In Vorovoro tomorrow!

It's windy and wet in Fiji, and if planes fly and boats run, I'll be in Vorovoro with Tribewanted tomorrow, finally! But it's all tentative - tropical cyclone Funa, as of writing this, is pretty close to Fiji, and otherwise it's the wet season anyway. I just took a pretty bumpy ride back from the Beachcombers resort island, and I hear the north of the country is worse. I think the macbook stays on the main land.


 

NZ adventures, pt. 3

The Trip: NZ, pt. 3

South Island Adventure has been finished, 10 days later. Next, I'm recovering in Christchurch and then flying to Fiji, where two paradise islands await me - very different in nature. Tribewanted's Vorovoro is the main attraction and the apex of my trip, but the extra days I have in the country I decided to go and waste at the Beachcomber Resort island - a full-board backpacker resort island. I'm guessin' it's messin'. Very recently, Guardian featured this reportage, which has raised eyebrows both in and outside the community. Whatever the shortcomings and challenges may be, I'm happy to be there soon.

New Zealand is the most attractive, accessible and rewarding country I've experienced. If I were to make my semi-hemispheric lifestyle a reality, I'd alternate between New Zealand and a Northern European country (Finland, UK, Sweden, that axis - funny, I've found the polar opposite, now I have to find the primary base still...). The skies are frequently breathtaking, be they dressed in clouds, stars, hues of blue or shades of grey; the drama of the sheer mountainfaces, cliffs, gorges, sounds and crevices is transcending at its best. I'll try and verbalize it better with more time soon.

In other news, Wikipedia's Today's Featured Article is Reign in Blood. Go on and catch up on your Slayer trivia.





 

NZ adventures, pt.2

The Trip: NZ, a few more days

Uuh yes, New Zealand gets better and better. Quite nothing like boating with dolphins jumping under a waterfall, is there? The above photos are from a few nature/special reserves: Milford Sound, Mavora Lakes, Deer Park, and Fantail Falls (the dolphins are from the first one), in addition to beaches, wineries, low-impact camping (you'll find the photo) and river surfing, which equals bodyboards plus grade 3-4 rapids, and feels like trying to swim in a washing machine on spin cycle.

But this is just a fraction of the visual evidence gathered this far. I have been lucky to be able to construct an itinerary which covers 80%-90% of the Lord of the Rings filming locations. There will be large posts detailing these experiences later. I wasn't sure if this would be a good way to spend time here until I got to the first one - walking up the hill portrayed as the rugged country south of Rivendell was like remembering something I thought I'd known.



 

G'day Kiwis, bye bye Aussies

Greetings from Middle-Earth. Uh, I mean New Zealand. I've already mixed up the two in my head more than once, and Middle-Earth seems to stick. So be it. Minus the cape and mediaeval replica weaponry, I'm soon in full LOTR-nerd mode having planned out a pretty good itinerary for checking out most of the filming locations - without tours, thank much. And there is so much to see and do here, such beauty and variety that I'm almost wondering why I stayed in Australia so long. That was, of course, due to my need for a contemplation break and because I was with good people. Jan, Kas, Jarrod, Tammy, Melissa, Mike, Kate, you rock. Thanks again. I hope I get to return the favours many times over.

And over here in Kiwiland, I've rented a car with a couple of fellow travellers, Lily and Mike, in order to circle the South Island in about 10 days. After two days only, it's clear this has to be one of the best places I've been to, if not top-of-list immediately. Here's a first blast of photos from Arthur's Pass's mountains, a rebuilt ghost town and Franz Joseph Glacier, where we just did a 13 km day hike. Icy beauty, when it's not pissing down rain like it does most of the time on the West Coast...As I post this, we're stuck in Franz Josef due to highway 6 south being closed for an indeterminate time.

The Trip: NZ, first 3 days