i'm home...

my journey has come to an end. this trip has been one of the most amazing adventures i have ever been on. i was so lucky to meet the people that filled my days with laughter and experience views that were too beautiful to comprehend. i come away from this trip with a ache to keep traveling, learning more about myself and the world around me by being lucky enough to explore it. new zealand is as magical as anything you could possibly imagine. one thing i am reminded of every time i travel is that the view around you may be wonderful but it doesn't look as beautiful if you can't share it with the people you love. thank everyone and anyone who shared in this journey with me. i read every comment and they all reminded me how lucky i am to have such amazing people in my life back home.

“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

summin' it up...

click on photos to enlarge

c'est la vie double b...

that's it for us and our affectionately named camper van "double b" (blue betty). this camper van has taken us 4389 km bottom to top of this amazing country. we've had two stalled batteries, a broken handle, a smelly sink, and an insanely firm bed but it has also given us the freedom to see things we may never see again in our lifetime. i have constantly felt like i have been staring in an extended version of lord of the rings. every view out the window has been unreal and at times i've felt as if i were dreaming. i can drive on the other side of the road like a pro, which will cause problems when i get home. although it is sad to say goodbye to our double b i am ready for a different kind of freedom that involves my pack and my two feet takin' me where i need to go. the trips not over yet but it is nearing it's end and that's life. toodles double b. peace out.

umm yeah...

good morning.

all suited up and ready to float...

black water rafting was one of my most favorite adventurous activities we did while traveling. all suited up with a inner tube under your arm you are lead by two guides down a river that flows through a cave. the main attraction is the glow worms that weave strings of saliva that glow to attract their food. turns out they are really maggots and its their shit that glows but regardless it is a beautiful sight to see a cave ceiling glowing the most amazing blue color. we had two waterfalls we had to jump off of in the dark...backwards. one of the jumps sent me into shock that gemma kept calling my name and i couldn't hear her or respond even though i was looking straight at her. while cruising along the guides also informed us that the area we were floating across was 7 meters deep and an eel the size of my leg lives in that area. i wasn't interested in sticking around to get a glimpse of him. the man in the pictures is the most obnoxious man in new zealand who just happened to be right behind gemma the whole float down the river. i couldn't stop laughing at her luck and the fact that obnoxious people are the bane of her existence.

zorbing...

kiwi's must be really bored. they are constantly coming up with ideas on how to further entertain themselves. americans must be kind of stupid. we come to nz and pay them to put us in gigantic blown up balls and throw us down a hill with a bucket of water and a friend inside. i've never giggled so hard in my life.

the equvilant to a treadmill at incline 10...

one of the best walks in new zealand is the tongariro crossing. you are bussed to one side of these two volcanoes and you walk along a ridge between them 17km where you are picked up on the other side. the lady that booked our trip the day before warned us that the winds were strong that day and it was gonna be a challenge. i don't know how many times i have to have my ego corrected on this trip before i get it but of course i was telling her it was no big deal cause i was from chicago, the windy city. needless to say once again i was wrong. wind, fog, and freezing cold kept me and gemma cursing ourselves for signing up for this but we made it across and thought ourselves mountaineers at the end of it. the view left much to be desired behind the dense fog and the term "walk" is a gross understatement but it was truly amazing and i'd do it all over again.

the small image is what we were suppose to see. the big one is what we saw.

pooping in the lap of luxury...

i have been holding myself back from making this post, but every time i look at my pictures i am haunted by the most amazing toilet in the world. located in picton, nz, this toilet greets you as you enter with the most soothing male voice, reminds you to enjoy yourself, then serenades you with an amazing rendition of "what the world needs now" as you do your most important business deal of the day. the door even closes and opens by itself. definitely one of the sites to see if you come to this country.

kayaking back to civilization...

when you don't do your research ahead of time when you are traveling, surprises shouldn't be that surprising. so when gemma and i arrived at abel tasman national park expecting to drive right in, hop out of the car and go for a hike, we were greatly mistaken. abel tasman is so protected that the only way to access the park is to get a water taxi to drop you off on a beach in 40km away from civilization only to have you hike or kayak back. with our egos feeling as big as our ever growing traveling bellies we decided to be dropped at the furthest most point for a day of hiking, camping, then a day of kayaking to get back to our camper. the hike was beautiful and the camping was pleasant. in the morning our guide as well as a group of six other travelers met us on the beach to kayak the remaining 26km back to town. unaware of what was ahead gemma and i set off like a couple of powerhouses truckin our way through the choppy seas. just as our muscles began to ache our guide informed us that we were almost halfway there and then proceeded to tell us she thought the length of this particular kayak trip was far to long. needless to say it turned out to be one of those trips you hate while doing it but love the next day.

walking on a huge chunk of ice...

franz josef glacier is definitely a sight to see here in new zealand. it is one of only three glaciers in the world that comes down the mountain far enough that normal people like myself (despite that i appear to be a mountaineer) to climb on. gemma and i decided that 3 hours was enough time on a big piece of ice to pretend that we were experienced climbers. with crampons (shoe spikes), waterproof jackets, and a huge fanny pack (which they call bum bag because fanny implies something totally different here) we tramped up the glacier lead by our guide aj. we immediately ran into a stream flowing down the glacier where i conveniently filled up my bottle with the freshest coldest water i have ever tasted. after stomping around the ice for a while we found a cave that the guides had discovered that morning. aj suggested we take a crawl through the ice cave. with the words "you may never have a chance to do this again" constantly flowing through my brain, i jumped at the chance to surround myself in a coffin of ice. at the entrance of the cave i soon came to realise that it was more like a tunnel the width of my hips with a stream of freezing water flowing down the bottom. once at the entrance i couldn't back out so i went headlong down the tunnel of ice trying to enjoy myself as i crawled faster than i ever have in my whole life with my hood covering my eyes. once out the cave i had my friend gemma there to grab my hand and drag me out and tell me immediately to smile for the camera.
we are headed to abel tasman national park tomorrow which is famous for its tropical beaches and interaction with sea wildlife. there we will be dropped off in the wilderness, walk our way along the coast to a campsite, and in the morning be met by a guide and kayaks so that we can paddle our way back to civilization. i continue to perfect my tan.

me and mount cook...

mt cook is amazing. highest mountain in australasia. a lot of people die here when they embark upon climbing its face. i obviously just looked at it from a distance. enough said.

shedding tears over mountains...

milford sound is located in the fiordland national park which is quite possibly one of the most beautiful places on earth. although it is grossly over touristy and the only real way to see the sound is by boat or chopper, it is worth every penny. after seeing the sound gemma and i climbed to the top of a mountain and i enjoyed the spectacular view that reminded me of how small i really am in the world. a place to see before to kick the bucket for sure.

the things you do as a tourist...

there is a bar in queentown called minus 5 that is made completely of ice. you are required to wear the coats, gloves, and boots provided and you are only allowed to be in there for 30 minutes because the alcohol is processed differently in your body in that kind of cold, that one drink has the same effect as three...that i have yet to believe. anyways, the glasses are made of ice, the drinks are terribly fruity, and ten minutes is plenty time to spend in a glorified cooler with a bartender but in all it made for some fun photos and was a great way to start off a night out in one of the most lovely cities in new zealand.

where to start?...

so much time has past i don't really know where to begin. i suppose i should start at the beginning of this most recent adventure...the camper van! freedom on wheels. there is nothing like being able to go anywhere you please. after returning to queenstown which started to feel like home, gemma and i picked up our jucy cruisa which comes complete with a kitchen/table/bed and a toaster. we were off to conquer the south island. of course for me there was a slight adaptation that i had to reckon with...for some reason they drive on the other side of the road here. luckily my travel partner is british and in no time i was cruising down the country roads on the greatest road trip of a lifetime. i even do roundabouts like a pro (according to my british driving instructor). we headed off to fiordlands national park which is pretty much the reason why i came to this country in the first place...

the first and last time i live on a farm...

in between my time at the valley and our time in the camper van gemma and i stumbled across a few weeks of nothing to do except spend money. seeing as we both are short on cash we decided to put our muscular physiques to work for two weeks and volunteer on a organic farm. in exchange for your hard work you get accommodation and food.or feed as they call it here. with high hopes and toned biceps we set out for clinton, nz. well...umm....how would one describe clinton? lets just say every time we mention to a kiwi we spent a week in clinton theyeither respond with "where?" or laugh really loud.
when we arrived at the farm there were two other volunteers who just happened to be leaving the next day. needless to say we became the only wwoofers for the rest of our time there. the farm was owned by shaun and pia. shaun was from nz and pia from germany. he was a jerk. she was really nice. we were shown to our accommodations which was an old cow shed and quickly came to the realization that we were only given bread and peanut butter and jelly to eat on this organic vegetable farm. the two week stay instantly turned into one and my attempt to make it even shorter did not come to fruition despite my efforts. somewhere in between trimming acres of grass with a pair of loppers and shoveling loads and loads of cow shit i came to the conclusion i don't like volunteering on farms. for the rest of the week gemma and i would try and entertain ourselves in the afternoons by walking from one corner store to the other corner store. you always gotta have something to look forward to!
when the week finished we hitchhiked our way outta there as fast as we could. luck was on our side when it took only three rides (a high school boy, a mom and her two daughters, a stoned surfer dude that had a lead foot) to get us back to queenstown.
i am off to enjoy the beautiful weather in queenstown. happy easter! miss you all

me and my gem...

this is my travel buddy gemma from the uk. i have yet to understand how two people could become such good friends over the course of just 7 weeks together. this is pre sleeping on the deck at the valley under a blanket of stars as i proceeded to do some hard core snoring. her smile was not so big the next morning. next on the list, we are hopping in a camper van to finish off this trip for the next four weeks. luckily we are still talking but give it a few weeks and the story may change!

workin at the valley...

i was hoping to post a few pictures of myself doing some hard core manual labor at the valley for all those non believers. i realize that these posts seem a little out of order but i'm having difficulty with the concept of time in this vortex called new zealand.

our boys...

this is pino and rory who have entertained us for hours on end and managed to bring out the 18 year old boy sense of humor in me and gemma. we are missing them everyday.