More NZ!

So, although I still absolutely LOVE New Zealand and can't wait to get back there, there are also some really great things about being home - like running on the snow covered trails at night under a nearly full moon. OMG - that is seriously magical! A couple of days ago, it was absolutely perfect out on the trails and I had a huge smile on my face the entire time. I saw a deer, actually ran behind him for quite a while before he decided to finally step off the trail. Running on the trails at night makes me feel like a kid ... so much that I had to stop and make a snow angel at one point. :-) LOL! Tonight was quite a bit colder (9 deg!) so I had several layers on - including a fleece scarf wrapped around my head so only my eyes were peaking out. It was probably good that it was dark - I wasn't exactly a fashion queen tonight. :-) (Sorry - no pics of this!!)

Ok, a few more pics of NZ to share:


This is in Aspiring National Park, near the city of Wanaka ... just a gorgeous place to hike.










A view along the Kepler Track. This is one of the 8 (or is it 9?) "Great Walks" in New Zealand, a popular & maintained trail that's beautiful! The Kepler Challenge 60K race is held in December and follows the entire trail - definitely something that's on my "list"! Check it out: www.keplerchallenge.co.nz/



Group photo at the very south end of the south island. 4810km from the south pole, 5133km from the equator, and 18958km from London! A little chilly here!








From a trail on Stewart Island. We took a ferry ride to this island - the birding capital of NZ - in hopes of spotting a kiwi. No luck on the kiwi, but we saw a lot of other interesting birds.







Need to make a phone call?!?













Surfing in Dunedin. Well, I don't think you can call what I did "surfing", but I had a lot of fun jumping waves, getting tossed around in the water, and watching the guys surf!










One of the last places along our journey - Moeraki boulders. These rocks are naturally spherical!


All in all, this was a very special journey for me - lots of adventure with great friends, a good amount of "solo time" to regenerate my soul, and the opportunity to look at life from a different perspective. :-) It is something that will remain a strong memory for a VERY long time!

A few more pics!

As I'm trying to sort through the hundreds of pictures that I took while I was in NZ, here are a few more that remind me of the incredible times down there.  That is one magical place for me!! If you haven't been there, I highly recommend a visit - and plan on spending a minimum of 2 weeks (more time is definitely better though!)


Another view of Castle Hill - just kind of crazy to see all these rocks/boulders concentrated in this area.  We had a lot of fun in that area. :-)



...Not a bad place to hang out!


The BEAUTIFUL Hokitika river!  The water was such an amazing turquoise color - just spectacular. Ryan & Jared kayaked this & I hiked around the area. (Soon, I will also learn how to kayak!)


Our transportation across a river in the Whitcombe valley! I was a little hesitant, ok scared ... holding on for my life, the first time we crossed it. The second time was better though & I was even able to look down at the river. LOL!


Lake Wanaka, heading into the city of Wanaka ... wow, very beautiful town! I did a bit of mtn biking here and there were some good trails to run/hike in the area.


The Rob Roy glacier - at the top of one of New Zealand's "top 6" day hikes (at least that's what a local told me when I was talking to her along the trail). It was definitely a favorite of mine! This was in the Aspiring National Park, near Wanaka. We drove along the most washboarded road that I have ever been on to get here - didn't help that the suspension on the campervan had seen better days. We were all a little surprised that we made the drive w/o losing any parts from the vehicle.


One of several waterfalls along the same trail up to the Rob Roy glacier. I talked to a lot of people when I was running/hiking the trails. Its always so interesting to talk to people from different countries and hear their perspectives - I learn so much and I love to see things from a different angle.



On our canyoneering trip in the "12 mile" canyon outside of Queenstown. We met up with a couple locals who showed us the way - and were VERY nice to let me borrow an extra wetsuit they had. The water was chilly! ... especially when you're going through the natural waterslides like this pic. :-)

Gotta sign off for now - more pics to come.

Back in the States

Well, I'm back from my 2 1/2 week amazing journey in New Zealand - sorry no other posts while I was down there. Over the next few days, I'll summarize the amazing time we had and include a few of my favorite pics. In summary, let me just say that I really think you should try to visit New Zealand at some point in your life ... or at least consider visiting me when I move there! :-) (It is definitely a place that I could live - and is at the top of my list if I ever decide to move!)

On the first day of the trip, we did a little journey through Cave Stream, hiked to Avalanche peak near Arthur's Pass, and did a bit of bouldering/playing at Castle Hill.


This is "Cave Stream" - a must do, along the way from Christchurch up to Arthur's pass. It's a cave with a stream running through it (hence the obvious name!). Water up to waist deep at times, headlamp definitely required, awesome!


This is me, close to the entrance of the cave, while I was still trying to avoid getting soaked. :-) I eventually gave up and jumped in the FREEZING cold water!


Group photo at Castle Hill - a popular bouldering area & fun place to play around!

We did so many very spectacular outdoor adventures (which you'll hear more about soon) and I had a fantastic time with my great friends Jared & Ryan. Also, very important to me, I had some good solo time to ponder a bunch of things. The combination of these two aspects made this a very special journey for me. I really needed a break to re-focus things in my life and to help me reset priorities. One thing I want to to work on this year is to find opportunities to make positive and meaningful impacts in other people's lives. I've really been very lucky in my life and I want to find a way to make a more productive impact in this place we call home. ...maybe this will be through adventures or volunteering or something work-related or through a combination of a lot of things. Its time to start making some changes though! If you have any ideas or thoughts on this, I'd love to hear from you!