I'm bringing home a baby bumble bee.

I parked near the car park for Godley Head Recreational area on a cliff overlooking the sea. I explored the old batteries and the underground system that had been set up for a while. There had once been a lighthouse here, but it was moved further down the cliff face to make way for the gun emplacements. There was a gated fence, that blocked access to the lighthouse however there was just enough room to squeeze past it over the cliff face where a simple slip would mean a several hundred feet plunge. I took a look around for a little bit and checked out the lighthouse and foghorn room for a bit while enjoying the grand view over the water. I headed back out and then took a slow drive back into Christchurch where I got a much needed haircut and then headed back the downtown area. I parked relatively close to the Base X hostel downtown and there cooked the last of my perishable food while shelving the rest of what I had in the 'free' section of the kitchen, before taking a shower and checking email. After that I headed to the car and spent an hour or so cleaning it out of all my trash and dirt before heading to the airport to drop it off. After that all I could do was get the iPod charged up and wait for the plane. This would end up literally being the longest day of my life as I was now heading east. Being another long flight, I watched several movies including 3:10 to Yuma, Juno, The Golden Compass, and American Gangster while trying to stay awake to more easily reset my internal clock. It was good to finally be on my way back home.

Edoras: Golden Hall of the King of Rohan

As most people are aware, the Lord of the Rings trilogy was filmed in New Zealand. While a lot of the film was digitally mastered, there are still many locations used for outside shots, one of them primarily being Edoras. This major scene was shot a few hours outside of Christchurch on Mt. Sunday. I had decided to hit at least one of the grand filming locations and think that with the exception of Hobbiton (filmed in the upper area of the North Island) that this was going to be my best bet. In all of the tourist areas of New Zealand there are LOTR tours advertised, however anyone that knows me understands I'm not one to do a tour of something if I can conceivably do it myself or at my own pace. I saved the GPS coordinates from some of the LOTR tour books at the library in Queenstown to complement some already recorded in my GPS before I left home just in case I had the opportunity to visit.

It was a pretty long ride that was pretty empty of most structures along the way and at location, but the area was of course beautiful the whole time. Even though it had been a while since I had seen the movies (I just didn't have 12 hours to spare to watch them before I left), I could immediately recognize the are when I drove around the bend. With the first glimpse, I felt I was in Tolkien's world. Even though I still had a long distance to go, I sat for a while making breakfast just taking in the view (while of course listening to the 'Return of the King' soundtrack with the music played during the Rohan scenes) and enjoying the experience. I drove the main road around most of the valley while simply enthralled with the astounding view. The whole are was pretty much fenced, but I know from brochures that the tours ran through there and even saw a couple of cars parked near the access gate. I jumped the gate near the road and simply walked a while near a stream across from the mountain. Though mostly a ranch with lots of cows around, even the streams seemed pristine and scenic. I chatted with a family (which might have been the owners) out with the grandkids for a short while. During that time I saw a tour vehicle in the distance stop to let passengers get some ground level shots and then drive on. Later I saw people on the mountain itself, so I decided to go for it. It was a long walk of multiple stream crossings (up to a little past knee-deep) to follow the road. I still saw some movement when I got up there and not wanting to find out that I may not supposed to be there, I kept out of sight around one of the hills until I figured they left. After that I had the whole place to myself and walked around as I pleased. Except for a few foot paths and one or two small concrete pads used for structure support, I could not see any signs that this had once been a major construction area for a feature film. Even sans anything related to LOTR this would have made a good way to spend most of the day, but it was of course made better because of the cultural significance. I eventually walked back to the car after sitting thee for probably over and hour and drove to Christchurch to try to make the evening hash run with the other local group. I didn't make it before the pack had left and I tried to follow the trail, but it seemed to have disappeared a half-mile from the house, so I headed back to wait for the group. Circle was about the same, i.e. no songs,, but with a few more folks than the evening prior. It was a nice mixed group and I had a decent time. I was able to get on the host's computer to check into my flight and confirm the last of my travel plans. After that I headed up some of the local mountain roads and found a parking area in which to crash.

The last little trip marked the end of the best, and longest by far, trip of my life. It was incredibly exciting, activity packed, and worth the effort. I met so many really good people and saw some of the most beautiful spots on Earth and am so thankful to have had such an opportunity to experience this place.

I have a rock garden, but three of them died last week.

I got up fairly early from wherever I parked for the evening and headed towards Arthur's Pass NP. Most of this area of New Zealand is rural, so there were quite a few dirt roads to take, but they were all well maintained and very quiet and lonely except for the presences of sheep and other occasional farm animals meandering around the roads. The morning mist across the valleys made this for a very delightful drive. Other highlights included Punchbowl Falls, Cave Stream (a place that had some one way spelunking where an underground river could be followed for a few hundred meters from one side to another, and Kura Tawhiti Conservation Area, a bunch of rock formation springing from the ground like a garden. All turned out to be worth walks, even if I didn't have a light (grrrr) to be able to explore the cave stream. I was tempted just to drive to the closest town to rent or purchase a light, but I realized that I didn't have a lot of time left since I needed to make it back to Christchurch to make the hash run that evening. On the way out, I picked up a guy that was going into Christchurch as well, which worked out for us both as he was able to tell me how to get to the hash location which just happened to be right on the way, within a block, of where he lived. The hash itself was very different than what is experienced in the states. Apparently their $5 donation only goes to a few down-down beers and to dinner which the host/hare is responsible to provide. From what I understand, almost all the trails are dead, which would be the case if the hare has to stay an prepare food. With their checks, trail can resume anywhere within 100 meters away, so it may be to the next street corner and around the curve. The hare in this case laid it the day before, so marks were very difficult to spot, especially in the beach area. During circle, they of course had a single song for every down-down, just like Australia. It was nice to meet some other hashers, but if this was my only opportunity to hash, I'd definitely find another hobby. After the hash I headed back out of Christchurch for one final, must do, mission.

I like 'em stacked. Hard drives, women, and pancakes.

Parked last night on the side of a road next to an historical marker a hour or so north of Franz Josef off of Hwy 6. Just as I was getting down the road, I was flagged to the side in order to make way for the herd of cattle coming by. They were at least they were going in the opposite direction and passed fairly quickly, so it didn't take long. I stopped in Hokitka to see some historical clock tower. Just outside of town I came across a combination single-lane highway/railroad bridge. Not only does a vehicle have to watch out for oncoming traffic, but also trains! Most of the bridges in New Zealand were single lane, due in part to a lack of serious traffic I suppose and the general shortness of the spans, usually only a hundred meters or so. Although there are quite a few in the world (list), it is still unusual enough to be interesting. After the interesting bridge, it was on to Punakaiki Pancake Rocks. The Pancake Rocks at Dolomite Point south of the main village are a heavily eroded limestone area where the sea bursts though a number of vertical blowholes during high tides. Though this was the one time on the trip when my timing was off (having just missed high tide by a couple of hours) it was still a neat view and I was able to see some of the blowholes in action. After the pancake rocks, I stopped by a nearby cavern, however at some point in the trip I had lost my light, so could not go in too far and also had to stop near the entrance of Fox River cave that was supposed to be open access. I really wouldn't have been able to go too far anyway if I didn't have another two sources of light, but it was a nice walk and I did get a glimpse inside. I finished off the evening near Westport for fuel and food and saw a bit of the moonrise over the mountains before heading towards Arthurs' Pass National Park.

I've got a thousand glaciers poised and ready to roll over Africa!

I was able to get in a full-day guided trip onto Franz Josef Glacier after there was a cancellation in the morning. I had thought hoped this would be a trip such that we could cover a good bit of ground, however it seems that most of the time we were simply sitting around waiting for the guides. Apparently they would have to go off to scout an area and then spend more time chipping out steps. I understand most people have never done anything like, but I would hope that some kind of advanced option would be available. I am getting pretty tired of every tour that I attend being so watered down that there is no element of risk, nothing truly exciting. the views were incredible and quite astounding, but when paying a lot of money, I simply don't want to just sit around. However on a business side, the way the go about things reduces risk (and thus liability) and allows them to fit in even more paying customers. Unfortunately the only way to ever truly experience such things is to go off on one's own, hence the reason most of my trips are solo. With that said, I still did have a good time and simply enjoyed the different experience. I don't think I would want to do ice climbing or deal with crampons on a regular basis, but being able to walk around a mountain of ice while wearing short sleeves can be nice in itself. On the way down we came across another of the guided groups right at the terminal face where the ice ends with a person sitting down being attended to. Apparently just a few minutes before one of the guides in that group had commented how nice it was that not a single person had been hurt that day. Not 30 seconds later one of the girls apparent;y had a misstep and fell with her leg hitting a rock, splitting it open. Unfortunately she'll have a large permanent scar and some tendon and muscle damage, however on the plus side both she and her companion got to get a free ride in the company hospital since there was still a mile or so of very rough hiking needed in order to get out. Both she and the guides were calm and handled things quite well and all were joking around a bit, so I was impressed with their response and preparation.