old, there is another Kauri tree in a different part of the forest that is 4000 years old, 17 meters around but not as tall as Tane Mahuta. These trees just never stop growing! The last picture is of the gym I used in Paihia, I'm coming back strong as ever Tim! Tubing shall be mine this Summer!
On to other news...I've started Traveling with Lijanne, now to be called LiLu. We met up in Auckland and are heading east now. Currently we are in a city in the Bay of Plenty, making a soup Quan taught me in college, mmmmm!! Today we are going on a hike up to a mountain I've forgotten the name of. I got new batteries yesterday for my camera so I'll be having more pictures soon! Video's won't load on these computers, would take like 4 hours, so I'll be sending pictures of my tatoo very soon with detailed explanations as to the means of the symbols!
Now the stinking picture upload won't work, I'll edit this post to add the pictures soon!
Bah, the photo's just won't work, check this link out, it should take you to all the photos I've been putting up more extensively on facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2106149&l=02c77&id=25904364
On to other news...I've started Traveling with Lijanne, now to be called LiLu. We met up in Auckland and are heading east now. Currently we are in a city in the Bay of Plenty, making a soup Quan taught me in college, mmmmm!! Today we are going on a hike up to a mountain I've forgotten the name of. I got new batteries yesterday for my camera so I'll be having more pictures soon! Video's won't load on these computers, would take like 4 hours, so I'll be sending pictures of my tatoo very soon with detailed explanations as to the means of the symbols!
Now the stinking picture upload won't work, I'll edit this post to add the pictures soon!
Bah, the photo's just won't work, check this link out, it should take you to all the photos I've been putting up more extensively on facebook!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2106149&l=02c77&id=25904364
Friday, March 7, 2008
Soon it's time to move on!
Well then, I've pretty much done everything I set out to do in Paihia now. There is still one thing left to see, a huge forest just west. The tour is $89 (nothing is cheap) and will take me to the biggest tree in NZ! It's 4 meters thick, and 51 meters high! It's supposed to be about 2000 years old!
I just got done with the thing that was holding me in Paihia so long, I got a tattoo on my shoulder! It's not too big and can be covered easily by even just a t-shirt so it won't affect me in any way professionally. I was trying to figure out a way to tell people back home or even i
f I should just wait till I got home and shock everyone. There is a Maori guy here that you tell the story of your life too and he translates pieces of it into Maori art. He is really busy with his work so it took a long time for me to get in to see him. I'm trying to figure out the best way to showcase it so I won't post any pictures yet. It turned out really sweet but I want to tell the story of it when I show everyone. So I'll probably make a video and try and post it here so everyone can see what it all symbolizes. It'll probably be 5 or 6 days before I post anything on it, it's a cliff hanger like off of young and the restless!! AHHHWe had a toga party last night which went pretty well. I made pockets in mine using pins so I had a bit for money and my camera, it was
brilliant! I would post those pics but they show the tattoo so it'll have to wait!The rest of the pictures are from my trip up north with my guides Marty, Brandon, me, and Bushman Pete (from left to right). I was doing a handstand at a beautiful beach on the way up to our campsite. The water picture is of our campsite, and I slept pretty much right in the spot I took the picture. The trees hang over the water, so a few of us were lounging in the tree above this pristine water.
I'm going to be in Paihia for another four days, then I travel down south and meet up with Lijanne where we will travel the rest of the south island together. I can't believe how fast money goes, even when you are trying so hard to save! It's incredible but oh so worth it!
I have only one picture of her right now and it's not my favorite, so It'll be a few days before I see her again and get some proper pictures put up!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Some pics!
Here is the local kitty kitty Bobby. She is such a tease! She will walk up to me and stop three feet and make me walk the rest of the way!
The rest are from the Huruu (something like that..) fall
s hike that Lijanne and I did. It was about a 11 mile tramp both ways, good exercise and beautiful! Of course I had to do some climbing on the local flora while I was here! Almost fell in a couple times!
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Pahia still!
I'm still in the same town, still loving it! I've recently met an amazing girl from the mighty England. She's aces! We went on a hike up to a waterfall that was really pretty. I would post some picutres, but I deleted all the photos on my camera about an hour ago on accident. Pretty angry about that one but I was told they could be recovered by the local camera shop, so $40 later I'll have my memories back...I hope! Anyway, I'll be in Paihia about another week I'm thinking as I wrap up working and take care of the last couple things I want to do here. Then I will probably end up meeting back up with this english girl to travel more around the north island. Her name is Lijanne, she's 23 (18-19 seems to be the average), very intelligent, beautiful, fun and perhaps the most crazy thing about her, seems to like me! Ha!
I've been trainingl with a local futbol team which has been pretty good. It's great to get the exercise and these guys know how to play! It's cool because this team is made up of a lot of travelers from around the world and you get a lot of different styles of play at the same time. I'd love to stick around and play some games with them but that would keep me in the same spot for far too long (I've already been here too long!).
I took a couple pictures of the local hostel cat, I'll try and get a couple pics posted before too long once I get them recovered for you Merry and Nan!
There is a big Toga party tomorrow night, as staff we have all decided that we are goign to go all out for it, it's going to be a wild night, hopefully I get some good vids and pics!
That's up to the minute pretty much, wish I had some pictures to post..more later!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)