Month: January 2006



  • Totally the tourist scene there, but it’s one of the must-do things for Queenstown. Tomorrow morning? Lord of the Rings tour in a 4×4 vehicle! But tonight we wish Senor Lehnert adieu because his flight is tomorrow night.

    We’ve met a lot of people here! And we keep running into them from city to city, so it makes things cozy and fun. In fact, the hostel (where we stay most nights) atmosphere is the exactly the atmosphere my dorm room was never able to achieve. Gorgeous human beings, primarily female, flowing in and out, sparking up conversations with you about their Chilean, German, British, you-name-it backgrounds. I know it’s a different country, even continent, but I love you Esther. =) I’ll let ya know how the evening goes, folks!

  • If you do nothing else, watch this video of our adventures so far. It has never-before-seen video clips and images! The file size is under 4 megs, so just wait a bit, and you’ll be treated! I’m so excited about this video, I hope you all get to see it and let me know how you like it. Unlike a lot of these videos posted here, you see quite a bit more of me, for better or for worse!



    Quick commentary: Subway is one of the largest and fastest growing chains in New Zealand. For whatever reason, it really clicks with Kiwis and actually employs a number of Americans. Lehnert and I aren’t allergic to fish, so we bought shark burgers and filets across the street and joined Jojo here. The colors are skewed, but the audio worked, so I wasn’t going to redo it!

    It was sooooo windy, and my pants were soaked through and falling off. Eventually I gave up and just took my pants off. Lots of fun conversations on board. Now we’re in Queenstown in the middle of the South Island and enjoying the atmosphere here, catching up on showers and laundry and generally warming up and drying off.

    Good book, by the way. It was $79.99 in Kiwi dollars (subtract about 30% for US dollars) so I would be happy to share it with people when I get back. Sorry, I’m way behind on subscriptions, but I’ll try to catch up! Don’t hold it against me! Not much time left on this trip, I can’t believe it!

  • Today



    Quite a full day today! My first time ever being on a glaysher (as we say it – here they say it glaseer), and it was a lot of fun! A rare thing, it’s actually growing at a crazy-fast rate of 70 centimeters per day! We did the day trip that was probably the best deal we’ve had yet. Most things seem to cost about $150 – skydiving, caving, and this trip, and this time we were out for the whole day from 8a-5p for the money. Oh yeah, my budget of $40-50/day is being exceeded by a factor of three pretty much every day. We’re hungry boys who drive a lot of miles!


    I’m really thankful for this opportunity to be here! It’s wonderful and relaxing and strenuous and educational all at the same time. It’s a daily concious effort to not take the scenery for granted, and it does remind me so much of the Lord of the Rings. The popularity of American music is always amusing, and my collection of MP3s on my phone keeps amusing people, largely because while New Zealand may be 16 hours ahead of the US, it’s years behind in technology, so it costs 50 cents a minute to talk on your cell phone (most people text message instead) and the dinosaur phones we have are what’s mainstream here. It’s kind of part of the Kiwi lifestyle to be laid back and less cutting-edge, part of the appeal of the islands as a whole.


    It’s a cool part of the world to be when you can be on a glacier one day and the beach the day before. Here are some pics from my camera phone, everything else will be on the DVD and on the facebook later. Um, at least a lot of them, I’m burning through about 500MB of pictures and video a day. Just coming up with witty captions for 400 pictures of a glacier will be a challenge!  Cheers!



  • Today



    A reallly long day! So much of this trip is just riding and driving from one place to the next! The whole country is about the size of California, but the roads are so backwards and difficult. If this were a more densely populated country like, say, Japan, they would have the largest and most beautiful bridges in the world, but instead, they have winding roads that switchback all the way up and down mountainsides instead of a quick jog from peak to peak! It makes for quite an experience and a constant battle with motion sickness!

     

    My oh my, I had a lot of fun tonight talking to people from all over like I mention in the video. Just now, the Finnish girl, Siru got back with the Melbourne guy she hit it off with tonight, and I’m folding laundry and uploading video, having read as much as my eyes can handle of John Perkins’s book. Fascinating stuff! I am wondering if my family is trying to text message me, Esther the only one who has actually gotten anything through, and even so, my friends are answering them these days too. =) I’ve got less than 60 seconds of internet time with this dial-up, so I’m out for the evening, at least for a couple hours, because in about 4 hours we’re starting up a glacier!

  • Yesterday








    Today


    Just saying hi from an Internet cafe in McDonalds! Arggh! This place and a Caltrex (gas station…errr petrol) are the only places open on a Sunday morning. Lemme say I did not travel to the other side of the Earth to go to a McDonalds or any other Corporate America place for that matter. I’d check out a house church, but we’ve got a blackwater rafting trip scheduled in 4 minutes. Maybe tonight, I’ll check it out.


    Last night I was driving for 3 hours on the wrong side of the road – it was fun! My skin’s a little pink from the UV rays, and I had a great mountain climbing experience yesterday that I’ll post the video for soon. Adios!




    Here are the pics from today!


  • I meant to post this before…



    Today




    You will need Quicktime to view this.


    Now I’m in a hostel in Nelson, New Zealand on the South Island, typing away on Jojo’s laptop at a table in the kitchen. Jojo lives here when he isn’t on the road, so it’s a pretty relaxed environment and all. We’d like to go hiking later today and maybe tour a vineyard or something. Whatever we do, you’ll be with me vicariously. =)




    I’m reading a really cool book that I’ll give to my dad when I finish, but it’s startling and scary and….well, you should read it. The American empire is in deep trouble, and I can see that even here in New Zealand. Talk to you folks soon!

  • Yesterday

    Today

    You will need Quicktime to view
    this.

    Yes, I was sky diving today from 12,000 feet in a beautiful part of the world. Sorry the video isn’t so clear, it’s a little hard to manage on the road, but ask me later, I can show you the DVD. All these video clips are off my cell phone, so they’re small enough to upload and post, but a little poor in the quality department.

    Lehnert last night where we were camping illegally. Watching Blazing Saddles, drinking NZ wine, talking, planning, and totally excited about the next day.

  • You will need Quicktime to view this.

    It is something else! Got the fans blowing on me here in this Internet cafe – last night I was wandering around outside our hostel barefoot and today we’re driving to our next location. If I told the women I know, they would just worry, so I’ll post video when it’s all over. =)

    These accents are crazy! And the “sweet as” etc.. etc…  these kids playing games in Internet cafes should get lives, and I read my first book since mid-high school. What’s that? First book in nearly a decade? And partway through another. I also slept for 12 hours on the plane, in case that makes some of you feel better. =)