Victory

So i questioned whether or not to post this, but i was just so perfect. I will let you bask in all of its glory.

Yah... that happened... fanny pack on the Franz Joseph glacier.

It was a little awkward for two reasons. One, i had to ask markus to take the picture. The second reason being there were 3 or 4 helicopters flying overhead constantly with tourists taking pictures. Oh well, guess some Japanese tourists got more than they bargained for.

The last few days have been a mix between cloudy/ rainy weather, but we've managed to get a few nice days. We killed the battery at one of the glaciers but managed to find some jumper cables and a person willing to come out to the glacier on the middle of a holiday weekend to jump our car. Greymouth, NZ (there was a creepy guy standing in there when i took this shot)

So when there is an hour patch of good weather we run around on some trails try to take some pictures and make the most of our time out of the van. We found a vine and did the Tarzan thing... the other tourists walking by on the path were pretty entertained.

We spent a couple days at the glaciers and then headed down to Wanaka, one of the prettier towns we've been in. All the mountains surrounding the area are kissed with snow and in the valleys are bright blue lakes. Not bad. I could live somewhere like this.

Yah, we were bored.



Lake ? south of Wanaka, NZ (palms and snow, good combo)

The sunset from the pass overlooking Queenstown, NZ

We are in Queenstown now, Markus is going to do a 134 meter bungy jump, i will hopefully find a cheap way to do some mountain biking while i'm here. Our car died again this morning (we didn't leave the lights on). We camped where this picture was taken, and it got really cold (below freezing). Note to self, rent a manual so you can pip the clutch. I wasn't too keen on trying to roll start a minivan down a mountain pass.

Well i am getting hungry, and if we're going to take advantage of the good weather outside i better go. I love you all. 19 days until i get back to the states!

Mom... what do you think about having a feast when i get back... a feast... without canned spaghetti??? Sound good?

Paradise & Sand Flies

Hey everyone, I'm still alive... its just been awhile since I've seen a city. This last week Markus and I went out to the Abel Tasman park and took a 2 day/ 2 night kayak trip with a couple day hikes here and there. The place was gorgeous, but pretty miserable when it was raining. We had good weather most of the trip, with a couple nights of rain, but we stayed dry!The first day we went for a hike because the wind was too strong to be out on the ocean in a 2 person kayak. We hiked about 7k and then hung out in Marahau for a night waiting for good weather. Finally we got out on the water... it was nice but when the weather turned and the wind picked up, it was more work than fun trying to stay upright and not being blown into the cook straight.At our first stop we met another group of German travelers that were pretty cool, and a Israeli guy named Yossi. We hung out with them and ended up making a little commune out of our tents situating them between the toilets and the kitchen structure to try and avoid the wind. The next day was nice and warm so we dried all our gear and and hung out on the beach learning a little bit of German and getting a sunburn at 8 in the morning.

We moved along and spent the rest of the day paddling around in the blue green water watching seals, penguins and jelly fish cruise around in the water. We pulled up to a private beach to enjoy some lunch when about half way through a bagel and peanut butter they hit... the spawn of Satan... aka sand flies. They come in swarms and leave a bite that is a mix between a mosquito and a black fly... so needless to say i ate the rest of my sandwich running up and down the beautiful beach trying to avoid the little pests.

After we ditched the kayak we hiked up to another camp ground and met our friend Yossi who was hanging out there for the night as well (along with the sand flies). We hung out, talked about everything from Judaism to The Smurfs. We got up the next morning and hiked 5k to the place where Markus and I picked up the taxi to head back to our car. We parted ways with Yossi and then departed on the most nauseating bus ride ever (beats Africa).

Our next stop was the Farewell spit which is some 25k long... we only walked 5k. It was pretty cool... ate a lot of dust and sand, but it was fun. After that we checked out another beach and took some pictures of the sunset. All in all a good trip to the Abel Tasman park.

Markus and I have about 6 hours of driving ahead of us, so i better go. We are headed down to the glaciers and some of the sounds on the west side of the island for a week or more... probably spend the rest of our time making a big loop back up to Christchurch. Thank you all for your prayers and emails. I appreciate it. Until next time.

Christchurch

STILL RAINING!!! I think its been raining for the last 3 days non stop. What's the deal??? It's not supposed to rain on your vacation!?!? We drove into Kikoura a small tourist town a bit south of Picton where we stayed after our 3 hour ferry ride. Kikoura is the place to be if you want to see seals, dolhpins and whales. Combined we saw dolphins and seals, but no whales ($130 NZ dollars to go see a sperm whale for 5 minutes didn't seem worth it)... Markus went and swam with the dolphins, cute. ;) When we drove in we couldnt see the mountains but when we woke up I got to see an amazing sunrise and the snow capped mountains. The next few days we went on a few hikes, saw a lot of seals (they're seals... who cares!) and met a few random people, had some fresh sea food for 6 bucks and then started heading to Christchurch. (Notice the black shirt... day 2 for this shirt while in Kikoura)
We got to Christchurch and walked around an art museum and a history museum to kill some time before we met up with piper. We spent a little time outside seeing the city, but we got tired of being wet, so we found a cafe, had a cup of coffee, read the paper, checked email, the normal time killers for two dudes who don't know where to go or what to do in a big city. We met piper at The Honey Pot and i enjoyed a salad (my vegetable intake is at an all time low) a beer and a huge pizza... don't ask how much it cost. (notice the black shirt... day 3 for the shirt-2 days without a shower, i bet she hated sitting next to me in this picture!) Piper and i caught up, reminisced and shared our travel plans. At the moment the plan is for Markus and I to rent another van and she'll meet up with us for a week, but we'll see! I have about 4 weeks left and a lot of country to see (and a leaking bank account). All is well though, i found a hot shower, a washer machine, and a computer, so i'm dry, warm and happy. Well that's all for now, time's up!

Wellington

I knew it might happen, but it was still weird... hiking on a snow covered dormant volcano and then standing on the beach in shorts watching the waves crash against the rocks... that's New Zealand for you!
Markus and I have covered a lot of ground, seen some pretty amazing things, and all but two of our nights we went to sleep with a view of the ocean.
One night did get pretty cold, i was uncomfortable in my 0-degree sleeping bag... we woke up to snow on the surrounding mountains - dang it. We made it a car day driving the "Forgotten Highway" and it's name pretty much describes it. (I was just hoping they didn't forget to build one of the bridges we crossed) the roads were about 10 feet wide and the straightest section of road was probably 50 feet... driving was ridiculously stressful. Though to make it more interesting we started to count the number of cars we passed (6 cars in 150 km and 3 hrs), and the number of bathrooms (one). Though my favorite time killer was driving up on unsuspecting sheep and laying into the horn as we drove by... the things you'll do for entertainment.We visited a place called Kidnappers Cape, a bird sanctuary where thousands of these crazy birds decided to hang out (native to Australia). We met a couple girls (both from Europe) hanging out with these birds for a couple years working on their graduate and doctorate degrees. Pretty sweet... if you like to count how many times birds "copulate" and or getting crapped on all day.

Another day we checked out Cook's Cove and The Hole in the Wall, a gorgeous landscape of sandstone, green grass and ocean all mixed into one. After our walk, back to the car for another hundred miles, kilometers, whatever. I think after this trip I'm going to have trouble going back to the right hand side of the road.
Well I'm headed to the south island tomorrow then down the coast to Christchurch to hopefully meet up with piper and hopefully just hang out for a few days before i hit the road again. I've been reading the book "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell (sorry suz, i promise I'll get it back to you eventually!) and have been enjoying it immensely. I don't get a whole lot "alone" time being stuck in a minivan for 2 weeks, so i usually get half a chapter and chew on it for awhile...

If you feel so inclined, pray that God would continue to speak to me here, pray for my attitude and patience with Markus. Pray that He would continue to use, direct, and restore me - and those with which i am in contact.