Beautiful Doubtful Sound  

We're having fun now! 

what a view! 

Getting ready for the Vertical Descent......... 

New Zealand- Part Two

Well, I am back in SF. We arrived earlier today. I must say that the "no jet lag" pills from NZ worked. I think. I feel pretty good. Everyone said coming back was the worst but for me it was worse going over. We had three seats instead of two coming home and I think that may have helped. As I have gotten older, my knees have started giving me a lot of problems while flying- even short distances, so I was particularly worried about the 13 hr flight. The way back my knees were great. I guess I just have to start buying two seats!

Anyway, the trip...Where to start? Things only kept getting better. I would defiantly advise anyone one doing NZ to start at the top and work down because if you started at the bottom (the most beautiful) then you would probably be continuously disappointed as you worked back up.

We did a lot of driving the good thing is that the drive was so beautiful it is truly an event in itself. I didn't even hardly pick up my book the whole trip and only got about half way through the "101 hard questions." The "101 hard questions" is a book, which Praveen LOVES:) all about how to make sure a long term relationship is successful. Very type A, I know, but I love that stuff.

So let me see, I can't say what my most favorite part of the trip was, but I can say what my least favorite part was. I hated the food. I am sure I am partially spoiled by the food in SF, but it seemed no matter how much money we were willing to fork out-it never got any better. It was very bland with not only no spice, but no seasoning what-so-ever! How about some salt or onions or garlic?? Nothing. Even the most basic things that you think it would be impossible to screw up-like an egg sandwich, were wrong. But, the Oysters were fabulous. Usually I only like the smaller ones but these were quite large (Pacific Rock oysters) and they were yummy. They always wanted to give you some weird sauce to put with it but thats okay. I prefer just lemon and vinegar myself. The dairy was also really good. Praveen loved the milk...OH, the beer is also quite nice. I really enjoyed it.

So on to the good stuff. The train ride across the Island was nice, but it was a little less than I expected in terms of scenery. It was foggy part of the way so we may have very well missed the best parts. After that though, the weather was totally in our favor the rest of the trip. Everywhere we went it seemed to be rainy when we got there, but when we were ready to play the sun was with us. We rented a car in Graymouth. I didn't think they made a car as basic as what we got. We got some kind of Honda or another, but it didn't even have an FM radio? I had planned to bring along some CDs for the drive and I am glad I didn't. We had to make due with the songs I knew by heart. Praveen says he doesn't like it but I know deep down he wishes he could sing along.

The drive to Fox Glacier was stunning and it just kept getting better all the time. At Fox we hiked up the glacier. I was a little worried that it was going to be tough but it was quite easy really. I was also really worried about the cold, but it was a nice day and we were warm for most of it. I have never been on a glacier before and I quite fancied it. We opted for the all day hike based on some advice from a friend and I am really glad we did, it was about 6hrs and most of it was chilled- in the laid back sense. Part of it went through a rain forest. Isn't it weird to have a rain forest right next to a glacier? The pictures do a great job at showing an accurate view so I wont bore you with the details.

The next morning we got an early start and saw the sunrise as we drove down to Queenstown. The drive again was even more spectacular than before. I wish we had more time because there were lots of road side trails and such that would have been nice little journeys but we had to make to with what time we had.

There was this really funny BRA fence. That's right everyone stripped off their bras and hung them on the fence. There must have been a hundred of them. No, to answer your question...i didn't leave mine.

In Queenstown we went Sky diving! I had never been before and Praveen had been but in Texas. I thought if I was going to ever do it this is the time to do it. There is a tremendous amount of pressure to do something scary in Queenstown. The bungee was invented there and that set the tone for life there after. There are crazy buggies everywhere, sky diving, paragliding and anything else you could imagine. I was afraid I would chicken out on the bungee and knew on the sky dive I couldn't (since someone else jumps with you). I am so glad we went. The drive to the skydiving place was up to a town called Glenorchy and it was the best yet! much of the Lord of the Rings was filmed there so you can imagine. The plane ride was also great. To be so close to those snow capped mountains and get a view from high up was really something. I had a permeate grin the whole way up.

I don't remember much of the free fall. I think it was kind like a roller coaster. I don"t really think I was scared, but maybe shocked in some ways. I was really trying to concentrate on taking everything possible in and thinking how incredibly lucky I was to be doing this in this part of the world. I wasn't prepared for the big bang in my ears that happened as we fell. It makes sense your ears would pop, but I hadn't really thought of it. Praveen and I were high on that for the rest of the day.it was wonderful.

The next morning we drove to Doubtful Sound. Milford Sound is the more famous one, a little to the north, but Praveen had done some research and though that Doubtful would be better. We had booked an overnight curse and originally it was for a double room, for a million dollars! not wanting to spend a million we opted for a quad room and it turns out that the boat wasn't full so we go our own room anyway. The cruse was nice. The weather was cold, rainy and foggy, but it was suppose to be that way.
In many ways the fog really added to the romantic and beautiful look of it all. We sucked it up and stayed outside for a good portion of the trip. We were rewarded with some great scenery and some dolphins, birds and a few penguins that came along to say hello. It was nice to sleep on the water because the weather was different both days. The first day was pretty rainy, which got a lot of the waterfalls flowing. I have never seen so many waterfalls. The second day was much nicer weather, but not nearly as many falls...we go the best of both worlds.

There is more, but I think that is the best of it. I would highly recommend NZ for a vacation. It is a bit more expensive than I expected to be prepared to get out your check book!

I am trying my hardest to post some pictures to this site, but it is giving me a bit of a challenge. In the mean time if you would like to see more pictures from the trip go to....
http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAOXDNy1cs2jCNg
there are lots.

NZ part one

Greetings from down under,

Well, it has been along time since i have written a mass post from another country....must say, i am glad to be doing it. Praveen and i arrived in Auckland, NZ on...Friday, Sat not really sure...we missed a day on the flight, which wasn't too bad actually. I am extraordinarily happy to be exploring an new country and i feel so fortunate that it is one of the most beautiful i have seen before.

Praveen has a friend, Mathew, in Auckland who showed us around a bit. It is a really nice, beautiful city,with about a million people right on the water. It reminded me of SF a bit actually. Lots of parks and nice shops. The coolest thing there was this big volcanic crater. Praveen and i walked all the way down inside. Then back up- that was the hard part...Auckland was FREEZING. i had checked the weather, it was suppose to be 65- it had to be like 30 with a -25 wind chill.

We took a flight out the next morning to Wellington,where i meet some locals and had a beer or two while praveen showered. Then we jumped on a beautiful ferry ride across Marlborough Sounds. It was again really cold. praveen, who was to stubborn to buy a hat and gloves had his PJ pants wrapped up around his neck for warmth. We were a sight to see.


There were nice mountains all around us. Later, when we were settled, we took a Kayak around....it was cool. I wasn't thrilled about the idea because of the temp, but the sun came out and it was a beautiful day (today). I even got burnt up to a crisp. So in the water there were thousands of jelly fish. I got a little petrified for a minute worried about falling in and all if them eating me. I was scared to put my paddle in the water for fear that one might jump on and try and get inside the boat. Those jelly fish can be sneaky you know.

Anyway, we have already done a fair share of hiking. We are getting plenty of exercise...there are hardly any fatties here, so they must be all climbing the hills too. Oh, the bus ride down here to Christchurch was really beautiful. there are black sand beaches all along the east coast side of the island and they are reallyspectacular. The food has left little to be desired thus far...fishand chips are everywhere...i am still looking out for some good sea food and oysters...yummmm.
So that is about it for now. We are off to take a train across the south island. It is suppose to be the most beautiful train ride in the world. I can believe it. I am looking forward to the snow capped mountains.

More Kombucha

Well, i don't recall what the time line was, but i think i finished my second week of the Kumbacha. I have gone through a gallon and just bottled my second brew. I decided this time to be a little more adventurous and use green tea instead of black. It seems the green lets in a bit more of the already vinegar taste, but also tastes a little more like tea. I also dropped a few slices of ginger in for flavor.

It was interesting to learn from Becky the other day that she started buying a bottled commercial version of kombucha at Whole Foods. She says they run about $3 for 16oz. She has been drinking it everyday and seems to like it. I tasted a little of her grape flavored and it was quite tasty, nothing like the strong cider taste that i have her at home. I suppose people may not pay for that.

So what has my experience been. Well the first week, i've already described. The night sweets have seemed to pass for now. There was a pretty stinky body odor going for a while. I seldom wear deodorant anymore and don't have a problem stinking, but that changed with the introduction of this new K-tea. I don't know if the deodorant is hiding it or if it is gradually going away. I am too scared to find out. I think I'll stick to the deodorant for a while. I quit drinking K tea all together for two days when my gums became so inflamed i could hardly brush my teeth. I introduced Listerine to my mouth and that seemed to help. My body is particularly sensitive to acid so i think that the initial results manifested as cancer soars and, well, swollen tongue and inflamed gums. Lets see what else....i think that is it....right now i feel fine.

Becky said she experiences some what of a drunk feeling when drinking the 16oz from Whole Foods. Uhmmm, perhaps i need to bump up the dosage.

NEW ZEALAND

i can't say i have been this excited about a trip since Europe. Praveen and i leave for our 10 day trip to New Zealand on the 13th of October only a week and a half way. We are mostly going to concentrate on the south island. It seems to be the one packed with the most beauty and fun.


Day one Friday 15th of october
Arrive in Aukland 11am
Options:
Sky tower- good for sunset
alhoha Surf School 09-489-2846
Tepid Baths- Spa. Gym. Sauna. Steam rooms 09-379-4754
Dolphin swimming – Haurake Gulf 09-237-1466 www.dolphinexplorer.com


Day Two SAT October 16th Fly to Wellington 9am? (1hr)
1. Maybe hang out- good cafes cute town
1. Take ferry to picton (3hrs) Interislander 930am, 2pm and 530pm $52 per person
3. Hike or Kayak tour
maybe stay there?

Day three SUN – Oct 17th – drive to christh church (5hrs by bus Myriad shuttle buses)
Banks peninsula- secluded bays and golden beaches


Day four Mon October 18th – take train to Graymouth 4.5hrs
Trans alpine leaves at 8.15 arrives at 130
http://www.tranzscenic.co.nz/services/alpine.aspx
there is a cave rafting trip that sounds pretty cool
Maybe drive to foxglacer 2hrs?

Day five Tues- October 19th- hike fox glacier to top
6-7hrs hrs $70 leaves at 930 am – boots and equipment provided. Pack lunch
alpine guides 64-3-751-0825 toll free 0800-11-1600
http://www.foxguides.co.nz/alldaywalk.asp

Day 6 Wen October 20th Queens town
1. SPA
http://www.millbrook.co.nz/health.htm http://spas.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.travelindex.co.nz/queenstown/shopping/bodysanctum.htm
2. bungee jumping?
3. Scenic drive on milford dr to te anau is suppose to be breath taking- small hikes around as well
4. Guided nature walks- Queenstown http://www.nzwalks.com/lakeshore&wine.htm

Day 7 Thrus October 21st- Overnight cruse of doubtford sound.

1. booked an overnight trip on Thurs the 21st at 728NZ- call 48hrs in advance for detials. to cancel or change dates call 24 hrs in advance.
http://www.fiordlandtravel.co.nz/Main/Doubtfulovernight/ 1230pm -1230pm

Day 8 Friday October 22- drive to Christchruch- maybe camp along the way 8hr drive

Day 9 Sat fly back to Auckland

Sun Fly home.

Other links

Scott Yost's Adventures http://www.vic.com/new_Zealand/

NZ dollar

http://www.x-rates.com/d/NZD/table.html