Arrivals, Sort Of

Well, the Great Canadian Gong Show arrived...but 5 of the 6 arrived with no luggage. Zero. Great way to start the roadtrip. Luckily, a few in the group are very noisy and made themselves heard to the offending airline. They promised to get the luggage to us wherever we were in New Zealand  found it. So we began our journey as planned, only with a lot more room in the van.

Day 1

The first day was spectacular. We made our way to Waitamoto check out the caves there and do some blackwater rafting. Basically, we dress up like scuba divers, grab an inner tube and float, jump, and wade our way through an underground cave system.

Day 2

We made our way to Ohakune to snowboard on Mt. Ruapehu, the volcano next to Mt. Doom. Justin, Jeremy and I hiked to the top. Amazing. The rest of the group, the non-skiers/boarders, hiked to a nearby waterfall. Afterwards, we drove to Wellington.

Day 3

Walked around Wellington, then took the ferry to the south island.

Day 4

Tramped into Abel Tasman National Park (12.4 kms). Made a big (ish) fire and stayed at the Anchorage hut overnight.

Day 5

Tramped back out of the park, showered, and drove to Fox Glacier.

Day 6

Hiked around and on the Fox Glacier. Very cool. Drove to Queenstown.

Day 7

Three of us drove to Treble Cone to do some snowboarding. The rest wandered around Queenstown.

Day 8

I finally did my bunjee jump. Afterward, we did a wine tour at Gibston Valley Wines.

Now

Beer bottles on table are clanging as I type this.

Tonight

Check out the All Blacks game vs. South Africa at a Queenstown pub.

Eh?

Oh Canada! Not long after posting about divided/selective loyalties to different nations that I hold dear to my heart, here I am pledging my undying love and loyalty to my country of birth. But I have good reason for that. Today, here in the southern hemisphere where nobody really cares, is Canada Day. I've hung a giant Canadian flag at work and am importing 6 Canadians to help celebrate.

That last part is actually true. Six friends from back home arrive tomorrow (July 2nd here, but still Canada Day back home) and we're embarking on a 2 week roadtrip of New Zealand, mostly the south island. On our things to do list includes bunjee jumping, canyoning, zip-lining, snowboarding, blackwater rafting, hiking, glacier climbing and general mayhem. Should be very interesting.

So here's to today - the day we said "up yours" to the United Kingdom and became our own country with our own unique flag and identity - and to tomorrow and the next two weeks - an experience that all seven of us hopefully survive, intact and with all our faculties.