Leaving Adrenaline Heaven

We woke early one again to catch a 7:15 bus to the Milford Sound!  This is supposed to be one of the greatest spectacles on the trip, but it was sub par in my opinion.  The bus ride takes about 4 hours, which is a little long, but the real problem is the stops.  First there is two hours of driving, then for the next hour there are like 20 stops, occuring 150 meters down the road from each other, really just ridiculous.  The landscape however was fairly magnificent.  We had arrived during the season when these really pretty purple and pink flowers are everywhere (which are actually weeds because they are not indigenous and threaten native plant life, but pretty none the less).

We eventually arrived to the sound (which is really a fiord not a sound) where we boarded our cruise ship.  The cruise was a little less than two hours long, with magnificent views up mountains full of trees surrounded by water.  There are some pretty cool waterfalls too, and we saw some seals or sealions or something (they were small like otters, but I think they were seals, definitely not otters).  Anyway, the cruise came to a close and then we had a grueling 4 hours back.  Not the best day we've had, but still something special like nowhere else I've ever seen.  I guess we are just getting a little spoiled by all the magnificent beauty here.  We returned and hit the sack to prepare our minds for the day ahead of us... bungy day!

We signed up for what is called the "Thrillogy." This includes:

The Bridge: the first bungy jump ever 

The Nevis: currently the second highest jump at 134 meters, and

The Ledge: which allows you to jump in any fashion you wish with a view 400 meters above Queenstown.

We arrived and awaited the bus picking us up at 9.  It transported us to "The Bridge" and we signed in and walked across the bridge.  There were already a lot of people there and there is a big crowd watching from a side platform.  Here you have an option to "take a dunk," which means you alter your jump in order to dip down into the river 43 meters below... I took this option.

So dressed in only my speedo I took to the air and it was.... awesome!!  I didn't really know what to think and it only lasted a few seconds then splash!  I bounced back up, adrenaline filled and completely disoriented.  Bungy jumping is the coolest thing ever invented.  No stress on the stomach, just falling a far distance NOT followed by death and dismemberment.  Cool Beans.  Derek was a little nervous, but did it without the dunk and said it got his stomach a little, but he still enjoyed it.

We gathered our things and got back on the bus to "The Nevis."  "The Nevis" is more secluded.  You have to take a private dirt road up a mountain to it and there at the top, strung between two mountains is a small metal box where people jump to live.  We harnessed up and boarded the transport car to the box.  They suited us up and we waited for the first guy to go.  AAAHHHHHH for 8.5 seconds and then back up proclaiming "best thing ever!!!!"  The next guy went, not as much sound, but crazy to watch still.  The "pod" has a partial glass bottom where you can watch the others and see what awaits you.  Then it was my turn...

I sat in the chair as they attached me to the pod and safetied me up.  I walked close to the edge.  I shuffled my toes to the end.  I looked down.  It was far.  Then I looked out, 5-4-3-2-1............... and I flew.  Seriously the most liberating, exciting feeling I've ever had.  I put my hands down to my sides because it helps you gain extra speed and I could feel my face flapping.  It is the single most incredible extreme thing I've ever done.  Understand the coolness and funness yet?

Then it was Derek's turn.  And he was a little nerve racked to say the least.  It took him a second to step over into the chair to get done up, but they talked him into it.  You could see him shaking a little, but he got up a walked toward the edge... and stopped.  They urged him on, but he didn't budge.  He went back and sat in the chair as they unhooked him.  We all cheered for him but he wasn't feeling so froggy.  They talked to him for another 5 minutes as he tried to close his hands, which had seemed to be frozen flat.  He couldn't move them.  But we cheered, and they did him up again, and he walked once again to the edge....5.....4.....3.....2.......1........................................

And he flew!!!!!  I thought he was going to hate it until I heard the echos of happiness over the mountain side.  He though it was awesome!  I was really proud of him, he was totally freaking out, but he still went for it, and LOVED it!  Then didn't stop talking about it.... which was cool because none of us and no one else could stop talking about it either.  Great time and we still had one more to go!

We hopped on the bus back to Queenstown, got another "Fergburger" and headed up the gondola to "The Ledge."  We were big shots, high and mighty, we weren't scared of this measly 43 meter plumit situated hanging 400 meters above the city.... until we got to the edge.  It's a little more than intense.  Derek went first this time and for pictures sake decided to pretend to read a book as he jumped.... but his instincts got the best of him and instead he ended up in the same flying squirrel pose screaming all the way down.  I decided to go for a gainer (running forward, jump off and do a backflip).

The guy told me about how I should hold the rope to do such a thing and that I had to throw it out of the way before it ended or it was going to come up and smash my face.  There really was not a lot of room to run, so I ran as much as I could, jump flipped, flattened myself, and then felt the rope start to pull as it was right in front of my face... I whisked it away just in time with a little barrel roll action to save my face from destruction.  Phew!  It caught and I will disperse them and put them up here once I get to a place with more internet time and such.  

Then to have a little less risky fun we did this street luge thing... along with all the 10 year olds in Queenstown.  It was actually pretty sweet.  We boarded the gondola down and got into the car to continue our quest for Christchurch!  Drove about halfway, crashing for the night and finishing to return the car in the morning.  The scenery is once again beautiful.  We have crossed the mountains where the rain reaches and are now in an area of really beautiful plains and valleys with the mountains still in direct site.  It is really beautiful here, I know when I drive back to school I will appreciate it more.

Queenstown is for lovers

We departed the Franz Josef glacier and set our course for the EXTREME capital of New Zealand, Queenstown. The drive was approximately 6 hours, but the stunning scenery really made it whisk by in a hurry. It is really beautiful out here. Mountains, lakes, rivers, trees, just awesome. We made it to about an hour outside Queenstown and stopped in a place called Wanaka for lunch. We saw a place that said Uncle Mike's BBQ with a special on sandwiches, so we decided to check it out. Great decision! The guy was from Kansas City, and his BBQ was top notch. Now I really can't wait to get back for some Rudy's, Rosa's, Matt's El Rancho, Torchy's, aaaahhhhhh I don't know how I will last.

We ate and headed toward Queenstown stopping at the famous 'Puzzling World!!' It was super sweet. Derek wasn't really feeling it, but it was right up my alley. They have this giant maze with bridges and huts and it was crazy. It took me about 40 minutes to do it, lots of fun. Then there was a illusion room with holograms, a slanted room where everything seems to roll/fall/flow the wrong way, and finally the hall of faces! The hall of faces was crazy, it was a giant room with faces of lots of famous people that seemed to follow you wherever you went, really cool. We finished that and headed for our final destination.

Queenstown!

Queenstown is really really cool. It is a small town on a lake, very clean, doesn't seem too busy, but it is! The main street is lined with offices for every extreme thing you could ever think of: bungy jumping, sky diving, canyoning, canyon swinging, day hikes, extended hikes, mountain climbing, 4 wheel driving, stunt plane riding, it is crazy! Behind this street is a little shopping center with gift shops and restaurants, it is really a neat set up. We crashed for the night in anticipation of our 3:30 date with the skys to dive out of an airplane the next day...

We got up the next day, rented our camping gear for the 3-day Routeburn track (which we were starting the next day) and went to check in at our skydive only to find out the entire day was canceled due to wind. We didn't understand. The weather was gorgeous! But New Zealand is crazy, we bought food and supplies for the hike and when we stepped outside no more than 20 minutes later it was pouring rain and the skys were covered in dense clouds. We rescheduled our skydive for the following morning.

The new plan: Wake up at 6:45AM, Skydive at 7:20AM, return before 11:30 AM, catch a bus to the Routeburn at 12:00 PM, hike our 2 and a half hour first day, then get good sleep for our 8 hour hike the next day. Needless to say, it was a little crazy.

We got up and the weather was once again beautiful and the skydive was on! We arrived to the drop site, suited up and awaited instructions. These were the extent of the instructions: fall like a banana, not a pineapple. Derek was a little anxious, I didn't really know what to think, so I was just chillin'. The plane started up and Derek, two girls, the 4 instructors, and I all piled into this tiny tiny cabin space in the plane. We were literally sitting on our instructors laps with the next people sitting right up to our cramped legs. The the plane rose... and rose.... and rose to 12000 feet. It is really, REALLY high. The door opened and the two girls scooted off. The next thing I know I'm on the edge of the plane door, then I'm falling at terminal velocity, spinning, upside down toward the earth. IT WAS CRAZY!!!! Derek said they fell straight out, normal orientation, but my guy must have been some kind of skydive stuntman. After spinning and flipping we somehow righted ourselves falling belly buttons toward the ground. What a feeling! It is kind of like flying, it doesn't hurt your stomach or anything and the view was amazing! A snow capped mountainous backdrop with more mountains in the foreground, a giant lake and rolling hills. Truly magnificent! The chute deployed and we floated (though much much faster than I would call floating) down to the earth. We slid in and took a deep breath. Scratch that off the list of things to do.

We got back to the city in plenty of time to grab some lunch at this place called "Fergeburger" which has huge, awesomely awesome burgers and boarded our bus to the track. Derek was feeling a bit under the weather (we think from the anxiety of thinking of skydiving for the past few days) but he was still alright to go. We did the two hour hike with our enormous backpacks and reached the hut around 6 o'clock. I made us some freezedri roast chicken dinner and then we went to sleep.

We woke up in the morning and Derek had fallen farther under the weather. And the weather was freezing, snowing on part of the track and raining on the other parts of an 8 hour hike with an approximate 800 foot ascent. We decided his condition wouldn't be good for the conditions ahead and had the DOC warden change our bus plans. We went back to the original drop and headed back toward Queenstown.

It was a little disappointing as the Routeburn Track is supposed to be one of the best in the world. In just those first two hours it was absolutely gorgeous. We walked through dense forest across a few rivers and creeks. The rivers disappeared into snow capped mountains with waterfalls flowing out of them. The valley that opened up when we reached the hut was something special as well. It was along a river with a stretching plane behind it leading up to mountains full of trees with mountains behind those you could actually see the snow falling on. It was a good decision to go back though, no harm done. We took a nap and headed back for the bus at 12, returning to Queenstown for a day of rest at around 3.

Tomorrow we take a bus and cruise to the Milford Sound, which is supposed to be fabulous. Cheers!

Glacier Hiking

We awoke at 8:30AM this morning and took a leisurely walk down the street to get prepared for our glacier hike!  It was pretty neat.  First you go through an assembly line where they give you waterproof pants and jacket, boots, socks, crampons, hats, and gloves.  We boarded the bus and soon after set off on foot to the valley left by years of glacier retreat.  The glacier is HUGE!

Pretty much the Fraz Josef Glacier is a big block of ice mountain with mountains on both sides.  It was really cool and a fun day all around besides the cramps still left in my feet from the crampons.  The name fits perfectly.  The glacier looks like a blue coconut snowcone with cream, absolutely delicious!  You start at the bottom where it is mostly rock the glacier has displaced.  Then you make it to the ice where your guide cuts out stairs in the ice as you go with an ice axe and puts in a rope where it is really steep.  It's pretty crazy, but was a great time.  After 6 hours of ice hiking we were spent, the group got back to the bus and we spent the rest of the day in the sauna with a few beers.  Simply lovely. 

Tomorrow we head to Queenstown for the true adventure portion of our expedition.  Fun awaits on certain sore legs and adrenaline pumped bodies.  Shwang!  

New Zealand Bound!

So I know I haven't kept up with my weekly update rule and I'm sorry!  I'm trying, but here is a two week post.  We cleaned up our apartment to ready it for move out when we return to Sydney, tried to sub lease it (unsuccessfully), and then boarded our plane for Auckland!  They say it is good to spend 3 weeks to cover New Zealands hot spots at a leisurely pace, but our move out constraints have limited us to two, so we're busy!

We landed in Auckland at 11:30PM on the 8th, went straight to our hostel, crashed, awoke at 7:30AM the 9th and headed to pick up our rental car.  The hostel was a little odd.  The airport shuttle was beat up and had a different company logo on it and when we tried to get a taxi in the morning a guy came out from behind the desk and let us know he was our taxi... no ticker, no directional skills, but a few wrong streets and backtrackings later we made it to the car rental place.  We signed some sheets, got the keys to our fabulous mid 1990's Nissan Pulsar equipped with cobwebs, a few dents, but brand new tires and we were off!

Our first stop was about four hours away at a place called Wai-o-Tapu.  Right before arriving we made a quick halt at a ZORB farm where you can jump in a giant inflatable ball for $50 and roll down a hill... we opted to eat for another day rather than roll.  We arrived at Wai-o-tapu 2 hours before the park closed, which was not a minute too soon.  The walk around the park takes approximately an hour and thirty minutes, but we had to stop and photograph the place until they could have closed it.  It was magnificent.  It is a thermal area of pools of boiling mud, bright green lakes, steaming orange ponds, the craziest colored water you've ever seen.  The waters get there colors from the minerals dissolved in them and they are truely a sight to see.  I had now found the location of the picture on the cover of my New Zealand guide book.  Fantastic!  The park also has a geyser that goes off at 10:15AM every morning, but we had to be going on to our next adventure.

We drove down past Lake Taupo, which is absolutely gorgeous and arrive in Turangi.  A full day indeed.  We crashed right away and awoke at 5:15AM the next morning for our hike across the Tongariro Crossing.  Our bus pulled up at 6AM and I inquired about footwear and clothing choices.  The guy laughed his face off when I asked about wearing sandals and told us we'd better bundle up.  He told us we were the kind of jerks that the rescue teams we're sent up for.  He was the kind of jerk who told us he would pick us up when really it was another guy with a different bus that would leave us thinking we were stranded for 3 hours (later story though).  We stepped off the van and started our 6-8 hour hike over a still active volcano.  We must be the luckiest guys on earth because the weather was gorgeous.  It was a little nipply on the top where the wind whipped around us as we ate our peanut butter and jelly on bagel and apples for lunch, but we could see forever which apparently happens on a total of about 2 total weeks a year (the following day there was snow at the top).

It was truely a trek and our bums and legs did not let us forget for the next few days.  The tramp itself was awesome though.  It started as you would think the base of a mountain would be, then near the top there is a giant crater that is completely flatland that you walk across, it's like being on another planet.  After reaching the pinnacle the view is astounding on the other side.  A few bright blue/turquoise lakes dot a lower part of the top of the mountain and one really big blue lake a little in the distance.  Really just gorgeous like nothing I've ever seen.  After crossing the lakes and starting the descent it looks like rolling grass plains with hot spring running down them.  Off in the distance there are lakes and rolling hills across the landscape.  Then after a grueling 14 kms you step into a jungle out of nowhere, it is ridicuouls.  About 5 kms of jungle and we were finished!  We fell asleep at the pick-up point, which we reached two hours early, and waited for our driver who never came.  After an hour and a half past when he was supposed to arrive passed, we started asking other drivers and found out  that one (who had already been by a few times) was supposed to pick us up.  Grr.  Anyway, great day.  We picked up some groceries, made dinner, and headed to our next destination an hour up the road for our 3-Day Whanganui River Journey!

We awoke, ate, and jumped in the van headed for our river starting point.  It was a little overcast, but not anything terrible.  The starting point is down a long, very, very windy and narrow road past rolling green green green greeen greeeeeen hills with sheep all over them.  Along the way a tractor came driving down the other way, our driver moved over to the side for him... a little too far.  We got stuck in the ditch next to the road sandwiched into the mountainside (pictures will be up in a week or 2 when i get back).  The tractor obviously didn't see and so did not stop.  Luckily our driver knew the farmer who lived 10 minutes walk up the road.  Before we knew it a little squirly fellow in a silver mitsubishi pulled up and rescued us from certain doom!  He used his car to pull out the van, then we used the van to pull out the trailer with our canoes and once again we were rollin'!

We arrived at the river at 12ish and set into our canoes for a day of paddling.  The river was aaaawwweeeesssooommmmeee. And but awesome I mean it was truely something that inspired awe.  A low mist hung down and sprinkled us with showers every now and again as we gazed upon lucious rainforest at all sides.  I've never seen so many waterfalls.  Litterally every 100 meters there was one pouring down the mountainside into the river.  We arrived at our hut 5 and a half hours later, completely satisfied with our trip and only having been on it for one day!  The weather was disgusting all night and when we woke the next day, which was not too enthralling, but as we had learned earlier the New Zealand weather is not one to stick around for long.  We tried to wait out the weather because it was supposed to clear up in the PM, but at 11AM we decided it was time to get started.  We put our gear into the canoe, looked up and there was not a cloud in the sky.  Truely remarkable.  

We paddled for another 5 hour day, stopping at the next hut for relaxing, dinner, and sleep.  By this time we had met all the people who were travelling down the river on the same agenda as we were.  One guy was from Long Island so we told him we had family there (small world), a few germans, some frenchies, and two Israelis!  Wherever you go there always is someone jewish as we have learned from camp songs.  Very true indeed.  Unbeknowest (is that a word?) to us it was the second night of Chanukah already!  Our Israeli friends were obviously prepared for this and we lit a makeshift menorah with them and did the Chanukah blessings.  It was a very warm and friendly evening.

We repeated again another wake up, breakfast, and 5 hour paddling to our final destination where we boarded our van back to the initial departure point.  This time we made it on attempt one, no sticky ditch situations.  As soon as we returned we packed our car back up and drove 5 hours down to Wellington in preparation for our morning date to crossover to the South Island.

Today we awoke, crossed over, and drove 6 hours to a town called Greymouth.  Tomorrow we wake, drive 3 hours and head to the Glaciers.  Needless to say, it's been a little crazy, but never dull.  The scenery around here just awesome.  This could be the first time I've ever driven the speed limit on a road trip.  There is too much to see to want to push it any faster (mom I know you will be pleased to hear that).  Check in in the next couple days and I shall update again with more goodies!

Make a Scuba! (Part 2 of 2. Read part 1, below, first)

Read the post below this first, which leads into the rest of the scuba trip.... you can save this post for a later time too since I keep taking so long between posts and writing too much.

The time for the night dive came and I was exhausted. Derek had decided not to go and I decided not to go also. There was two other people who wanted to go so Nico said he would take them first, then if I wanted to go I could go when he got back, but I had to be ready in 25 mins. I decided to just chill and not go... so obviously I went. I got my suit and everything on and waited for him to return. I really wasn't worried at all, they give you a flashlight and junk and it didn't seem like a big deal. Then I got in the water... and it was dark. Like really dark. Like when you are laying in bed with the lights off and your face in the pillow with your eyes open. Pretty dark I'd say.

So we started off into the blackness with probably about 15-20 feet of visibility from our two flashlights. So we swam... and swam... and swam, and then Nico kept looking back every minute or two and I didn't know why. Either something was stalking us or we were off course, I didn't hope for either. Turned out we were off course. So we swam in blackness for about a 10 minute period that seemed like a 30 minutes period... then finally we came to the reef! I was pretty relieved to say the least. We swam along and it was pretty cool at night. I hadn't seen anything really cool earlier in the day, but this changed when we came to the den of a turtle. Trust me, much more exciting than it sounds. I thought turtles were synonymous with smallness... until I saw this turtle. I was HUGE! By HUGE I mean it was almost the size of my mother (in length, and obviously much much wider). I was astounded. Unfortunately our lights had awoken it, so Nico decided we should vacate quite rapidly.

We continued on, seeing a couple more turtles and cool things. After a bit he let go of me and let me go on my own, which was a little uncomfortable, but fine. I saw my first shark, not anything spectacular, but a little eerie even though reef sharks are known to be scared of people and never attack them. We returned and I shed my gear and headed up to hang out with the group for the rest of the night... a crazy, crazy night.

After a while most people went to bed except for the boat crew, me, one guy from our group, and a couple people from the other group that had been there a few days. We played king's cup (a drinking game) and to say the least people got a little silly and it got a little wild. Slowly people left the game for bed or other reasons until only the crew and about 3 others of us were still up. Some of the crew decided it scuba time so they strapped up and jumped in the water. Little did I know, it was really shark viewing time. And not only shark viewing time, but shark feeding time.

They tied the remains of a big fish they had caught earlier on a rope and dropped it in the water, scubaing near by with flashlights to watch the sharks go after it. Flipping Crazy!!!! I watched from safety on the boat. They slowly came up onto the boat sad because their flashlights were keeping the sharks from coming up to the bloody fish (this completely dropped my fear of the reef sharks). Not a minute after the last person lept onto the boat, the sharks came after the fish, which a guy was holding by a rope. That was a site to see. I was sure the guy was going overboard, but I guess that is one of the skills you pick up living on the boat. I don't think I could or ever want to pick up that skill.

I finally got to bed at 2:30AM and then awoke again at 5:30AM for our last day of diving. We had 3 dives, including one on our own without the instructor. It was good, very interesting and truly an amazing experience. The scuba diving has without a doubt been one of the peak moments of this trip and of my life thus far. It's a little expensive so I don't know how often I will be continuing it, but I now have a license how to continue it as I wish. It was really just fantastic.

We returned to the mainland and ordered a couple pizzas for an early night. The next day we took a 45 minute skyrail (gondola) through the nearby rainforest area to a city called Kuranda, which was a nice relaxing day with a few hikes. The trip back is by train, which was a very pleasant time. It wasn't the most exhilarating thing, and is definitely not a necessity when you go to Cairns, but it was a good way to pass the 24 hours period you have to wait to fly post-scuba diving. All in all, very successful.

Dad is here for another week, then we head south for a frantic romp around New Zealand for a few weeks, and then back home. Don't worry mom, we're being safe! Toodles.

Big Poppa Arrives and we make a Scuba! (Part 1 of 2)

Dad got into Sydney just fine and we got a little off on our sleep schedule. We had to go get him at the airport at 8AM, needless to say we were all sleep deprived by the mid-afternoon so we layed down for a little nap around 4. We awoke around 9-10PM and so went into a nocturnal spell, which was broken by our 4:15 AM wake up to fly to Cairns. We stayed up all day finally and were set back on track after an early sleep and an 8AM wake up for our first day of Scuba lessons. Or as our instructor Nico put it "go to make a scuba!"

We had two days of pool training and theory lectures, which weren't really that bad. Dad was the only old man around and it took him a little while to get into the groove. This was probably due to the fact that he's been around long enough to know you're not supposed to breathe underwater... the rest of us just went for it. I just decided to pretend I was a fish... a fish with a giant tank on my back, a hose in my mouth, and a plastic contraption to keep the water out of my eyes.

The course went by fairly easily and we boarded the boat in the morning to transfer us out the great barrier reef. The night before we left we went to a great barrier reef class thing to learn about the reef. They told us about good fish, bad fish, 1 fish, 2 fish, red fish, blue fish, jellyfish, smelly fish, big belly fish, and country grammar Nelly fish (he's a rapper). The most interesting of all things though was the flatworm called the pseudobiceros hancockanus (did not make that second name ups at all). It is a genus of hermaphroditic flatworm, which engages in penis fencing with another flatworm. One will win by stabbing the other in it's penis sword 5 or 6 times, injecting sperm into it. The injector becomes the father and swims away to weiner-spar once more. The injectee settles down, buys a Martha Stewart book, bakes cookies, and settles into motherhood for the baby flatworms. Australia is a weird place.

Unfortunately during our scubas we didn't come across any of these fascinating wormoids. We hopped into the ocean for the first time at around 1PM. It was not like the pool training. They pretty much just throw you into the ocean, very rushed, and you look under the water to what's going on. We saw quite a few fish about the size of our heads swimming under the boat... and then blue nothingness. It is pretty crazy, it is just a fuzzy blue abyss. I kept thinking a shark was going to just appear out of it heading right for us, but they told me that wouldn't be so. For some reason I believed them and we started our descent...

The reef wasn't as far down as we thought, just the visibility was poor, so that was actually a relief. It is a really wild experience. All of a sudden you're just underwater, still breathing, not knowing if everything is normal or not, but it feels pretty normal. Dad was my buddy, but he wasn't doing so hot, so I kept looking after him while trying to view the reef a little bit and get my bearings. It's really unexplainable, it is just wild. Dad had some problems throughout the dive and at the end decided that diving just wasn't his thing. We were really proud of him for going down though because he was totally not into it, but we made him try it anyways. He was happy to have tried, but retired to the sun deck with a rum and coke for the remainder of the day.

We moved reef locations and had another dive at 4PM. First we snorkeled, which was really cool at the new reef location since it was built up so close to the surface. After about 20 minutes snorkeling, we got our tanks back on for our second dive, which was pleasant. We were getting more used to it now, which was good. At night there was an optional night dive, which the instructor takes you on in pairs of two so Derek and I decided we would do it. Then after the 4PM dive Derek was feeling a bit light-headed and decided to sit the night dive out. I didn't know whether to do it or not...

Long Overdue Post for those of you still checking in...

Sorry it's been so long! School picked up a smidgen and I got a little lazy in my free time taking in the summer sun here on the beach. I apologize for sparking jealousy and hatred from those of you falling into winter. Anyway, things over here on the island continent are wonderful. I finished two classes and Derek is completely finished with school. I have one more final to go so have been spending my days surfing, studying, and surfing the web!

As most of you know, Derek and I opted to not buy internet here due to it's massive expense and instead have resorted to school and cafe's for our internetisms. Eventually we found out the Cafe next door sells internet for $5 for a day of wireless AND that internet extends to our apartment stairwell. Soon after this we found out that they had a problem where after signing into their internet you were never signed off. And in the spirit of my loss your gain we have received free (limited) internet... via stairwell. The other day though while working on a puzzle my computer someone found a connection with the network. I've spent the past couple days experimenting with this and have found one spot on my table where I get three bars of connectivity! I have traced my laptop and so will be able to return here and receive this joyous gift often... hopefully.

Derek and my surfing has thoroughly improved to the point where we can stand up with ease and can now give others dirty looks because we are good enough to look like we know what we are doing. Before we were just the victims of dirty looks when we were in the way. Now we have become the 5th graders, easily spotting the 2nd and 3rd graders so if we mess up we can easily blame them. It's a jungle out there... in the ocean. A wet, blue, tree and monkeyless jungle.

There's a quick update. Dad comes in about a week and we're super stoked! We're going to go scuba diving in the great barrier reef. I'll try to update again at least weekly until we return January 7 and get to see the whole gang! Can't wait to see you mom we miss and love you!!!! Muah!