Jan 2007

So far New Zealand and the Contiki trip have been awesome.

I knew New Zealand was going to be an awesome country, when I found out Sir Edmond Hillary was on the five dollar bill.

It seems like every drive is epic. The mountains, river, and lakes are beautiful. Everywhere I go, I think its a perfect picture. Here's an example:

(Hanging out in the Southern Alps)

The wildlife is pretty cool. Seeing penguins, seals, and the flightless Kiwi bird. Most people think the Kiwi people are named after the fruit, but they are actually named after the flightless bird the Kiwi. The reason why it is flightless is because there are no natural predators in New Zealand, so it stopped needing to fly.

New Zealand is an adventure paradise. Everywhere you go is bungy jumping, jet boating, rafting, etc, etc. There is also tons of hiking (called tramping in New Zealand). Some of the top tramps in New Zealand are considered the best in the world.

Everywhere you go, you see mountain bikers and road biking. I think it is a paradise for it. The people doing it are not just young males. You'll often be walking down the road, and suddenly see an older female ripping past you on a road or mountain bike. People are running (for fitness) everywhere.

All of the prices are multiples of 5, so you don't have to deal with pennies. I think it cuts down on the amount of chain you have.

Obviously the Kiwis themselves are super nice and always have a good attitude to everything.

We made the final drive to Christchurch, which would be our final stop on the Contiki journey.

However, no drive from Lake Ohau to Christchurch would be complete without stopping to visit the world's largest sweater (or jumper as they Kiwis and Aussies refer to it).

(Derrick and Mitch in front of the giant sweater)

That night we had our final dinner together, and then headed downtown for one final night. There was a cover band playing, which prompted a lot of dancing. Another epic night unfolded to leave a lasting impression on everyone's Contiki trip.

We left the boat this morning and made the long drive back through Queenstown to Lake Ohau. Lake Ohau is a large glacier fed lake in the middle of nowhere.

We had a hilarious moment as we rolled out of the parking lot in Milford Sound. As we were pulled out of the parking spot, a penguin suddenly appeared from underneath the bus, and waddled back over to the water. I guess he had been sleeping under the bus, and didn't appreciate his new home moving!

That night we stayed at Lake Ohau Lodge, which is situated right on the Lake Ohau, with nothing but mountains around, and a view of Mt. Cook (the highest mountain in New Zealand). There is where Sir Edmond Hillary trained for Everest (I'm not going to even tell you who Hillary is, you should know). The lodge is one of the most amazing settings ever. They don't have Internet yet, but thats probably a good thing. The staff working there were super cool too.

Today was Derrick and Nico's birthday, so we had a toga party to celebrate. When the birthday guys were blowing out their birthday cake candles, Derrick led the Aussies in a quick "Aussie Aussie Aussie... Oi Oi Oi ... Asssuie ... Oi Aussie Oi... etc). Then Nico performed an awesome routine of the Maori Haka dance. It was hilarious and well done.

(Me wearing my toga on the bar patio... with an amazing view. Yes, that is actually the view from the patio. And yes, I wasn't wearing underwear)

Today we left the adventure capital of the world and headed for Milford Sound.

Milford Sound is probably one of the most stunning places in the world. People have talked about it being the 8th wonder of the world. Milford Sound is actually incorrectly named, as it is not a 'Sound', but actually a fijord. Each year, Milford Sound accumulates about 8 meters of rain (yes, you read that correctly, 8 meters).

Its about an hour drive as you head in through the mountains, and its an epic drive. With all the rain, there are giant waterfalls coming down the steep cliffs (there is probably a waterfall every 100 meters or so). Nikki and Nico played a trick on us while we were driving, which I don't wish to share (well, lets just say it had something to do with the water giving special powers to the drinker).

Once in Milford Sound, we boarded a ship, which we sailed out to the ocean through the fijord. I can't stress how amazing the scenery was.

(Extremely mystical...)

In the afternoon, the heavy rain stopped, and the sun came out. This is really lucky, as it rains basically every day. I jumped on the little motor boat for a quick guided nature trip, and was lucky enough to see a penguin. He was swimming around, and then headed back on to shore. It was so cute.

Daily Activities:
- Boat Cruise in Milford Sound: seeing the 4000 foot cliffs coming straight out of the water, and watching a penguin.

So there are a couple of reasons why I've always wanted to come to New Zealand. One of the main reasons is to scare the crap out of myself. I'm a pretty big wimp when it comes to heights. Everytime I stand near the edge of something high, my legs turn to jello. I hate the feeling, but I also love it. Its just so awesome when you conquer one of your fears.

So, I've already done skydiving 3 times, so I figured I'd go bungy jumping. There are a bunch of different jumps in Queenstown. I asked my Contiki Driver Nico, which was the scariest, and he said to do the Nevis (he used to work there too).

The Nevis is the highest bungy jump in New Zealand at 134 meters. Most of the bungy jumps are only around 40-50 meters. So needless to say, the Nevis is a bungy jump on steroids. It is situated overtop of a river. The jump platform is actually a gondola which is suspended between two mountain tops. You have to take a little cable car over to the gondola, which is scary enough. It is about the 3rd or 4th highest bungy jump in the world.

(Looking out from the viewing deck to the Gondola in the middle of the valley. Are you scared yet?)

I was so scared the night before, I could barely sleep. I couldn't stomach any food when I woke up, and could hardly stop moving. I just wanted to get it going. The drive out to the Nevis (about 45 minutes) was really quiet. The group was about 17 people (4 of us were Contiki). No one said anything, as we were all scared for our lives. Once at the site, everyone couldn't believe how intense it looked. No turning back now, as everyone put their harnesses on, and made sure the jump masters put them on right.

To get out to the gondola, you have to take a little cable car. Once in the gondola, they had some awesome pump up tunes blarring which got me more stoked and ready to huck it.

(Hanging out in the Gondola getting ready to huck it)

The order of jumping is heaviest to lightest, so I was the 6th to go. I can not reiterate enough how scary it was. Way more scary then skydiving or anything else I've ever done.

They strap you in on your legs and harness while you sit in a chair, and then you have to ackwardly hobble to the edge. Since I didn't want to look down, the jump master kept saying, "a little more, a little more". You don't want to go any more.

(Getting tied in)

(All Ready to go... putting on a fake smile)

(Waiting on the edge... just look at the horizon and don't look down)

They drop the bungy cord in front of you while you're standing on the edge, and the heavy cord gives a little tug on you foward. Then the jump masters count down.... "3... 2... 1.... GO!!!!". Because the cord and height is so big, you have to do a giant swan dive off the platform. No tip-toeing off with a little baby jump. You have to fully commit to a huge dive.

As you're sitting on the edge, the secret is not to look down. You just look out at the horizon. The moment on the edge is so intense. Everyone is cheering you on. Once you've jumped, and your body figures out whats going on, its the most amazing ride as you freefall for about 7 seconds (thats how high it is!).

(Right after the leap... looking down!)

(Going down. You can see how long the bungy cord is, revealing how high the jump really is.)

Once down at the bottom, you bounce up and down a couple of times, before you pull a cord on your leg, which releases your feet, and you spin so you're the right way up (this way the trip back up to the gondola isn't upside down). As you're getting lifted back to the top, its the most peaceful moment ever. You can't really hear any noise and everything just seems perfect. Its hard to describe, I think you just have to experience it.

Once back on the platform, I was so pumped up, and tried to help the remaining people conquer their fears by giving motivation about how awesome it.

I bought the DVD, so everyone can watch it.

That afternoon I joined Shane and our freeless Contiki Driver Nico for some downhill mountain biking. I have never rode a dual suspension mountain bike, so it took some time getting used to it. I think dual is too easy, as all the little mistakes you make get eaten up by the big front and back suspension.

(Me, Nico, Shane... hanging out at the end of the trail)

We had an awesome afternoon of ripping around, and then getting driven back up to the top of the mountain in a car. We also biked down the most dangeous road in New Zealand, which is one lane, and is on the side of cliff. One little wash-out would result in a couple hundred feet fall straight down into the Shotover river. It was probably the coolest place I have ever ridden.

(Shane starting the track)

(End of the death road)

Overall today was an amazing day...

Daily Activities:
- Nevis Bungy Jumping: hucking yourself off a 134 meter gondola, with only a rubber cord attached.
- Downhill mountain biking: ripping down a mountain at top speed while riding a monster downhill bike.

Today I got my first sleep-in of the tour (very much enjoyed). For the afternoon a whole bunch of the Contiki crew went 'Mad Dog River Boarding'. This activity is basically swimming down a white-water river with a boogie board. The rapids were quite safe, with vey little rocks and appeared deep. Needless to say, there was a significant amount of carnage going down the rapids, with everyone bashing into each other. The whole flotila was about 5km.

At the end of the river, they had a giant jetski, with a huge foam pad dragging behind it. In groups of two, people got ripped around behind the jetski for a wild ride. After that, we headed to a giant 40-foot slide, where you could go down on your boogie board, in a variety of poses (on your knees, backwards, etc). After the slide was a giant swing. I held on too long and landed very ackwardly on my side. Ouch!

(me ripping down the slide. Do I look scared? Seems like a constant theme in New Zealand)

(View from across the river. You can see the slide starting just below the hut, and rope swing at the top of the platform. Just to the right is the skidoo parked.)

Our Hotel has an amazing view right from the bar. Here is what we look out onto. These jagged peaks were used for most of the high alpine shots in Lord of the Rings.

(amazing view from the hotel bar)

That night we headed into Queenstown for an 'Ice Bar'. The bar is in a giant fridge, and everything is made out of ice (the seats, cups, tables, etc). Naturally the drinks served were vodka mixers. They even supplied each person with a coat, gloves, and ugg boots. It was only about -5C, so I elected to appear tough and only use the jacket unzipped (Canadian eh).

(Jackie and Jarrod in the ice bar)

After the ice bar we headed to another club, where there was a free keg when you knew the secret password (password = "Smithers"). So I went up and said, "Smither please", and was presented with a free beer. I love this country. You could also buy bulk mixed drinks with tea cups.

Since today (January 26th) is Australia Day, we celebrated a lot (there are about 25 Aussies on our tour).

Today began with a short driver to the Joe Glacier (the other glacier beside the Franz Josef Glacier). I decided to go all out on this activity, and do a ‘heli-hike’. This involves taking a helicopter up to a high part on the glacier (normally not accessible without extensive experience and equipment). But for a few NZ dollars, you experience this with a short helicopter ride.

(Heading up the Fox Glacier with my fellow Contiki Explores. It was a blue sky day which is rare on the 'Wet Coast'. This was the first day in a while they had been able to heli into the glacier, so we were very fortunate)

The glacier wasn’t as flat and smooth as I was expecting. There were tons of caves, crevasses, land bridges, and pools. The guide really had to pick the line to avoid any potentially dangerous spots. Each hiker gets a pair of crampons (spikes used to walk on ice), old leather boots, wool socks and a walking stick.

(me looking like an explorer. Check out the the wool socks and boots. To the left is Lauren from Australia, and to the right is Emily from England)

We spent the next couple of hours walking around the glacier. We went through a couple of caves where you had to be down on your hands and knees, and squeezing through some tight places. It was kinda scary thinking about the hundreds of pounds of ice on top of you, or the really deep crevasses. The helicopter ride each way was amazing as we ripped through the valley.

(Mitch squeezing through one of the tiny caves)

After the glacier trek it was on to Queenstown. Wooohoooo! Queenstown is the adventure capital of the world. Home to the origins of bungy jumping and jet boating. Tons of other activities including mountain biking, river boarding (going down a white water river on a boogie board), skydiving, whitewater rafting, para sailing, hand gliding, etc, etc. Plus a pretty active night life.

That night we had a group dinner up at the Skyline restaurant. You have to take a gondola up to the restaurant where you eat in front of a magnificent view of the town and surrounding mountains.

After dinner we went to a bar, where one of the activities is ‘horizontal bungy’ (only in Queenstown!). Contestants are strapped to a bungy cord. They have to run the length of the bar to grab a yardstick. Once holding the yardstick, the bungy cord kicks in, and the contestant is whisked back (some people fell on their ass and slid the length of the bar). Then they have to chug the yardstick as fast as possible, and the winner gets a free jump at the Nevis Bungy jump. It was hilarious.

Today was another driving day. However, every drive is spectacular. Today was extra special as we headed through Aurther’s Pass. The road follows beside a roaring river. After Aurther’s Pass is the west coast (also dubbed the ‘Wet Coast’ for all the rain). So far this is probably the prettiest place I have ever seen. Words can’t describe it.

We also saw the funniest sign in New Zealand, which shows a biker doing an endow (falling over your handlebars). The sign is to warn cyclist about the railroad tracks as you cross the bridge.

Tonight we stayed in Franz Josef Glacier, which is a little town on the outside of the Franz Josef Glacier. It was a really cool little town with lots of hiking, biking, and glacier trips. When you look up, you can see the glacier, surrounded by the mountains. This is the closest glacier in the world to the ocean (only 5km). For dinner we had lamb shanks, which was the first lamb I’ve had in New Zealand (New Zealand prides itself on having more sheep than humans). More Jagarbombs were had to enjoy the awesome setting.

Today was an early wake-up as we boarded the ferry across the Cook Straight (the body of water between the north and south islands). The Cook Straight is notorious for being rough as the wind funnels between both islands. The last hour was amazing as we came upon the south island. It was spectacular as the mountains rise right out of the water.

(arriving on the South Island)

We had to wait about an hour for our bus to arrive in Picton. We used the time to get a rugby game going in the parking lot. It was only touch, so I couldn’t show them the wrath of Canadian tackling skills.

The drive down the east coast to Christchurch was amazing. Long beaches, blue water, and mountains made every turn a perfect picture. We stopped along the way at a seal colony.

(Hanging out on the east coast)

(More hanging out on the east coast with the Contiki Crew)

Today was an early rise as we headed out of Wellington to Kapiti Quad Bikes (ATVs). The bus ride to Kapiti was scary enough, as we drove up a one-lane road into the mountains. There were no guard rails or anything to stop the bus from four-hundreds feet of rag-dolling down a mountain if we slipped.

Driving the quad bikes took a bit of time to get used to, especially learning to trust the bikes. One of our Contiki members fell off her bike, and then her bike proceeded to fall on her. I saw it happen and got really scared it could be a spinal, but she walked away with only a nasty bruise and dignity hurt. Overall quad biking was a lot of fun, ripping through the dense New Zealand jungle.

(Me ripping through a giant puddle)

That afternoon we walked around the Wellington waterfront. New Zealand really promotes physical activity, as they have awesome playgrounds everywhere. The kids don’t just play videogames!

Later in the day, I was being an idiot and leaping around on these polls. It was quite a big jump and I got out of control. As I jumped to the last one, the top of the poll was lose, and I fell off. I did a commando roll once I hit the ground. However, I landed on my camera, breaking the display. Crap! Time for a new camera. Luckily I didn’t lose any of the pictures I had taken thus far.

Daily Activities:
- Quad Biking: ripping around the New Zealand mountains on an atv, driving down steep banks and through huge 2-foot deep puddles.

From the previous night of partying, I woke up feeling really awful. The bus ride didn't help, as New Zealand roads are not straight. I think they purposely build the roads with as many turns as possible. I spent most of the drive in the front of the bus with the rest of the people who partied too hard the previous night.

The drive around Lake Taupo was spectacular with Volcanoes in the background.

(the author in front of a Volcano)

As we arrived in Wellington (the capital of New Zealand), we went right to Mt. Victoria for an awesome view of Wellington and surrounding area. Mt. Victoria was also the location where Lord of the Rings began filming (the scene where the hobbits hide from the ring wrath on the side of the road in Fellowship). Wellington is host to many LOTR scenes, as Peter Jackson lives in Wellington. The town of Wellington is also called the windy city, and it is damn windy. To land an airplane, you need to be an experienced pilot.

That night I entered a pool tournament, where the prize was a $50 bar tab. I finished about 6th out of 40. I probably could have won, but my last couple of shots were tough.

Today I also tested the destructibility of my Nalgene. None of the Aussies had ever seen a Nalgene before, and they didn’t believe me it was indestructible. So I let the bus drive over it. It got squashed, but it didn’t break. I’m not too worried about losing the bottle, as my dad has the largest collection of Nalgenes in the world.

We headed to Taupo which is situated on the biggest lake in New Zealand, Lake Taupo. At the far end of the lake is a volcano, so needless to say the area is quite picturesque.

In the morning, we did a 5km hike, which started at Huka Falls, and then followed the river into the town of Taupo. Along the way, we stopped to watch the Taupo Bungy. Watching people huck themselves off the 40 meter cliff, made me think twice about trying bungy. Definitly having second thoughts about doing it in Queenstown. My legs felt like jello standing on the edge of the cliff watching.

That afternoon was Rock N Ropes. Its a high ropes course, which features different elements (such as walking across polls, wires, bridges, etc). All of the elements are about 45 feet off the ground.

The toughest element involves climbing a poll (similar to a telephone poll), and then boosting yourself up onto the peak, so that your standing on top of the poll. Once standing on top of the poll, you have to jump out and grab a trapeze. The trapeze is probably 1.5 meters out, so it takes a decent size jump to grab it. It was extremely scary. Once your hanging from the trapeze, you have to let go and drop down. The whole time you are on belay, which means an instructor on the ground controls how much you fall. Once you let go, he drops you really fast, and stops you only a couple feet from the ground, right as you think you're about to hit the ground.

(Me getting ready to jump off the poll and grab the trapeze. Glad the photo is from far away, so you can't see how scared I am)

After that was a giant swing. This element is simple as all you have to do is jump off a platform. Once in the air, you freefall for a second, before the wires catch you and you go swinging back and forth. Right as I jumped, the instrcutor yelled that I wasn't attached! aaaahhhh! But he was only playing a trick on me, and the wires soon caught me (I was actually attached the whole time).

(Doing the giant swing)

That night he had a booze cruise on Lake Taupo. The crew caught fish which served as one of the entrees for dinner. Since this blog is rated PG, I'm not gonig to get share what happened for the rest of the night. Lets just say I partied like a rock star.

(some unnecessary Jagarbombs at the end of the night)(Helen from Australia, Anne from Australia, Johan from Germany)

The town of Taupo was crazy that night, as a professional car race series was in town. Taupo's population is only 20,000, but the race attracted 70,000 people into town. They closed down of one of the main streets to allow overflow from the bars. It was pretty insane.

Daily Activities:
- Rock N Ropes: Hanging around 40 feet off the road on ropes doing different swings, walks, and jumps
- Booze Cruise: shots, chugging contests, drinking Canadian Club with Assues, etc.

Today was an early wake-up as we headed to Rotorua. Rotorua was home to the 2006 World Mountain Bike Championships, so I knew I was going to enjoy the town. The only negative thing about the town is that it smells like rotten eggs. There are a lot of thermal activity (geysers, mud pools, etc) in the area which creates the smell.

First up was the Zorb. Zorbing is where you slip into a giant ball, and roll down the hill inside the ball. They put some water inside the ball, so you slip around and pure carnage ensues. The only thing to compare it to is the little plastic balls kids put their pet gerbils in, so they can run around the house. Its quite safe, as the outside of the ball is airfilled like a mattress. They also give you these really groovy shorts and shirt to wear, so you don't get your clothes wet.

(Me standing next to the Zorb ball at the bottom of the hill)

Next up was the Luge. Here you take a chairlift to the top of a hill, throw on a bike helmet, and grab a luge. The luges are not like winter luges. You sit on it like a sled, and have steering handles similar to a bike. To break you pull back on the handles. There are three different tracks to choose from, each with a different level of difficlutly. The tracks have bank turns, switch backs, steep drops, weird obstacles, and other things similar to Super Mario Go Kart. We had some pretty intense races down, and everyone came out safe, despite some sketchy moments.

(the Luge track we went down... winding down the mountain)

That night we went to an offical Maori Hangi meal and concert. The meal is a giant feast where they cook the food in the ground, using heated rocks. It takes a couple of hours. After that, Maori dancers put on a show. They invite the males in the audience to come up to the stage and learn the Haka. It was a pretty pitiful display of dancing by the foreigners. We were not going to intimidate any body.

(All the guys doing the Haka Dance. The younger guys in the photo our from the Contiki group).

The Maori culture is very interesting. They are true warriors which discovered New Zealand by travelling in canoes across the oceans from Australia. They enjoy hand to hand combat, so all of their weapons are quite brutal.

That night we headed back to the hostel and celebrated the jam filled day with some Jagarbombs.

Daily Activites:
- Zorb: rolling down a hill in a giant air ball, with a splash of water inside to create pure carnage.
- Luge: flying down a luge track with only a piece of crappy plastic under your feet.
- Maori meal and concert: cultural stuff

Started my Contiki trip today. We travel around on a bus with about 30 people, including our local Kiwi Contiki travel guide (Nikki) and driver (Nico).

We got right into the goods today, as we started with Black Water Rafting. Here, you suit up in a full wetsuit with boots and a helmet (with a light on the front, like a miner's helmet). Each person gets an inner tube, and you float down an underground cave system, about 1km.

(Getting ready to head into the caves)

When you turn off your headlamp, its completely dark, except for the light emitted from the glow worms on the top of the cave. During some parts of the floatilla, you have to go over waterfalls. You have to jump off backwards blindly and land in the tube. It is pretty scary jumping blindly in the dark.

That night we all headed to the one and only bar in Waitomo (population 45 houses). We celebrated with some beer towers (its good to know New Zealand has all of the usual amenities)

(Derrick from Australia, Marcus from US, Jeff from Australia)

Daily Activities:
- Black Water Rafting: floating through a cave system in the pitch black in your rubber tube.

It was definitly a good experience going to Fiji, and learning how to travel by myself in a developing country. I wouldn't tell anyone to bother spending any significant time in Nadi, as the small islands off the main land is where the true Fiji culture and lifestyle comes out. Furthermore, its out on the islands where they care more about showing you a good time and revealing the Fijian culture.

Everything is on Fiji time. What does that mean? When they say they'll be ready in 5 minutes, it really means 1 hour as they go do something else first.

The weather was amazing. Lots of sun and very hot. I can't imagine how Dela Pena would deal with the heat, as I was sweating liters of water a day (even when I was just hanging out in the shade!).

The people you meet are amazing. Anything from a professional skydiving instructor from California (with over 8000 jumps!), to Aussies, Kiwi, and Brits.

Next up is New Zealand...