Hello All! I am almost embaresed to look at the post below this because so much has happened since the last time we blogged. Cruising down the Whanganui seems like forever ago... this just means that so much has happened since. Courtney and I tag teamed this blog, she picked out the pictures, and I will comment on them. She picked out one or two pictures from most of the big adventures that we have partaken in since our river jaunt.

Here Goes...

Marlborough Sounds

This is from our first adventure on the south island (Marlborough Sounds, as you can tell from the fancy labeling). The sounds were gorgeous, and you can definitely tell why people pay so much money to spend a couple of nights taking in the amazing sights (some of the most expensive hotels in all of NZ are here). As usual we decided to do a couple of treks and spend our evenings in the MPV, instead of partaking in the fancy lifestyle of the rich and famous. The trekking was good, and the parts of the sounds that were protected forest land were amazing! It was pretty crazy to see the contrast between the parts of the land that were protected and those that weren't... i've been reading an environmental book. Anyhow, the sounds were gorgeous and we spent christmas there doing day treks from the car.

Able Tasman

After hanging out in the sounds we decided to head to touristy abel tasman national park. Usually, touristy means we don't like it, but this was sooo not the case with this amazing trek. We spent four days three nights in the park, camping and backpacking the whole time. This wasn't the standard backpacking trek... most of the time on the trail we spent in between rediculous golden beaches. Maybe the nicest beaches we have seen thus far on the trip. We booked really good campsites in advance, and had an all around amazing time soaking in the sun for all four days. P.S. We got the most amazing weather we could have ever asked for, it really made the trip!

Cobb Valley

Following Abel Tasman courtney and I snuck into a new years eve festival at a historic outdoor events venue. There were lots of crazy hippies, sounds in the sweet forests, awesome live acts, and as always here in NZ... some awesome kiwis. Following this three day adventure we took off to an off the beaten track spot called the cobb valley. We didn't get the whole feel for this awesome area due to weather (NZ's weather is the most unpredictable in the world as far as I am concerned). Never the less as you can see from the above photo, it was quite gorgeous.

Drive to Nelson Lakes

Roberts Ridge, Nelson Lakes National Park

Next on the agenda was Nelson lakes national park. We decided to go on a two day one night trip that turned out awesome. We made ourselves a little campsite in a valley underneath some crazy jagged mountains. The pics above and below are of those mountains. This was courtneys first real excursion into "freedom camping above the bushline." Meaning, trekking around and finding a campsite in the trees while on an overnight trip. Usually we get to stay in nice camp sites. I try to take care of your girl donna.

Us at the end of The Nelson Lakes Tramp. We skirted the ridge of the mountain on the right for all of the second day.


Paparoa National Park

Following our adventure in Nelson Lakes we made our way to the coast and went on a bit of a coastal drive for a little over a day. This coastline is one of the most gorgeous that i have ever seen in my whole entire life (and I have seen some awesome ones). Crazy vegitation out of the prehistoric ages dropped into the coast where the tasman sea was reaking havoc on pillars of stone set off into the sea. Thats about all you need to know. I'm trying to talk courtney into going back up that way prior to picking dani up.

Avalanche Peak, Arthurs Pass National Park

After the coastal trek we headed back inland to the mountains and did a one day hike up one of the most famous one day treks in NZ. It was an amazing day, and not too many people were on the trail. Actually about half of the trek was spent chatting it up with some friendly older kiwis from christchurch. Good hike. The picture below is of Courtney and I on top of the peak.

Me Getting Ready to Skydive

Now we are currently in "glacier country" take two for us. The first item on my agenda was juping out of a plane. Lonely Planet (a very popular tourist guide book) is quoted for saying this is one of the best places in the world to jump out of a plane... the biggest mountains in all of NZ, glaciers, rainforests, and the tasman sea while free falling from 12,000 feet. Thats a good description of how it went down. I was lucky, due to the fact that courtney didn't want to go, that several of the individuals working for the outfit got to jump along side of me at the same time. This meant I got to be part of a formation while free falling, and see these crazy people do flips and strange manovers while falling from the sky. It was quite an unreal experience. If any of you ever want to go skydiving... I recommend doing it over fox glacier in NZ. The pic below is one I snapped off of mt cook (the highest mountain in NZ at 12,000 feet on the right), and mt tasman (second highest in NZ on the left). These are the kind of views I got to take in before jumping out of a plane.


So that about catches you all up on what courtney and I have been doing for the last several weeks. We have been having the time of our lives, and have plenty of ridiculous stuff yet to see. Dani arrives on friday, and we are so excited to pick her up and get her started on her crazy journey down here.

On a completely different note... we have bought plane tickets. The rest of our journey is now set in place (sort of). We fly to australia on the 4th of february. From there we will travel to thailand via malaysia. Arriving in Kuala Lampur on the 19th of february, and Bangkok on the 6th of april. Drum roll please... We now have a plane ticket home! Bangkok to Los Angeles via Seoul South Korea, arriving in Los Angeles on the 20th of April.

Can't wait to see you folks!