Parting is such sweet sorrow

From here on out, its planes, trains and automobiles, until we see you again. More photo fun. see you soon

Spanning the globe for your entertainment...

So many photos, so little time left. Last day together and last day in NZ. We need a vacation to unwind from our vacation. Took it easy today at the beach where the temperature was only 30.........celsius.

We were going to try to do this new sport called "Sky dive bubble wrap jump", but could find no vendors still open. Fishing and/or sailing were going to happen as well but we had trouble finding outfitters last minute that could take us so we just drove around the coast. Need to go out and spend all of the New Zealand $$ left in our wallets. Might be fun

Odds n ends

Drove from the West coast to Christchurch for our last couple of nights in "magicland".

Just to prove that New Zealand isn't perfect and so you don't feel too much like we're rubbing it in.......... There are a couple of things about here that suck - Sand flys - merciless little carnivores, that find you if standing still for more than 3.5 minutes. Probably why everyone does stuff on a constant basis here. That's about it. Oh yeah, they have most of their sinks without merged hot/cold faucets. Total bummmer........:) One last thing: 2 lane bridges are not invented yet, making every drive a game of "cat n mouse adrenaline challenge". They must have some reason for doing this, but we haven't figured it out yet.

Traveler tips:

1) when stopping to heckle the sheep and take their picture, do not, I mean do not! touch the electric fence

2) when you can get a nice rack, you should always order a nice rack! Of lamb......

3) cows pose for pictures, sheep run scared..not sure what that means

4) raft guides are not afraid to try to kill you for a good picture. This last one shows that Josh knew exactly what he was doing when we went exploding through the rapid shown in the photos below.

sweet as . . . . .

There's a saying the Kiwi's on the Western Coast, in Glacier Country seem to say rather frequently, which we have found ourselves muttering incessantly as we continue to be blown away by the time we are having engaging in all of our mundane tourist activities. "Sweet As"......As in, when Country fell backwards out of the raft as Graning and Shinn watched him go, that was "Sweet As", or the class 5 rapid, called: "Grand Finale", on the Whataroa River, that launched all of us upside down and dumped us into the water like a yard sale, was "sweet as". The raft guide that missed our appointment yesterday because of a "car accident", miraculously was cured after supposedly hitting a cow. We were a little bummed when we heard we had to go on a different river and thought that we might be in for a "wimpy day". Again, we underestimated the WATERRRRR. "The river does, what the river wants...". These pictures show that our last day of adrenaline searching did not disappoint. Leaving for Christchurch in the morning, glad we are still alive and sitting here talking about that day.

More adventures in NZ at the Fox Glacier

The hits just keep coming!! Drove from Queenstown yesterday to the West coast and avoided "johnny law" this time, while frolicking in the Tasman Sea surf. Had an epic night playing "guess the accent" with all of the people we met. Shinn kept pissing off Kiwi's by guessing they were Australian. After being spoiled in our spacious flat in QT, we stacked like cord wood with 3 singles in a hotel room and tested the effectiveness of earplugs over 100 decibles. Doesn't work, I understand....
Ran off to the Heli-raft trip in the am, only to learn our guides were in a car wreck on the way, but ok. So we did this...... Glacier Heli- Tour, and Cross Country Quad Bike tour. Never gotten soo muddy and had soo much fun........rafting tomorrow...see you lateron!
Having trouble with the connection post at this time so pictures are not loading, but I am on a patio at the Cook Sallon, watching these guys eat kangaroo and ostrich, and koala bear.

Australia Day

Last night in Queenstown proved to be a memorable one. Australia Day is kind of like St Paddy's Day in the States. Everybody sporting their colors and their favorite beverage. Queenstown is a little bit NYC (it never shuts down), New Orleans (the party never stops), Boulder (small town feel with lots of great mountain views, and Lake Tahoe (lakeside resort town with casinos), but it is all that and more, for its charm, uniqueness, setting, and ambiance make it truly like no other. This place will stay with me for a long time.........

Food tastes better

We've noticed that after a day of risk, the food tastes bettter...oh by the way,its a lot bigger too!

Andy, this is a 1/2 pounder with everything on it from the Fergberger place. We ate it in honor of you.....

Come sail away.....

Yesterday was a Free day in Queenstown for a little shopping and private time. Graning decided it was a good time to have his "mid life crisis", and coerced Shinn along for the ride, which he did, reluctantly. As you can see, this was quite an adventure. I meanwhile, curled up in the fetal position at the condo, sucking my thumb. Actually, I ended up playing golf at one of the nicest courses in NZ - Millbrook, and rented clubs and had one of the greatest rounds of my life- shot a 91! Golfers, yes I know, you understand, but the rest of you can call me what you like. This is the Nevis bungee jump - the highest in NZ and probably the world. 400 ft, and 8 second free fall, the height of a 40 story building. The video says it all.............

Officer, is it really speeding if it's in Kilometers???

As Funny as the first video post was, it certainly was a bit ironic and foreboding in nature as you will soon see that even as perfect as this country is, it is still possible to donate dollars to the government just by being stupid. This good natured chap wasn't moved by my story about how difficult it is to drive a backwards car. I honestly went to brake when I saw him and ended up accelerating to my clocked speed of 127KPH. Note the officer's cheerie disposition and my look of resignation. Oh well, I ended up winning it back from them in the casino that night at the blackjack tables!!! Haha

What the hell is that??? Part 2

Time for another installment of "What the Hell is that?"

The Milford does what the Milford wants

40 miles, 3,500 feet in elevation gain, 4 days and, 23 hours, and 118,000 steps :))).....Oh yeah, don't forget the 50 lb pack. Awe gawd!!! the last 2 days was good fun with this little friend on my heel..... btw our legs are still sore.... Going out for some American food at the FERGBERGER CAFE.. can't wait!!!

A shout out to our International mates!

We always knew that when the three of us hang out, we have a great time, but never realized how much fun we could have with everyone else that we met Here's to all of the amazing folks we met and cheers to all of the great laughs we shared. Sorry for keeping you all up with my world famous snoring but now you have something to laugh about......

Mark and Laura from Alaska, thanks for being so cool and good luck to ya. See you in a year in your home State.

Alex, You are the "Man of Steel" for doing the Trak by yourself and for hiking past the Falls by yourself! BTW, tell your friend he's a cheapskate! Thanks for the " Real" pasta meal!

Shirley, you shouldn't smile soo hard, you might hurt yourself!! Glad to see that all the French don't hate americans!!! And Vicki and Mark, here's to yu for living the retirement, so many people neglect to do or are afraid to do. Congrats on 40 years of marriage and for traveling the world and sharing your experiences. You are amazing!!

Lastly, the Kiwis from Aukland, were an inspiration for taking your whole family tramping and for showing how to exist and endure during a challenging experience. Sorry about the loud snoring hey, but thanks for not killing me!!

Mandy, Happy Australia day and thanks for the new shot you turned us one to.

Jodi and Bodi, you two are a riot and hope we can follow along and see how you end up. Should make for interesting reading in the coming months!!

Good luck to all of you and thanks for the memories!! There, as promised you all "made the blog" , so now you can follow along and stay in touch! Adios, amigos!!