Well, Rotorua certainly lives up to its nicknames "Sulphur City" and "Rottenrua". The place reeks like sulphur dioxide and I was not sad to leave, the smell having permeated every pore in my body and every article of clothing I owned. We did see a lot of cool stuff though. Rotorua lies on the Pacific and India/Australia tectonic plates, resulting in some pretty amazing volcanic and geothermal features. Apparently, they get up to 800 earthquakes a year but they only feel about 200 of them. Interesting. The landscapes in and around Rotorua are all cracked as a result and of course, they get the wonderful sulphur dioxide aroma. Val and I headed to a couple sites of geothermal activity, Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland and Waimangua Volcanic Valley. Pretty cool, but again, really stinky. Left for our final bus ride to Auckland the following morning. Headed out for a couple drinks as it was also Val's last night out before heading back home to Calgary.

So, from Queenstown we headed back round to Christchurch. Very long drive, on the road for most of the day. Left the next morning for Kaikoura, a pretty little town on the way to the N. Island. Who should be on our bus but the 2 American guys we'd met in Airlie Beach. Turns out they're 23, totally underestimated their ages and hence, no longer interesting. We were meant to go whale-watching in Kaikoura, but unfortunately the weather wasn't very good and it got cancelled. Spent a low-key night in the hostel. The following morning we travelled from Kaikoura to the ferry terminal along the east coast. Pretty dramatic scenery on the drive, craggy cliffs and winding roads all the way to the ferry terminal. I spent the 3 hour ferry ride sleeping. Not much to see except for lots of water. After arriving on the N. Island, our stopover for the evening was in Wellington where we spent a night out on the town before leaving in the morning for Taupo (toe-paw). Taupo definitely the highlight of the N. Island so far. The drive was pretty uneventful, did get to see Mt. Doom from Lord of the Rings though. But, why was Taupo the hightlight? That's where Val and I threw ourselves from a plane at 12,000 ft. in the air. Such an amazing experience! A huge rush! Who knew I had the courage to do all the things I've done. Was a little nervous heading up, but as soon as your legs are hanging out of the plane, I was the first out, the terror is replaced by absolute amazement. We had a 45 sec. freefall at 200km/h with views of almost the entire N. Island, as well as the 616km wide Lake Taupo - big enough to fit the whole of Singapore in. It's really hard to describe what it feels like - it was so surreal. It took a few seconds for my brain to kick in - then I could feel the intensity of the wind, the goggles against my face, the weightlessness of my body and the air hitting the back of my throat. All the while, the video guy is trying to get you to look at him and grab his hands and legs. Yeah right. It was so much going on at once and then all of a sudden the chute is out and your yanked upward. And then, nothing. No sound, just your voice and the voice of the guy your attached to as you drift down to the ground. The views were absolutely incredible. Would definitely skydive again and would recommend everyone trying it out. Incredible!

The next day we headed out to Huka Falls. Great views of Taupo and the Waikato River. Also passed the site for Taupo bungy. Val must have had little left-over adrenaline from the previous day cause she worked up the courage to jump. She didn't approach the event with the same enthusiasm as I, it made for some really great entertainment though. Took her a good 5 minutes and a couple of almost jumpts before she finally made the leap. Truly an amazing accomplishment for her as well.

Currently in Rotorua aka "rotten rua". Heading out to see some geothermal stuff tomorrow.

Check out my bungy photos at www.bungy.co.nz
Click on daily photos
then, on site Kawarau Bridge
then, in search box type AJHK704150822250

Well, finally have some time and energy to update you on my whereabouts. Currently in Queenstown, the southwestern corner of the South Island of NZ. Also, the city of adrenaline-rush activities - you name it, they've got it! This is the 7th day of mine and Val's ventures in NZ. Started with a little drama at the airport in Christchurch, trouble with my visa- for some reason they couldn't find it in their computer system. Val and I travelling together appears to be a comedy of errors. We arrived in Christchurch last Monday and boarded our Kiwi Experience bus the following day to head toward Wesport, a small town of 3,000-4,000. Not much to the town, we walked up and down mainstreet in about 15 minutes. The drive was amazing, reminded me a lot of driving up to the Rockies, except we were driving into the Southern Alps via the Lewis Pass, supposedly one of the 10 most scenic drives in the world. This has come to be a bit of a running joke as every road we drive on is either one of the best in the world, or the best in NZ. All very beautiful. From Westport, we've been making our way southerly through numerous other small town in the largely uninhabited west coast, I guess only a million people total in the whole of the South Island. Some of the highlights so far- amazing cliffwalks overlooking the coastline of the Tasman Sea, Punaiki (pancake rocks), so formed because of thousands of years of erosion of limestone rock giving the effect of stacks of pancakes, hiking Franz Joseph Glacier and bungee jumping!

We did an amazing walk along the coastline on our way to Cape Foulwind - 20 minutes south of Westport and so-named because of the stinky seals that populate the area. The views were absolutely incredible. Following Cape Foulwind and Punaiki, we headed straight for Greymouth, the primary commercial centre of the West Coast and boasting the largest population of 12,000. Also not much to see. After picking up our costumes for our theme party, Val and I weren't super impressed with the theme "wear anything you want but your clothes", but not wanting to be poor sports we picked up some orange garbage bags. Our destination that evening was Lake Mahinapua Hotel, aka The Poo Pub. Apparently, Kiwi Experience has been going to this place for the past 14 years. Now let me tell you, it was no hotel. Our sleeping accommodations were portables with bunk beds in them. We had a really tasty meal though, in the garage. It was interesting. A pretty good variety of costumes though. Val went as a convict and I as one of the Flinstones. Needless to say, I was not sad about leaving the next day.

We headed further south to the town of Franz Joseph Glacier, population 200. A lot like Banff, just on a smaller scale. Took lots of pics (no idea how to rotate pics on this website). We signed up for a full-day trek up to and through the glacier. Pretty awe-inspiring views and a great test of endurance. We were fully-loaded with woolies, raincoats, boots, talons and ice axes for our daylong experience. I started doubting my initial enthusiasm when we'd been trekking for a good few hours. Bear in mind that I have not participated in an sort of cardiovascular activity for a good 3 weeks. Being that our guide was literally cutting out steps for us in the ice, my only option was to continue. We were rewarded with spectacular scenery and really cool ice caves. It was a pretty amazing accomplishement when all was said and done. Definitely had a good sleep that night.

In the morning we passed through the town of Fox Glacier as we made our way to Lake Matheson where we had the opportunity to get our postcard-perfect pics of the mirror reflections of Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman in Lake Matheson. From here, it was off to Lake Wanaka, followed by Queenstown. I'd been debating for the last couple of days - bungy or no bungy. After putting my name down on the list, I started getting really nervous about it - was I really going to jump off a bridge? So, I took my name off the list. Started feeling like it wasn't worth it if I was just going to get all tight-chested with nervousness and anxiety. However, as we're making our way into the Kawarau Gorge, the first commercially operated bungy site in the world, and after learning about the history and safety of bungy, I thought fuck it, I'm going to do. Wasn't sure if I'd actually be able to jump on my own though so hooked up with another girl from my group and we did a tandem. I bungy-jumped! A completely terrifying but wonderful experience. We were each hooked up to our own bungy cord and they call out 5-4-3-2-1 at which point we held tight and plunged 43m to the Kawarau River below. The rush was truly incredible, like nothing I've ever felt before! They pull you into a boat at the bottom, my body was vibrating so much I could hardly get the harness off. So impressed with myself. Got the DVD, pics and t-shirt to capture the moment. Incredible. Went out for many beers that night with the rest of the Kiwi crew and managed to haul our asses out of bed at 545 to head for Milford Sound. More amazing views as we headed through the Fiordlands on a 2 1/2 hour cruise. The weather was quite overcast but still saw some amazing scenery.

Val and I leave for New Zealand today for a 2 week vacation! Flying into Christchurch, in the South Island, and finishing up in Auckland in the North. Will I have the nerve to jump off a bridge and out of a plane? We shall soon see . . .

. . . let the good times roll! Turns out the overnight bus was 14 ½ hrs, not 12 ½ as I had thought. What’s two more hours? Val and I heard that the overnight bus is usually packed so we head to the bus stop early to hopefully get two seats together. I managed to maneuver myself to the front of the line and we were able to get seats right at the front. Sweet! Around 15 people get on after us and finally the bus driver. Bus driver says to girl across the aisle from us, "Why are you sitting there? I said anywhere but the front seats". Hearing this I say, "Where I’m sitting as well? I didn’t hear you say anything about not sitting in the front." To which he replies in a condescending tone, "Is that a front seat?". Val snickers a little. We’re not sure if this guy is joking or if he’s just being an asshole. BTW, girl across the aisle from us has since moved to another seat. Bus driver comes back up from the back of the bus and tells we’ll have to move. Blank stares from Val and I (Is he f-ing serious?). Bus driver then says, "Just kidding", to which I reply, "Oh, so you do have a sense of humour?" A risky move, but resulted in laughter from both driver and other passengers. However, this indeed is not the end of the story. Girl from across the aisle that has previously moved, now moves back to front seat while bus driver is out smoking. Very daring. Again, he asks why she’s sitting there. She mutters something about being sick and finally gives up and moves. We think the drama is over at this point. Though we're still wondering why no one can sit in the front seat and if it's so important, maybe the bus driver should make more of an effort at making people aware. Who are we to tell him how to do his job.

We drive for an hour or before we make a stop in a small town. Just our luck . . . a drunk couple, mid-60's, gets on the bus. Dude is blasting his music and wife is yelling at him to turn it off. They banter back and forth and swear at each other for a good hour. Who knows what the bus driver is doing. They refer to the bus driver by name, so clearly, this is the reason why the seats were to remain open. So we could let the drunk couple on. Unfortunately for Val and I, we had the pleasure of sitting right beside them and introducing ourselves to them, their idea, not ours. The woman introduces herself as Princess Charlotte of the Toll Strait in Northern Australia . . . uh huh. Why don’t you have another drink. She wants to know where we’re from so we tell her Canada. Well . . . apparently her husband is from Vancouver and he starts calling us his country people. What a comedy. Val and I can't help but break into fits of laughter. We’ve just had a crap time in Fraser and now we’re not going to get any sleep on the bus. Fortunately, a bunch of people get off at the next stop so Val and I hightail it to the back of the bus. What a nightmare. The guy actually hit her in the face at one point and she hit him back. How bizarre. The bus ride remained uneventful for the rest of the way to Airlie. Long bus ride with asshole bus driver and drunk bantering couple - check.

We arrived at Koala Backpackers and our room smells like pee. On the plus side, there’s a TV, aircon and a fridge. We’re so wiped from lack of sleep over the last 4 nights that all we want to do is sleep. Jen and Vickie had arrived and wanted to hook up for some dinner and we simply did not have the energy. Slept for 12 hours straight that night. Woke with a birthday card beside my bed, a cup of coffee and a muffin, courtesy of Val. A perfect way to start my 30th b-day/sailing trip.
We made it down to the marina and while Val went to grab a coffee, I strolled up to our departure point, sat down and was greeted by three very good looking guys . . . jackpot . . . turns out they were from Detroit, not their fault that they’re american so we don’t hold it against them. However, the problem presents itself when we start discussing the boats we’re going on. Sadly, they were going on ‘Freight Train’ while we were going on ‘Condor’. A little disappointing but Airlie Beach is a small place and we were bound to meet up with them again.

Our boat is the Condor, holds 27 people plus 3 crew. We had a pretty diverse group: Swedish, German (uh-oh), French, UK, American and Canadian. Not only were there 5 Canadians, but 3 of them were from Calgary. Weird! Pretty young, not much in common with them other than that. We set off from Abel Point Marina in Airlie Beach around 100pm and sailed straight to Whitehaven Beach where we anchored for the night so that we’d have plenty of time to enjoy the beach in the morning. The Whitsundays are actually a group of about 74 different islands. Whitehaven Beach is found on Whitsunday Island and is made up of pure white silica sand, stretching for an uninterrupted 6km. A truly remarkable beach. And the color of the water was like none I’d ever seen, the most vibrant turquoises and blues. Sailing on a boat has got to be one of the most relaxing and peaceful activities to do . . . except for those of us that are not water/sailing-friendly. It is truly the best birthday I have ever had and one that I will never forget. But poor Jen was nauseous a lot and spent most of her time wrapped around a pole or lying flat on the boat. Not the best vacation for her. Dinner was excellent and the entire group sang Happy Birthday to me. A great day! Val and I ended up with okay beds with a window right above us for fresh air. Unfortunately, the guy across from us snored so loudly that it sounded like a small helicopter was landing inside the boat, right beside our ears. Oh well, did we really think we were going to get any sleep?

On our second day, we spent some time soaking up the sun on Whitehaven Beach, then headed to Tongue Point where we did a walk up to Hilltop Inlet. It’s a lookout point where postcard pics are often taken from. Absolutely spectacular views. Also met up with the Detroit hotties and chatted with them for a bit. After getting back to the boat, we headed out to a couple snorkel sites and saw a lot of really cool fish. Totally over the whole sharks in the water thing. We had a BBQ on the last night, then got involved in some weird drinking games . . . cereal killer? Our final day was straight sailing, not great for Jen but I enjoyed all of it. Especially cool when the boat gets up to a 45 degree angle. Very cool. I’d love to get out sailing again, maybe on a smaller boat though. Arrived back to the wharf for 1100 and first things first, I had to listen to my family singing Happy Birthday on my voicemail. I had been anticipating the call, but my phone had died while I was on the boat. It made me more emotional than I had anticipated and made me miss home. Poor Val got choked up a bit too. Good feelings at the same time though. This birthday tops them all and I look forward to my 30's.

Val and I set off for our new hostel. Unfortunately, for Val and I, the drama never ends. We get to Waterfront Backpackers, recommended by my travel agent, to check in and are told that we have not been placed in the same room and there are currently no other rooms available. I ask if I can have a refund, I’m guessing that’s probably unheard of, but thought it was worth a try. After some juggling around, a room suddenly appears and it actually works in our favor because we end up with our own room and they’ve waived the charge for the upgrade. We got some much needed rest before heading out to Beaches bar, the spot where all the boat groups meet up with eachother after their sailing trip. There was free beer and dancing and all of our group members made it out for a bit. Not all of them lasted as long as we did though. Headed out to a place called Mama Africa’s where we danced the night away until 400 in the morning? Hottie Detroit guys showed up so got to chat with them for a bit. However, most of the conversation is a blank. Must have been those Jager bombs . . . or maybe the shots of Tequila?

Val and I spent the next day recovering so that we’d have a good time scuba diving the following day. Scuba diving was awesome! Val and I went out to the Great Barrier Reef with a company called Cruise Whitsundays to a spot called Knuckle Reef. I was really nervous prior to getting in the water, but once I was in, I completely forgot about my fears. It’s a whole new world underwater and offers such a different perspective from snorkeling. Took some underwater photos with my underwater camera. Who knows if anything will turn out. I’ll be happy if I get a picture with one fish in it. Wally the Wrasse, as he’s called, came out to say hello. HUGEST fish I’ve ever seen. Didn’t get a chance to touch him but did get my picture taken with him. The 30 minutes in the water went by so quickly but I had an amazing time. Scuba diving - check.

Our last day in Airlie was spent at Airlie Beach Lagoon. My hair, or rather the haystack on top of my head, was so saturated with saltwater that it was actually a nice change to swim in chlorinated water . . . cause you know how moisturizing the chlorine can be.

Now I’m back at work . . . what a drag. Val’s spending some time with me in my spacious luxury style dorm. Well actually, she’s just left for Melbourne for a few days so I’ve got the king size to myself. I’m back in Sydney for another 7 days and then Val and I are off to New Zealand. Really looking forward to it. My sister will be due any time so I look forward to being a new Auntie. I’ve also got my final trip plans in the works. Will likely head to SE Asia in June, then come back and spend a couple weeks with my sister and her new family . . . and then back home to Calgary. Seems strange to be thinking about coming home. Miss everyone.