You don't have to jump, I'll just push you

I went skydiving from 15,000 ft (16,000 ft above sea level)! We were planning on going tomorrow but the weather was so good that we decided to jump this afternoon. No sweat.

 

As a first-timer I am only allowed to jump tandem and here you can see my goofy Hungarian buddy getting us prepped to go.

We had over a minute of freefall! That was followed by few minutes of floating under the parachute.

Two happy dudes.

Glay-see-uhrs

The Franz Josef Glacier proved different from anything we've done so far. We got to hike in crampons which I've always wanted to try and witness huge ice falls, glacial rivers, and surges.

The glacier appears right in the middle of a thick rain forest and the contrast is remarkable.

As has been the case for much of our trip, our guide through the whole ordeal was a foreigner. Bruce is from Bristol, England - a mechanic who got tired of his boring day job and decided to try his hand at glacier guiding. No kidding...

In an ice cave. Check out the cool blue ice.

Qtown

Although it tries a little too hard to be a European ski town, Queenstown is great fun. I can't exactly call it a strongly Kiwi experience, since everyone here is a tourist or on a working-holiday visa, but it's fun. If you're into beautiful scenery, adventure sports, and nightlife, this is the place to be. Matt and I spent five days enjoying the activities and nightlife. We spent most mornings slowly recovering.

Even skipping stones in Queenstown is epic. Why am I holding milk though? And no, I didn't bring a belt...

Emo over queenstown. The gondola ride takes you up to a good view over the city. However, it doesn't compare to...

...the view at the top of the Remarkables. Matt's position really is as precarious as it seems.

Wee!

I jumped off a 43m-high bridge yesterday!

There's a little me somewhere in there.

Matt and I also tried river surfing again, although this time with boogie boards instead of the awkward sledges. It was fun BUT not nearly exciting enough. The only thing serious about Serious Fun's trip yesterday was how controlling they were about going down the river. For two surfers, one of whom is an experienced ocean lifeguard, a tame category 3 rapid is just not that exciting unless we are free to play around in it. A second annoyance with these trips are the out-of-shape dolts who think they can handle frigid, choppy water despite being 50+ pounds overweight and lacking any coherent swimming ability.

Milford Sound

We were lucky to catch Milford Sound (actually a Fjord, spelled Fiord out here) with such good weather.

This picture doesn't do it justice. The place is a massive glacier-cut with water pouring out of every conceivable place in the cliffs. Lord of the Rings indeed!

Vagabonding

After walking up the mountainous area outside of Christchurch ($25 for the dang gondola) Matt and I decided to work our way up some steep rocks, the howling wind threatening to heave us to our deaths. Only Matt made it all the way out. Here he exhibits his conquering pose.

Once my hands finally stopped shaking, the day got a lot calmer.

Here I am asleep on a park bench outside Canterbury Museum. Immediately after this moment a deranged homeless man dangled some meat over Matt's head and offered it to us. We politely declined his offer.

I'm beached as, bro!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdVHZwI8pcA

I'm heaps beached, bro!

We made it down to Christchurch after a long drive down the East coast of the South island. It seems so far that the whole country of New Zealand is a farm. I'm ready to see something OTHER than farmland. According to the Te Papa museum in Wellington, most of the country's forest was destroyed in the first few generations of human habitation. How nice we are...

Anyway, sheep and cows and possum roadkill are not noteworthy. It's time for some Lord of the Rings style scenery. I'm ready.

Sledging & Stinky Rotorua

Who would want to take a bath in geothermal hot springs? The foulness of sulfur seeping out into the air is more than even my blocked sinuses can take.

Flying down rapids on a "sledge" was more fun than expected but also quite a bit shorter than expected. And quite a bit more expensive than expected...



And one second later...

Sleeping in a conference room in Raglan

I don't even know...it's the best $20 NZD room you've ever seen. We have a flat screen TV, a laptop with wireless Internet access, separate sofa areas, a nice bathroom, and about 500 square feet of space. Great success!

Oh yeah, and I also spent most of the day in HERE!

The cave's giant maw

Matt and I in an underwater waterfall!

Sandboarding and Cape Reinga

Sandboarding proved to be a fair bit of fun (once we disregarded the bus drivers insistence that we ride down on our stomachs).

Wee!

Watch out Matt! The poor camera did bite the dust once...

Driving South

Today is going to be spent mostly in the car driving back from Russel and the far North. We've decided to try and book it to the South Island which we've heard is more exciting than the North.

Piha

New Zealand approaches perfection:


We stayed at Piha Beach Stay which was much nicer than expected. We even got upgraded to a private room for free :)

In Auckland, NZ

It was a rough night last night after my stomach waged war on the sizzling beef from Smuggler's Cove. I really hate hostels, even the upscale ones. There were some enjoyable people though.

Now I'm getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road and trying not to edge Matt too close to the curb/wall/imminent death.

I like NZ already and it's only been 2 hours.

Chillin

Matt and I are chillin by the beach in a hostel (backpacker?) for the day before we head off to New Zealand. People aren't into night life very much out here and they go to bed early/wake early. It's fine...

Back in Nadi!

Matt and I have returned from great adventures in Suva. The full Fijian experience is not all like you see in a postcard. That being said, this is a great place once you get past the tourist BS and dig into it.

Party in Suva

We had an incredible party night in the projects of Suva. Eddie took us to a birthday party along with their entire extended family/tribe. Matt and I proceeded to make total mockeries of ourselves.

Case in point:

Surfing Wilkes

Epic surf (along with an epic hangover). I really wish we had pics but the camera was non-operational for the day. Picture clear, azure waters, 75+ degrees, with a bright sun and peeling 5-7 footers held up by steady offshore winds.

The highlight of the day was going over the falls on a larger set wave and getting scrambled all the way to the inside as I was scraped along the bottom. Hah. My little 6'1" fat board didn't quite meet the conditions but I would have had fun surfing on a 2X4.

Think this (except with me):

Bula!

I'm in Fiji. Matt and I are staying with Eddie in a shack in the countryside. The weather is perfect. We'll be surfing Wilkes tomorrow. Tonight we'll probably eat some fresh mango and drink some Fijian rum. Life is good...

I'm writing in my journal the old fashioned way so these may or may not get more fleshed out. I'll post pictures when I can.

Off to Fiji!

Matt and I are headed off to Fiji. I'll try to get some pics up but I promise nothing.

<3
Laurence