Day 26

Wednesday Feb 20 - my longest Wednesday ever!

Woke up at 7:30 to find out that Jess had spent the night after her fall sleeping on the floor. I did final packing and then headed down to have the last breakfast of the tour: peanut butter and butter and nutella sandwich and a cup of tea. I'm really not eating healthily on this trip :) Ronnie, Norrie, and Andrea were also at breakfast and Ronnie gave Susan and me going-away presents. Susan got a paua shell pen and I got a sheep and sheepdog tic-tac-toe set. It's adorable. Ronnie is one of the nicest people I've ever met, with a wicked sense of humour once you get to know him. Norrie's a love also. I'm so glad they were on the tour with us.

When everyone finally emerged and ate we piled into the van to head for Auckland and the airport, where Susan and I would be dropped off for our flight to LA. Along the way Sarah M. Kier, and I were in the same row and ended up snuggled together under a beach towel. While we were chatting Steve turned off the main highway to go someplace special because I had been disappointed that since the itinerary changed I missed the Cadbury factory in Dunedin. We went to Candyland! It's a candy store/factory somewhere between Raglan and Auckland. The girls had fabulous time shopping for all sorts of sweets.




















I got lots of candy and lollipops, and Sarah M. stocked up on the local equivalent of pixy stix. We spent the remainder of the drive trying to make out tongues go different colours. She was blue, I was orange, and Susan was pink. The store was super cheap and I walked away with lots of candy for only 10 dollars. One last group picture and we were on our way. We pulled into the airport at about 2 and said goodbye to everyone as they were heading on to Auckland to disperse from there. Lots of hugs, and I think even a tear from Susan.

We were really early for our flight, which was at 6, but with Steve at the helm early is way better than the alternative :) We paid our departure tax (New Zealand charges $25 to leave the country - kind of like the toll to leave New Jersey) and then plunked ourselves down in front of the check-in counter to wait for the Air Pacific people to show up. A really nice security guy came by to make sure all our liquids were in a ziploc bag and at 3 the counters opened. Our check-in guy was really slow but nice, he gave us exit row seats and let our bags through even though they were slightly over the weight limit. We had three hours to kill but the Auckland Airport is really nice with lots of stores, so we had fun. I was on a quest to get a free New Zealand baseball cap from the Regency Duty-Free store, since I had clipped a coupon for it when I arrived in New Zealand. The first Regency was out of stock but the second, past security, had two left. They had to go find them since evidently the promotion had been canceled and most stores were completely out of stock. So I bought some chocolate and got my hat. The flight to Nadi was only about half full, so Susan and I spread out and we got our own rows. Dinner was delicious - a fish filet stirfried with vermicelli and ginger sauce, cold rice salad, and a pavlova.
















When we got to Fiji (still hot and humid) we had about an hour or so and then onto an Air New Zealand flight to LA.
















If given the choice I would fly Air Pacific any day over Air New Zealand - the flight attendants are nicer, the food is better, and planes are better as well (at least on our flights). We had a pretty dinky plane (2-3-2 seats) and only a large screen up front to watch "Balls of Fury" (again) on. And the flight attendants were snippy. Oh well, I managed to sleep for about 6 or seven hours, and since we crossed the International Dateline we landed in LA 4 hours before taking off in Auckland. Susan and I made it to the hotel, collapsed for a few hours, and then headed down to the fancy restaurant (because we couldn't be bothered to expend the energy to find anywhere else) for a nice dinner. Then back to the room to spread out on luxuriously sized (double) beds and both conked out by 7:30. Tomorrow we part ways and fly home.

Day 25

Tuesday, Feb 19

Woke up at 8 am - Steve had just left to go surfing and get bread (I have no idea in which order). I had leftover BBQ pork and rice for breakfast, which was surprisingly delicious, and a feijoa smoothie. We loaded the van and waited to see where to next. We headed out to see Steve's dad's house, then to a zoo.









Then off to downtown to wander for about an hour. I window-shopped and found a card that was one of a set of pictures that I fell in love with in Wellington but didn't buy. So now I'll be able to frame this one. We then got on the road to Raglan, which was supposed to take 3 1/2 hours but ended up taking about 5 - partially road construction, partially having to change a tire on the trailer. Along the way we stopped at a place that Steve said that white people used to herd Maori and make them stampede over a cliff.



We got to Raglan, home of some of the best surfing in the world according to Steve, and went shopping for BBQ food as the Karioi Lodge had a grill.



Sarah w. and I split a box of burgers (I ended up eating 2, she had 4) and I also got a green salad as by this time my body is beginning to crave veggies. We all took turns grilling our food and I also had the last of my second bottle of smoothie. Sat on the deck and chatted, then back to the room to do final packing for the flight back to LA tomorrow. My biggest task - making sure that each bag doesn't go over the weight limit.

Wandered back out about 10:30 and the drinking games were beginning - this one was called Ring of Fire. I headed up to take a shower instead. The showers here are weird. You have to have two taps going in order for the hot water to work, so if there's only one person in the shower you have to have the water running in one of the sinks as well or you'd only get cold water. I ended up back in the room chatting with Andrea and Susan then to bed on my cool loft bunk at about midnight.

I woke up slightly at 3:30 to a loud thump. I thought Jess had tripped going up the bunk ladder so I went back to sleep, but it turns out that she actually fell completely off the top bunk onto her head so hard that Norrie two rooms away was woken up. Susan and Andrea got up to see if she was okay since she didn't move for about 5-10 seconds after the fall. Susan thinks she might have given herself a mild concussion (to go along with the Vietnamese water parasite worms - long story) and stayed up most of the rest of the night to make sure she was okay. Jess really does seem to have the worst luck, even though tonight was mainly due to her being amazingly drunk (again). The t-shirt she was given by Ronnie and Norrie really does epitomize her.

Day 24

Monday, February 18

Turns out that yesterday Steve said to meet back at 1 pm (yesterday) and he'd take people around the city if they wanted. Well, Fran, Joe, and Sarah W. showed up at 1 (a little late) and no Steve. They waiting a really long time for him to show up, which he never did. Turns out he met up with some friends and spent the with them - then came back to the hostel much later on bragging about how much beer he'd drunk with them. Not impressive.

We all decided to come back to the hostel at 1 pm to see if Jess is back from the High Commission. Susan and I headed out to the shops - she wanted to go to the Billabong store and I wanted to go to a design store (Beckon) she had found the day before to get an envirosak. We wandered and window shopped, stopping at Civic Square to see Fringe HQ (two little sheds). Got back to the hostel at 1 and Jess had her new passport. Susan and I ran across the street to HK Barbeque to grab some lunch for the road (some kind of home-style noodle dish for her, fried rice and pork for me) and then back to the van to get on the road to New Plymouth. Including occasional bathroom break, it took a little over 5 hours.

We got to New Plymouth and ended up at the Edgmont Eco-lodge - really far away from the centre of town, but cute. It's like summer camp - we have cabins with 10 beds each and the bathroom are in one separate building and the showers are in another.



The boys immediately started playing soccer (football) in the field outside the cabins. Kieran has actually spent his life playing semi-pro football, so he was in his element.



The girl's were getting ready (including Vicky and Jess in full 80's flourescent getup) and after the game we drove into town for all-you-can eat Chinese buffet. I was still full from my lunch and just had tea and bits of Ed's dessert. It looked like pretty appalling westernized Chinese food so I don't think I missed much. We then headed off to Woolworths to stock up on chocolate (okay, the chocolate was just me). Steve, even though we asked for bread for breakfast, did not get any. Back to the lodge for a shower and a nice night in reading in bed. Ronnie and Norrie's snoring drove Kieran and Sarah into the other cabin - thank goodness for earplugs.

Day 23

Sunday Feb 17

Woke up at 8:45 to find that there was still no breakfast, even though Steve said that it would be there at 8:00. Got down to the kitchen at about 9:15 and there was some breakfast stuff there, but no nutella (boo!). I headed out to see Te Papa, the national museum of New Zealand, but got distracted by a really nice farmer's market in the lot right next to it.



After looking around at all the nice fruit I headed to the grocery store to buy more feijoa smoothie and Timtams. After dropping stuff off back at the hostel I headed back to Te Papa, intending to have a quick look around. Instead I spent around 2 hours. It's a pretty great museum.







I then wandered up Cuba Street and went to Satay Palace for roti chennai with lamb curry for dinner.



Wellington is truly the city of authentic Malaysian restaurants. I then headed down Manners Mall and inadvertently across on Lambton Quay, ending up at Parliament.



Then around and down the way I came. At one point I actually thought I had gotten turned around because all the stores started repeating themselves. Back to the hostel to get ready for the Wellington Fringe Festival show "Around the World on 80 Quid" I made a silly mistake and thought I had read the start time as 6:30, so that's what I told Norrie (who decided to go to the play too) and I said I'd meet him there. He got there at 6:05 and I got there and 6:10 and the play had started at 6:00. We both managed to get in and not miss too much. It was cute and Fringe-y and at times I could barely understand the performer, his Irish accent was so thick. It was only an hour long, so when we got back to the hostel in time to go for dinner. Andrea had suggested a Maori restaurant called "Kai in the City". Susan, Ronnie, Andrea, and I headed out to find the place (it was only a couple of blocks away) but when we got there we found out that it was closed for the night for some reason. We ended up at HK Barbeque - Ronnie and Susan to have bubble tea to go, and Andrea and I to sit down for dinner. Roast pork and duck over rice - yum.



We had a nice chat and then bought charity chocolate at the till. When we got back we all decided that we all wanted to stay in Wellington as long as it took for Jess to get to the UK High Commission and get a new passport, or at least get the gears moving, even though Steve had told some people that he wanted to get on the road early. We didn't really care that he wanted to spend more time with his mates in the next place (that's what I heard he wanted to leave early for, anyway) - Jess's situation is more important, and if we're going to be delayed anywhere Wellington is a great place to kill some time.

Day 22

Saturday February 16

Today I am very angry. I woke up at 8 and there was no Steve telling us the swimming was on, so I went back to sleep assuming it was off because the weather was so crappy. I woke up again at 8:30 and bumped in Susan in the bathroom and asked her if she had heard anything. She said no, and I crawled back into bed. I was woken up by Susan about 15 minutes later saying that the swimming was on and that we were supposed to have been at the Centre 20 minutes ago. Turns out the Steve had left his phone in one of the bedrooms and proceeded to go out and get stinking drunk the previous evening, coming home at about 6:30 still drunk, and according to someone on the tour, still drinking. His phone had been ringing all morning but since he didn't have it he didn't answer it. And he was too drunk to wake up and check with the Dolphin people. Susan found him fast asleep at 8:40 and he said he lost his phone and made her phone the Dolphin Encounters people, who were very nice. They gave us 10 minutes to get down there - they had been trying to get a hold of Steve since 8:00. She went around and woke us all up and we all scrambled to get ready and packed (as the van was going to have to be loaded up while we were gone). Steve basically told Susan that we'd better get ourselves down there - he had no intention of driving us even though we had no idea where it was. He finally got into the van but was way to drunk to drive so Baby Whale had to drive with Steve calling out half asleep and totally pissed directions from the back seat.

We made it to the Centre with just enough time to get into our wetsuits and snorkels and onto the buses, missing the training and safety video (Steve's only response to that when told later was "good thing you didn't have to watch the boring film"). When the buses pulled out to go to the wharf Susan noticed that the van was gone, so Steve must have driven it back to the hostel - good thing no-one else was in there with him. I tried to get over being angry because I wanted to enjoy the trip. We were split up into three boats with 13 swimmers on each, plus spectators. Then we cruised around for about 1/2 hour looking for dolphins. The ride was a blast - the water was really choppy, so the boat was bouncing all over the place, like an amusement park ride. We found a pod and jumped into the water.





















It was rainy and cool, but the water was surprisingly warm - about 17-18 degrees (Celsius). I found myself panicking a bit with breathing through the the snorkel, so that round was was more about me getting used to breathing and the mask than the dolphins. We got back on the boat and circled around to the front of the pod again and went back into the water. This time I really enjoyed seeing all the dolphins around me - we were supposed to hum or sing and entertain the dolphins so they would hang come to see us. After some random noisemaking I settled on "Mairzy Doats" for some reason and sung my little heart out. We went into the water four times and each time the dolphins came closer. At one point I turned around and there was a dolphin eye about one foot from my face. They move so fast in the water - they were gliding all around us. I wanted to touch them, but wasn't sure if it was allowed (see - watching the film would have been useful!). Norrie said later that he actually held on to a dorsal fin for a second.
















It was so cool being so close to dolphins (and snorkling was fun too). After our last swim we came back on board and stripped off our wetsuits and wrapped ourselves in warm blankets and had hot chocolate and gingernut cookies while taking pictures of the dolphins through the rain. They were leaping all over the place.

















We got back to the hostel (a fairly long walk in the rain as Steve was certainly not there to collect us)to find that the others on the tour had packed up the stuff people didn't have time to pack in the frantic rush of the morning and gotten everything loaded onto the trailer. Everyone was upstairs in the TV room watching "Coronation Street" (I think possibly the only show on the air in New Zealand). Steve was sacked out behind the couch. We were all pretty annoyed about how unprofessional he was that morning - being drunk, not being able to take a call he knew he was expecting almost making us miss an activity, making Susan do his job, not being able or willing to drive us there, and not even being in any way apologetic for his actions. Steve said we were going to head out right away for Picton, but even an idiot could see he was still drunk even though he said he was fine and was acting like nothing had happened. Sarah M, Kieran, Norrie, and Ronnie and I were of the opinion that we did not want to get into a vehicle with him driving. Kieran told him he would drive and it didn't take much insisting to make Steve agree. Add that to something we were annoyed about - Steve not being able to do his job and one of us having to drive for him - now and earlier this morning. We all got in the van and Kieran drove off. We stopped at a seal colony (one seal)
















and then for lunch at a place called "The Store". I had had a peanut butter and jam sandwich when we got back to the hostel because I was starving, so didn't need any lunch. Then we pushed on to Picton - Kieran was a great driver. By that time it was about 4 pm and Steve was sober, so he took over to get us to the ferry. We stopped at the town centre until it was time to board, and I passed Steve on the street at one point and he asked how I was and I told him I was annoyed and proceeded to tell him what I thought of his behavior that day. He tried to defend himself at first instead of acknowledging any error on his part. He said that he had gone above and beyond the call of duty plenty of times on the trip and that he's been working his ass off etc... and can't he get cut some slack for one mistake. I said yeas he had, but it doesn't excuse him not doing his actual job - which he was paid to do etc.... I also told him he was unprofessional that morning being too drunk to drive and making Susan do his his work and that an apology would be appreciated. He grudgingly said "Sorry Dena". I told him it would be nice to apologize to the whole group. I don't think he did, though.

We got in line for the ferry, and since Andrea flew up to Wellington instead of coming with us to Kaikoura the ferry lady said he was due a refund of $45, which he didn't bother to take. We figure that would have been his payment for the crayfish right there, so oh well... The ferry was pretty small compared to the one we took south. Ronnie, Norrie, Fran, Susan and I sat on the top deck playing silly drawing games and watching Susan fold origami. The voyage was pretty rough and even I was feeling a bit queasy. Thankfully Ronnie had worked on cruise ships and was able to tell us where the best part of the ship was to sit to combat seasickness (the rear looking out past the ship).
















We arrived at Wellington a bit after 9 and went to Base Wellington again, which is the crappiest of the Bases. A out-of-order elevator, some out-of-order toilets, and the last time we stayed there Fran and Jess had items stolen out the shower (underwear and money, respectively).Anyway, Jess was taking a shower before meeting up with a friend and someone stole her bag out of the shower with all her credit cards, money, and passport. I saw her running down the stairs to reception crying. Steve was down there and basically said "Bummer" (well, the kiwi equivalent thereof). He told us what room he was in and that he'd probably be out all night with friends. Basically no help at all. The rest of us scoured the hostel looking in trashcans and bathrooms and around the outside to see if maybe the thief had dumped the bag anywhere (no). Jess called the police to file a report and her parents to help her cancel her cards and call the consulate. Not much more we could do tonight, and tomorrow is Sunday, so off to bed. All in all, a pretty downbeat day (except for dolphins!).

If it sounds like I'm being really hard on Steve, I was pretty mad today - mostly at him and also at the fact that his actions today made me take another look at how the trip's been run so far and the other times that we've been late for things or there's been no breakfast and such and re-evaluate how I felt about the trip, which really annoys me.

Day 21

Friday, Feb 15

We left early today to get on the road to Kaikoura. We're supposed to swim with dolphins tomorrow but the weather is cold and rainy with a strong southwesterly wind., which make it look like the sea will be too rough. Steve threw out the idea of snorkeling with seals and spearfishing, or sea kayaking or ocean fishing instead. When we actually got to Kaikoura (which means "eat crayfish" in Maori) the weather was such that all of that got tossed out except sea kayaking. Susan, Joe, Steve, Vicky, and I decided to do that. We had a few hours before we had to meet up, so I headed down to the main street. There are some cute art galleries and a library and some bars and shops, not a lot. I really liked some of the art prints and decided to go back the next day to get some. The walk back up the hill to the hostel was pretty strenuous as it was amazingly steep.

We headed back down to the i-Site for 4:30 and took off for the launch site. We're using tandem kayaks, and the stronger paddler gets to go in the back, and that person is in charge of steering with the little rudder as well. I got to go in front of Matt, on of the guides. We had to carry the kayaks down to the beach and there had been large swells the past few days and there was seaweed washed up on the shore. This is massive , beginning to decompose seaweed. We had to walk over it in bare feet or socks and that was pretty gross. Once over, however, we set off towards some seals basking on rocks. We were in a protected bay, so even though it was pretty windy and the ocean was rough it was pretty smooth for us. I figured out how to cheat at paddling by putting my hands closer together on the paddle. It made my arms ache less while paddling, but also made the strokes less powerful. We had a good time and we saw a seal playing in the water just in front of the kayak and also a cormorant. I had my waterproof camera, so I got some pictures, including many with the added bonus of my thumb.





After kayaking we headed back to the hostel to shower and change and then relaxed as Ronnie, Susan, and Steve-o made a dinner of crayfish and jambalaya and soup. We were all welcome to taste it. Turns out I don't despise crayfish as much as other crustaceans, even though I think they look repellent. I don't mind the texture that much and they only taste vaguely of the ocean. Ronnie made a magnificent cream sauce dish that was delicious. The jambalaya was way too fishy for me.







And here begins the Steve drama. Earlier that day he had been talking about going spearfishing to get some butterfish for dinner and maybe find some crayfish in the ocean. He stopped in at a friend's fishing charter business and came out with a bag of crayfish which he said we could all try. After dinner Susan said that he was telling her that he wanted to be reimbursed for the crayfish (he actually got them for free , but they were payment for a $40 debt the fisherman had owed him). He also complained about spending lots of money on the sashimi at the salmon farm and not getting anything back. Now, he'd only complained to Susan and a bit to Ronnie that night. A bunch of us got together afterwards and discussed the fact that he had not once said that he expected or wanted to be paid. We had thought, and he gave the impression, that it was part of the tour. I think that if someone expects to be paid back, they should mention up front - if for nothing else than that way people can decide whether they want to take part in it or not. So hearing that he was complaining to just one or two of us, and not talking to all of us, made the evening end on a bit of a downer.

He also told us that the Dolphin Encounter people would be calling him at 8 am the next morning to let him know whether the swim was on for the next day. (remember this, it will be important tomorrow) Then the young'uns and Steve went out partying and Susan went to bed and Kieran and Sarah M. and I curled up and watched the John Cusack movie "Identity", which freaked Sarah out so much that she didn't want to go to the bathroom alone.

Day 20

Feb 14 - Thursday

Slept in a bit this morning, which was lovely. After a leisurely wake-up Sarah W., Fran, and I headed out to Science Alive!, the hands-on science museum. It was a longer walk than anticipated, but we definitely saw some non-touristy parts of Christchurch. Actually the walk was only about 20 minutes, but it seemed longer. The weather was grey and spitting, but it cleared up nicely.

We were some of the only people in the museum, so the attendants were very frequently asking up if we had any questions. I think the were bored. One girls who worked there was from Timmins, ON, working abroad for a while. We played with the exhibits and the Sarah went off to find lunch and Fran and I played a round of glow-in-the-dark minigolf. Well, we messed around with the balls and clubs, but I don't think what we were doing in any way involved golf of any sort. Good thing we were the only ones on the course. After whacking the golf balls around, we heading back upstairs to play on the vertical slide (the largest one on the South Island). It was pretty scary and lots of fun. It's like a mini Drop of Doom, and it's just you and a wooly blanket going down the drop.



After the slide we climbed the climbing wall. I decided to put my sandals on because climbing walls in bare feet sucks. I made it though the easy and medium walls, and fell off the hard wall. Fran, who was just climbing in bare feet, found it too painful to get to the top. When we were done sliding and spinning (unfortunately the human gyroscope was out of order) we wandered back downtown. I stopped in at the Air New Zealand office and Fran carried on. I found out later that she got back to the hostel and realized that she had left her key at the museum, so had to walk all the way back to get it. I carried on to Cathedral Square and browsed the market - I bought a "magic" hair clip and one of the skirts I'd been eyeing the day before. There was latin dancing in the square, and I sat and watched Kenneth Lightfoot, a street magician. His show culminated in him throwing a playing card on the roof of the information centre (very high up).



Then onwards to the Art Centre, which is actually the old University of Canterbury. It's now shops and galleries and workshops and studios. I saw some nice stuff and visited the Fudge Kitchen, which gave out a ton of free samples. I bought three different types of fudge - orange chocolate, manuka honey, and hokey pokey - the national ice cream flavour of New Zealand. It's caramel with pieces of sponge toffee swirled in.



After walking around the Art Centre I visited (briefly) the Christchurch Art Galley, the Centre for Contemporary Art (COCA), and the public library.



I also poked my nose in a few stores including Farmers, a department store with a great clearance sale on. Then back to the hostel and chatted with Sarah W. and Fran about books and TV shows. Out to the internet cafe and then back to teach Kieran and Sarah M. how to upload their pictures to Flickr. Susan, Ronnie, Fran, Steve and his friend Tika all went out to a Japanese restaurant called Ebisu. It was like a Japanese tapas restaurant - interesting food, but the service was pretty crappy. The back to the hostel to repack and then bed. Happy Valentine's Day!

Day 19

Wednesday Feb 13

We woke up early and walked over to the Church of the Good Shepherd in Lake Tekapo, which is a really old (by New Zealand standards - 1935) church.



Then on the road for a very long ride to jet-boating. Alpine Jetboat was in the middle of nowhere near a town called Springfield on the Waimak river.



It was a relatively sedate 25 km trip up the river with truly magnificent scenery - sheer cliffs and jutting rocks coming right down to the river, with forested hills and wide sandbars (well, pebble bars). It looked like something out of a movie. Actually, although Lord of the Rings was not filmed there, the Narnia movie was filmed not far away. It seemed like the ride back was a lot faster and more fun that the other direction, and we did a lot of 360 degree jet spins. I think the general consensus is that it was worth it for the scenery, but the adrenaline rush was pretty low.

After the boating we went back to the van to meet up with the folks who didn't go on the boat - poor folds had to wait for us - and we headed out to Christchurch. Steve had been going on and on about how much of a shithole Base Christchurch was, but it's actually really nice. The counter people were friendly and the rooms were big and clean and the beds are really comfy. It's right on the North side of Cathedral Square, so it's right in the centre of everything. We had a nice view of the side of the cathedral from our room.



We got there around 3:30 and Susan and I immediately headed out to the craft market being held in the square. Some nice stuff and I found a stand with really nice reversible wrap skirts which I decided to come back for the next day as they were busy getting ready to close up and I couldn't make up my mind. The market runs Wed-Sat from 10-4.



We wandered the streets for a while window shopping. Susan peeled off and I got a kebab wrap from a truck in the square. It was really good - they put barbeque sauce and tzatziki on it and somehow the flavour worked. It was also really huge. I sat on a bench eating and chatting with other group people as they walked by. The back to the hostel to get online briefly and then back to the room, where Sarah W. and Fran were lying and reading. I picked up my book and when I glanced back up they were both fast asleep. I went for a shower at about 10 pm and when I got back they were just waking up. We chatted for a bit and then Sarah got dressed to go out and Kieran and Sarah M. got back and we all just chilled out reading (and playing Tiger Woods Golf on his PSP in Kieran's case). Nice low-key evening.

Day 18

Feb 12, Tuesday

This morning packing was the first time I've had to unzip the expansion on my suitcase due to shopping. Breakfast of toast, and then since we had some time to kill waiting for Andrea, Ronnie, and Norrie to come back from their flight and cruise to Milford Sound Susan and I went back to Lick for second breakfast. I had a gelato toastie, which is a sweet brioche filled with a scoop of gelato (I had coconut marshmallow) and poached fruit and then toasted until the outside is hot and the inside is still frozen.



Yummy. I shall be going on a diet when I get home because the food here is so delicious I cannot resist anything. Susan had a espresso with two scoops of gelato in it.

We then headed for Kawarau Bridge Bungy, which is the site of the first commercial bungy jump. About half of the group ended up jumping. I was actually tempted, but then reminded myself that bungy jumping is terrifying and potentially bad for you, so I wimped out.



Then into the van for the trip to Lake Tekapo.
Our first stop was at a farm stand (Sarita Orchards) for people to stock up on fruit and sweets. Andrea bought and shared dried kiwifruit, which is odd and candy-like. We then stopped in Cromwell for lunch (for some) and window shopping (for others). To be completely geeky I got my picture taken at a Caltex station because they are one of the sponsors of Amazing Race Asia.



Back on the road again until our next stop, which was a Salmon farm. - we all had fun throwing the feed into the pool at the same time and causing a frenzy of salmon.



Then Steve bought a box of sashimi to share. It was really good but not exactly what I was used to. The fish was firmer (a bit chewy) and tasted a bit of ocean. Very good, though.



Susan bought a box for dinner ($20). One more stop, this time at Lake Pukaki, which is a brilliant blue. We got a group shot and were on our way again.



Lake Tekapo is tiny - Franz Josef was two streets big, and Lake Tekapo is one very small street. It's pretty much a rest stop on the way to Christchurch. Pretty lake, though.



I made some instant noodles (spicy thai coconut chicken flavour) and we all gathered around to watch DVDs of the various events people have done during the trip. Then off to bed in our primary colored bunk-bed dorms. It's like being in kindergarden.

Day 17

Feb 11 - Monday

Slept in 'til 9:30 - the latest so far. The bunkbeds in the dorm are really wobbly and whenever Norrie shifts in his sleep I can feel it up top. Not the most restful of nights. Susan and I went shopping in the morning (I bought a top and a hoodie) and then she went off on a winery and cheesery tour. I booked hang-gliding for 3:00 and lay in my bunk reading and napping until I had to leave.

Got picked up at 3:00 by the Skytrek guys - I think I might have been the only hang-glider for they day with them. We ended up driving one of the pilots home, so I got a tour of suburban Queenstown. Evidently even thought the city only has a permanent population of 15 thousand, 30 thousand tourists come in each day. I truly believe that there are more tourists in New Zealand than actual residents. Because of the wind conditions the hang glide would not be from Coronet Peak but from the Remarkables mountain range instead. We drove up the ski access road which is full of hairpins, unpaved, and with no guardrails. Probably one of the scarier parts of the adventure :)

When we got to the takeoff point, some 2000 feet up, one of the guides popped me in my harness and took a few pictures while the pilot was putting together the hang glider. The glider was extremely light, about 70 pounds. After it was assembled we practiced the takeoff procedure - basically two steps and a run until the glider takes off. The takeoff is down a pretty steep hill, so it is pretty scary to contemplate the gilder not getting airborne and just falling headfirst down the mountain.



We got hooked up, got clearance form the airport to take off, and the started the two steps leading up to the run. The glider caught the wind so fast it was like "Step, step, flight!" We launched upwards so fast I didn't have time to run. It was windy enought that we got some good altitude . I think hang-gliding is the closest you can get to being a bird.





It was so beautiful and peaceful and you could feel how the slightest shift of weight altered the course of the glider. I think we glided for about 15 - 20 minutes before we came in for a landing in a field of sheep (yes, sheep!). I like it better, I think, than the skydiving because I had more time to enjoy it, although the skydive was definitely more adrenaline filled. Argh, can't decide! $45 for a disc of pictures and video (Queenstown is not cheap) and then we drove back into town.

Right as I got back into the hostel, Norrie, Susan, and Ronnie were going out for a walk so I tagged along and we strolled about checking menus to see where we were going to eat later on and ended up at a gelato place called Licks for evening snack. Then back to the hostel to meet up with everyone to go ride the Skyline Gondola up the hill overlooking the city.

While waiting for everyone I called my sister , who told me how cold Edmonton was. Hee hee!

We headed up the gondola, which was scenic, and it turned out that the luge, which we all wanted to do, had closed at 7. We had missed it by about 1/2 hour which was annoying. We took in the view and took some pictures and shopped in the gift store (found another sheep on a leash) and then headed down.







Susan and Ronnie and I headed to a Chicago gangster themed restaurant called Luciano's. I had venison, which was magnificent.



Then back to the hostel, where we had a whole group of people sitting in the hallway drinking and not moving an inch to get out of the way of people who needed to walk down the hall. I was so tempted just to step on all their legs on my way to my room. Evidently during the night a couple of Danish guys were screaming at each other on the balcony right next to our window. I didn't hear a thing, but I did get woken up every time Norrie rolled over.