The Final Days of New Zealand...

Kia Ora my friends!!!


I would be remiss if I didn't tell you of the Maori culture in New Zealand. The phrase above means welcome in their native tongue and they are absolutely the most friendly people I have ever met. Being a fierce warrior culture, they were not assimilated as easily as the Aboriginals of Australia and fought so aggressively that England decided it was easier to make a truce with them...then to keep fighting. I believe it is for this reason that the Maori are such an integrated, iconic part of the New Zealand populace. It was a treat to befriend so many of them. I will certainly miss their friendly nature and fantastic smiles.


The final few days of my time in New Zealand found me back in the North Island heading towards Auckland airport. Along the way I stopped at Wellington (for the second time) Napier, Taupo (for the second time), Rotorua (for the second time), Mt Manganui and then back to Auckland.





Although stopping in places for the second time may sound a bit foolish, it afforded me the luxury of doing a few things I missed the first time around. The most important thing I was fortunate to accomplish during my second trip to Taupo was to experience the Tongariro Crossing. This is known as "the best one day trek in New Zealand"...and it certainly lived up to it's name.


Due to the dangerous nature of this crossing, weather during my first trip to Taupo didn't allow me to enjoy this 18kms of beauty. Almost all of the pictures in this posting come from the Tongariro Crossing. You better enjoy them as the "Devil's Staircase" almost killed me. The Devil's Staircase is the first real ascent up the mountains and being as out of shape as I am and in normal running shoes...the trek was tougher than I expected.

I have to admit when I'm defeated and Mt. Doom (the mountain from the Lord of the Rings)...see two pics above...won this round as I did not attempt to traverse the steep slope. Now you may call me a wimp...and maybe I am...but just think of this. I've been partying pretty hard for 5 months and had a really bad head cold and couldn't breathe through my nose that day. ( I can already hear the snide comments) Come on...it was also St. Paddy's day and I wanted to be in good drinking shape. I have a reputation to uphold!! However, in hindsight...I should have tried as I was almost 3.5 hours early for the bus on the other side of the crossing. During a 5.5 hour trek such as this...you get time to think...so I figured out how many "drinks" I've consumed on my travels thus far. I was going to show you the calculations I went through, but the result scared me...the results would petrify my parents...and the results would give my doctor a heart attack. I believe my liver is now an official medical miracle. Please read about it in the upcoming medical journals....entitled..."the liver that could!!"

But thanks to a pretty good metabolism and more hikes than I can count...I have only gained one Kilo or 2.2 pounds. They talk crazy metric over here. At the time I was supposed to sky dive in Taupo (it was called off due to high winds) I was weighed in at 88Kilos or approximately 190lbs. Unfortunately...it's all found around my waist :(

OK...enough bad visuals about me as I'm hoping you're enjoying these beautiful images from NZ. And just one warning from a dumb Canadian...don't get to close to the edge of a slippery mountain when wearing running shoes. For your viewing pleasure I wanted to get as close to the edge as possible...only to have my shoes start slipping on the pebbles...let's just say I saw the edge of the mountain much closer than expected. Enjoy the shots!!

By the time Gus and I were finishing our great Magic Bus adventure...we found ourselves surrounded by women in the group. We struggled through this hardship as best we could...OK...that's crap...the girls were hot! Love ya girls...and miss you already. Who's up for another whirlwind tour of NZ?

I'm struggling with this blog more than most...probably because I started it in New Zealand and sad to be leaving so many friends behind. I'm now trying to finish it in Bangkok, Thailand where there is just too much to see and do...also picture 99% humidity...but luckily I am sipping a beer as I type. Maybe if I have 10 more beers the words will come easier.

Bottom line...NZ is beautiful. I'm sure the pictures haven't done it justice, but once again...I recommend everyone getting your butts down here. The scenery is beyond belief...the people are so friendly...but I must admit...I still loved Australia more.

But with that said...the people I met on the Magic Bus were what made my trip. And it doesn't hurt that I now have places to stay in many European countries...I will be their worst nightmare. I hope they all have long couches!! See you soon gang!!

OK...it's time to end this boring posting. I would feel worse about the boring text if I hadn't risked my life in getting you these awesome pictures.

I say farewell to NZ and look forward to Thailand where it's time to work on my tan again. NZ was many things...but with the weather...it killed any tan I had. See you on the beaches! Once again I'll be the white Canadian whale...just thought I would leave you with another bad visual.

Almost six months travelling done...almost four more months to go. Gotta run!!