onward and upward is what I always say... or almost always... or in this particular instance i am saying it. Honestly I think I've only said it a couple times - most were probably while hiking some sort of mountain or climbing something. It's a good saying, though. In this case it is referring to our transition to the northern Island of New Zealand and oh, what a place it is to be.
It's a bit warmer up here - not hot by any means - but warm enough to be wearing shorts and t-shirts for the most part. Occasionally a long sleeve T or a pair of jeans will get thrown in there. The story of how we got here is quite a doozie, so buckle up.
Twas the night before easter and all through the land,
Businesses were locked and keys were in hand.
The rescuers down under... together no more.
But three in NZ in the airport for sure.
We all sat in Christchurch, awaiting the morn.
Heading towards Auckland on the day Christ's reborn.
Waiting in the terminal, with 50 people or so.
Wondering if... tomorrow it might snow.
Now that's just silly, it's only autumn here.
Don't you worry - we're staying quite warm my dear.
Ordering Dominos Pizza was not the easiest to do,
Finding an address for them to deliver it to.
When it finally arrived, oh there was glee!
And a beer or two for you and for me.
We had canned food and drinks, but had to travel light.
So it was eat or get tossed before our early morning flight.
So we ate and we drank and played loads of games,
and met some people with silly little names.
A shower and everything and bedtime so soon.
This airport was great... we get our own room!
Well not exactly - we shared it with others.
Children and bikes and friends and mothers.
And in the morning, everyone was out.
To Auckland with glee and a hop and a shout!
Alright so that's my impromptu poem about our night in the airport. It was glorious. We had fun and except for sleeping on the hard floor, it was quite nice. We flew 'Air New Zealand', which is the best airline in the world... I'm convinced. The ladies at the customer service desk were so helpful the day before when we were trying to figure out how we could get somewhere in the north Island for the cheapest. They even looked up prices on competitor's websites for us just to check and see... and then when it came down to it they booked our flights with no $15 booking fee and saved us again. (She saw taylor eating cold baked beans or chili or something right out of the can and felt compassion for us... and she said go buy a decent meal with the money she'd saved us. What a lady.) The airplane was amazing - hundreds of games, movies, tv shows, etc. to choose from to keep you entertained for free. Erin and I will be flying Air New Zealand home for sure... if we can afford it.
Auckland was weird. I'm not going to waste time writing about it right now, but it's sufficient to say that it wasn't awesome, but wasn't totally crappy either. We did see 'The Boat that Rocked' while there and that movie is phenomenal. I don't know if it is out or was out in the US yet, but it's amazing. Hilarius. Go see it. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is in it. Awesome.
Rotorua was great. Stinky, but great. It smells strongly of sulfur everywhere in the town. Rotorua is where we went Zorbing. Now, if you don't know... youtube it. Basically you are in a giant hamster ball rolling down a hill. It rules. Also we went to the agrodome adventure center, which has all sorts of adventure activites and fun stuff. Taylor bungee jumped, Erin did the freefall extreme (a giant fan simulates freefall for a few minutes as you float above it in a skydiving suit - so sweet), and we all did the swoop (basically you're all in sleeping bags harnessed to a a wire and tethered 60 meters above the ground or so... then they let it go and you swing aggressively towards the ground, and back up again. Similar to the canyon swing but smaller and all of us did it at the same time. So much fun). We also saw a sheep shearing show there... crap, I'm out of time. Gotta run but I'll fill you in more because that show was hilarious. Love you and miss you all.
- Jesse "ricardo hiraldo rivera the main man" Meredith
Friday, April 17, 2009
Friday, April 10, 2009
ridiculous amounts of fun in NZ
wow - wow - wow
it has been a while from me and all i can really say is wow. we have done it all here.
these past couple weeks have been absolutely insane. We're currently back in Queenstown and about to head out tonight after a Fergburger (most amazing hamburgers in the world probably). This won't be the longest of posts but I hope to tell you a bit about what we've been up to recently and also let you all know we're still alive.
We are still alive. We may not be clean at all and we may smell like a skunk left on the highway too long... but we are alive. The reason we smell so bad is that we've been hiking and doing insane things and living in a campervan and we've only showered for 4 minutes in the past 2 weeks (or 3 weeks for me and slightly less for Erin). Don't worry, we've been in the water plenty enough so I'm cleanish.
Alright so the activities we did in queenstown that rocked my and our socks completely off.
First - The highlight of our trip thus far undoubtedly - The Shotover Canyon Swing. Look it up on youtube or something because it is truly out of this world. I have never started spontaneously laughing for no particular reason that I can remember until this time. It was the biggest adrenalin rush and following the adrenalin is loads of happiness for whatever reason. Alright, so here's the setup. They take you out in a van and your guide tells you jokes and generally gets you super excited and nervous for what lies ahead. I think we all had some sort of expectation for what was going to happen and as you drive out there your expectation builds and builds. Then you get there and walk out towards the platform thing. They strap a harness thing onto you and tighten everything up... all the while making comments like "well this isn't exactly the perfect fit, but it should maybe work, i think". You know they're joking but at the same time - they never break character so the whole time there is this doubt building in your head. Plus they are all 22 years old or something and joking around with each other the whole time. "You put the right harness on him right? No i think we gave him hers... whatever." Anyway so they build it up and all this. WAIT! stop there.
I gotta describe what the actual 'swing' is all about. Essentially you are connected to a rope that is connected to a point in the center of a 200 meter deep canyon. The rope you are connected to is 120 meters long. When you actually do jump... you freefall for about 3.5 seconds and then the rope "catches" you by accelerating you through a 120 meter arc. You swing for a bit and kind of slow down at the bottom and then they pull you back up. It is so gnarly. It's like bungee jumping but better because you freefall for just as long but instead of the bungees slowing you down the rope accelerates you as you keep flying through the bottom of the arc. Insanity. Oh, and the best part is you can jump/fall/be pushed off any way you want. I chose 'gimp boy goes to hollywood' and backwards while erin opted for the 'pin drop' and 'elvis cutaway' and taylor went for 'pin drop' and 'the chair'. Gimp boy had me rigged upside down over the canyon with my back arched and staring straight down at the ground/rocks/water/death 200m below.
Just before they let me go... the guy said something along the lines of alright we'll give you a countdown. 5... 4... 3 and I was gone. Hurdling face first towards the ground. It was the most amazing rush I've ever felt. And then as soon as the rope caught me and swung me through the bottom, i started laughing hysterically. It is just that much fun. I had to do it again and they screwed with me so much the second time about going backward. They let me almost fall and pulled me back all of the sudden yelling "No Not Yet!" I almost peed myself. Then they tell me to watch out for this one particular cliff edge and as I'm jumping backwards they wince and make faces like I'm going to die. Watching the platform fall away above me was an equally insane, but completely different experience. I loved it. Erin and Taylor will have to tell you about their experiences but suffice to say - they loved it.
That was all before noon on one day! In the afternoon we went river boarding/surfing. It was really sweet too. Rafting down a class 3+ rapid-filled river with a super thick wetsuit and a boogie board and fins. It was hard work getting in all the right places and not drowning and all that, but the guides were really good at what they did. At the end they drag you around on the back of a jetski and theres a rope swing and a huge waterslide. So much fun. I thought i was going to die, however, as I was slowly freezing to death. A warm (free) shower at the end with no soap was all I needed to fix that up.
New Zealand is fun.
Other things we've done are... glacier hiking at the Franz Josef Glacier. It was pretty sweet. Overpriced and a little long by the end, but still an unreal experience hiking all over an active glacier the size of a mountain. Nothing but ice as far as the eye can see... and we did it in t shirts bc it was a hot day out! Be excited for great pics. Also we hiked the Abel Tasman. It was sweet. Erin's toe basically fell off. Well she had a blister so big and then it just peeled off, so it looked like her entire toe fell off. All in all the trip took three days. The first day was gorgeous - amazing weather and a long day's worth of hiking. The second day was pouring rain all day and we were wet and cold. The third was nice again and pretty short, which was a good thing because Erin had to basically gimp it out the rest of the way. All-in-all it was about 25 miles in 3 days (we weren't able to do the whole thing because the water-taxi wouldn't take us up to the end) and a super-duper neat-o experience.
All we eat is baked beans and creamed rice bsacially [flatulence is an all-too frequent event... just ask Erin - she has never been so glad for a stuffed nose in her life]. No - we're doing great here don't you worry.
What else? well i only have 3 minutes... but we've also done a wine tour in the Marlborough Sounds (probably produces the best sav blanc in the world) and other fun things i can't remember right now.
I miss everyone that reads this (and probably some people that don't, but I guess I can't tell them that on here). We're having a blast and miss you lindy! Erin and I are stoked to get to come see you.
- Jesse "incredible land speed" Meredith
it has been a while from me and all i can really say is wow. we have done it all here.
these past couple weeks have been absolutely insane. We're currently back in Queenstown and about to head out tonight after a Fergburger (most amazing hamburgers in the world probably). This won't be the longest of posts but I hope to tell you a bit about what we've been up to recently and also let you all know we're still alive.
We are still alive. We may not be clean at all and we may smell like a skunk left on the highway too long... but we are alive. The reason we smell so bad is that we've been hiking and doing insane things and living in a campervan and we've only showered for 4 minutes in the past 2 weeks (or 3 weeks for me and slightly less for Erin). Don't worry, we've been in the water plenty enough so I'm cleanish.
Alright so the activities we did in queenstown that rocked my and our socks completely off.
First - The highlight of our trip thus far undoubtedly - The Shotover Canyon Swing. Look it up on youtube or something because it is truly out of this world. I have never started spontaneously laughing for no particular reason that I can remember until this time. It was the biggest adrenalin rush and following the adrenalin is loads of happiness for whatever reason. Alright, so here's the setup. They take you out in a van and your guide tells you jokes and generally gets you super excited and nervous for what lies ahead. I think we all had some sort of expectation for what was going to happen and as you drive out there your expectation builds and builds. Then you get there and walk out towards the platform thing. They strap a harness thing onto you and tighten everything up... all the while making comments like "well this isn't exactly the perfect fit, but it should maybe work, i think". You know they're joking but at the same time - they never break character so the whole time there is this doubt building in your head. Plus they are all 22 years old or something and joking around with each other the whole time. "You put the right harness on him right? No i think we gave him hers... whatever." Anyway so they build it up and all this. WAIT! stop there.
I gotta describe what the actual 'swing' is all about. Essentially you are connected to a rope that is connected to a point in the center of a 200 meter deep canyon. The rope you are connected to is 120 meters long. When you actually do jump... you freefall for about 3.5 seconds and then the rope "catches" you by accelerating you through a 120 meter arc. You swing for a bit and kind of slow down at the bottom and then they pull you back up. It is so gnarly. It's like bungee jumping but better because you freefall for just as long but instead of the bungees slowing you down the rope accelerates you as you keep flying through the bottom of the arc. Insanity. Oh, and the best part is you can jump/fall/be pushed off any way you want. I chose 'gimp boy goes to hollywood' and backwards while erin opted for the 'pin drop' and 'elvis cutaway' and taylor went for 'pin drop' and 'the chair'. Gimp boy had me rigged upside down over the canyon with my back arched and staring straight down at the ground/rocks/water/death 200m below.
Just before they let me go... the guy said something along the lines of alright we'll give you a countdown. 5... 4... 3 and I was gone. Hurdling face first towards the ground. It was the most amazing rush I've ever felt. And then as soon as the rope caught me and swung me through the bottom, i started laughing hysterically. It is just that much fun. I had to do it again and they screwed with me so much the second time about going backward. They let me almost fall and pulled me back all of the sudden yelling "No Not Yet!" I almost peed myself. Then they tell me to watch out for this one particular cliff edge and as I'm jumping backwards they wince and make faces like I'm going to die. Watching the platform fall away above me was an equally insane, but completely different experience. I loved it. Erin and Taylor will have to tell you about their experiences but suffice to say - they loved it.
That was all before noon on one day! In the afternoon we went river boarding/surfing. It was really sweet too. Rafting down a class 3+ rapid-filled river with a super thick wetsuit and a boogie board and fins. It was hard work getting in all the right places and not drowning and all that, but the guides were really good at what they did. At the end they drag you around on the back of a jetski and theres a rope swing and a huge waterslide. So much fun. I thought i was going to die, however, as I was slowly freezing to death. A warm (free) shower at the end with no soap was all I needed to fix that up.
New Zealand is fun.
Other things we've done are... glacier hiking at the Franz Josef Glacier. It was pretty sweet. Overpriced and a little long by the end, but still an unreal experience hiking all over an active glacier the size of a mountain. Nothing but ice as far as the eye can see... and we did it in t shirts bc it was a hot day out! Be excited for great pics. Also we hiked the Abel Tasman. It was sweet. Erin's toe basically fell off. Well she had a blister so big and then it just peeled off, so it looked like her entire toe fell off. All in all the trip took three days. The first day was gorgeous - amazing weather and a long day's worth of hiking. The second day was pouring rain all day and we were wet and cold. The third was nice again and pretty short, which was a good thing because Erin had to basically gimp it out the rest of the way. All-in-all it was about 25 miles in 3 days (we weren't able to do the whole thing because the water-taxi wouldn't take us up to the end) and a super-duper neat-o experience.
All we eat is baked beans and creamed rice bsacially [flatulence is an all-too frequent event... just ask Erin - she has never been so glad for a stuffed nose in her life]. No - we're doing great here don't you worry.
What else? well i only have 3 minutes... but we've also done a wine tour in the Marlborough Sounds (probably produces the best sav blanc in the world) and other fun things i can't remember right now.
I miss everyone that reads this (and probably some people that don't, but I guess I can't tell them that on here). We're having a blast and miss you lindy! Erin and I are stoked to get to come see you.
- Jesse "incredible land speed" Meredith
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Mad Mondays
It has been about a month since I signed into the Asylum Backpackers Hostel and I think it is high time to discuss the big day of the week around these here parts. Mad Monday is the big pub crawl where most everyone in The Asylum rocks their Asylum shirts (properly graffitied with lewd phrases and nicknames as well as mostly all ripped and unruly) and hits up a few bars in Cairns. We get coupons for each bar where we can get free drinks plus a meal plus discounts on other drinks. Lots and lots of lots of fun times ten.
The night begins at a brisk 630pm. I usually have gotten back from the boat and had an hour or so to collect myself, run thru some emails and maybe get a small cat napper. Unless of course there is a theme for the Monday in which case I have spent that time sprinting to thrift stores or having some arts and crafts time making up something original for the evening. We all head down to out front of the hostel to have a few drinks and further defile each other's tshirts. Some like to get a new shirt each week while I prefer to continue to sport the insults and slogans on my shirt from previous weeks. Any virgin shirts are descended upon very quickly by the herd.
By 715ish we are shuttled off to the first bar, The Rhino Bar, where we get a nice little meal of moroccan chicken and rice or perhaps some spaghetti and meatsauce. Free drink coupon and then it is happy hour with cheap drinks. There are a few games played on stage. Most games are centered around lap dance competitions and pretty much just trying to get us inmates to make fools of ourselves. I vowed this last Monday to not take a step on stage (not in the first bar, not in the last bar, not in any bar). I was superclose to having my plans foiled right away at rhinobar when they had four females up on stage and needed four strapping fellas to team up with them. I don't know why but somehow I am always selected to be a strapping fella either by the guy with the mic or by all the other people in the crowd around me. Anyways I was getting manhandled up to the stage (not putting up too much of a fight) but before I got there four other fellas had eagerly volunteered. Suckers. I was safe.
Anywho after running the first bar for a couple hours we head across the street to The Heritage where there are more free and discounted drinks with more of a dance floor to boogey down on here. Games include finding items in the crowd like Jesse discussed when he was out in Byron Bay as well as a fun one where we get in groups of four and half to fit everyone on top of a single sheet on newspaper. Get the girls on the guys shoulders and you fit pretty easily. But then they fold your sheet of news in half and have you go again. Girls on shoulders and the guys pretty much hugging and we are ok and on to the next round. Fold the pape in half again and the other guy decides he can fit the other three of us on his back. Our game ended with the four of us entangled on the ground definitively not balanced on top of our tiny little paper.
An hour or two of Heritage fun and we are off to The Woolshed. Free drink, free slice of pizza and it is time for Mr and Mrs Backpacker competition. Guys first up on the tables dancing around for the crowds approval to move on to the next round. Generally you try and ration the clothing removal so you still have something to take off in the final round. I still haven't really figured out how to win this game. I try and predict who will move on to the latter rounds each week and cannot reliably predict the crowds whimsy.
Before you know it you are wandering out of the Woolshed at 4 in the AM. Great great nights. The only competition I ever won was a costume contest for the Costume Theme Mad Monday a few weeks back. My years dressing up weekly at Stanford had me prepared to quickly assemble an excellent nerd costume. I won a free trip out to the Great Barrier Reef for some snorkeling and diving. Hot Dog! I get to do that everyday already. So I gave the certificate away to my buddy who I considered runner up in the Costume Competition. Chaos Craziness and Monday's are one of my favorite nights of the week. Somehow I have been in Cairns for every Monday so far. It has worked out just so that work hasn't scheduled me to be on the liveaboard on Monday night yet. There are thousands of Mad Monday Pictures up on http://www.asylumbackpackers.com/ from the last couple weeks. I'm in a ton of them. People ask why I am still staying in a hostel rather than getting a flat here in Cairns. Events like this and that general atmosphere is something I am not going to get from hanging out by myself in my own little flat.
Bye
B
The night begins at a brisk 630pm. I usually have gotten back from the boat and had an hour or so to collect myself, run thru some emails and maybe get a small cat napper. Unless of course there is a theme for the Monday in which case I have spent that time sprinting to thrift stores or having some arts and crafts time making up something original for the evening. We all head down to out front of the hostel to have a few drinks and further defile each other's tshirts. Some like to get a new shirt each week while I prefer to continue to sport the insults and slogans on my shirt from previous weeks. Any virgin shirts are descended upon very quickly by the herd.
By 715ish we are shuttled off to the first bar, The Rhino Bar, where we get a nice little meal of moroccan chicken and rice or perhaps some spaghetti and meatsauce. Free drink coupon and then it is happy hour with cheap drinks. There are a few games played on stage. Most games are centered around lap dance competitions and pretty much just trying to get us inmates to make fools of ourselves. I vowed this last Monday to not take a step on stage (not in the first bar, not in the last bar, not in any bar). I was superclose to having my plans foiled right away at rhinobar when they had four females up on stage and needed four strapping fellas to team up with them. I don't know why but somehow I am always selected to be a strapping fella either by the guy with the mic or by all the other people in the crowd around me. Anyways I was getting manhandled up to the stage (not putting up too much of a fight) but before I got there four other fellas had eagerly volunteered. Suckers. I was safe.
Anywho after running the first bar for a couple hours we head across the street to The Heritage where there are more free and discounted drinks with more of a dance floor to boogey down on here. Games include finding items in the crowd like Jesse discussed when he was out in Byron Bay as well as a fun one where we get in groups of four and half to fit everyone on top of a single sheet on newspaper. Get the girls on the guys shoulders and you fit pretty easily. But then they fold your sheet of news in half and have you go again. Girls on shoulders and the guys pretty much hugging and we are ok and on to the next round. Fold the pape in half again and the other guy decides he can fit the other three of us on his back. Our game ended with the four of us entangled on the ground definitively not balanced on top of our tiny little paper.
An hour or two of Heritage fun and we are off to The Woolshed. Free drink, free slice of pizza and it is time for Mr and Mrs Backpacker competition. Guys first up on the tables dancing around for the crowds approval to move on to the next round. Generally you try and ration the clothing removal so you still have something to take off in the final round. I still haven't really figured out how to win this game. I try and predict who will move on to the latter rounds each week and cannot reliably predict the crowds whimsy.
Before you know it you are wandering out of the Woolshed at 4 in the AM. Great great nights. The only competition I ever won was a costume contest for the Costume Theme Mad Monday a few weeks back. My years dressing up weekly at Stanford had me prepared to quickly assemble an excellent nerd costume. I won a free trip out to the Great Barrier Reef for some snorkeling and diving. Hot Dog! I get to do that everyday already. So I gave the certificate away to my buddy who I considered runner up in the Costume Competition. Chaos Craziness and Monday's are one of my favorite nights of the week. Somehow I have been in Cairns for every Monday so far. It has worked out just so that work hasn't scheduled me to be on the liveaboard on Monday night yet. There are thousands of Mad Monday Pictures up on http://www.asylumbackpackers.com/ from the last couple weeks. I'm in a ton of them. People ask why I am still staying in a hostel rather than getting a flat here in Cairns. Events like this and that general atmosphere is something I am not going to get from hanging out by myself in my own little flat.
Bye
B
Monday, April 6, 2009
Dolphins Off the Bow
Good morning everyone! I have a solid half hour online this morning before I head off to my Rescue Diver Course so I thought I would put in a quick update.
First off I am halfway done with my 46 day work off at CDC and am having a great time with it. Recently I have been getting a little antsy to keep moving, getting out of Cairns, and seeing more of Oz. These urges are mysteriously coinciding with hearing more from Jesse and Erin out in NZ and talking with lots of friends and family from back in Cali last week. But then I get out on the reef and remember why I am here for another month or two.
My Rescue Diver Course is sort of halfway to the Dive Master and Assistant Instructor. We learn about how to assist and save panicked snorkelers and unconscious divers and all that. Mostly it sounds like a lot a lot of fun. For a couple days we do tons of practice scenarios where one of us goes out in the waters and is panicking and then tries to cause as much trouble as they can for whoever comes out to rescue them. As soon as my rescuer gets within reach their mask will be off and thrown far away. Fins too. If they are wearing a stinger suit, lets get that unzipped partially and pulled over an arm limiting their mobility. On top of that I will pretty much try and drown my rescuer. Sounds like lots of fun especially when you have multiple rescuers coming at you at once.
So that will be fun. A couple other stories from the Reef. We had dolphins come and play off the front bow of the boat as we were changing dive sites the other day. At least 20 came and played around weaving and jumping in front of the boat for about a half hour. Other wiley veterans on the boat says that happens every few months so I was psyched to be out there for that day. Also, on the liveaboard boat there are usually two hostesses running the bar and laundry and food and all sorts of other things. For the last few days there was only one hostess scheduled so she was working constantly doing the work of two people so she had no chance to go diving for a few days. She finally had a second to get in one dive right before she came off the boat. On that dive she saw not one but TWO manta rays! One was normal size (5 foot wingspan) and the other was around 8ft. So jealous.
Alright that is all the time I have for now. Miss everyone! I have a day off after the rescue diver course so hopefully I will have more pics and stories then.
Love,
Lindy
First off I am halfway done with my 46 day work off at CDC and am having a great time with it. Recently I have been getting a little antsy to keep moving, getting out of Cairns, and seeing more of Oz. These urges are mysteriously coinciding with hearing more from Jesse and Erin out in NZ and talking with lots of friends and family from back in Cali last week. But then I get out on the reef and remember why I am here for another month or two.
My Rescue Diver Course is sort of halfway to the Dive Master and Assistant Instructor. We learn about how to assist and save panicked snorkelers and unconscious divers and all that. Mostly it sounds like a lot a lot of fun. For a couple days we do tons of practice scenarios where one of us goes out in the waters and is panicking and then tries to cause as much trouble as they can for whoever comes out to rescue them. As soon as my rescuer gets within reach their mask will be off and thrown far away. Fins too. If they are wearing a stinger suit, lets get that unzipped partially and pulled over an arm limiting their mobility. On top of that I will pretty much try and drown my rescuer. Sounds like lots of fun especially when you have multiple rescuers coming at you at once.
So that will be fun. A couple other stories from the Reef. We had dolphins come and play off the front bow of the boat as we were changing dive sites the other day. At least 20 came and played around weaving and jumping in front of the boat for about a half hour. Other wiley veterans on the boat says that happens every few months so I was psyched to be out there for that day. Also, on the liveaboard boat there are usually two hostesses running the bar and laundry and food and all sorts of other things. For the last few days there was only one hostess scheduled so she was working constantly doing the work of two people so she had no chance to go diving for a few days. She finally had a second to get in one dive right before she came off the boat. On that dive she saw not one but TWO manta rays! One was normal size (5 foot wingspan) and the other was around 8ft. So jealous.
Alright that is all the time I have for now. Miss everyone! I have a day off after the rescue diver course so hopefully I will have more pics and stories then.
Love,
Lindy
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