A Sort of Homecoming

I’m sitting in LAX right now, waiting about 90 minutes for my flight back to Newark. This follows 2 hours from Queenstown to Auckland, and 12 hours from Auckland to LA. I’m one tired little zombie, I tellsya.

Moreover, after all my macho adventures of the past two weeks, I busted a tooth eating a muffin during breakfast on the Auckland flight. I mean, seriously: helicopters, bungee-jumps, mountain hikes, drunken Australians, and I get my ass kicked by a blueberry muffin?

Good thing I’m a new man…

Greatest Adventure

Sure, I’ve taken a helicopter ride up the side of a glacier, climbed a mile-high mountain, jetboated the Shotover canyon, and bungee-jumped off a 155-foot platform, but nothing prepared me for the experience of my last night in New Zealand: drinking with a bunch of Australian guys.

I have a newfound respect (and fear) for that country…

(My New Zealand pix via Flickr)

Next Adventure

The tour wrapped up last night. Now I have two days in Queenstown, during which time I’ll take a lengthy hike, sit out by the water (Lake Wakatipu), and not drink. I’ve consumed more beer in the last 10 days than I have in the previous two years. That’s what you get for hanging out with Australian guys…

(My New Zealand pix via Flickr)

Airborne

Took my first helicopter trip today. We took it to Fox Glacier, which is situated above a rainforest, for a morning hike, which was gorgeous. The geography of this place is insane. The helicopter ride was smooth. The pilot banked kinda severely to show us a waterfall, and I had a little lurch from the g-force. But I got used to it and rode out the next few banks.

But I actually had two separate sessions of aerial activity today. The first was the round trip to Fox Glacier. The second was when our bus driver drove (a little quickly) over a little bridge that was recently paved. The bus (38 people and all their luggage) went airborne as we hit the joint of the pavement. Did the same thing when we reached the other side, two seconds later. That’s an adventure tour for you.

Now I’m down in Queenstown. Tomorrow, I take the Shotover jetboat in the morning for 20 minutes of zooming around. In the evening (5:10pm), I leap off of The Ledge for a 47m (155 ft.) bungy jump. I’m scared, but I think it’s more fear of embarrassment, rather than life-and-limb. I spend too much time inside myself, making cosmic explanations for things that are really just childhood neuroses. Spending two weeks without talking to a single person who knows me, I’ve come to realize that some dumb aspects of my behavior are just contingent on my need to please present company. That’s not happening as much here.

So I’m going to jump off The Ledge tomorrow, and if I don’t do a beautiful swan-dive, it’ll still be a great experience. I’ll have a video of it, and a bunch of pix that’ll make their way into the Big Slideshow.

Speaking of which, the camera is well and truly shot. I’ve been using disposable ones here, and I’ll have to grab a new Minolta when I get home. Grr.

(My New Zealand pix via Flickr)

Correction

Turns out the ferry was to Picton, through the Marlborough Sound, which was the eeriest experience I’ve ever had. More to come.

We drove from there to Nelson. Yesterday, I went for a three-hour hike in the Abel Tasman National Park, followed by a visit to The Grumpy Mole, where one of the other members of the tour lived up to his Australian stereotype by drinking 15 beers before shifting over to screwdrivers for the rest of the evening. Said evening, note, comprised less than 4 hours. One of the other Australians was surprised by my behavior that evening. “I thought you’d be more… aggressive,” he said. I think, based on the way I’ve portrayed myself to some people, that he was expecting a Begbie-esque experience last night. Well, there’s still time in Queenstown…

Today was a drive down to Kaikoura (where I am now), to be followed by an evening drive to our destination, Christchurch. Took some wonderful pix yesterday during the hike, and some funny ones during the evening out. But the camera got doused in the sink this morning, and I’m hoping it’s just the battery that’s messed up. I’ll find out when we check in tonight. Grr.

(My New Zealand pix via Flickr)