November 25th - Hitting Our Stride

The sound of the expedition leaders voice on the intercom was thoroughly unwelcome at 7:30AM. My body was pretty sore and I was feeling a bit hungover. I struggled through breakfast and pounded a few cups of coffee, but it wasn´t helping much.

The morning activity was a stop at an Ukranian research facility called ¨Verdansky Station.¨ It was what you might expect; a bit spartan research facilities that look like they are straight out of the 80´s. However, when you get upstairs you find the pride and joy, what they claim to be the southern most commercial bar in the world serving vodka made onsite in the station. So the story goes...It used to be a British station that they later sold to the Ukranians as a favor for 1 pound. When the British built it they hired a carpenter to fit-out the place. The guy blew the entire budget on the spectacular bar and was then simply fired and the replacement finished the rest of the station.

We had a couple shots of the fine spirits(Ukranian style vodka made fresh in Antarctica) and my hangover disappeared completely. I was feeling much better and after a cruise around the surrounding area on the zodiaks highlighted by a couple of leopard seals, we headed back to the boat for lunch.

After lunch we had our second ski adventure. Getting to the ski location was much easier this time around, and I was feeling a little stiff, but excited. The weather had been pretty iffy all day, in fact it was more or less a blizzard during the morning activity. By the time we had set out, it had at least stopped snowing, but the conditions were less than ideal.

We were up and on the skis in no time at all and we made a pretty good pace up the glacier. After and hour and a half or so we were nearing the saddle of the mountain and the cloud line. The very top was a bit precarious, icy and steep, and more than anything I wondered how we´d make it down. After skiing across the top of the peak to a point where we could see the water on the other side through the dense cloud cover we turned and headed down. I followed lockstep behind the two people in front of me and made it through the hard bit with surprising ease.
Something truly magical happened then. As we came down the main face, the weather shifted and cleared completely; soon the sun was blazing down on the fresh white snow and the panorama of the the light hitting the the surrounding bays, snow covered peaks and icebergs was beautiful beyond description. I was by myself on the face at this point and I stopped often just to stare in amazement and take it in. ¨This is the view I came for,¨ I told myself over and over again. It was a truly amazing and emotional moment for me. It justified everything about the trip for me and had I left Antarctica just after that I would have left totally satisfied.

We made it back to the ship feeling great and very tires. Following dinner there was a final activity, a zodiak cruise around the icebergs in the back where we were anchored. The weather, as it does in Antarctica, had turned again and it was pretty cold and windy. It was nice, but relatively uneventful and pretty cold. Upon returning to the ship, I slept right away.

November 24th - The Real Day 1

We moved from the South Shetlands to the Antarctic Peninsula and the surrounding islands for the next days activities.

After breakfast we quickly prepared for another shore landing. There was no walk this time so there was plenty of time to be spent among the large colony of Gentoo penguins. Also, the bay that the beach was on was filled with icebergs large and small. I am sure i´ll be sick of penguins by the end of this trip, but I don´t think the unlimited variety in shapes and beauty of the icebergs will ever get old.

The penguins were everywhere, thousands in every direction. I was in the first boat ashore and I decided just to sit for awhile and enjoy them. I found a nice rock and plopped myself down in silence and let everything happen around me. The penguins went about their business waddling around and coming in and out of the water just inches away from me; this surely beat the hell out of any zoo experience. I sat there for a half an hour or so enjoying the intimate experience and then headed down the beach. As I wandered, I practiced my penguin call and even got a few to respond to me in kind.

I continued along the beach then went up the bluff trudging through near waist deep snow to visit the nesting areas of the colony. About this time, the sun burst through the clouds, up to this point it had been a largely cloudy day. The light on the surrounding mountain peaks and the back full of glimmering ice was awe-inspiring. Pretty soon I was down to my t-shit surrounded by penguins in Antarctica taking it all in.

The afternoon held many more surprises of its own. My original ship did not offer any adventure activities, but the boat I ended up on did. All of the activities were signed up for months in advance, but I added my name to the waiting list and was added to the cross-country skiing roster. I think I was expecting leisurely skis around the landing sites, but it turns out they really mean adventure activities.

The spot chosen for out first ski was a location our intrepid guides Milton and Jeremy had never tried before, more than likely no person ever had stepped foot there before. They simply saw a glacial face that they thought looked cool from the ship on the last trip down and we went for it. The landing was a bit more than they were expecting, they thought it looked like a gradual slope up to the ridge, but we found a meter of snow atop a steep embankment and had to trudge up it with all the gear. It was a good hour before we were able to put the skis on.

I couldn´t believe the sheer size of this thing; a meter of fresh powder snow covering an enormous glacier. It was to be quite an introduction to cross country skiing. It was beautiful on the way up and I was amazed at the ease of going up the face. After some time we arrived at the summit of the glacier and the view of ¨Paradise Bay¨ and our ship below was incredible. We were running tight on time however, and had to turn around quickly and head for the bottom. Little did I know that cross country skiing is one of a very few activities where going up is easier than coming down. We started down easy enough, I was even helping out others who were having trouble, but the next thing I knew I was on my ass 3 times in a row and had a broken ski pole. I even walked without the skis for a short while, but eventually pulled it together and made it back to the boat safely. For the first time on cross country skis it was the ultimate trial by fire learning experience.
Feeling exhilarated and exhausted when we returned to the ship a little late during dinner, my roommate Charlie and I cracked open my largest bottle wine and then headed up to the lounge for a couple of well earned doubles. We went to bed pretty late and probably a bit drunk and dehydrated.

UPDATE December 6

Hello ALL:

I know I said I´d try to get everything caught up this week, but it seems that is not going to happen. I am heading out to go camping in Patagonia, Southern Chile for the next week. I promise to finish uploading my completed Antarctica entries as soon as I can when I get back. Until then, safe be the journey...

November 23rd - Arrival

The sea continued to cooperate on the evening of the 22nd and I decided to discontinue my sea sick meds as they seemed to be greatly affecting everyone´s energy level and the seas just werent so bad. I had a drink and played some cards with a couple of fellow passengers, but slep early that evening.

We a awoke to find similar conditions the next morning. It is the so called "Drake Lake," from what we are told very rare and fortunate conditions. We were briefed the previous evening that if the good sea conditions persisted we may arrive early enough to squeeze in a bonus landing that afternoon in the South Shetland Islands.

We spent the day similarly to the previous, at lecture. However, since I was no longer drugged up I didnt feel the need to sleep in between. We also watched the GPS screens t

o see our location and our eyes peeled for icebergs that could´ve appeared at anytime; we were certainly getting close, south of one the Antarctic borders 60 degrees south.

The energy onboard continued to build as around 3:30PM we got first sight of land in the hazy distance; it was very exciting. The rocky shores of the South Shetlands 

we approaching quickly and be

fore I knew it we were in their midst. Everyone was buzzing with excitement and felt like we had truly arrived!

When we anchored, we quickly

 prepared to head ashore for the first time. My roomate Charlie and I dawned our n

ew bright yellow expedition jackets and headed for the boats. When we arrived on shore we were met by two colonies of penguins, Chinstraps on the beach and Gentoos on the bluff above. We wanted to hike to the other side of the island, however, so we could not be distracted by the thousands of cute birds. We headed down the beach and up the hill to the saddle of the island. There was a nice rocky beach and a fresh water lake on the other side below. As we headed down 

we saw the huge bones of a whale that had been left by turn of the century whalers as well as a couple of really cute Wedell seals. What we missed amongst the sensory euphoria was two enormous elephant seals that we couldn´t have been more than 2 meters away from.

When we had our fill of the view from the end of the beach, we headed back up to look at the elephant seals and get back top the landing beach to enjoy the penguins. On or walk back a staff member alerted us that a lone king penguin had been spotted on the beach near the landing site. King penguins look nearly identical to the famed emporer penguins and weren´t supposed to see either species on this trip. We made haste back to the beach and spent some time admiring the penguin; where the thousands of smaller penguins were enbearably cute, the king penguing was strikingly majestic. When we had had our fill we headed back to the ship blown away by our first Antarctic experience.

The high of the landing lasted well into the night. Alcohol was consumed and many laughs were had amongst new friends before it was time to sleep. The next day would be even bigger.

November 21st - 22nd - Out to Sea

The mighty Drake Passage is undulating out of my cabin window on the M/V Ocean Nova. The vessel is rolling rhythmically from side to side. It seems we have had good luck so far in terms of conditions. The Drake is infamous as being one of the roughest stretches of ocean on the planet and the 2 day passage we are in the middle of is billed as an integral part of the overall experience. Sea sick tablets are strongly recommended and dolled out like candy. Though I probably wouldn´t need them I taking them anyway, the weather could kick the swells up to 5 meters at any moment.

After the day and a half of waiting in Ushuaia for it to be time to board, it was finally time at 3PM on the 21st. I spent the morning taking care of last minute shopping and preparation including doing laundry, buying booze, waterproof pants and a adapter for onboard electricity. We met altogether near the ship and after all the logistical nightmares (my original ship was cancelled just days before I was due to depart while I was in BA, I had to kick and scream to get on a boat leaving just a day after my scheduled departure) I had been through I was relieved to be finally going through the motions of actually getting on the ship. We rolled by bus the 500 meters or so into the port and passed through an absolute joke of a security stop and before I knew it I was being escorted to my cabin.

The boat is nice, relatively modern and fully kitted out with creature comforts. It is setup and looks much like a cruise ship only much much smaller. There are 72 passengers on board and almost that number of crew. I unpacked quickly and we all gathered for small group ship tours in the main salon. Following the brief intro to the boat we gathered together once again for a safety and muster briefing. When the briefing was finished the excitement began to build like a steamroller and as we knew in just moments we would push off. Everyone was huddled together on the bow and an unexpected deafening blow of the ships horn signified the beginning our journey...We were headed for Antarctica! ! !

After watching the "End of the World" shrink behind us, it was time for dinner. The food so far has been superb. Dinner was a full 5 course meal including appetizer, soup, main, desert and a cheese plate; we ate our fill and chatted light-heartedly amongst ourselves. The people onboard seem great; a truly unique mix of adventurous souls from all walks of life.

The sea sick meds were distributed after dinner as we would soon leave the shelter of the Beagle Chanel for the open ocean. I spent some more time chatting and had a glass of wine, but most people hit the bed pretty early...I guess all the excitement and the meds in combination were a knockout punch. It took me a while to fall asleep because my internal clock was still spinning from BA, but once I did sleep the gentle rock of the ocean was a like a warm embrace and I slept comfortably.

I arose for breakfast at 8 for a full day at sea. There are atleast a half dozen experts in various fields with us to provide the educational aspects of the trip as well as serve as the zodiak drivers. I have spent the day alternating between lectures on ice and whales, briefings on landing procedures and quick naps.

For a start of the journey of a lifetime, things could not be going better...knock on wood.

Buenos Aires, Argentina - November 12th to 19th

I must admit that trying to provide you with the play by play of my time Buenos Aires would be futile. Days just began to blend into the next making spending time writing and often recalling events very difficult. I will change the playbook and provide you with a few observations and highlights of my week in BA.

Observations and Commentary:

1. Crazy Schedule - The US and China remarkably hold very similar daily schedules and Argentina shatters that mold. In BA breakfast goes to about noon, lunch fits in late afternoon and dinner is hardly considered before 10PM. In addition where in the US you might get in a bar before midnight, in BA the doors to bars won´t open before midnight and many clubs don´t open before 2AM. This is havoc on the body, but the Argentines sure seem to have it down pat. I´m not sure I could leave a club and go straight to work.

2. Beautiful People - I´m not sure the exact reason, but I can only speculate it is the wide gene pool and a European fashion sense, but it seems everyone in the city(women especially) are gorgeous.

3. Where´s the Beef? - Argentina is known worldwide for high quality beef. I had heard over and over again how amazing and cheap the beef is in Argentina. As I mentioned in my previous post the beef in Argentina is of tremendous value, but those of you who know me well know that I am keen on really nice steak. I must say that though I didn´t eat at the finest steakhouses in BA, the meat did not live up to my highest expectations for an individual steak experience.

4. City Living - BA has so much to offer in terms of night life as well as dining, but in terms of tourist experience it is very city oriented. I can see very clearly that it would be an amazing city to live in. There are a fair amount of museums and other cultural points of interest, but the main city activity is exploring the various city districts. Basically you struggle to get out of bed in time for the noon breakfast cut-off and then head out to explore a new area for a few hours in the afternoon before starting the evening routine all over again.

Highlights:

1. John Jenkins - The main reason I spent so much time in BA was to spend time with John, one of my best friends from college. He has been living in Panama for the last 3 years moving up in the world of Peace Corp. He was planning on coming down to visit a couple of his close friends who had rented an apartment in BA for a month. I crashed the party and enjoyed spending time with him and catching up.

2. Hostel Experience - When I wasn´t hanging out with John and his friends, I was extremely comfortable and made a bunch of new friends at the hostel. It was an old building and I split my time between many floors. Living at times on the 1st and 3rd floors and drinking and socializing on the 6th. The staff was friendly and accomodating and I eventually had to go to them before I left to ask them to pay my bill, I recommend the Hostel Estoril to anyone headed to BA.


3. Parks and the Modern Art Museum - BA has a multitude of large open green areas especially near to the Palermo district. I spent the first day in the city after I met up with John exploring this area and checking out the nearby art museum. There were 2 exhibits at this free museum, the first what I felt was an artistic stretch focusing on cabbages and dirty dishes, but the second floor 20th century South American Art exhibit was fantastic and you can spend a couple hours taking it in.

4. To The Club - There were a lot of late nights in BA simply due to the schedule, I only had a proper night out clubbing once. I am not a fan of clubbing much anywhere, but if there ever was a place to do it, I think BA is top of the list. We pre-partied significantly before heading to a Palermo(district) club between 2-3 AM when most US clubs must close by law. Things were just getting going and the place was still just as full when I left around 5:30AM, surely the party continued long into the morning. This is largely contributed, again, to the schedule of most Argentines, but also it seems clear that though Argentines drink at the club, they don´t drink as heavily as do those in other countries and it helps them sustain a longer night.

5. CABJ La Boca Juniors - I had a true Buenos Aires experience at the club futbol(soccer) match featuring the Boca Juniors, the pride of BA. It was my first real bigtime futbol match experience. I went to a couple of matched during the Olympics in Shanghai, but this was a totally different kind of thing. Close your eyes and imagine passionate singing, dancing and jumping amongst fans jammed together shoulder to shoulder on bleachers, sun blazing down, the smell of marijuana floating around from all directions and spit from the opposing fans in the section above raining down on your head....the true futbol fanatic experience. The Juniors lost the game, but Ii was a full day event and I enjoyed the truly experience even if I may or may not want to do it again.

6. South American Beats - We went to a great weekly drum show at an outdoor venue. It was a large percussion band of about 20-30 people playing jazzy latin beats. It was packed and the beer was cheap. It was particularly enjoyable for me because the feeling of the event and the type of crowd it drew reminded me so much of the live shows I loved so much when I lived in the US.

7. Don´t Cry For Me Aregentina - Though I may not fully grasp at this moment the political implications of Evita in the history of Argentina, I do love the musical. I got the chance to see the famous balcony in the Plaza de Mayo and visit her grave.

November 11th - A Long Day

First I must apologize for the lack of posts over the past few weeks. I have just recently returned from Antarctica and before that things were quite hectic in Buenos Aires. I will be updating the blog to include all these events in the coming days.

November 11th

This was literally the longest day of my life, 39 hours to be exact.

I awoke for an 11 o´clockish flight out of Christchurch that would put me in Auckland in plenty of time for my 7PM departure to direct to Buenos Aires. Upon my arrival in Auckland I grabbed some food and spent the last of my New Zealand Dollars in preparation for check-in to open 3 hours before the flight. It turned out to be a great thing that I arrived so early as the check-in was painfully slow and by the time I was checked in it was nearly time to board.

The flight was benign. Aerolineas Argentina is not high class flying, but the food was decent and it was just an 11 hour straight shot. The kicker of the whole thing is that I would be crossing the international dateline heading that direction. I left at 7PM and arrived at 3PM the same day, discombobulating to say the least.

I was recommended a hostel by a fellow traveler in New Zealand where she had stayed during her extended stay in Buenos Aires. I boarded the public transportation as usual and headed in that general direction. It was super smooth going and had arrived and checked into the hostel very quickly, the hostel would prove to have been fantastic advice. Before I knew it I was on the rooftop drinking a beer overlooking the city with a gaggle of brand new acquaintances. My first impression was that the city was beautiful, modeled very much in a European style with a distinctly Italian/French feel in the city center including many turn of the century buildings.

At about 9PM or so I went out with a few people to go eat some dinner. It seemed only natural to have a steak so we found a nearby "Parilla" (meaning grill) resteraunt. The steak was good, not on par with a fine steakhouse, butfor the money i´m certain there is no better place to eat steak in the world. For about 12 bucks US you can get a 400 or so gram steak, potatoes, salad and beer or wine.

We headed back to the hostel after dinner for a few more drinks and when people headed out on the town I decided to go ahead and end my extrodinarily long day.

November 9th – 10th – Transition

I awoke early after the late night with a surprisingly mild hangover. I headed out in a bit of a daze to have a walk around before the 10 am bus and search for a cup of coffee. I didnt manage to find the coffee, but i enjoyed the serenity of the Sunday morning streets. I headed back to meet the bus and wrangled a cup of coffee from the hotel.

We were headed back to Queenstown. I would spend the night there and travel back to Christchurch on Monday to catch my Tuesday flights to Buenos Aires. My time seeing the sites in New Zealand had effectively come to an end at this point. The next couple days would be filled with general housekeeping such as internet and laundry as well as a lot of bus travel.

New Zealand is one of the most amazingly places I have ever been, and in terms of the scenery undoubtably the most breath taking and varied. I could have easily and happily spent another month or two to enjoy the rest of what the country had to offer. However, I did not have the money for that and it was time to move on to the other excitement awaiting me over the next month and half before my holiday break from travel in Florida for the holidays. It felt as though I had been in New Zealand a long time because of the friends I had made and the vast variety of landscape and adventures. In such a short time I went Hiking, Ice walking, rafting and bungy jumping just to name a few; I don´t think thats possible anywhere else in the world.

On the bus back to Queenstown we alternated sleeping off the night before and stopping here and there for food and pictures. We arrived around 4 PM; I retrieved the things I had left behind in the hostel as well as returned my rented camping gear. I also got one last meal at “Ferg Burger,” a burger joint with amazing variety including falafel, venison, chicken and beef burgers with creative and delicious condiment combinations. It is a legendary institution for travelers and locals alike in New Zealand. I also spent some time on the internet taking care of my Buenos Aires arrangements, trying to catch up on uploading blog material and doing laundry. When it was time to meet my friends out one last time I was exhausted and in no mood to drink so I spent some time talking with them and then made it an early night.

I had booked on for a mid afternoon shuttle back to Christchurch that would arrive late that evening. I spent the morning doing additional work on the internet to check on all my future reservations, finances and also uploaded the Bungy videos which took a painfully long time. The ride back to Christchurch went smoothly and it was nearly time to sleep by the time I arrived. I printed my boarding passes, got some food, arranged for morning transport to the airport and got some sleep.

November 6th - 8th – The Deep South

I successfully made it to the pick up point after I left the hut that morning. It was more or less a shelter on the side of the motorway. I was nervous that the bus, the same company that i had rode with before, would not show up, but they did.

I was headed on a 3 night foray to the deep south of the south island starting with the famous Milford Sound. It is a Fjord, which i think by definition is a waterway created by and iceberg, anyway it is a beautifully impressive inlet that leads to/from the ocean. It was just another hour or so from my pickup point to the sound and I had cleaned myself up just enough to be presentable to my busmates which consisted of a few people from my previous bus and a bunch of new people. When we arrived we took a boat trip in the sound along with a proverbial and literal boatload of other tourists. The weather was clear and apparently that is very lucky as the views of the sound are often marred by fog and rain. To be totally honest, though the view was spectacular it had been talked up too much by the time i got there and I wasn´t bowled over. In addition to the sights, I also enjoyed speaking with a group of Chinese mainlanders who were also along on the trip.

After the 2 hour boat trip, we boarded the bus to head to the quite random city where we would sleep the night. I was pretty much mush at this point from the lack of sleep and energy expediture of the previous 3 days. When we arrived at the hostel I took an amzingly long hot shower, made myself a curry, had a few beers and slept like a rock.

It was a very early wakeup the next morning because some of us would be heading across the New Zealand´s southern most island...Stewart Island. It turns out that almost no one on the bus was planning on going over, but I had already bought my ticket as a package deal with the Milford boat cruise. I am really glad I did because if i had heard the group opinion before I may have fallen victim to group think and that would have been a terrible mistake. So about 5 of us headed off on the hour long ferry to the island to arrive around mid-day. The crossing was apparently rough on people as most of the people in the cabin were busy losing their breakfast into the complimentary vomit bags. I was fine. The weather was suspect and that was our main concern upon arriving on the island.

We would be staying the night there, so we first made the way to the hostel which was about 5 minutes from the dock , in fact you could get anywhere in the settlement in about 5 minutes. It reminded me of a small bahamian port, but subsitute the bahamians with drunken European fisherman.

I prepared a hot lunch of tomatoe soup and grilled cheese to match the weather for myself and two friends and then we headed off on the myriad of local nature walks around the area. The weather cooperated and it never rained more than a couple minutes at a time. We spent nearly 5 hours exploring the island and it was fantastic. It was almost tropical, but amongst cold antarctic currents. We talked, walked and snapped lots of photos. When we got tired we headed back to the hostel and I snagged fresh fish and chips from the island dive. I was still getting over the past few days and was tired, but we managed to head out to the local tavern. I didn´t stay long, but it was nice sticking out like a sore thumb amongst a group of warm and ragged locals.

The next morning I hopped aboard a 7:30 ferry to meet the rest of the bus on the otherside. The weather was spectacular....not a cloud in the sky and we enjoyed the smooth crossing; the ever changing weather in New Zealand is crazy. When we met up with the other group they were lamenting their decision as the city across from the Island was boring and the most exciting thing they did was watch a movie. I showed off my pictures, but tried not to gloat.

We were to spend just the next evening in a larger city(like 250k population) in the south called Dunedin which is most famous for having the steepest street in the world. However, the drive out there was what was impressive, the southeast coast provided yet another totally different landscape. The coastline was unbelievable, green almost tropical looking water butting up against rocky cliffs at places and white sand beaches at others. If the weather in this area cooperated more of the year, it would be premier tourist territory, instead just a few lucky new zealanders have cute, but shabby looking trailers among nearly desolate beauty. I alternating sleeping and getting off the bus for photo stops and nature hikes along the road to Dunedin.

We arrived around 5 pm and after a quick check into the hostel, I rushed with one other busmate to the 6 pm tour of the Speights brewery which is a institution in the “Southland.” It was fun, informative and I had a very productive half hour of beer samples. I then had dinner and more beers with the friend who went on the tour and met the rest of the group for what promised to be a big night out after an early start.

We bar hopped around dancing and talking until it ended up being just 3 or 4 of us in a dance club around 3:30 am. Some drunk guy stumbled in the bar and gave me a shove on his way across the dance floor, i remember giving him a mild shove and turning my attention back to the group, then i think he shoved me back and caught me on the chin. When I turned to retaliate he was already gone which turned out to be a good thing as I was plenty drunk to make a scene and before i found him i saw him being escorted out of the bar by a bouncer. I was no longer in the mood to dance so we headed up to street level and karma had my back, the guy was being chased by a large bouncer and got caught. He got pulverized and plastered to the pavement until the cops arrived to arrest him. I went and got some chips(fries) and went to sleep feeling that justice was served.

November 4th and 5th – The Routeburn Track

It was a late night on the third, but those of us remaining in Queenstown that morning struggled out of bed for checkout at 10AM and met for breakfast before heading our separate ways.

I had come to New Zealand hoping to get the opportunity to do some hiking in the mountains. I had done some research and heard from some people that New Zealand had some of the best hiking trails in the world. However, by the time I arrived in Queenstown I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that it probably wasn’t going to happen on this trip. I didn’t want to go alone and there were time pressures, in fact I had already confirmed myself on the bus headed further south. But as fate would have it, I happened into a conversation with two of the guys I bungied with and they were also planning a hike and agreed to work it in around my tight schedule.

We made the broad stroke arrangements the day before, but following breakfast we locked down the details, rented the gear we needed and hit the supermarket in time for our mid-day shuttle to the starting point.

It was to be a two night hike over an alpine pass and I arranged for pick-up from the bus company on the other side. I was very uncertain the difficulty level of the hike. I was prepared for anything mentally, but I wasn’t sure how I would hold up physically. If I was going to make it as far as I needed to go on the second day to meet my transport on the morning of the 6th I was looking at a really long second day. We met another couple doing the same track on the shuttle and joined forces; the five of us set-off in good spirits.

The first hour and half or so was great. We were strolling through the woods. There was a light rain falling, but we were sheltered by trees and we were shedding layers of clothing rapidly. The weather report for the coming days was pretty terrible, but that wasn’t going to slow us down. We arrived after a couple of hours at the first hut on the trail. We would be staying the night at the second hut, but we stopped for a bite to eat and a cup of tea. We set off again, this time uphill about 90 minutes to the hut. Maybe I ate too much while during the stop or maybe I’ve eaten too much over the last 25 years, but either way I struggled up the hill and rolled in to the hut feeling worked over a few minutes after the rest. This was a sign of the challenges we’d face the next day, but it really wasn’t so bad and we settled in for the evening.

There were a few other really nice people staying at the hut and we passed the time playing cards and having friendly conversation. I particularly enjoyed speaking with a nice couple from the UK, both retired principals, who now recruit teachers from overseas to come work in the UK. They had interesting viewpoints on teaching and world education.

By the time we headed to bed, the temperature outside had already dropped considerably and we bundled up for a cold night. It wasn’t so bad, but I could have been warmer; the sleeping bag i brought was intended for springish weather not really cold weather. While a cool rain lulled us to sleep, we awoke to something totally different; several inches of snow covering the ground. Needless to say, not what we were expecting from a spring pushing summer hike. We got up early because I had a lot of ground to cover. The plan as it stood then was for us to hike together to the first hut where my two friends would stay the night and I would continue on a couple of hours to another hut because I was taking different transport out early the next morning and needed to make it further along.

We had hot tea and granola for breakfast and were delayed because the Department of Conservation needed to check the summit snowfall before they would give us permission to leave. After about an hour of waiting, we were cleared the go and the local park range type joined us for the first leg to the top of the alpine pass. They put me in the front of the group, probably a smart move because i may have fell behind had I not been forced by the verbal and nonverbal pressure of the group pushing along behind me. The 1 and half hour or so climb to the summit was beautiful and trying. Had a been in better condition I might have enjoyed the scenery a bit more, but instead i felt a bit like a hobbit on the way to Mordor. The view from the top, however, was magnificent.

The next three hours of so of walking to the hut where most of the group was supposed to stay was enjoyable, but by the time we arrived I was certainly feeling a bit achy. Fortunately for me, however, as we arrived on the hut the group decided they would head on along with me the next 3 hours or so to the hut I was to stay at. I appreciated the company, as without them the leg would have been much more difficult.

I finally arrived at the hut just a few short minutes behind the rest of the group. My feet and back in particular were aching and putting on fresh socks and tennis shoes was welcome to say the least. It was just the 5 of us staying there together so we had a good time together having the run of the place. We played cards, ate food and kept the heating stove hot. When it was time to sleep we made a group decision not to retire to the unheated bunk rooms, but instead pulled the mattresses out into the common area near the stove. It was a great plan until about 3 when the fire went out, then i was freezing. I attempted to stoke the fire to no avail and added more layers. I struggled through a few more our of sleep and then woke again just before sunrise. I decided against trying to sleep more and headed out by the lake for an amazingly serene sunrise. It was beautiful, but I was still tired, i added the last layer available to me and managed another hour or so of sleep. When 9 o´clock rolled around I was about ready to head off to meet the transport an hour down the path. I said goodbye to the rest of the group, thanked them for the company and the good laughs and headed off.

November 3rd – The Adventure Capital of the World

I mentioned before that Queenstown is a skiing town, but when the slopes aren’t in season (and when they are) it is regarded as the adventure sports capital of the world. You can do pretty much anything here; to name a few: skydiving, hang gliding, canyoning, hiking and, of course, bungy jumping.

As soon as my eyes popped open around 8 AM, I was certain that there was no way I would fall back to sleep. I hadn’t dreamt about it, but the knot in my stomach made it clear that my body and mind had not forgotten what I would be doing in just a few short hours.

I was bunking with 2 of the other guys who would be jumping with me. One of which had been the most frightened of the group and he hardly opened his mouth from the time his eyes opened until he jumped off the platform. We headed together to the meeting point to check in and meet the others. We had a light breakfast and chatted nervously until it was time to get on the bus for the 45 minute ride to the jump site. It was a quiet ride to say the least and I was feeling cautiously excited and optimistic though I knew that I would no doubt be gripped by fear when it was time to go.

They are a quite well oiled operation and from our arrival until jump time they kept us busy and managed our nervousness. We immediately got fitted with harnesses and were shuttled over to the platform on a small gondola car. It was see through on the bottom of the car and for the first time we got an idea of what we would be leaping into….it was a long way to the river below.

Fortunately or unfortunately for me the order of jumping was by weight from heaviest to lightest so I would be one of the first to jump. When I arrived on the platform I was immediately fit with ankle harnesses and then ushered to the “on deck circle” if you will, a chair where you’d be checked on last time and have the bungy cord attached. I was still feeling good and joked with the guy to double check all the connections. I then shuffled to the platform and as I looked over the edge…I felt the fear. I heard my friends call out to me to look over at their waiting cameras. I looked, but didn’t manage a wave or a smile; they later told me I was sheet white. I heard the countdown in my other ear…3…2…1 and I just jumped off the platform trying not to give it too much thought. What a rush! I was falling and there was no time to think and before I knew it I had hit the bottom and the first bounce sent me flying back into the air. After the second bounce I pulled the cord to put me in a seated position and was hoisted back into the platform and just like that it was over. I was feeling great and I encouraged all my waiting mates that it would be no problem....none of them had yet to jump.





As I watched the rest of my friends jump(all made it successfully), I began to think about going again. I wanted to enjoy the jump and soak in the surroundings and the first jump just did not lend itself to that. I asked the employees and they said I could jump again at half price and I told them I was game.

I did my final jump and it was just me and the employees as the rest of the group had been shuttled back across. The guys gave me a little bit of hassle trying to ensure I wasn’t too comfortable, but I jumped and enjoyed the ride. It was nice that I could really take in the beauty of the surrounding and enjoy the rush.




The ride back was polar opposite of the ride out. Everyone was feeling good and chatting away. We arrived back in Queenstown and met the rest of our group for lunch, had a celebratory beer and showed off our DVD’s and pictures. We were feeling on top of the world.

We then headed off with the whole lot about 25 people to do some luging(in small cars) down a track at the top of the town gondola. It was great fun, like an idiot’s grand prix.

Something else came out of those days in Queenstown. I had decided to go on a 3 day hike with 2 of the guys from the bungy and bus. We were to leave the next day and hike across an alpine pass. We took care of some preparations and got mentally prepared for that next adventure. After a night of celebratory revelry, the last night the whole bus crew would be together, I slept like a baby.

November 1st and 2nd – The Road to Queenstown

Things got a little wilder than expected after the long day on the ice in Franz Josef. We were tired, but after the first few drinks the rest seemed to go down real easy. We partied until late and this was certainly the point where I felt fully part of the group and the next few days with that group were really enjoyable. It amazes me every time the bonds that can be formed between people in such a short time under the right circumstances.

The next morning came far too early for most peoples liking. I was feeling pretty good, but that couldn’t be said for the lot of the group. It was to be a driving day leading to a town called Makarora where we would stay for the night. We took the drive slow taking time to stop at various points of interest along the way. It was raining when we awoke, but the weather cooperated as we traveled along.

The weather in New Zealand is as varied and volatile as its landscapes. It is nearly summer, but I have experienced hot sun, rain, snow and hail; sometimes all in the same day.

The scenery was again stunning, a common theme of the trip; adding to the amazing landscape of the drive across the island was the mountains meeting the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Australia. The Department of Conservation in New Zealand does a great job of marking short nature walks on the sides of the roadways as most of South Western New Zealand is a recognized world heritage location for its landscape that stunningly shows the evolution of the earth and it’s rare bird life. We stopped at a variety of lakes, waterfalls and pools (of particular interest, the Blue Pools which were green the day we went for some odd reason).

We had a great time together and arrived in Makarora in the late afternoon. Makarora is pretty much a one bar town with nothing in it, but it couldn’t be situated in a more beautiful place. It is along the highway in a valley between two ridges of snow capped peaks. Some of the bus went on a jet-boat ride, but I stayed behind to save some cash and do a nature walk for a few hours around the area. It was pleasant; I headed for the shower and then met up with the group in the bar for dinner and drinks.

I nor anyone else was in the mood for a big night as we were still recovering from the evening before, but we were treated with a bit of culture because the locals had come in to watch a Rugby match between New Zealand and Australia. I am a bit clueless about Rugby, but I respect the game and it was fun to watch with people who actually understand it and enjoy in the same ways that I do American sports.
We hit the bunks immediately after the game finished and were up early to hit the road for Queenstown. We stopped a few places on the way to arriving in the early afternoon including Lake Wanaka, Puzzle World and just outside the city at the site of the K-bridge, the worlds original bungy jump. No one was up for jumping it (I was holding off for the big jump), but this was where the excitement began to build for the next day’s activity. I paid and scheduled my jump on the 134 meter Nevis Highwire at the office there and wrangled 4 others into joining me. I could feel the excitement build inside me as this was one of my main goals for this part of my journey.

We then completed the last bit of the drive into Queenstown. The city is really an amazing place set around a huge beautiful lake in a valley. It feels like a huge ski resort city because that’s what it is most of the year.

After a few beers with everyone from the bus where we joked that we should enjoy ourselves as it may be the last for us jumpers, I headed off to bed. I slept well, but the anticipation for the morning’s jump was unmistakable.

October 30th and 31st – Franz Josef Glacier

I left Christchurch on an early morning shuttle across the South Island of New Zealand to meet up with a hop on hop off bus tour I would travel with for the next several days. There were only about 10 of us on the shuttle; 3 guys who would be joining me on the touring bus and a few random locals and tourists including a 50 something Asian woman from Melbourne whose off color humor and booming laugh brought a smile to my face even before my morning coffee.

The drive across the Island was nothing short of spectacular. This was what you think of when you think of New Zealand. It packs amazingly diversified landscapes into to such a small area. Rolling hills covered with farms packed with sheep give way to rolling foothills covered with craggy boulders and they are backed by the towering snow capped Southern Alps. This stunning landscape also has amazing numbers of lakes and rivers that just add to the majestic sites.

In Greymouth, a small town on the Island’s west coast, we met the bus that we’d be touring with the next couple of days. The coast just adds to New Zealand’s natural beauty as the aforementioned sites continue all the way to the coast. The tour bus was packed full of 20 or so travelers. The bus takes you around to all the must see sites and a few other points of interest along the way. It is a helpful and convenient way to see the country. There are several companies that run such buses, I chose the one that was meant to be slightly older and more mature. However, I immediately knew it would be an interesting ride as I was met on the sidewalk by the driver who was stark naked save a thin rain slick. Apparently he had lost a bet at the bar the night before and had to drive naked into our next stop, he only had the slick on while stopped in the city.

We took our seats and headed off to the Franz Josef glacier. We stopped at a few points of interest and made it there in the early evening. We checked in and booked our glacier hikes for the following morning. I then, before bed, spent some time at the hostel watering hole trying to get to know my new bus mates as I would be spending the following days with them.

We awoke the next morning and headed for the guide center to get geared up for the full day hike up the glacier. We were equipped with protective rain and snow clothing, boots and cramp-ons (metal spikes for the shoes that look like bear traps). The Glacier is truly amazing scene; two sheer forested mountain faces covered in water falls separated by a river of ice 150 meters thick and 12km long.

After a walk to the base of the ice and strapping on the spikes we began our ascent. We separated into groups based on confidence and fitness; I, smart or not, went ahead with group 1. It was a pleasant climb once we got acclimated to walking on the ice and the views were unbelievable. After a couple of hours we reached the ice falls above the ascent where we would find some more interesting features to explore including crevices, ice caves and huge sheer ice faces.

After stopping for a quick snack we came across a crevice between two sheer ice walls and the guides decided we would traverse it. It was tight, no more than 20cm wide and 5 meters long. 2 people tried it before me, 1 succeeded in getting through and one did not. I made an attempt, but could not manage to squeeze my hips through. The rest of the group managed to get through so as stubborn as I am I made another attempt. This time I got high enough to get my hips into the crevice, but as I began to move across my body slipped down. I tried to keep moving, but couldn’t. I tried to go back where I came, but couldn’t. I was stuck. I pushed and pulled with all my strength for a few minutes, but wouldn’t budge. I started to feel my breath quicken and the walls felt ever tighter pressed against my back and stomach; I was starting to panic as hard as I tried not too. It was a terrible feeling and eventually with the help of the guides I was freed from the ice. I was exhausted and physically.

I pulled it together, however, and continued on with the first group. We continued to explore the ice features including some pretty tight ice caves. Given my previous experience it took all the courage I had left to press into them, but I managed and was happy that I made it through. After sometime we began out descent back to the starting point and back to the buses.

Overall the glacier was a great experience in one of the most amazing places on earth. Generally speaking when going on adventures you are supposed to overcome fears, but that didn’t really happen this time. I learned I have a bone to pick with claustrophobia and will have to find a new adventure to help me overcome it.

We returned to the hostel and I treated myself to a large hot meal and a cold beer. Given everything an all around great day.

October 29th and 30th – The Rangitata to Franz Joseph

I have just returned from the hostel complex bar in Franz Joseph on the East side of New Zealand’s South island to write this entry. The air outside is cool and biting, but not a winter cold. It is crisp and ever present; a product of an environment unique to only 2 places in the world, an area where a glacier meets a temperate rainforest. The foliage outside is lush and green for after all it is spring, but tomorrow ill strap spikes on my boots and hike a river of ice.

Yesterday I had my first outdoor adventure on the other side of the island near Christchurch. I went whitewater rafting on the Rangitata River. It was an early start to the day as my transport to the river met me at 7:15. I was met by terrible weather; a moderate rain and chilly breeze. I was one of about 10 rafters, a handful of Brits, an Aussie and a group of flight and cabin crew from Singapore airlines. We made the 2 hour journey to base camp. I realized on the way home from the trip that the beautiful country we were driving through was sullied by the heavy fog and rain. However, as we arrived the weather began to clear paving the way for a great day outdoors. The location was amazing. The river flowed through a gorge surrounded by green hills with snow peaked mountains towering in the distance. This was the site of the castle at Isengard from the Lord of the Rings the Two Towers. The river we rafted can be seen in the movie.

We took some time to get all geared up as the river is icy cold all year round. We were in full wetsuit; it felt and smelled like scuba diving, but this was a different kind of experience. The Rangitata is supposed to be the most consistently good river in the whole of New Zealand for rafting; an excellent mix of difficulty (includes 2 category 5 rapids), length(nearly 3 hours on the water) and scenery. We had a few laughs including flipping our boat for practice into the freezing water before the first obstacles, having a few good screams during the more intense sections and cliff jumping from a height of 10 meters into the river below. In between hard paddling and screaming I just had to have a look at the amazing countryside surrounding me to feel great about where I was and what I was doing. After several hours on the water we returned to base for a hot shower and a BBQ.

On the ride back to Christchurch, everyone on the bus struggled with their exhaustion and many fell to sleep missing out on much of the scenery we had that was hidden on the way out. I didn’t know that this ride would pale in comparison to the ride I would have today on the way across the South Island.

I returned to the hostel and resisted the urge to fall straight into bed. I handled some internet business and headed down to the bar to meet some acquaintances and try to be social. After a few hours of tame revelry I headed to sleep. I had a bus to catch at 8:15 the next morning.