My next adventure...

So I have been back in Canada for 6 months - yikes. But, I am ready to get out of here again. I tell you, selling out to the corporation isn't all it's craked up to be. I mean there are some perks, but I am tired of it now and ready to head off on another adventure. So the plan is at the end of April I will be leaving for 2 and a half months. First stop will be Dubai for a week with my uncle and then to Africa. Starting in Johannesberg and weaving my way through Botswana, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, I will hopefully get to experience some pretty cool things. I'm really excited to go to Arusha (in Tanzania) where my grandma and grandpa used to live. I'm also pretty stoked about attempting mt. Kilimanjaro. Should be pretty awesome, anyways, for those of you who actually read this, let me know. I'm actually just making sure I don't lose my account, so I can have the same one next trip. Anyways! Back to work!

I decided to add a few pictures from my trip to Victoria at some point around October... Jen screwed up her foot pretty good last summer in Italy and was still in a walking cast in October. And watch out for those crutches, she takes people out on the dance floor with them. And the other picture is dinner with some of the Valhalla crew: Me, Mark, Marissa and Elissa. I miss them tons.

Home, safe and sound

Well, I am home safe and sound. After one hell of a trip home, I got here. My flight from Auckland was delayed 5 hours, so I had to run to catch my flight in San Fran. Plus the tvs weren't working, making for a very long 13 hour flight. I was supposed to have 6 hours between, but that was significantly reduced. So I ran, and then our gate had been changed, and then they announced that our flight was delayed for an hour. So, I went next door to the bar that was showing the Calgary hockey game and ordered a beer with a bunch of people on the flight. Then somebodies wife came over and said they were loading the plane. So we all downed our beers and got on the plane after only 20 minutes wait. Ok, so get to Calgary and wait at the luggage terminal and oh, no, no bags for Ali. So had to make a lost luggage claim. Anyways, Mom and Dad were there to pick me up and I got to go to Peter's for burgers and a milk shake (Oh, I love Peter's). Finally home at 2:30, where Ginny and Peggy came to greet us. Peggy has gotten so big! Anyways, yesterday I hung out with the family and caught up a little. Today my bags finally arrived. Yeah! And tomorrow, I start work. So yeah, was the trip everything I wanted? Yeah, and more, I really got to be the real Ali again and go back a little bit to how my life used to be, while being so much more aware of life. I have decided to spend the summer in Calgary at Triumph and will make my law school decision within the next month or so. I'm excited to be making money again (definately needed). And hopefully will get a chance to visit with you all in the near future. Thanks for being part of my trip with me, it's been wonderful reading the comments that you have left and can't wait to take you all on my next big adventure.

A lot since

Ok, so a lot seems to have happened since I jumped out of the plane. It's been a really good ending to my trip. I leave tomorrow and have very mixed feelings. So ready to be done travelling, but not quite ready to say goodbye to New Zealand. I'm ready to see Peggy and Ginny (and the rest of the family too), but will miss the people I've met here. Anyways, to update you on the last week or so. I headed up to Thames on the Coromandel Penninsula after my sky dive. I really just relazed for a day, did laundry, that kind of thing. On Saturday, Simon arrived for the long weekend (ANZAC Day). We hired a car and headed off. We went to Hahei which is a little resort community on the east coast of the Coromandel. It was pretty beautiful there. We hung out on the beach pretty much the whole day. Not a whole lot of swimming (cold water), but lots of sun time. By mid afternoon we were being beaten by the clouds, so we headed to our hostel. Dinner, then we headed off to Hot Water Beach for low tide. Hot Water beach is one of the strangest things I've experienced. You could wiggle your feet down into the sand and the water was hot; like burn your feet hot. Simon and this other guy had shovels and were digging like crazy to make pools to sit in, but they weren't having very much luck with the waves. It was low tide, but some of the waves were still coming right up. We had fun anyways. The stars were spectacular that night. Haven't really seen a sky like that yet. Anyways, Sunday we headed to Cathedral Cove for a bit of a hike. It was a very cool place. The rest of Sunday and Monday were spent hanging out on the Coromandel. A little tough cause the weather wasn't great, but. Tuesday we headed into Auckland where we had lunch and then headed up the Sky Tower. A little disappointing as it is really not that tall. I mean it's taller then anything else in Auckland, but compared to the CN Tower, it's 200m shorter. Anyways, Katie would be pleased to know I had no trouble with the glass floor here. After the tower, Simon had to catch the plane back to Nelson. It was definately nice to have him come up and it was a good visit before I go back. Wednesday morning, I caught the bus up to Paihia in the Bay of Islands. I headed to the Waitangi Treaty Grounds where the Treaty of Waitangi (NZ's founding document) was first signed between some of the Maori chiefs and representatives of the British Crown. Interesting to compare that history to Canadian history. Tuesday night I met up with a guy from Ontario, he and I organized a cruise in the Bay of Islands for the next day. Well, what a beautiful day for a sail around the Bay. I was looking forward to swimming with the dolphins. So we spotted a pod quite early, but weren't allowed to swim with them because there were two babies in the group. We headed out to see "Hole in the Rock" which was actually pretty cool looking. Then back for lunch on the beach of 'island #7', (creative Kiwi's). Well, the weather started to take a bit of a turn then and it wasn't long before we were in quite a storm. Robin would have been very sick. But we saw dolphins, but nope, the water was too rough. Anyways, 3/4 through the day and I was ready to go back. It ended up being no swimming with dolphins and a hell of a lot of rain. Ah well. So Chad and I went for fish and chips when we got back (very yummy). Today I leave Paihia at 1, and the tomorrow I leave NZ. Kinda crazy, can't wait to see you all!

I Jumped out of a plane!

Ok, so this will be quick as I really hate dial-up internet. But I went sky diving yesterday morning in Taupo. It was an amzing experience and I have some pictures to share at some point (although they are pretty bad, I am always looking down at the ground, not the camera). It was fantastic though. Me, Ali, jumped out of a plane. Gus (the guy strapped to my back, who knew what he was doing), was pretty fantastic, and I definately got the best looking one. Anyways, I am alive, and one more time, I jumped out of a plane.

What an amazing couple of days

Ok, so I got to Rotorua yesterday. It may be the worst smelling place ever. Sulphur, sulphur and more sulphur. But I don't feel like writing that much tonight, so I went to the geothermal valley yesterday. Bubbling mud pools, geysers, lots of steam. It was very cool (smelled bad though). Then last night I headed out to a 'traditional Maori village' for a cultural show and hangi (dinner). Each bus had a chief and had to accept a peace offering from the chief of the village. Our chief was Gordon from Australia. We then watched a bunch of song and dances (including the Haka). Finally we went for dinner. Hangi's are cooked in the ground and it was so much food. It was fantastic and get this - I ate a mussel (not good). It was a great night. Then today I went on a big adventure. I headed to Waitomo Caves early this morning and signed up for an 'adventure caving trip'. Well, when we got to Waitomo, my guide met me. I was the only one on the trip. It was pretty awesome. We got all geared up and headed to the cave. I had to do the shorter trip cause the water was too high for the longer one. Ah well. It was fantastic. I don't know how to describe it - nature is an amazing thing. It is between this and the Abel Tasman kayaking as my favourite activities here. Anyways, hopefully you like the pictures.

Happy Easter

Ok, so the big event in the past couple days has been the Tongariro Crossing - the best one day tramp in NZ - no arguments here. Sonja (from Austria) and I couldn't have asked for a better day. People kept telling us how cold and misserable is would be and how windy and basically left you no desire to do the walk. But we got on the shuttle bus at 7:20 (so early for me) and headed out. I had bundled up, but not long into the walk found myself getting rid of lots of the layers. Anyways, basic synopsis. You walk through the Mangatepopo valley until Soda Springs where you start the longest steepest climb I have ever done on a hike. Pretty intense. Up to your right is Mt. Ngauruhoe and to your left is Mt. Tongariro, both active volcanos. When you reach the first summit, you cross through South Crater (looks like I imagine the moon), then over for another steep climb and up to Red Crater (looks like an amusement park ride where the roller coast comes out of a volcano). Then down a very steep hill (lots of people slipping on the scree) to emerald lakes, which are very beautiful, but stink something awful of sulphur. The accross central crater and the the long decent down to the end of the trail at Ketetahi. Pretty intense and such a variety of very cool landscapes. Hopefully the pictures speak for themselves. It's 17km, we took our time, but it was still 7 and a half hours on the trail. What an awesome day. Then back to the backpackers where we went out for apple crumble at the pub next door. Played some pool and then back to the hostel for some well deserved hot tub time. Yesterday and today are lazy days. This afternoon I head to Taupo.

Back to the Cold

So I appear to have reached New Zealand's autumn weather. I am now in National Park (yes, actually the name of the town). It is really the gate way to Tongariro National Park. I am enjoying myself once again and surrounded by fun people. I have apparently attached myself to a group of German's (quite an interesting group of people). The hostel that I am staying at is by far the coolest place I have stayed. There is a climbing gym in the hostel (yes, it's true) and to get to my room, there is a little passage way in the wall which leads to the door. Can you imagine, waking up to a climbing gym for 3 days in a row. Unfortunately the mornings are quite early here as everyone is off to do some tramp. Today I headed into the park with 3 other girls, Nora, Anika (from Germany) and Sonya (from Austria). We did a tramp called Tama Lakes. It's 17 km, around 5 hours. Things seemed really good when we left the village, by the time we got to the lower lake, the wind was picking up. By the upper lake, well we didn't actually see the upper lake due to the clouds covering it and the extreme winds blowing all around us. Once again, thank goodness for good gear, I was nice and warm and dry. Anyways, on the way down we went to Takaka Falls (very beautiful) and then for hot chocolate in the village. It was a pretty awesome day. Tomorrow Sonya and I are going to do the Tongariro Crossin - New Zealand's best one day tramp. Anyways, should be good, a little cold maybe but good. Oh, also, you know you are getting old when your old ski jacket is used in a display at a national park museum (yes dad, the old red and green Columbia)

I'm Behind!

Ok, so I am quite far behind. Quick synopsis - Friday March 31 I headed up to Hanmer Springs where I met up with Simon (from Nelson). We had a lot of fun up there, a good trip to the hot springs - quite impressive set up - 14 pools, and on Saturday a really nice little hike up to Conical Hill. It was an awesome view from up there and reminded me so much of home. Kinda like the Pass I guess. Then we took a little bit longer route back to Nelson. We headed back to the east coast and got to drive up to Kaikoura. What a beautiful place. Probably should have had a stop over there, but ah well. My new travel buddy - Andre the monkey (a gift from Mel and Klause the giraffe) had a good time playing around on some rocks and such in Kaikoura. Umm, we took a trip up to Golden Bay and stopped at this place called Harwood's Hole which is 400m deep and 70m wide. It was crazy and gave me a bit of vertigo. But cool to see. Basically the past week has consisted of hiking (aka tramping), climbing and hanging out in Nelson. Oh, and a day mountain biking. Unfortunately I don't have that many pictures, but ah well. I came out of the week with only one injury. I took a bit of a fall bouldering (tripped over my shoe when I jumped off the rock) and hit my back on a stump to leave a bruise resembling a large birth mark. So tons of fun. On Saturday we packed up and headed to the Marlborough Sounds and onto the Queen Charlotte Track. We hiked into Mistletoe Bay and camped there over night. Wow did it rain Saturday night and we had ducks (almost as bad as Kias) attacking the tent and our shoes in the vestibule. And possum's make one hell of a racket at night. Anyways, we had to start tramping out in the rain (yeah for Gore-tex). It was kinda miserable, but had cleared up within an hour. We were on the trail for around 4.5 hours yesterday and then headed into Picton where I caught the ferry to Wellington. It was quite sad saying goodbye to the South Island, but the Queen Charlotte was definately a good ending. Anyways, now I am in Wellington and planning the last three weeks of my trip, I will be back April 29th. Talk to you all later! PS Pictures soon and sorry Holly and Thane. I was off having fun!

Goodbye to Australia

Well, I didn't get to go on my tour (not enough people) so I pretty much relaxed and hung out on the roof-top padio on Tuesday. Yesterday was packed. I headed to Saint Kilda beach for a couple hours, then headed downtown to meet up with Brook, who lived accross from us in cluster. He was on an exchange to UVic and is now working on his phD in Melbourne. It was really good to get a visit in and catch up on a ton of things going on in everybodies lives. We just went and hung out at the Botanical Gardens. He was trying to convince me that Australia is really not as dangerous as I have in my mind. Ok, seriously - very deadly spiders and snakes, sharks, all kinds of evil things. Anyways, then back to the hostel to get ready for the Lion King. Wow, what a show. The costumes were amazing, and I still love the songs from that movie. My favourites were Rafiki, the three hyenas and Timon and Pumba. They were awesome. The animals in the first scene, wow - especially the elephants and giraffes. It was great. Then I headed back to a pub to meet a bunch of people from the hostel. A bunch of us all left Melbourne today, so it was kinda a goodbye for everybody. I only got one drink in while everyone was still there, then it was down to just Mike, Anne and I, but still that was good. Back at the hostel, Mike, Tristan and I stayed up watching tv and chatting, nice to have found a group to be with, and sad to leave them. Ah well, whenever I go to the UK I will have so many people to stay with. Anyways, today was a very early morning and then off to the airport. I am now in Christchurch, kinda reorganizing, reacquainting myself with NZ and getting the next leg of my trip organized. Off to Hanmer Springs tomorrow, should be good! PS, it's cold in New Zealand!

A Great Games

OK, other then the tv coverage, it was pretty awesome to be at a major games. Two nights ago I went out with two other Canadians from T.O. (Julia and Dave). Julia and I both had on our Athens jackets, you would not believe how many times we got asked if we were athletes, and for autographs. Funny. It was an awesome night out, so much fun. Then yesterday I watched the men's cycling road race. Canada came in 4th which was great. It was 32 degrees here yesterday, I felt very bad for the guys competing - too hot. But it was fun to watch, saw two good crashes, luckly no big injuries. Then last night I went down to one of the parks with a bunch of Welsh people to watch the closing ceremonies on a big screen. It was really good. Especially the fireworks all along the river and from the tops of the buildings. It was great. It was a really good day. Dame Edna (the comedian) was in the closing ceremonies and was taking shots and the American's. It was pretty funny. About them trying to figure out why they weren't invited to the games. Anyways, today is a pretty slow day, tomorrow I am off on a tour and Wednesday I get to see the Lion King! Yeah, should be good.

A Silver Medal

So I have to say last night was a really exciting night. I walked down to the Melbourne Cricket Grounds all dressed in red and white. I found my seat - 6 rows up from the medal presentation site. I had a very nice Aussie family sitting beside me and members of the Scottish National Sport Council on my other side. Hammer was up first and Jim was second to throw after the Aussie. He threw 73m on his first throw good enough for first place after the first round. Unfortunately the Aussie threw 77m on his second attempt to take over first. Jim maintained second. It took until the 5th round for any changes when the South African threw better then Jim to take over second place. So it came down to the final throw for Jim where he threw 74 and a bit m - enough for the silver. It was so exciting! I was shaking. Ok, so that was a pretty exciting time, but lots of other good stuff happened. In the women's 800m for disabled athletes, Chantel Petit-Claire won gold, which meant that I finally got to hear O Canada and sing (I know, poor people around me). Actually one of the ladies from Scotland sang too. She said O Canada is her favourite national anthem. So that was good. Angela white placed second in the women's 100m hurdles - very cool. The Kenyan's placed 1,2,3 in the steeple chase. It was good. All together we got to see M hammer, W 800m EAD, W Long Jump, W 5000m, W 800m (with Maria Mutola), M Pole Vault, M 3000m Steeple chase, M 4x100 heats, M 4x400 heats. I think that's it. So it was awesome. Really cool to get to be there. So in the middle of all this, the hammer medal ceremony was on. I took a ton of pictures (unfortunately no card reader at Canada House). So I will put those up soon. After he got the medal, I got a big hug. It was great. So proud of him. Anyways, he was wisked away to the media, and I watched the rest of the events for the evening. It was a great night. Jim - we are all so proud of you and can't wait for Beijing!

Wish Him Luck

So it's the big day today. Jim competes tonight at 6:30. I am so excited to get to be there. It's been interesting to be experiencing a games in another country. I have to say I'm not all that impresses overall. People are helpful, but it doesn't seem to be ok to be supporting another country, let alone trying to find out how your country is doing. All you see on tv is Aussie this and Aussie that. If an Aussie gets silver, they often don't tell you who actually won. I must also say I like that Aussie national anthem, but seriously I have only heard two others the entire time, Scotland and Kenya. It's crazy. Jana Pitman (an Aussie) won yesterday and I have seen her race 5 times and the playing of the Aussie anthem 3 times. It's nuts. Ah well, hopefully I get to hear O Canada tomight. Yesterday was a good day. I went to see netball (Aus vs. Singapore and NZ vs. Malawi). It was interesting, although I had some issues with some of the rules. Ah well. Also, Rosaro Joseph, Mel's cousin, won silver in the mountain biking. Anyways, off to St. Kilda, cross your fingers for Jim.

Welcome to the Commonwealth Games

So, it's pretty exciting being in town for a major sporting event. Melbourne is definately alive. I arrived yesterday after a very interesting trip to the airport. Brad picked me up at their house with two hours till my flight left. After dealing with very heavy traffic on the Northern beaches, we arrived at the airport 20 minutes before my flight left. After very quick goodbyes, I ran into the airport and, who knew it could be done, I made it onto the plane. It was quite a bit of running, but I made it. Anyways, today I headed down to Canada House for a little while, got a stash of Maple Leaf Tatoos and some extra flags and then I went and met Jim at Federation Square. I never thought I'd say it, but it was actually difficult finding Jim in the crowd. So many people! We took a walk towards the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (a very impressive sight). We happened to be on the bridge towards it when the morning session let out, well that was a mistake. Try walking against traffic when 105, 000 people are letting out of one building. It was an entire Lethbridge walking by us. We got accross and sat down on some grass while people just kept coming. It was good to catch up. He seems to be doing really well and just starting to get excited about competing on Friday. On our walk, we walked by the training field for throwers. The Australian champion in hammer throw was practicing (the main competition). Anyways, pretty excited to see Jim compete on Friday. I am ready with my flag and clothes and now little flags for my hair and tattoos galore. Anyways, a relaxed night here is in the plans. Who knows for tomorrow.

In Australia

OK, so very behind. On Thursday I flew into Sydney, where I have been staying with my cousin Brad, his wife Eve, and there three boys, Will, Gus and Ewen. It has been wonderful, although I definately forgot what it was like living with little boys. Anyways, quick summary, they live in a part of Sydney called Manly which is absolutely beautiful. I have spent some time at the beach. Will is learning to surf, so that's been interesting. Poor Gus isn't able to go to the beach though. He stepped on an oyster last week which cut part of a tendon in his foot. So he had surgery to repair it and isn't allowed to do much right now (including walking), which is pretty tough on a three year old. On Saturday, Eve, Brad and I went out to dinner in the city. We had a wonderful Thai dinner, I had all kinds of new things, (crab, duck, baramundi). It was excellent. Yesterday, Eve and I took the boys to the Sydney aquarium which was great, especially the shark tank. Very cool. Today I am heading into the city. Tomorrow evening, I leave for Melbourne for the Commonwealth Games, pretty excited, anyways, talk to you all soon

Mission Complete

Ok, so I can now go home from NZ extremely happy. Two days ago was a busy day. Mel, Jen, Steph and I went for a walking tour of Dunedin, but we kinda got sidetracked at the local farmers market. There was so much good stuff there. Mel and I picked up some veggies and such, but more importantly maybe the best cheese I have ever had. I had never heard of this kind before, but it was amazing. Then Steph and I headed back to her house for our big afternoon out. At 3, Stephanie, Joe and I met at the info center to be picked up for our 'wildlife tour'. After quite a bus ride out to the Otago Penninsula, we stopped at the only land-based albatrosse breeding colony. Now I must say I was skeptical, but holy smokes those were big birds. One flew right over top of us and wow, it's wings were so big. Anyways, after spending (in my opinion) too long watching those birds, we headed out the penguin colony. We had to walk through a sheep paddock first which was pretty funny. Steph was trying to get her 'perfect NZ picture' but sheep aren't very friendly. So there was a lot of Steph trying to sneak up on a sheep. Anyways, our first stop was a fur seal colony. There were approximately 150 fur seals all over the rocks. They were very cute. Most of them were pups waiting for their mom's to bring back food. They were playing all over the rocks, so it was fun. A couple took pretty big tumbles. Anyways, we then went one bay over to see the star attraction. We were walking down this pth and Sean (our guide) made us stop, there were yellow eyed penguins coming up the path. I was so excited. No question that these were penguins. Anyways, after watching them for a bit, we went down to the beach. There was 15 sea lions down on the beach (wow do they smell). We had to be careful cause sea lions will chase you. Steph was pretty nervous about this, Joe on the other hand, was quite happy trying to get close to them. Then, out of the water emerged what I came to see. Three penguins started to waddle up the beach. I was so stoked. So we went into the viewing area (you can't get very close to them). It was really cool to watch them waddle up towards the hills. I really can't put it into words. Those of you who know me pretty well know how much this means to me. I mean really it was the #1 attraction to see in NZ. Anyways, I can't really describe it. So after watching the penguins and having to take a detour around a sleeping sea lion, we returned to the bus to head back to Dunedin. That night we went out, although Steph, Joe and I didn't last long. Then yesterday I walked up to see the 'world's steepest street'. Which was actually shockingly steep. I had good run down it. Then Mel and I got on the bus for our last time together. We got into Christchurch around 8. We are staying with Mel's aunt and uncle here. It was so nice to be in a real bed last night. Today has been pretty low key. We went to the Christchurch Art Gallery which I quite enjoyed, Mel not so much. Then Mel went to visit her Nana, so I headed to a local art market near the gallery. Who knows what tomorrow will bring (hopefully some warmer weather). Anyways, talk to you all soon. Pictures when I find a faster computer.

The Most Beautiful Place

So a little catching up to do. On Tuesday, Mel and I left Queenstown with Nick from T.O. We all rented a car together for a ouple of days. It was really nice to be traveling in a car rather then a bus. Anyways, we headed down to Te Anau where we were going to stay for the night. We got there a lot earlier then expected, so we decided to head to Milford Sound right away. We got in the car (with Nick's unfortunate driving) and headed to the Sound. On the way we had to go throught the most amazing tunnel. It was literally blown straight through the mountain. It was only one lane so we had to wait for our turn, but it was so cool. It was just rock inside, like not lined or re-inforced or anything. Crazy. Anyways, when we got to Milford Sound it was pissing with rain, unfortunately, but we got on our cruise anyways. It's hard to describe how beautiful this place was. The fiords are amazing. Plus because it was raining, there were waterfalls everywhere. So impressive. Our cruise lasted for two hours. At the middle, we were at the mouth of the sound, leading out to the Tasman Sea. The waves were quite large. It seems that no matter what I am always traveling with somebody who gets motion sick. Normally Robin, but apparently Mel doesn't do so well either. I felt really bad for her. Ah well. Anyways, the cruise was amazing, even if the rain was pouring down. It let up for awhile part way through the trip, so that was good. I wish I could describe it better, the pictures don't even do it justice. Too bad. It was a pretty amazing day. Ok, on to Wednesday, we changed plans a bit and headed down to Dunedin. There was a bit of a battle between Mel and Nick about who would drive and somehow I ended up being the one to drive. Fine with me. It was quite an experience. I maneuvered my way around without crashing which was pretty good. Just joking. I was actually pretty good (much better then Nick). Anyways, when we got to Dunedin, we went to Stephanie's place (a girl we met at the Abel Tasman). She is going to Otago University on exchange from Queens. She lives with 5 others. Another Canadian girl, 2 Americans, a girl from Hong Kong and a guy from Argentina. It's a pretty fun house and being there really makes me miss school, especially my girls. Anyways, once we got to Dunedin, we said good bye to Nick who was headed to the Catlins. We just hungout for the first night, got introduced to a ton of people. Then yesterday, Mel and I went exploring through Dunedin's shopping area, which was ok. Of course I found a jacket that I just love at Canterbury (don't worry mom, I didn't buy it, maybe on the way home). Then we met Steph at the Cadburry chocolate factory for a tour. I must say, the tour lacked something, maybe it was the Oompa-Loopas, not sure. But the smell of chocolate was pretty amazing. I was kinda revolted by the amount of chocolate that was there, but ah well, I will continue to be a chocolate eater. Last night we all got dressed up and headed out for a night on the town. It was a lot of fun to be back in a university town, but again, really made me miss school. Today has been kinda lazy. Tomorrow is my big day to go see penguins on the Otago Peninsula (I am pretty stoked) One more week before I head to Australia, which will be nice as the weather really sucks here. Cheers!

She's Crazy

So today was another day of adrenaline. Mel did the biggest bungi jump in the world today. It was crazy. It's called the Nevis and is 134m. You free fall for 8 seconds. I went out into the jump pod with her and everybody else who was jumping, god those people are crazy. Mel was one of the last to go cause they jump from heaviest to lightest. She was so funny. Shear terror on her face. When the guy was trying to get her to stand up from the chair where they harness you in, she grabbed onto him in a big hug and wouldn't let go for a minute. Then when she got to the edge, she screamed at him not to push her, he was actually just holding on her, but you know. Anyways, she was successful and did the jump. I had tears from laughing and some fear for her. When she got back to the top, she was just out of control, definately a lot of adrenaline. It was pretty cool. Thank god I kept my feet on the ground though, definately not wanting to jump off anything again. Anyways, pretty laid back evening planned, and we head out for the Milford Sound tomorrow. Should be good.

"Oh My God, I Can't Do This"

Ok, so yesterday was a pretty chill day, recovering from the night before. Yesterday afternoon Mel and I watched some rugby at the Queenstown Rugby Club. There was a tournament going on. It felt like a very New Zealand thing to do. It was quite amazing, with the Remarkables mountain range in the background and rugby in front of us, it was a pretty good afternoon. The highlight was definately the race for the beer though. Each team had to send a representative to race to the middle of the field for a couple cases of beer. When they were all ready to go, the announcer stated that the catch was they had to do it in their underwear. Apparently these boys have no shame (pretty much what you expect from rugby boys), they all striped down to their boxers and sprinted. It was pretty funny. It was also funny watching with Mel, who has a bit of a hard time with the 'violence' of rugby, she really couldn't handle the hits all the well; lots of 'oh my god' and 'oh, no, no'. Anyways, we went out again last night, which was quite a bit of fun. Quite impressed with the retraktable roof at Winnie's. Then today I got up for what may be the scariest thing I have ever done. Two nights ago I won a free Canyon Swing, so today I did it. Essentially, you are on a platform 140m over the shotover river. You jump off this platform and free fall for approximately 4.5 seconds, then arc into the "biggest swing in the world". All together you end up 109m below where you started and travel at speeds of up to 150 km/h. It was crazy. I started to have a panick as we got to the platform. By the time I was harnessed in and ready to go, I was white as a ghost and couldn't take my hands away from my face. There was a lot of "Oh my god I can't do this" and "I'm so scared". In the picture at the top, I look like I am going to vomit. When he said to step to the edge, I barely uncovered my eyes, steped to the edge and jumped. It was the scariest thing, but such an adrenaline rush. By the time I stopped swinging and they started to bring me back up, tears were streaming down my face, not so much out of fear, but pure shock. It was intense. Mel hadn't planned on doing it, but got talked into it. She was going to fall backwards, but couldn't do it, so jumped forwards just like me. She screamed the entire way, except for a second when she had to catch her breath. Some of the other people did pretty cool things. The best was Steve from the UK, they helped him up into a handstand and went; it was crazy. Wierd thing too, one of the guys working there, I thought I recognized him, couldn't figure out where from, then he introduced himself. Another person from Fernie. Crispen was at Fernie the same season I was, kinda strange, when I said something, he was like "I knew you looked familiar, but couldn't figure out why"... small world. Anyways, a pretty awesome event. Mel is going to do the Nevis tomorrow (the world's largest bungi jump). I have decided that my jumping days are over and will stay on solid ground to cheer her on. After we got back to town we headed for a Fergburger. Pretty amazing burger, may even beat Peter's, although I could have used a Peter's milkshake. So a pretty amazing day, not one that I want to repeat, but pretty amazing. Just want to say congrats to Jim, the new Canadian record holder in hammer throw. I am ready for the Commonwealth Games with my Canada flag!

Made it to Banff...I mean Queenstown

So yesterday morning we packed up our stuff and headed out to Puzzling World in Wanaka. We were slightly skeptical, but it was so much fun. It has four areas of like different optical illusions and such. One room is completely slanted, quite strange. It really played with your senses; I ran into the walls more than once. Another room had all these heads of famous people that would look like they were watching you no matter where you moved. I must say having Winston Churchill, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandella, Beethovan, Lincoln and Van Gogh all staring at you is slightly un-nerving. Then we were off on a mission. They have a big outdoor maze set up, with 4 coloured towers and bridges and everything, it was crazy. So Mel and I set off. We had a race. It took me 34 minutes to find all the towers and get out. It was frustrating cause you would get stuck in one area and just keep going around in circles. Anyways, after about 40 minutes, Mel only had one tower left, but got too frustrated and used an 'emergency exit'. Anyways, we then caught the bus to Queenstown. It may have been the worst bus ride ever. The bus driver wouldn't quit the commentary. I learned all about hydro electric damns and dredging lakes and gold panning and how all hydro electric damns in NZ are named after women. It was ridiculous and unfortunately my IPod batteries were dead. SO annoying! Anyways, we got to Queenstown and it is bloody cold. All the peaks have snow on them. It reminds me so much of Banff in September, October. Anyways, last night we went out to two bars with two of the girls from our room. Quite randomly I won a Canyon Swing at the first bar. Didn't even have to do anything. I liked that one cause they had an Alberta license plate on the wall. Made me miss Mona (Eric, you better be taking care of her). Then we went to the World Bar which was so fun. You could buy drinks that came in a tea pot. Strange, but fun. It was a good night. Ran into some people we met in Wanaka, so that was fun. Anyways, off to organize our adventures in Queenstown, cheers!

A great day climbing

Well, I finally got use of my climbing gear and it was worth it. Melanie, Nick and I headed off to Hospital Flats to climb. It was such a beautiful day. Bright blue sky and sun...fabulous. It was Melanie's first time climbing outside. We stuck to pretty easy stuff. Our first climb was a 5.7 approximately called Wasted on the Wing. It was a nice first climb...up a crack line. I went up a face instead, I think a 5.9. Then we climbed another 5.7 face climb and finished off with an amazing corner climb (5.8). As some of you know, corners are always my favourite. Melanie had quite a time. I taught her how to belay, which will be good on the rest of the trip. She also is having trouble overcoming the fear at the top of the climb. She doesn't really want to let go of the rock. I know that feeling. I remember my first outdoor climb (Slow Poke) and down climbing the entire thing, much to the annoyance of Mike, Evan and Kyle. Anyways, at the crag we met a very nice couple from the UK who gave us a ride back into Wanaka. Nicki was super nice. We were talking about food and the subject of Tim Tams came up (a type of cookie). Nicki told us about this way to eat them with Milo (kinda like hot chocolate). It's excellent, the cookie turns momentarily into a straw before it melts from the inside out, so you have to shove it into your mouth really fast. It is amazing. As Nick says 'it's like having a little heater inside your cookie'. Oh, I also forgot, two nights ago Mel and I started teaching people to play spoons. We had quite a game going. I won the first game, Nick won the second. At one point one spoon got bent right in half because of a fight. Mel also ended up on the floor chasing after a spoon. We are trying to spread the game around the world, one hostel at a time. Anyways, today is really rainy in Wanaka, so we are doing a lot of catching up on things and head to Queenstown tomorrow which should be good. Take care everybody!

Enough Rain to Necessitate an Arc

So we arrived in Wanaka yesterday. It's a whole lot like Waterton, even the wind. We just hung out for a bit then headed out for drinks with people from the hostel. We are staying at the Purple Cow, I was expecting a big purple building, but no, it's just brown. Anyways, there was Nick from Toronto (who was living in Calgary), Sam from Toronto (a very cool climbing girl), Dale from England, Layla from Israel, and two others who I can't remember their names (I'm really bad at names, especially if the people have accents). Anyways, today, me, Melanie, Nick, Dale, and another guy (again the name thing) decided to go for a hike. We went up to the Rob Roy Glacier. It was spitting a bit when we got out of the car and quite windy. Well, I was not prepared for what we ended up in. Actually, I was probably most prepared, but still. About 3/4 of the way up, it really started to rain. So fine, on goes the gore-tex. By the time we reached the top it was a downpour. Melanie and I hid under a big boulder for awhile. The view of the glacier and all the waterfalls was amazing, but it was too rainy to get any pictures. By the time we got down, my boots had soaked through, although my jacket was keeping my body dry. My shorts felt like I had jumped in a lake and gotten out. Melanie and the boys were all soaked right through their jackets. Thumbs up for Arcteryx, although I may have spotted some seam leaking (a warranty maybe?). Anyways, we then had to drive an hour back to Wanaka and let me tell you, a car full of 3 boys and 2 girls, all of whom are soaking wet, is not a pretty smell. We were all very glad to get back to the Purple Cow and have hot showers. Our room, it was a bit of a fight, Mel got hers first, then me, then Dale. Thank goodness we weren't all in the same room. Tomorrow, if it dries out a lot, Mel, Nick and I are going climbing. I am so stoked. Finally get to use that beast of a rope. Anyways, hope all is well with everybody. And Mom or Robin, I want a picture of Peggy and Ginny...no more excuses.

The Glaciers

So Mel and I made it to the Franz Joseph Glacier a couple days ago. Our first day there, we hiked up to the glacier, which was quite impressive. It's surrounded by rainforest, which is quite different from our glaciers at home. We decided not to pay for a walk on the glacier, as it is very expensive and really, we can do that at home. We did stop at a pond called Peter's Pool, which was pretty cute and showed a perfect reflection of the glacier. That night, we went out to a bar called Blue Ice with two guys from Israel. They were really nice and totally made me think of Naama and our time in Italy. Anyways, the next day we hiked up to the Tatare Tunnels. We were quite proud of ourselves for facing the dark and venturing in till we couldn't see the exit (I had my head lamp). Then late yesterday afternoon we caught the bus to the Fox glacier. We were pretty stoked for some hikes around here, but the weather is pretty gross. We are tenting though, which is actually working out quite well. We were supposed to start an overnight tramp tomorrow, but the track is closed because of high water levels and two bridges being washed out. Ah well, so off to Wanaka tomorrow. As you can probably tell from my description of recent activities, my ankle is doing much better. My new nemesis is the bugs. I must have very sweet blood cause I have 15 bites on one foot and ankle alone; Mel has none. So I bought some bug spray today. Anyways, I should be off. Talk to you all soon

Our trip down the West Coast

After our day of recovery, we headed for a day at the beach. Simon and Casey (the guys from the bar), met us there. We had a great day. Mel and Simon had quite a match of soccer, where Mel showed him a thing or two. Quite impressive. That night we crashed at Simon and Paul's house which had turned into a bit of a hostel. There was Mel and I, a girl from Quebec and a girl from Chile. Paul was quite excited to find out that Mel was from Nelson and that he could come stay with her on his trip to Canada next year. Anyways, we had a very kiwi dinner of lamb and sausages. It was good (especially having somebody else cook). The next day, Simon drove us down the coast on his way to work. We stopped at a swinging bridge where I was attacked by sandflies (my toes got the brunt of it). That night we stayed in Westport (I don't recommend it). My mom had a pretty good description, a lot like Sparwood. We did laundry which was definately needed. Yesterday we headed further down the coast to Hokitika. On the way we stopped at Punikaki where there are the coolest rock formations. They call it the pancake rocks. Mel decided to work on her lifelong goal of becoming a punga person (people who live in the flax). Anyways, Hokitika is about as eventful at Westport, although last night we walked up to the glow worm dell which was pretty cool. We had to overcome a slight fear of the dark and the fact that at home, we would have been in prime cougar habitat. Today is a bit of a write-off as it is raining like crazy. We are waiting for our bus and heading off to the Franz Joseph Glacier. Should be good.