Blast from the past

We'll start with the email, even though that's not exactly where the story begins. But stories have a way of doing that: beginning in the middle, or where we think is the middle.

On 6/28/07, Birte Skoruppa wrote:

Hi there,

honestly, I don't remember your name and I don't even know if I ever knew it :-) BUT what I do know is that I promised to send you these puzzle night pics as soon as I get home - and that is going to happen now (plus one pic of me and the girls I travelled with). I hope you're doing fine and having fun, wherever you are!

Cheers.

Birte

The following pic was attached:


Charming, no?

So here's the story: When we were in Lake Tekapo ("we" being me and the Irish gang), I saw a girl trying to construct a Wasgij. Wasgij is a jigsaw puzzle with a twist - the picture you need to reconstruct isn't actually the one on the cover of the box . Rather, the picture on the box serves as a hint. It is usually the picture "in reverse", i.e. the scene depitced as viewed by someone from within, or on the side, or from the back... In short, it's anything but easy.

However, you can only watch so much TV, even in Lake Tekapo (which isn't exactly the most exciting place in NZ). So I decided to help out. And of course, being the true sport that I am, I dragged Damien into the mess with me.

We worked our way through it, sort of plodding along through the afternoon. The evening came, and we weren't even close to finish. We decided to go through with it. We kept going as night fell. People around us were giong to and fro, the TV was on, wars were being fought in the outside world - but we kept on going through it all. At around 11 PM the girl (Ilana - Jewish, from Canada) suddenly decided she had a life, and she needed to get up early tomorrow to catch her bus (as did we, by the way), and just upped and left. Damien looked at me pleadingly, but at that point I think he understood he's dealing with a crazy guy, and just kept working the pieces.

I think we wouldn't have made it, save that by divine intervention we were sent a lovely girl (whose name is, apparently, Birte), who took one look at us, one look at the far-from-finished fiasco, and rolled up her sleeves. Between all our efforts, we managed to nail the bugger by around 1 AM. You can see the final result below:


To be perfectly honest, I didn't even remember she took pictures (of us and of the puzzle). So - even though it's very late - I want to thank Birte (OK, and you too, Daemo) for the help, and even more so for sending me the pictures and reminding me of a happy moment :)

Lost and found again

Hi all,

I'm not in the habit of writing long posts. In fact, you might say I've fallen out of the habit of writing at all.

A quick update though: due to some carelessness of the dynamic duo, I had been lost to the world. Nevertheless, I have gone underground and re-emerged in Eastern Australia, wet, dirty, hungry and ready for adventure (well, at least a little bit of adventure).

In short, I am currently traveling up along the East coast, from Brisbane to Cairns, with a couple of stops in Fraser Island and Whitsunday Islands (and maybe more).

Don't believe me? Check out some of the pictures in my online picture gallery.

Have a blast, and see you all soon,
M.

The bungy video

So, in case you were wondering what a wuss sounds like when he bungies, you now have a chance to satisfy your curiosity. Without further ado - the video, courtesy of the Dynamic Duo.



Or click this link.

Last NZ Post

Giluy Na'ot - I am writing this last bit about NZ after I came back to Sydney. It's HOT (which is a change to the warm-ish weather I got used to in NZ), and Bondi Beach is beckoning... let's see how long I'll be able to resist.

Before we left Nelson, we drove off to WOW - World of Wearable Arts, which is a museum dedicated to the Wearable Arts show - a competition held every year, in which crazy clothes and art designs are mixed. Really spectacular. I had missed it the first time round, but I'm very happy we got there.

From Nelson we drove at a leisurely pace towards Picton, going through the scenic route, which included some great views of the Marlborough Sounds and a couple of nice beaches (we had to stop along the way for a bit of a dip, it was such a gorgeous day).

Eran and Ofer dropped me off in Picton - they were heading out towards Blenheim for their wedding. I stayed in Picton for a couple of nights, as I wanted to do a bit of walking in the Queen Charlotte track.
The next day, I took a boat ride down to Ship Cove, where Captain Cook visited several times in the 1770s. I met an English couple (Sam and Georgia, and - yes - they're Jewish. Go figure) and we walked together the part of the track up to Furneaux Lodge. The walk was great - beautiful weather, stunning views, and at the end - a dip in the freezing cold waters (and I didn't let the fact that I didn't bring swimming trunks stop me from getting in, if you know what I mean, nudge-nudge, wink-wink). All in all - a great day out.

The following morning, Ofer and Eran picked me up in Picton, all shiny and happy. We drove down through Blenheim, where I went on a wild, uninhibited shopping spree. We then spent some quality time hunting down the local Subway for lunch, and finally headed down towards Kaikoura. By the time we got to the hostel (the Dusky Lodge) the day had turned rainy and dismal, so I volunteered us for a game of Monopoly that was getting started in the dining room. Eran and I joined a guy and a girl, and - eventually - the Jewish genes kicked in. Eran won, in the end, but I will be bold enough to write that I pulled some pretty nice manoeuvres of my own.

Dolphins - Neither a doll nor a fin. Discuss.
The next day started rainy and windy (and cold), but we still got to go out to swim with dolphins. When we got to the place to register, the first thing the receptionist told us was that "there's a medium to high seasickness warning". Lovely. Of course, we all bought the ginger pills she offered us.
The dolphin swim is pretty cool - we got geared up for the cold waters with a full wet-suit, snorkel and flippers. Then we headed out on a boat south of Kaikoura. We spotted the dolphins pretty quickly - there were a lot of them swimming, and some were even in that playful, showoff mood of theirs - jumping out of the water, doing somersaults. It's a beautiful sight. Unfortunately, the water was still more than a bit choppy, so the ride was less than smooth. We spent - I guess - about an hour and a half chasing the dolphins: We'd spot them, go down for a swim, and - when they've swum by - we'd get back up on the ship and again go after them. we did this five times, which was fun but tiring.
Personal highlight: A mother dolphin and her cub swam directly under me.
Personal low: The ride back was so bad, I thought I was going to be sick.
There was another guy on the boat with us, and he looked like he was about to die. I guess the ginger biscuits helped him though - he looked much better on land, whereas I was still swaying for a good couple of hours.

From Kaikoura we continued down to Christchurch, for our last night together. I was still a bit woozy from the swim, but that didn't stop me from having a huge Indian dinner.

Last day - I went out to do some last-minute souvenir shopping. I wasn't planning on anything else, which is good, because - by a stroke of luck and great timing - I got to meet my friends Oded and Orit. I hadn't seen them since last June - they've been traveling in the East for several months now, and had just arrived in NZ for the final(?) leg of their journey. It was great to see them (although I think I may have given Orit a bit of a heart-attack when I leaped on her at the hostel).

We walked around a bit and talked (while they were desperately trying to find a place to stay in Christchurch). Then it was time for goodbyes. Eran and Ofer drove me down to the airport, and - after a few more dramatic scenes - we finally parted.

I guess I need to write some words to summarize the whole NZ experience, but I think for now I'll leave it at that.
Thanks all for the words of encouragement (and a special thanks to those who actually posted comments to the posts). More of my OZ adventures - TBD.

The Israeli Whirlwind

Help... I've been abducted by two crazy Israelis, and they won't let me get to the Internet. They're making me travel around NZ at super-human speed and see all sorts of things. HELP.

Just listing all the places we've been to in the last couple of weeks is almost impossible, but I'll give it a try.

After we met in Christchurch and got our car, we drove down to Oamaru, a good 3.5 hour ride south, where we stopped for the night. On the way, we of course stopped for some groceries at the New World. Some might think New World is just a supermarket chain, but in fact it has had a major influence on our trip in various places. I won't go into many details, suffice to say that I'm officially addicted to their muffins.

The next day I had my first taste of driving on the wrong side of the road. Who needs bungy jumps when you get just as much of an adrenaline rush just from driving? By the time we made our first stop, I'm not sure who looked paler - Eran, Ofer or me.

We continued south to Dunedin. It was Saturday, and the University of Otago in Dunedin was full of young students moving in after their summer break. Let me tell you - it was a hot, hot day.
Later that day we went on a nature tour - the most boring driver in the world ("Um, yes, of course, this building was built in bla-bla-bla, um, yes, and, um, of course the ship also has, um, a deck and doors and a skipper, um, yes, and of course...") drove us out of Dunedin into the Otago Peninsula. A ship then took us on a small cruise to see sea-lions, seals, and the famous Royal Albatross.
We returned to Dunedin to the hostel, where Ofer cooked the first of many magnificent dinners. We had a bit extra, so we had a Swiss girl join us for the meal. Random. Afterwards, we were joined by a slightly older British woman, who lives alternately in England and Australia "because I don't DO winter".
And finally - It was the Chinese New Year, so we went to see the fireworks in the city center. Happy Year of the Pig, everyone.

The next day, we headed south to the Catlins. It's a huge shoreline, so we could only stop in several places, but we did stop for a walk at Nugget's Point, which is a great little place - a lighthouse at the edge, overlooking the sea. We also saw seals and even a couple of Penguins hanging around on the beach. Of course, we also saw that elusive NZ animal - the Traveling Israeli. There are several kinds of the Traveling Israeli. This one was of the Cheapskate variety. She was very glad that she didn't have to pay money to see the seals (who were very far down the beach) and insisted that the seagulls she could see through her binoculars were a Royal Albatross ("Anaki!").
We stopped in a couple of other places along the way - a small beach, some waterfalls, and then headed straight to Invercargill, and through all the way to Te Anau. The hostel we stopped in was very nice as is the view over Lake Te Anau, which we saw both at twilight and the following morning.

In the morning we drove to Milford Sound, and took a cruise through the sound (which is actually a fjord). Very beautiful - including the marine life in the underwater observatory.
On the way back from the Sound, we realized we're out of gas. We did the rational thing - first I had a hysterical fit, and then we drove off the road to a camp where they had some emergency fuel. Turned out alright, though - the place was pretty nice, with a manual pump for the gas and a couple of really cool guys at the counter.
After that, Eran took the wheel and brought us safely to Queenstown. After dinner, Eran and Ofer went out to look around, but I was so tired I just stayed in to watch Desperate Housewives and Men in Trees (which is a pretty good line-up for an all-girls night).

Next day, on the way out from Queenstown, I bungied. God alone knows why or how I managed to do it, but I did. It was supposed to cure me of all fear of heights, but instead had the adverse effect of actually traumatizing me to the point that I am now afraid of going on bridges. Thank you, NZ.
We continued on to do some wine tasting in a few wineries on the way to Wanaka. Ofer did most of the tasting, ut we got in a couple of sips as well :)
The we drove to Puzzling World in Wanaka, where we experienced the illusions and tried solving some of the puzzles. We also ran the outdoor maze - just in time before it closed... Then ff to Wanaka, New World and the hostel.

we remained in Wanaka the next day - too tired for extra traveling. Ofer went Skydiving - it was a gorgeous clear day, hot and sunny, and - according to him - the views from up there were astounding. So that turned out well. In the afternoon we drove off to the Rob Roy track. It's a nice walk, and not too difficult. We did run into some mishaps: Eran twisted his ankle and Ofer strained his knee, so we went down limping. On top of it all, I had to cross a rope bridge to get to the beginning of the trail. I don't think I've ever been that afraid of rope bridges, but - like I said earlier - I am now. Hurray.

Next day turned out gray and rainy. We had planned on driving to the Galciers and doing a walk, but since neither Eran nor Ofer were in any condition to do the walk, we just called ahead and cancelled. We stopped briefly on the way at Fox Glacier, and did a small walk just over to a good viewing point, but nothing more than that. We just drove on past them to Hokitika. The hostel was very nice, just north of the town. After yet another gorgeous dinner, Ofer and Eran decided to try the hot tub outside. Apparently it was a little more than hot - they both returned after a couple of minutes. Instead, Ofer and I went to see glow-worms in a small dell just outside the hostel. Very nice - like a canopy of stars in the trees - and of course you can only see them at night.

In the morning, I FINALLY got to see a live Kiwi! We went to the Kiwi house in Hokitika. Apparently, they were supposed to get two male Kiwis, but it seems that one of the Kiwis is now gaurding an egg... So either someone mixed things up, or gay civil unions and adoption rights aer much more advanced among the Kiwis. In any case, it is the male that watches the egg.
The Kiwi house also hosts an aquarium of giant eels, which Eran and I took turns feeding.
We then continued north along the west coast, which is a very beautiful ride. We stopped at the pancake rocks near Panakiki for a brief stroll and lunch.
But the highlight of the day was New Zealand's longest hanging bridge, which Eran an dOfer eagerly walked while I sat back trying hard not to cry. I was forced to take pictures of them hurling themselves over the gorge (they did a tandem Omega thingie). The horror.
Then we continued our ride north to Abel Tasman - we drove the scenic route through remote farmyards, and eventually arrived in Motueka, at a very nice hostel (the Laughing Kiwi). Some food at (yes) New World, dinner, a hot pool, and we're good to go.
Eran and Ofer booked a full day of Kayaking in Abel Tasman National Park. I had already done some of that, and besides it started raining at night, so I wasn't sure I would go.

The next morning Eran and Ofer woke up pretty early to go Kayaking. By the time I got up and had breakfast, it had turned into a really beautiful, sunny day. So I gathered the stuff and headed out in the car to the same area. I stopped by one of the Kayak places which does an afternoon guided tour, and did just that - joined for a Kayak tour. It turned out great - beautiful day, great beaches, and - of course - a gorgeous guide. What else?
At the end of the day, I met Ofer and Eran just as they finished their day of kayaking - they arrived at the same beach. We had a short break, and then headed to Nelson, to the YHA. Too tired to cook, we decided on a Pizza. The receptionist did a complicated Japanese dance to describe where the pizza place actually was, but we got there alright. What they all neglected to tell us was that it takes a LONG time to get the f***ing pizza ready, so by the time we got it I was ready to bite the waitress (and the table).

That's almost all of it - I'll leave you with this to mull over. More coming soon - don't go away...

The O'shea clan

I just realized I left off writing about Queenstown - and here I am again (but with very little time to write)... So I'll continue writing as best I can, from various places.

There have been just so many things, I can barely write them all down chronologically. One thing for sure - the trip became a lot more fun when I started traveling with a group. Specifically, I had joined an Irish clan - Helena, Monica, Damien and Sinead - who are traveling together on the Magic bus. They took me in and - thanks to them - the trip has become very much what it's supposed to be: LOTS of fun.

This will have to do for now - I have SO much to write about, you wouldn't believe.

Queenstown: Wasn't the big thrill it's supposed to be. Maybe it's because everything here is about hyperdrive - everyone's bungying, skydiving, body-surfing, jet riding - in short, doing something hyper energy and stupid. And if you're not into that, well, it's just not as exciting.
I did enjoy going up in a gondola to see the view, and I did enjoy walking a bit and going out with the guys (dancing and drinking, of course), but other than that - not such a big deal.

I decided to cut my stay short by going independently down to Stewart Island, which is a relatively small island to the south of South Island. It's a long journey - several hours from QT to Invercargill, then an hour to Bluff, and a ferry to Stewart Island. But I was well rewarded by two things: First, the peace and quiet. There are very few people there, since it's really off the beaten track. Most of the travelers there are hikers, who come to do some of the more serious tracks (2-3 days and up to 10 days), but there's still stuff to do if you're not an adventurer. So I did a few walks in the area - all very nice and calm. The highlight was a half day tour of the Ulva Island bird sanctuary. Ulva is an even smaller island near Stewart Island, which has been cleared of rodents and predators, and declared a bird sanctuary. I went on a guided tour, where our guide described the preservation efforts and pointed out the different birds. It is truly amazing (especially the part where a Weka ran up and grabbed the sandwich from the hand of an unsuspecting tourist...)

I then returned to the regular course by joining the group in Dunedin. The university city is beautiful - both the city itself and the old university buildings. I walked around there, taking in the sights. The art gallery was also very nice, and since they had a third floor which was not being used for anything, with a cool parquet floor, I couldn't resist. I did a one hour Yoga session then and there, in the gallery. Think of it as my dynamic contribution to modern art. We also made an excursion to the steepest street in the world, where we walked up and saw the tiny people below... And, of course, I went dancing with my Irish clan (yeah, drinking too...). A pattern emerges...

From Dunedin we headed north to Lake Tekapo. The lake itself is beautiful, getting its aquamarine-blue color from the glacial waters feeding it. We didn't do much there - a brief walk, some lying around in the sun. Oh, and we did finish a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle, which is actuall a WASGIJ - the picture on the cover isn't really the picture of the jigsaw - only a hint. 10 f***ing hours...

On the way from Tekapo to Christchurch, I stopped in Geraldine and went white-water rafting in the Rangitata rapids. Really cool - the raft ride in the rapids (grade 4-5) was awesome (if you're into that kind of thing, which - apparently - I am). And even swimming in the ice-cold water isn't ,much of a problem when you have a full wetsuit on. Nice.

Then on to Christchurch. Met up again with the guys, hanging around. The city itself is very nice - the university and arts center were interesting, as were the botanical gardens. It's a nice place to get lost in for several hours...

On our last night together, my Irish family decided we should go out to have a fabulous dinner. Our place of choice (randomly picked off the street) was an "authentic" Chinese restaurant. You know - the kind where the waiter barely speaks English and the menu is totally unintelligible. We managed to pick a few items. Unfortunately, there was only the slightest correlation between what we though we had ordered and what we got. For example, it turns out that "beef strips" mean bits of the lining of the stomach of an ox. And yes, it looks worse than it sounds, and I didn't even taste it.
In short - by the time we finished "dinner" we were all pretty hungry, and we just decided to ride it out - we went drinking and dancing, and it was fan-fuckin-tastic. So much fun (maybe it was the three dollar drinks?) - sort of a compensation for the dinner disaster. We crawled through at least four bars, which is a decent number, and eventually ended up having a late dinner in Burger King. 3:30 AM - best time for junk food....

I will stop here - although I still have to describe all that's happened after I met up with Ofer and Eran. Stay tuned.

Southern Exposure

To those of you who haven't given up (yet...), just a brief recap on a few of the events of the last week or so:
After crossing over to the South Island (the ferry was very nice - and I'm sure the other passengers was really excited to see me do Yoga; it just adds that much to the excitement of the ride), we drove west to Nelson. In itself, the city is nothing to write home about, and of course in the rain it is even less so, but I stuck around and finally managed to get a couple of days of sun in which I went for a couple of tours in Abel Tasman National Park. The first day was just an hour's cruise and a couple of hours walk, the second was a couple of hours kayaking (lots of fun) and a good 4 hour walk. The weather was really beautiful and the beaches were gorgeous. What can I say.

From Nelson we headed towards the west coast. The views along the way are stunning. We also stopped off in a couple of places for a few short walks. You always get the feeling that you're walking in the middle of a rain forest, and then, all of a sudden you're on a beach, and it's slightly gloomy and stormy and gray. But in a good way.

I've also run into several Israeli's since I've come down to the South Island. Mostly I don't look for them, but I'm (apparently) so readily identified, that people just come up and start talking Hebrew. For the most part I don't mind, although some of them still bring all the things I hate about Israeli travelers with them, which is REALLY annoying.

After Greymouth (which was mostly grey and not that interesting) we got to the Franz Joseph glacier. The hike up the glacier was a lot of fun - harder than it looks, but the views (on a good day) are really great. And I've also decided that Ice Talonz (the things you put on your boots to grip the ice) are the new Must Have Accessory for 2007.

After leaving Franz Joseph I stopped for a couple of nights in Wanaka, where I'd met the largest group of Israelis so far. I went with a couple of girls and a guy to the Cinema Paradiso - it's basically a cinema that sports lounge chairs, sofas, pillows and other unconventional seats instead of the regular cinema seats. In addition, they bake home-made cookies fresh from the oven, and make ice-cream. we just skipped the movie and went straight for the cookies and ice-cream. As we sat there, gradually more and more Israelis joined, until the whole place was speaking Hebrew. Which is funny, in a sad sort of way.

After a couple of days in Wanaka, I moved on to Queenstown. I'm really excited, since there are so many bungy sites I won't jump from here. I'm especially looking forward to not jumping from the Nevis.
I did meet up with a group of Irish guys and girls, who had been traveling with me on the Magic bus, and we went out for a few drinks and a bit of dancing. Queenstown, apparently, does indeed rock until the small hours of the night.

And with this I will leave you, till the next installment. Adios.