VicariouslyBob

Last Days and Home

My plan was to drive to the Abel Tasman National Park for a two day kayaking/hiking trip in the park then to over to Kaikoura to swim with the dolphins on the penultimate day of the trip. Unfortunately, I somehow managed to get a dose of food poisoning/stomach flu on the way north and it whacked me up till the very end of the trip.

No kayaking. No swimming with dolphins. Very little solid food. Not exactly the idea end of the trip, but I had been healthy for the rest of the 3 months so I can’t complain too much.

My 10 hour flight home was uneventful. I read most of a book, watched 2 movies and had my last mediocre airline food. I made it through passport control and customs and was standing on the curb waiting for the Hertz bus in less than 20 minutes (possibly an Olympic Record). After a coffee break in Manhattan Beach, the drive home was a slap in the face of normalcy and then melancholy; the latter a direct result of the former. I dread the fact that in a few short weeks my three month adventure will start to be a fading memory supplanted by house cleaning and trips to Costco for detergent and beer.

The phone rang at 8:30 on my third morning home and I was jolted awake by a hyper-enthusiastic head hunter calling about a job in San Diego. Blah. Fantastic opportunity. Blah. Fun. Blah. I gave her the party line about being very interested and then hung up and went back to sleep.

Welcome home.

My Big Kiwi Day

“Ready?”

“I guess.”

“On the count of three start running and don’t stop till your feet are not touching the ground.” This actually scared the hell out of me as there were two ways not touch the ground: a successful take of and running off the cliff and plummeting to our deaths.

One. Two. Three. Run! RUN! RUN! Well just watch the video and you’ll get the picture. Download paragliding.WMV

Adrenaline = Queenstown

Here is a list of other activities designed to raise your heartbeat and thin out your wallet: Skydiving, Acrobatic Stunt plane flights, Paragliding, Parasailing to 150 m then bungi jump down, Fly by Wire (riding a rocket vehicle attached to wires strung across a valley), luging on a concrete course, jet boating, Canyon Swing (fall/jump/get pushed off a platform and swing down 150 m into a canyon attached to a fixed rope), Hang gliding, and I’m sure there are a few I’ve forgotten. You can see why Queenstown is Adrenaline Capital of NZ, and maybe the world. The sentimental favorite has to be bungi since the first commercial bungi was pioneered there. Now there are at least 4 different bungi locations willing to take your hard earned Kiwi dollars.

It’s all downhill from here

I hadn’t skied for years and it was pretty far down on my list of things to do in NZ for a couple of reasons. One, I didn’t think my knee could handle the pounding of skiing. And two, I had heard the slopes were not that great and I could get better skiing in the States. In the end, Janet really wanted to go and she talked me into it pretty easily. After all, I figured it wouldn’t be very becoming to whine and pout about not wanting to ski for too long. So I only kept it up for 30 minutes.

Last Post From Overseas

Well, my time is up. That was the final boarding call for my flight and I have to come home now. Now don't be sad. A prolonged dose of food poisoning curtailed both by posting to the site and my activities the last days of the trip.

Fortunatley, I do have 14 hour to work on posts and pop them up when I get back.

In fact, I'll probably be home before you get up in the morning on Monday due to the wonders of the international date line.

Thanks for the email and support. More later.

Go South Young Man

Everyone told us to spend most of our time on the South Island and off we were. After the night in Wellington, we boarded the ferry bound for Picton, the gateway to the South Island. The ride across Cook Strait was awesome and for me it was the best scenery in NZ yet. The ferry winds its way though the Marlborough Sounds past islands, inlets and tree covered hills. Once again we met some great people on the ferry who helped us plan our itinerary for the South Island.

Welcome to Middle Earth

I had a great flight to Auckland on Quantas. I was reminded once again about the wisdom of cashing in my miles for a business class seat. And because I'm enamored with the video function of my camera, I can share with you a video of me boarding the 747. Download quantas_boarding.WMV

Doubtful Verse

Sorry for the interuption of OZ posts, but the other day was beyond words - or at least words I know.

I took a trip to a place called Doubtful Sound on the South Island and was moved to write poetry (or at least haiku). There was a stretch (maybe about 13 km) that was perhaps the most beautiful place I have ever seen in my life. Out of this world.

Snow capped mountains poked through misty clouds. The snow was replaced by a temperate rain forest as the hills fell into dark green valleys. The beech trees were wild - they didn't have any leaves and the branches were twisted and covered with moss and ferns. It was so beautiful and its frustrating to know I can't describe it adequately.

Of course, I was in a bus and it was killing me that there was no way to stop and take pictures or even take a closer look, but it was awesome. Unfortunately, the bus tour or a multi-day walk are the only ways to reach this place easily. For the trip I was on, we took a 45 min boat ride to the bus for 22 km then 3 hours on another boat in a only slightly less spectacular place.

Perhaps it is fitting that I only have memories of it and not photos.

Today will be a top 5 highlight from my trip.

Eventually (in the next week) I'll get some photos of the cruise on Doubtful Sound posted.