Yeah that's right you are listening to the sounds - the super sounds of the sixties. Yeah that's right that's all I heard for a nearly 4 hour drive to Dunedin in our little grey Ford station wagon. Oh yeah thanks America for making gas so cheap. They pay $1.34 a liter here and there are 4 liters to a gallon - give or take - so that's like $5.36 or something a gallon and even after the conversion advantage we have it's like $4.50. Anyway we had to fill this gas guzzler up a few times on the 600k round trip and it was pricey. Or spendy as some say.
Well this little speed demon took the corners of the curvy mountain road like a true champ and at times I really felt like a rally car driver. They drive Subarus and stuff so I figure when in Rome. I always misuse that. Ahh hell. So we spent a couple of nights in Dunedin and saw about 5 movies while there including but not limited to: What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Independence Day, American Wedding, Ali G's Innit, and Glory. Good sheet.
The point of the journey was to see penguins though. The Otago Peninsula is just out of town (which was crazy because the Lions (English and Irish national rugby team on tour)) and this would be our only hope. They have blue and yellow eyed penguins and both are able to be seen at dusk after a long day of hunting at sea. After hiking through a cow field and having some scary ass bulls stare us down we made it to the beach. There was supposed to be a blind there so you don't scare the little guys but it couldn't be found so we hid behind some dunes. For an hour and a half. No sign of any penguins but there was a stiff breeze and freezing temperatures that were found. A curious sea lion came up and walked around for awhile and there was a grotesquely fat one that looked like a log that had been beached but no penguins. Ahh well.
We did however see Royal Albatrosses and those guys are huge. Up to a 4 meter wingspan they can have (thanks Yoda). Yeah so we saw one of those cruising around right after going to the car to make a pbj. Rushed out and since there was no wind at this point he was cruising real low. Coolest wildlife encounter thus far in NZ. There are no native animals here if you didn't know. Except a couple birds like the kiwi and a lizard. Well for the ride back we bought a tape adapter so we could listen to ipod or cd. Mucho better and had a huge ice cream cone in some town and it was only $1!!!
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Oh yeah...The Nevis
So the story goes that back in Aussie Jon, Jo, and I all went for a little bungy jump in Cairns. Yeah thought it was such a good idea that i went ahead and did their 'special' which was buy that jump and get the Nevis half price. Well the Nevis is 134 meters of hell. Yeah you have to throw yourself off of a cable car suspended 140m above a river. It's clearly very stupid and why people would pay for it i have no idea. This was before i went to Doubtful Sound by the way. I think i needed something very calm and soothing after ruining my best pair of boxers.
This was before and i was pretty excited because i weigh 86.5kg and that means that i was the 3rd to go. I saw some people stupider than me but i was still alright with it. I was being strapped in and apparently lost my head and was smiling. I got to the edge and from there looking down it is just insane. Luckily they do a count down and peer pressure makes you throw yourself off of this monstrosity. It's like 440ft for a 40 story building or something. Absolutely nuts.
On the way down you feel speed building up. Blood rushing to your head. And your head rushing toward the river. At some point you feel free to think about anything in the world and then you hit the bottom and spring back up. It is a smooth spring unlike the one in Cairns and this actually makes it less scary. It's just the height really.
This was before and i was pretty excited because i weigh 86.5kg and that means that i was the 3rd to go. I saw some people stupider than me but i was still alright with it. I was being strapped in and apparently lost my head and was smiling. I got to the edge and from there looking down it is just insane. Luckily they do a count down and peer pressure makes you throw yourself off of this monstrosity. It's like 440ft for a 40 story building or something. Absolutely nuts.
On the way down you feel speed building up. Blood rushing to your head. And your head rushing toward the river. At some point you feel free to think about anything in the world and then you hit the bottom and spring back up. It is a smooth spring unlike the one in Cairns and this actually makes it less scary. It's just the height really.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Doubtful Sound
I think it was named this by Sir James Cook because it was doubtful that our car would ever make it home. We rented about a 1988 grey Ford station wagon. It is a beautiful piece of engineering but for me and compared to the Strait i think i will stay away. This place was about a 3 hour drive on the left side of the road from Queenstown. We made it alright only scaring the passengers occasionally above the lake without cliff blockers on the road. We did get to listen to the best of the 60's tape about 100 times. This was a cassette (no radio in the mountains kids) and there was a cheesy band covering and mixing all types of songs together from 'Stay' to 'Mr Tambourine Man', simply amazing. We stayed in some cabin that we got hot as acceptable without boiling with all the wood available. The brothers there to welcome us seemed a little odd but i don't think that they had seen anyone in a few weeks. They also told us that they hadn't seen the sun till the day before in about 3 weeks. Good times in Doubtful Sound.
The next day we were off on an all day adventure that would take us across a lake down into an Italian designed power plant and out into the Tasman Sea through the sound (technically a fjord). Yeah we got up early and made it down there in time to meet the quirky and uninformative crew and be really cold. The lake part was alright and we saw Mt Doom again although i thought i had seen it on the north island. Hmm, i think that they claim that everywhere. Maybe it wasn't even filmed here?
Lots of LOTR looking stuff, again, and then down into the power plant. This plant with 7 generators or whatever could power Auckland they say. Amazing. I've been in Hoover Dam and that is quite a facility. Anyway it was warmer down there so i was happy. On to the Sound down a frozen road and onto our awaiting chariot. We cruised for quite awhile and it was amazing to see cliffs drop straight into the water and we pull up next to the edge and it's still 300m below us to the bottom. It started raining since it does about 200-250 days out of the year here and great waterfalls came off the cliffs. We saw no dolphins or penguins but saw more seals which was pretty bad ass. One even swam next to us at about 3 knots without even making an effort. Pretty sweet animals. The day was long but i had a pbj for lunch and afternoon tea with orange chocolate chip cookies to keep me going. Thank goodness for tea time and English influence.
After a hella long ride back to the docks and back over the lake we had a long ride in the sweet ass car back to Queenstown. More 60's and i think i had the complete tape memorized. I love driving by now because it says you are going 100 and its really in kilometers but you just don't think about it because your wheels might fall off. Made it home after a stop for some ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) cookies and a Moro bar. No dying on the roads out of fear of ice, don't worry.
The next day we were off on an all day adventure that would take us across a lake down into an Italian designed power plant and out into the Tasman Sea through the sound (technically a fjord). Yeah we got up early and made it down there in time to meet the quirky and uninformative crew and be really cold. The lake part was alright and we saw Mt Doom again although i thought i had seen it on the north island. Hmm, i think that they claim that everywhere. Maybe it wasn't even filmed here?
Lots of LOTR looking stuff, again, and then down into the power plant. This plant with 7 generators or whatever could power Auckland they say. Amazing. I've been in Hoover Dam and that is quite a facility. Anyway it was warmer down there so i was happy. On to the Sound down a frozen road and onto our awaiting chariot. We cruised for quite awhile and it was amazing to see cliffs drop straight into the water and we pull up next to the edge and it's still 300m below us to the bottom. It started raining since it does about 200-250 days out of the year here and great waterfalls came off the cliffs. We saw no dolphins or penguins but saw more seals which was pretty bad ass. One even swam next to us at about 3 knots without even making an effort. Pretty sweet animals. The day was long but i had a pbj for lunch and afternoon tea with orange chocolate chip cookies to keep me going. Thank goodness for tea time and English influence.
After a hella long ride back to the docks and back over the lake we had a long ride in the sweet ass car back to Queenstown. More 60's and i think i had the complete tape memorized. I love driving by now because it says you are going 100 and its really in kilometers but you just don't think about it because your wheels might fall off. Made it home after a stop for some ANZAC (Australia New Zealand Army Corps) cookies and a Moro bar. No dying on the roads out of fear of ice, don't worry.
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