17 April

27 March: We were still in Nelson so I decided to go for a run up to the Grandpian Viewpoint. What a view. From the top of this big hill, you could see the whole bay and Nelson below. Fantastic!

28 March: We took the bus from Nelson to Punakaiki. Talk about a wonder! This little gem is in the middle of nowhere on the coast of the Tasman Sea. People typically stop there to see what are called the Pancake Rocks. These are rock formations that the sea crashes against. When the tide comes in right, water sprays everywhere. What people don't often see in Punakaiki is the forest. Walking through the forest makes you wonder where you are. It looks like something strait out of Lord of the Rings. It's a rain forest in between the sea and mountains.

29 March: Took the bus to Fox Glacier. Met a Canadian, Kevin, who take 10 times as many pictures as I do. He was a great guy.

30 March: Kevin and I woke up early to catch a sunrise over Mt. Cook and Mt. Tasman reflecting off Lake Matheson. Later, Kevin was going skydiving, so I thought I would go too. What a rush!!! Jumping off bridges in Ecuador, jumping out of planes in New Zealand, what won't I do?

31 March: Kevin and I hiked up Mt. Fox which proved to be more demanding than either of us had anticipated. No problems though. We toughed it out for amazing views of the mountains and glaciers to our left and the sea to our right. That evening Andrea, a German girl she met, Kevin and I went to the beach, 22km from Fox Glacier, and took spectacular evening shots of the beach and this amazing lagoon. I've never seen water so still it was breathtaking. The bug, however, were not.

1 April: Andrea and I boarded the bus for Wanaka. The driver talked about every species of cow in New Zealand and the different grasses each of them eat. Wanaka is another little New Zealand gem. The first evening I walked up Mt.. Iron (549m) which gave nice views of the area. Then I went to Puzzling World which for anyone who has been to the Mystery Spot knows what this is about. It's just a bunch of wacky optical illusions and a big walk through puzzle. That evening Andrea and I went to the Paradiso, a cinema that has couches instead of seats. Half way through they shut the movie down for an intermission. When you get up for refreshments, they have fresh baked cookies waiting in the lobby.

2 April: I walked along the lake 6km to get to the Roy's Peak trail head. Then I headed up the side of this mountain 6km. From the summit of Roy's Peak (1578m) were awe inspiring views of Mt. Aspiring, Lake Wanaka and the surrounding area. Then I ran down the a ridge they call the Skyline Track 10km. I ended up a ways behind the city so I hitched a ride back to town with a man they call “Croc”. He said he was a hunter and had just finished some guided hunting trip. It was kind of funny, he still had blood on his hands. How creepy is that?

3 April: Didn't do a whole lot. I just ran along the lake.

4 April: Didn't do anything, just relaxed.

5 April: I ran up Mt. Iron. Then met this Israeli, Johnny, who further inspired me to go to Africa. Andrea, Johnny and I went to BBQ some local church was throwing down in the park. That was actually really nice.

6 April: Bussed to Queenstown. Now is supposed to be the city on the South Island for adreneline junkies. You can do anything there, jet boating, sky diving, bungi jumping, hang gliding, whatever suits you. The weather wasn't that great so we just walked around a bit. We met up with Urs, a Swiss guy I met in Auckland. We ate Mexican and then went to a cafe called Patagonia. It was great! Not to mention, they had FREE WIRELESS!!! This is nearly unheard of in New Zealand! Then we went out for drinks at a couple places. We met up with Anett who was also in town and a Swedish girl who I met in Wanaka, Mikaela.

7 April: Andrea and I hiked up Bob's Peak instead of taking the gondola. It was a little rainy, but still nice. We met an Israeli staying in our room, Ziv, who turned out to be someone I will remember for year to come. Ziv, Mikaela, Andrea and I went to Ferg Burger. Ziv got “The Big Al”. It was the biggest burger I've ever seen in my life. He ate it faster than I eat.

8 April: Didn't do a whole lot. Just got ready for hiking!

9 April: Andrea, Mikaela, Ziv and I started the Routeburn. It's a New Zealand great walk. A great walk it is! Absolutely stunning! Through forest and over apline. There was snow on the peak around us. It was 32km over three days. I would have run it if I had done it before to take all me pictures.

10 April: Taking picture of the ocean from Conical hill in the middle of the mountains.

11 April: Mikaela and I walked out earlier than Ziv and Andrea because I had a Milford Sound cruise to catch. I was supposed to get on a bus, but because Mikaela was hitching, I decided to hitch with her. We got a ride from a couple coming from Dunedin for the weekend, Richard and his girlfriend whose name I don't remember. We made a stop at this river to take a look before we headed to the Sound. So much water! Before we arrived at the sound we had to stop at a tunnel. I saw a Kea standing in the rain. The Kea is a bird. It's it only alpine parrot in the world. It is also endangered. Milford Sound was great, but I would have been better if it wasn't pouring rain! I took the bus to Te Anau after that. Mikaela was able to hitch a ride back with the same couple we got a ride in from.

12 April: Mikaela and I wanted to do something so we hitched out to Rainbow Reach on the Kepler Track with an older couple traveling from Melbourne. We walked to the Moturua Hut and back to
Te Anau along the river.

13 April: I ran from town to Bond Bay and back. That was the longest run I have done in years. As Forrest Gump would say, “I just felt like running.” I ran for a hour, forty minutes.

14 April: Cecilia, a girl from New York, Mikaela, Ziv and I drove to the Catlins. We headed south along the coast through Invercargill and had lunch. We stopped at Waipapa Point, Slope Point, which is the furthest south point of the South Island of New Zealand, and Curio Bay on our way to New Haven on Surat Bay where we stayed the night.

15 April: I woke up to take sunrise pictures along the coast. I was so excited I almost ran into a sea lion. After that, I was a little more cautious and decided I would just take pictures of them and not try to trample them. The beach I was walking on was long and open. I saw about 14 sea lions along the way. Then was drove to Cathedral Caves, Matai Falls, Purakaunui Falls and Nuggett Point. Boy how I love to ocean. That night I slept in my tent.

16 April: I woke up early again to walked along the beach. This time, when I reached the end, I saw one yellow-eyed penguin. We drove north toward Dunedin, but not the whole way. I Cecilia and I got out at Milton and hitched a ride to Dunedin with a local farmer, Jim. He talked about fishing, farming, everything. When we arrived, I just walked around Dunedin and got some things done.

To all who haven't ever traveled for a long period of time, I have had some interesting things run through my head. For those who have, perhaps you can relate. The biggest thing is a disconnection from reality. I haven''t quite achieved this yet, nor am I trying to disconnect from reality. But I have met some people who have been traveling for long periods of time. It's interesting to hear some of their ideas and ideals. The longer you are away from the things and the people you are most familiar with, slowly become obsolete and you begin a new way of life. The disconnection comes when you have been away for so long that you can no longer coupe or understand people around you who have close friends and routines and a certain number of material things I like to call toys! You know, the fun stuff, a bike, a skis, things like that.

It's a completely different way of life, a life based almost solely on survival. It's the life of a nomad. I haven't reached the point where I must work to live, but their are those who have. You work for a bit and move on to the next place. Then, you work for a bit to get to the place after that. When you stay a place you never really settle and you wonder what your next move should be. Objects in motion, tend to stay in motion, object at still, tend to stay still. It works with the vagabond also. You always feel like you need to be moving. You ask yourself, "where next?"

The thought of material possession makes you think differently about what you really need in life. Do you really need this thing? Can I live without that thing? Living out of a backpack isn't always easy, but it makes you wonder how many "things" one really needs. Even with a bag you will wonder what you can get rid of next to make it smaller, lighter. It's your life in a turtle shell.