Yin & Yang

Over the past two days my senses have come full circle, and now a balance has been struck between the senses.

As I mentioned in the last posting, I did the bungee. My first bungee was at the Kawarau Bridge, the first commercial jump site in the world. The jump stands 43 meters over the Kawarau river. Being the first jump, I had the nerves and the adrenaline all working at the same time. There is nothing like the sensation as you walk out to the edge of the two foot platform staring at river below and the gorge walls on your side. Then the moment hits where you just don't hold back and jump. The jump was about 2 seconds, but there is a very still moment in time where everything seems to freeze and an eery calm came over my body. The sensation is similar to surfing in the barrel of a wave. On this particular jump, plunged right into the river, adding to the sensation. Then you just kind of bounce a couple times and drop into the rubber dingy below. I got the last jump of the day and the crowd of about 50 people gave me a nice ovation for the Superman style plunge into the river.

The Kawarau Bridge jump was just a warmup. The next morning I woke up early (which was tough b/c Queenstown has a good night life) and headed to the Nevis. The Nevis is basically a large gondola style box perched over a canyon. You take a little gondola out to the jump staring at the canyon below. Despite feeling confident after the first jump, this one is a real intimidator. The jump is 134 meters or 440 feet and has an 8.5 second free fall. The night before the temperature had really dropped and fresh snow had dropped everywhere. It made the jump a little more scenic and dramatic. After you are strapped to the bungee in a large star trek looking chair, you walk to the edge of a really tiny platform. The crew drops the bungee and its weight is enough to give you a slight pull down adding to the nerves. Then the countdown 5..4..3..2..1. I took a deep breath and took a swan dive out. 9..8..7..6..5..4..3..2..1 The drop is incredible and the sensation is just amazing. It is literally the edge of pushing the extreme and near death leading to the ultimate rush. Because of the length of the bungee, you recoil up pretty high and do a little plunge again. Then on the second recoil, you pull a strap that makes you somersault into a sitting position. You come up in a sitting position enjoying the views. It happened to be snowing...I felt like I was floating.

After the second jump, I came back into town to go sledging. Sledging is basically white water rafting on a boogie board. Since it had snowed, the weather was not exactly warm, but there is enough work involved and adrenaline going to keep you plenty warm as you are throttled down the river. This was not a passive experience like white water rafting where you have to paddle occassionally. You really have to kick to maintain some control. Once I got the hang of it, I was able to do some spins. It's a lot of work, but if you kick really hard you can catch a wave and surf it. My favorite though was duck diving the wave and you get spit out way down stream. I obviously have been vacationing too much because I got cramped and I was huffing. Of course I was pushing myself when I wasn't in shape. But thats what you got to do - push the limit.

When sledging ended, I warmed up a little by the fire and then headed back to Queenstown for the final bungee jump - the ledge. I ran into a little snaffoo when I returned though. A guy who had stayed in the room before me had left his stuff there as he was going to return. When I returned from sledging, my "AJ Hackett Bag" was missing (they are the little bags that your souveneir photos and videos are in). I happened to have my tickets for the jump in there as well. I was already running a little behind as I was scheduled to jump at 7 pm. I ran back down to the Bungee office and fortunately they reissued me another jump ticket. I was frustrated at the moment because the bag had my photos and video. The photos were replaceable, but the video is looped over and is gone unless you buy it. So I went to the jump...

The ledge is a 47 meter jump perched over the town. It offers spectacular views of the town and the Remarkables Mountain Range. Despite its smaller bungee drop, the ledge is just as intimidating. This is due to the fact that it is small railway looking box perched 300 meters over a mountain. Thus, in effect you feel like you are going to fall 400 or so meters. On this particular jump you are harnessed in a manner that you can fall out of the tower in any manner you want. For example, you can do a flip or fall out backwards. I chose the flying squirrel - running start with arms spread out. Because it was the last jump I did not hold back. I had the adrenaline flowing all day and the missing bag had got me fired up. I got way out there and it was another exhilirating jump. Because of the distance I jumped, the recoil took me almost all the way back up, giving me another mini bungee. It also caused me to swing pretty wildly, which was actually quite fun.

I went back to the backpacker hostel (which was right down the road) and continued my search for the bag because I had a nagging feeling it was a mistake. I was able to track the people who had been staying there, and it turned out one of them had come back. I left a note on the door and it turned out the individual had grabbed my bag thinking it was his. He like everybody else in Queenstown had the same bag. My fault for not marking it. The individual felt bad, and it was an honest mistake that worked out.


In contrast to my adrenaline filled Sunday, on Monday I went out to Milford Sound. The Sound is actually a Fjord and is described by Rudyard Kipling as the eighth wonder of the world. It is also where the Milford Trek (one of the most famous walks in the world) ends. I did not trek, I took a bus. The bus ride takes you through some beautiful areas where it meets up with a boat that takes you around the Fjord. The scenery is just too difficult to describe with words and pictures are really the only way to get a sense of the raw beauty of the area. The trip was tranquil and the experience cleansing. It truly balanced out the extreme day before.

In the past few days I have experience two extremes, a Yin and Yang that somewhere balanced out in the middle. Sadly the trip has come to an end, but I walk away with a renewed spirit and energy.

Thank you New Zealand and Australia

Coming real soon

Tons of Photos and a special "reflections" section

Marching Through the South

Sorry for the delay in the update viewers. I have been marching through the South taking in everything. It is also easier for me to do updates in the bigger towns because the net is much cheaper to access. Since I have covered so much ground I will divide where I have been into small sections.

Picton-Kaikoura-Christchurch

The last post had me in Wellington. After a brief visit (there is really nothing to see other then the museum) I hopped on a ferry ride to the South Island. It took about three hours to cross. As the ferry passed through the bay to Picton, you quickly realize why the South Island claims more of the scenery. The ferry was surrounded by mountains that just rise out of the sea.

Once I hopped off the ferry, I walked right over to the train station where I caught the Tranzcoastal Train down to Kaikoura. The coastal route was quite nice, but there were some areas that look exactly like California (the landscape probably looks fairly similar because California and NZ are sitting on the exact same faultline). I am glad I did it, but I was not overwhelmed.

The train ride to Kaikoura took a couple of hours. Kaikoura is really small town where the Mountains literally meet the sea. There were large snow capped peaks just a mile from shore. The town only really exists because it is on the train route and it has the best whale watching. I decided to stop because NZ is so small. Why not?
The hostel I stayed at had wonderful hosts and bent over backwards to make your stay was good. Since I had done whale watching before and say plenty of dolphins in Oz, I decided to fly a plane.

It was really the perfect place to fly a plane, and the weather cleared making it possible in the first place. You are probably wondering right now who flew the plane? Basically it was the instructor and I; and as soon as he took off I got to fly the plane. There was not really much to it. Much like driving a car. It was a great place to fly because I got to buzz along the coastline, spot a few whales and lots of seals from the air, turn inland over snow covered peaks and carve the plane over the river through a valley. Good times, and I get credit towards my pilot license. Not much else in Kaikoura.

Next stop on the trainroute was Christchurch. It is the biggest city on the south island, but for being so big there is really not too much to see and do. They have a nice botanical gardens, I guess. I will be there again, as I fly out of there back to the North Island.

Christchurch to Greymouth

The weather continued to cooperate as I woke up bright and early to catch yet another train - the TranzAlpine. This trip was far superior to the transcoastal as it takes you from the east coast over the Southern Alps to the West Coast. The train carves its way through some great mountain scenery and plateus ending in Greymouth. Unfortunately the weather turned to rain again as I arrived on the Westcoast.

Greymouth. That is all I can say about that town. Stay there as little as possible.

Greymouth to Franz Josef

I made my way back onto the bus and travelled south down the west coast. The scenery started to get really dramatic. The coast has jagged peaks that covered in lush green rainforest. The taller peaks have snow making it a startling contrast.

Franz Josef is home to a glacier with the same name. The glacier is unique as it is a warm glacier. In other words it does not snow on the glacier. The glacier is formed by the compacted snow at the top of the mountain. What you do in Franz Josef is hike on the glacier. I did a 1/2 day hike that takes you up about a 1/3 of the glacier. You have to where clamp ons so dont fall on the ice. The scenery was awesome and going through the crevaces was good fun. It is hard to describe an iceberg being surrounded by lush green rainforest. The pictures will speak for themselves. After a long hike on the glacier it was back to the hostel for well deserved spa time. Of course everybody did the same activity and had the same idea, but met some great folks in here as I have in all the towns.

Franz Josef to Queenstown

I am now in Queenstown, the adventure capital of NZ. The town is a resort town with a great atmosphere despite its small population of 7500. I will talk more about it in the next post. I arrived late in the afternoon just in time to do the sport that was born here - Bungy Jump. More later...I still have two more jumps to do, one from 440 feet....

Heading South

As the title conveys, I am quickly moving to the South Island. So far it has pretty much rained every day here in New Zealand, which has put a damper on activities. After Rotorua, I made my way to Taupo. Taupo is the largest lake in New Zealand. It was created by a volcanic eruption that occurred in 181 A.D., and is considered one of the most violent eruptions in recorded geological history. It was hard to see the lake through the mist, but it is large and home to some of the finest trout fishing. Unfortunately, the weather did not permit any kind of enjoyable fishing. The south of the lake is contrasted by the dramatic volcanic peaks, that are evidence of the continuing volcanic activity in the region. In fact one of the volcanic peaks was the backdrop for Mt. Doom in Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

I was also scheduled to skydive at Taupo, as the rates are the best in the country. Again, the weather did not allow that to happen. I also planned to go to Tongorira National Park, home of the Tongorira Crossing. The crossing is supposedly the greatest day walk in all NZ. But, guess what? Poor weather. In fact the crossing was closed, and when it did open, it had to be guided unless you had mountaineering skills (you needed clamp-ons [ice spikes for shoes]) to get through the steep snowy areas or the wind could blow you off the mountain. The weather was not getting any better for the next few days, so I am heading southbound. If the weather insists on being winter, at least on the south there are more winter activities. Unfortunately, as in Australia, spring does not want to start and winter does not want to leave.

I am now in Wellington, the nations capital. It had to be moved here because the South Island (Maui and his Canoe) were threatening to secede because there grievances were not being heard. Hmmm, when else did the south want to secede in history? Wellington, like Chicago is the windy city. There are little areas that look like bus stops that are actually wind shelters. Since the weather is poor, I went to the National Museum (Tu Papa).

The museum was quite impressive and stands up there with places like the Smithsonian. Plus, like the Smithsonian, it is free. The best part of the museum is the cultural, political and social history of the Maori.

A lot of the of the history is more recent as it deals with the ongoing history between the Pakeha (newcomers). Pa means settlement and keha is equivalent to "new." Thus, new settlers or newcomers. Unfortunately, the history in New Zealand is similar to many other places in the world where the Pakeha came.

Most of the disputes arose over land and the interpretation of how land was viewed and valued. Maori viewed the land as gift, and hence attempted to live harmoniously with it. As an example of how views of land shaped the ongoing conflict, one only has to look to the treaty signed with "the crown" in 1840.

The treaty was supposedly signed with the protection of the Maori in mind. It was to ensure that land was not obtained fraudulently and to protect existing claims to land. Of course, the treaty did not take into account the Maori concept of land holding. For example, when the Pakeha came, Maori would exchange a gift with the Pakeha. In response the Pakeha reciprocated with a gift of their own. This exchange had two meaning for the two parties. For the Maori, it meant I am now going to share my land with you so we can benefit. The Pakeha believed that the exchange meant that now the land was theirs. When the Maori sought to enforce the treaty, they were ignored. Claims that were heard were pushed aside because there was not "physical" and "documentary" evidence of an existing claim to land, both of which are western concepts prevelent in our legal system. Oral tradition and history, though remarkably accurate was ignored.

Today, it is the very treaty signed in 1840 that has helped the Maori reclaim some of the land that was originally theirs. There is a land court and findings board for claims. Ironically, it is in the original Maori spirit that much of the land in New Zealand can now be preserved e.g. the land is to be shared. Although some grievances have been redressed, the system is slow as it attempts to objective in its fact finding. The problem, however, is it has the same consequence as the original treaty. Though probably not intentional, the effect is that Maori do not feel like they are being heard due to the long and tedious nature of the process.

Even when the system appears to be working, it still has flaws. For example, in the 1970s a group of Maori sought to take back an area known as Pakatori. Pa meaning settlement, Ka to share and tori food. In other words an area where peoples gathered to catch and share food. It is also called Marotau Gardens. In the proceeding, "evidence" was presented that the geographical location was somewhere else and destroyed in a flood. The other evidence, that passed on by oral tradition indicated that it was the area where food was shared. I was not clear on the outcome, but the geographical evidence was created by the Pakeha. It is just an example how the dispute is ongoing.

The Maori have a resilient spirit that is inspring. They have fought very hard to preserve the culture. The Maori dialect is an official language in New Zealand and special schools exist to preserve the culture, language and identity. The Maori are fighting for their future generations; there hope is that the children maintain there Maori heritage while adapting to the new system. In other words they want their children to be educated so they can be lawyers and politicians and can fight fire with fire. As an example, Mai 462 is an intellectual property law that prohibits the misuse of Maori cultural icons. Remember all those tacky souveneirs of tiki statues? Well, the law makes it so the statue is authentic. Fight fire with fire. I hope my tourist dollars are going to help the Maori continue their fight.

Heading South

Maori Country

I arrived yesterday in rotor. The area is center of Maori culture in New Zealand and geothermal activity.

Before arriving in rotor, the bus stopped at a place called Whitney. Whitney is best known for the large amount of caves in the area. What makes the caves unique is the presence of the glo worm. These tiny insects/worms are bioluminscent, so they give off bright green glow. I took a tour of the Whitney Caves to see what all the fuss was about. There was nothing spectacular about the cave (I have seen better), but once you get on the large canoe, you see what all the fuss is about. As you creep silently in near darkness, you look to the cave ceiling to see thousands of glowing specks. It is similar to looking up into the sky at night and gazing at the stars. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to take pictures, so you have to take my word for it.

Once the cave tour was complete, it was onto rotor. Most of the bus went to the Hangi, or traditional Maori feast. It is practically identical to the luau where you are fed and see traditional dance. The Hangi is particular to Maori culture, but still has much of the Polynesian flavor. Since I have been to luau, I skipped. The tourist Hangi was about the same price as the tourist luau in Hawaii (minus booze). Since rotor is the Maori cultural capital, I was able to absorb it around the town and in the traditional village that is near the city center and geothermal areas.

I also skipped geothermal area in town. There is a better one outside town that the bus will stop at tomorrow (and cheaper). There is a nice park where you can see the bubbling pools of mud and hot springs for free, so I took that route. Later in the day, I went to the skyride, which is basically a gondola that goes to the top of a hill (that they call a mountain, they wish). Imagine a gondola on the foothills around the Bay Area...The cool thing is that when you get to the top, you can luge down a concrete track. Luging was lots of fun and the tracks are a little over a mile long.

The interesting thing about New Zealand is that every town touts there adventure activities. Obviously some are specific to the area like when I get to the glaciers. However, it is well a little over the top. Every town I have been so far has skydiving and bungee jumping and there are plenty more down the road. I get it!!!

So far the North Island looks like California in winter - green rolling hills and sunny and or overcast. There are the occasional volcanic peaks, which are a stark contrast. The more dramatic scenery is down the road....

In New Zealand

I forgot to inform everyone that this is your regular host for the site. I am now in New Zealand on the North Island. I landed in Auckland, one of the major cities on both islands. The legend of the island comes from the great Maui. Legend has it that Maui was out in his canoe fishing. While fishing, he hooked what turned out to be a whale. The mighty Maui pulled at the rope that hooked the whale, pulling the mighty animal to the surface. From this struggle the islands of New Zealand were born. The North Island represents the Whale, while the South Island is Maui in his canoe.

Now that everyone is familiar with the legend of New Zealand, I will indulge everybody with the wonders of each island once my travels begin.

So Long Sydney

Yesterday was my last real day in Sydney and Australia (I have to return there to get home). It was labor day weekend in Australia so everybody was out and about in their casual wear. The weather finally cleared up and it was a brilliantly sunny day.

I took advantage of the situation, taking the Sydney Ferry out to Manly Beach. The ferry was a great way to see the Sydney Harbor for a reasonable price. The ferry departed from the Circular Quay (key) providing great views of the Harbor Bridge and opera house. The ride to Manly Beach is about a half hour, providing 360 degree views of the harbor.

Since the weather was nice, everybody had the same idea as me. The boat was packed and when I arrived at Manly it was also packed. Manly beach was named by Captain Cook, who thought the aboriginal natives there looked "manly." I managed to soak up some sun and enjoy the jazz festival. Because of the long weekend and the nice weather, it was way too crowded!!!

I am glad I was able to spend a week in Sydney. The city really grew on me. It is easy to get around, clean and plenty to do. See you soon Sydney!

Hangin with the Roos (remember those shoes!!) 

Blue Mountains 

Blue Mountains in the Mist 

Aboriginal Art 

Dive Time!!! 

More Barrier Reef 

A cove on Magnetic Island 

If you ever wondered what it really is... 

Wombat!!! 

This weird guy is a cassowari 

More Wallabee Fun!!! 

Some Wallabees having some fun. 

Train coming down the world's steepest railway 

Cliffs of the Blue Mountains against the Sky Railway 

View of the Blue Mountains through the mist 

Sydney Saturation

I have been in Sydney since Monday, and it has rained everyday since. On Wednesday, I actually slept in for the first time in a while. Then I actually exercised!!! I joined a soccer game near the botanical gardens and then played a little rugby. At lunchtime, it seems like the whole city comes out for some sort activity, so it was real easy to play.

After the blood was flowin, I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art. Mostly because it has one of the largest original collections of Aboriginal Art in Australia. The pieces were interesting. I accidentally took some pictures (was not supposed to), but now everyone can reap the benefit. I finally met up with Frances' cousin in the City. It was pretty much a quiet day.

On Thursday, I went on a day trip to the Blue Mountains. The Blue Mountains is a national park located just outside Sydney. The mountains are named such because the oils that emanate from the eucalyptus look blue when the sun is shining on the leaves. However, the weather was poor and the mountains were covered by mist and fog. It would have been nicer to see it in the sun, but the effect of the fog was quite eerie. One of the most famous landmarks in the Blue Mountains is the 3 Sisters. They are three dramatic sandstone formations that just leap out of the mountain. However, due to the fog, I did not see them!!!! Another highlight was riding the worlds steepest railroad. The day trip group took a hike down through the forest emerging at a lookout that has a view into one of the grand valleys of the Blue Mountains. Rather then walk back up, the train carries you at 52 degree angle. It was really steep!!! The weather made the trip disappointing, but there was still plenty of majestic scenery. On the way out of the mountains, the trip stopped at the Featherdale Wildlife Park. At the park you get to see all the weird animals of Australia including the wombat. They have a huge paddock where you feed dozens of kangaroos. Of course this where a visual aid would be very nice!!!

It is now Friday, and it just raining buckets and buckets of rain. It is just one of those days. I was trying to stay up in the tropics longer, but the price of plane tickets going up the longer I wanted to stay. This was due to the school holiday and this upcoming weekend being three day weekend (called a long weekend here).

Unfortunately the security settings of this particular internet cafe do not permit me to upload photos. I will do it tomorrow. It is supposed to rain again.