photos and a spike update

My mother informs me that Spike is well, but he does miss me. I can see the longing in his eyes!

For those of you not on facebook, I wanted to share the link to the photos I've posted thus far.
Here it is: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2461825&id=13604583&l=4210cfffa1

Rain, rain, go away!

So, unfortunately, the weather conditions in Tongariro Park are horrible, so we weren't able to do the walk. Winds of 130 km/h would have blown us away.

I think I will pass through Tongariro on my way back to Auckland in a few weeks time and give the walk another go, provided that mother nature cooperates. Anika and I didn't want to waste the day away, so we decided to go on a 2 and a half hour walk in the rain. Smart? Not really. We got very wet!

Anyway, tomorrow I'm off to Wellington, and the day after I cross over to the South Island which I'm pretty excited about. It's quite the ferry ride from what I hear. Until next time...

I jumped out of a plane at 12000 ft.

I think the title says it all. I have it on video, but not enough time to upload it. Here are some pics. It was terrifying!

Tomorrow morning hopefully I'll do the Tongariro Crossing hike which is the best walk in NZ, and apparently one of the best walks in the world. I may not be able to do it though b/c of severe winds. Keep your fingers crossed!

"head of the dick"

I couldn't resist using "head of the dick" as the title for this post because of my Italian friend Anika who I am traveling with. The other day, we were talking about our tour guide and how we don't like him, and Anika said: "he is the head of the dick" meaning he's a dickhead. Picture her saying that in her lovely Italian accent and you'll see why I laugh about this every day.

Anyway, still in Rotorua (the stinky eggy smelling town) but am leaving tomorrow for a place called Taupo and then on to Tongariro National Park which is supposed to be amazing. (Also where they filmed Mt. Doom from Lord of the Rings).

Hanging in Rotorua has been relaxing. Yesterday I checked out a living Maori thermal village with geysers. Our tour guide was really awesome and showed us how they still use the thermal pools (which are 195 degrees Celcius) to cook and bathe etc. They also did a cultural dance for us. It was all really cool.

Last night, I went to the Polynesian spa to sit in the thermal pools to soothe my soul (hopefully) and it was nice. Super hot though, the pools were between 38 and 42 degrees celsius, so at times it didn't feel too good on my sunburn. It was outside though and we had a good view of the lake.

Last night  I had a hillarious conversation about German phone etiquette vs. Canadian phone etiquette, complete with role plays that me and my friend Matt who works at my hostel acted out for some Germans and Swiss. Last night was also reminicent of my tree-planting days as I hung out with 3 Canadian guys (all work here) and this hillarious German in Matt's trailer and laughed at them while they smoked weed. Wow. It took me back to my Northern Ont. days hanging out in the octolounge with Gomz, Reid et al (if you planted with A and M, you know what I'm talking about).

Today I went to a park to check out more thermal activity (spitting mud etc) but unfortunately because of the amount of rain we got last night, everything was flooded and we couldn't really see anything too cool. It was still a nice park though.

Anyway, I'm off to relax for the rest of the day. Make sure you scroll down and check out other pictures that I've added to previous posts.
Until next time...

Summer Camp on Steroids

Whew! It has been a wild few days. It turns out this bus tour is not exactly my cup of tea. It is literally summer camp on steroids, or traveling in fast forward maybe? Anyway, I decided to jump ship tonight and give myself a few chill out days.

Two days ago I was in Hahei, which was lovely. I did a long walk to a place called Cathedral Cove, and despite the huffing and puffing and sweating, the walk was worth it!

We didn't have time to go to Hot Water Beach that night which I was upset about, but we did do a quick stop through the next morning. They should really call it hot sand beach b/c that's what is hot, not the water. Anyway, when you dig your feet into the sand, it is so hot, it feels like it's burning. It was so cool though.

The rest of the day was a bit of a shit show and featured the first rage attack I've had in NZ. I know it won't be the last. The scene of the crime was a place called Ragland, which if it didn't have a crazy amazing beach, I would have killed it.

Today I went to the Waitomo Caves and did cave exploring which was un-real! I got to 80 meters below the ground, repelled down waterfalls, rock climbed, saw glow worms and millions of years old stalagmites all while rocking a crazy smelly wet suit. It was seriously one of the coolest things I've ever done.

Now, I'm in a town called Rotorua, and it smells like sulfur because it is a thermal area with geysers, hot springs, mud pools etc. It's kind of a nothing town, other than the hot springs, but I like it and think I'll stay a few days. I got the driver of the bus tour to drop me on the highway and I hitchhiked in with this lovely mother like woman who dropped my right at my hostel which is called Funky Green Backpackers. Its a great place and the guy who mans the front desk is a fellow Canadian, from Vancouver, who went to McGill, so I felt straight at home being able to talk Canadian, after being surrounded by Europeans for a few days. Tonight I went to a farmers market, and tomorrow I'm going to hit up the hot springs for some relaxation after a couple of mad days.
I'm pooped and this internet is pretty brutal, so until next time...

Dad's pad in Auckland

Well. Day 2 in Auckland, and I'm a little bit less of an alien, but still fighting a cold or something that I picked up on the plane. Today (after sleeping from 4pm yesterday until 7am this morning and dreaming about Spike) I managed to get my phone unlocked and buy a SIM card.

So...if you have an urge to call or text me, here is the number you dial from Canada (or US):
011 64 220 917 112

I also managed to make it out to see the house where my Dad lived between Feb and May of 1968. Pretty cool. I never knew until very recently that my Dad had lived here. Apparentely when my brothers were little,  and the weather in Ottawa was cold, my Dad used to joke that he had picked the wrong country to settle in, and that they could all be in NZ in warm weather if only. The house itself is really nice, in a cute residential neighbourhood, not unlike Westboro in Ottawa. I can see, even 40 some years later, why my Dad would have chosen/liked it: big garden in front and back with a front veranda and some nice little architectural details. I will post pictures later when I have more time.

Tomorrow I head off on my first adventure. I bought what's called a backpacker's bus pass. Pretty much its a tour company that does the whole loop of the country, but you can do it at your own pace and hop off and on it as you like. I'm not usually one to sign up with tour companys, but I thought this would be the easiest and cheapest way to see all the things I want to. (I'm also hoping that I meet someone cool that I could travel with). The company itself is right up my alley, they focus on nature and the environment, seeing things off the beaten track, and leaving as little a carbon footprint behind as possible. It's called Stray Travel. http://www.straytravel.com/

The first place I go is Hahei, and according to my guide book, the population of this town is 270! Wow!
It is really close to a place called "Hot Water Beach" where for 2 hours a day, hot water oozes out from beneath the sand. I'm hoping this helps with my cold.

Anyway, bye bye for now, and stay warm! I was looking at the weather in Ottawa and it was -30 the other day. I promise not to complain about anything (not even the weird people staying in this hostel :))

Arrived alive in NZ

I am writing this from 18 hours in the future! (sorry, geeky). This'll just be a quickie as I am deleriously tired and do not have much to report other than I picked up a sore throat somewhere over the South Pacific. Am in Auckland, waiting to check into my room at a hostel and the weather is awful! (pouring rain). I guess I shouldn't complain because at least it isn't cold. Am going to try and rest up today, perhaps see some sites tomorrow and then take off on Tuesday to explore the North Island. The one thing that I have noticed about NZ thus far is that they have a whole aisle of ear wax related products in the drug stores here. Interesting? Lots of "swimmers ears" I suppose.
Ta ta for now!

Goodbye Spike, Hello LA.

Well, despite being the kind of person who doesn't want to be self indulgent by having their own "blog," I thought I would give this a shot after a few people expressed interest in following my travels (so what if most of those peeps are imaginary?)

Yesterday, I said good by to my dear companion Spike (a 19 lbs. furry cat for those of you not in the know) for 170 days in order to take a six month break from real life and go on a worldly adventure. It was a difficult goodbye.

But alas, the adventure has begun. Yesterday I left and flew TO to LA, not without first being accosted in US customs for what they called "Agricultural Contraband" ie: a banana I bought at the airport to eat on the Air Canada flight where food is only for purchase by major credit card only. I was also reprimanded by a rather rude flight attendant who informed me that I was not to use the lavatory in First Class. I suppose my disgusting self walking through the curtained area is a real bother to those eating freshly baked chocolate chip cookies with real silverware.

Now, I'm in Long Beach staying with my friend Miranda and wearing flip flops-such a difference from snowy cold Ottawa. It was 23 degrees today and Miranda and I went to a private beach in a gated community in Laguna Beach. Miranda nanny's for a rich family that lives there on the weekends, so the security guard gave us the go ahead. The beach was amazing. I was in weather shock.

We stopped by the house where she nannys and they had astro-terf in their backyard. Normal?

I also learned today that Laguna Beach is very "art" centred. They have many galleries and it is the location of "The Pageant of the Masters," where, for those of you who don't know, they re-create artistic masterpieces with people. This has best been illustrated by Tobias, George Sr. and George Michael of Arrested Development. 

Tomorrow night I head to Auckland, New Zealand which should be a real adventure and the first long leg of my trip. (Then Melbourne, Kuala Lampar, Bangkok, Delhi, Mumbai, Nairobi, Cairo, Istanbul, London, Reykjavic, with some other stops along the way).