GOPR6722.JPGThe next day, we had signed up for "canyoning" not far from where we had been horse trekking.
Towards the end of October, Eliz & I took about three weeks holiday in New Zealand, having signed up for Haka Tours North-South island adventure tour. This was my selfish birthday present to Elizabeth, and I had insisted despite our busy schedules that we go before the end of the calendar year. We had a terrific time, and met a wonderful group of young people who had also signed on. (While Haka assured us we wouldn't be the oldest ones on our tour, we had at least a quarter century on all of them.)
Between us, we took almost 3000 photos, which I've winnowed down to about 750. I've further broken these into 24 pages, which you can jump between more easily. A few of the pages have linked video, or will have when I get around to uploading them.
Page 1, wherein we arrive to Auckland and explore the town and harbor.
Page 2, wherein we meet our tour group and head in the bus for our first destination on the north island, Whtianga.
Page 3, wherein a handful of our group go on a "black water rafting" adventure and check out a glow worm cave.
Page 4, wherein we check out a swing bridge and the Blue Spring, where the majority of New Zealand's bottled water originates. That night, we dine with the Mitai tribe and are treated to a demonstration of some Maori traditions.
Page 5, wherein Elizabeth and I go zip-lining in a native rain forest.
Page 6, wherein we visit the Waiotapu Thermal Park and check out the natural hot springs and Huka waterfall in Taupo.
Page 7, wherein we sail Lake Taupo on a boat that once belonged to Errol Flynn.
Page 8, wherein we enjoy a group barbecue and try our hands at Gumboot Throwing. We arrive to Wellington and enjoy a nice dinner.
Page 9, wherein Eliz and I hike to a view atop Mount Victoria, then check out the Wellington museum and the botanical gardens.
Page 10, wherein we meet the others for some street food and fireworks to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day. The next morning, we leave our bus for a ferry ride to the south island. (Just in time as it turns out, since Ronnie lost her rear suspension towards the end and broke down completely when the next group took her over.)
Page 11, wherein we travel to Kaikoura, and Eliz & I swim with some dolphins. We end the day at a nice Haka lodge in Christchurch.
Page 12, wherein we go hot-air ballooning with Yen & Brian, then check out the Christchurch Art Museum.
Page 13, wherein we meet up with our group and head out to Tekapo, where we wer all surprised by a snowstorm in the night.
Page 14, wherein we enjoy our first afternoon in Queenstown and take a gondola up to Bob's Peak to be amazed by the view and learn how to luge.
Page 15, wherein Eliz & I are joined by Lauren on a horse trek near Glenorchy.
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The next day, we had signed up for "canyoning"
not far from where we had been horse trekking.
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From our group, we had Jon and Brian and Yen, and a
friend of Jon’s who happened to be in Queenstown
the same time as us.
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We didn’t know the others, but there were two
daredevil brothers and a couple on their honeymoon.
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Some people wore their hoods, and others didn’t,
so some of kept warm, and others of us could hear instructions.
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One guide was from Utah (U.S., left) and the other from
Tibet (in blue).
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Before we got to the actual river canyon, they had a
couple of zip lines set up just for fun.
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At this point, the GoPro I had attached to my helmet
was taking a photo per second, but I had no control
over it and it missed a lot of the action. This is
Eliz getting onto the line.
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Me being hooked up.
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Unlike the other zip–lining we did, we were told
to hold onto the pulley this time so we could control
our orientation, while our straps bore most of our weight.
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Getting disconnected on the other side.
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Yen arriving at the landing site
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Her hubby, Brian
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Me riding over the canyon on the second zip line
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Eliz arriving after the second zip line
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People getting ready to rappel down to the river
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The rope loop thing that lowered us down
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The cliff
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Me going down the cliff
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Me looking down to see where I’m supposed to go
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The first of many pointing fingers indicating what to
do next
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Eliz on her way down (I think)
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More pointing
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Additional pointing
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OK, what’s next?
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Guide explaining that next, we are to float down the
rapids on our back, head–first
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The fist–to–head signal was used to indicate
we were OK, or at least not in the process of drowning.
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We all consider this in a good–humored, "We’re
going to die, right?" kind of way.
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First willing victim was one of the daredevil brothers.
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These are my feet, demonstrating the proper form.
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Cold!
Eliz followed my ride down. The water was brutally
cold, and it felt like my head had just been put in
an ice vice.
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Jon wasn’t wearing his hood, either.
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At the next pool, we were offered the option of jumping
off a low(ish) rock, which many people did.
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This is me getting ready to jump — it wasn’t
as high as it looks.
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On my way down...
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And on my way back up to the surface again
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I didn’t quite manage the recommended landing,
so touched bottom (lightly).
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Some guys jumped a couple of times.
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The next bit was a waterfall, which we could hear but
not really see. That’s one of our guides being
sent over head–first.
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None of us were too sure about this part, and were all
wondering silently or out loud if there was an alternate
route.
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One by one, folks were being tossed over the falls,
and each scream brought it closer to our turn.
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Yoiks. Hmmm... Still can’t see over it.
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Still can’t quite see...
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Nope, uh, hey, can I ask a question?
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Aaaaaaaah!
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Glurp, glub, sptthh!
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My camera got so scared that it couldn’t look
anymore, and pointed itself down at my helmet.
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I coaxed it back to a standing position.
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And got a hand out from our third guide (a Kiwi who
was in training).
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For several minutes, I just sat by the side of the pool,
trying to regather my composure.
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Many of the other seemed less bothered, and were taking
another opportunity to jump from the rocks.
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I was content to watch and sit this one out.
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The woman from the newlywed couple said it best when
she dumurred, "I’m having as much fun I can
right now."
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After a while, I warmed to the idea, as others went
back for second and third jumps.
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Getting a final word of advice on where and how to jump
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I don’t recall my question at this point.
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This jump was a bit higher up than the last one.
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On the way down
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More bubbles
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It was actually pretty fun.
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Unidentified jumper on the way down
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Flip
One of the daredevil brothers doing a flip of some kind
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Flop
Same nut doing a belly–flop — the guides
were impressed.
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A nice view down the canyon. This may have been the
part where we slid on our backs feet–first, but
none of my photos came out.
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The next "opportunity" was jumping through
the same waterfall.
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We were told just to dive through horizontally, which
sounded simple enough.
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You’ll notice the guy’s legs are not horizontal
in this picture. It wasn’t because he had done
it wrong.
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That’s because the act of "diving through
a waterfall" feels more like being "jumped
on by an elephant" when you least expect it.
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I didn’t enjoy that experience as much. I don’t
think anyone opted to repeat it.
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One our way down to the next thing, which was just an
easy float.
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Climb in, float downstream. We were all pretty into
this one.
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Plus, I got some really cool motion–blur effects.
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Next, there was a short waterfall we were being asked
to jump over.
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They wanted us to do it "superman style,"
which is a high–powered name for "belly–flop."
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Guy ahead of me, making a splash
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We were told that the superman dive wouldn’t hurt
because of all our protective gear, but it really stung
my supercheeks.
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Jon trying to warm his fingers, I think
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Next, we were given a choice between jumping or rapelling
down the last cliff face.
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I was ready to jump this time.
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Eliz getting ready to rapel down
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Me getting ready to jump. I had to make it to the middle
of the pool, as there were rocks where the guide was
standing.
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I cleared it easily enough.
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That’s just how I remembered it.
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Eliz asking if I was OK
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Yen rapelling down
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Brian jumping — he just cleared the rocks.
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Good splash, though!
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Climbing out
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Final bit was just a float/walk to the clearing
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We had our hands out of the water because our fingers
were just too cold.
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Me taking off my helmet to check if the camera was still
there.
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High fives all around. This was a lot more than we
thought we’d signed up for!
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We survived!
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And were very glad to be out of the frigid water.
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Warming up with hot drinks after a quick shower
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Yen was wearing Elizabeth’s rash guard as an improvised
skirt.
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After we got back, we had a delicious hot chocolate
at Patagonia, while looking out on the lake.
Page 17, wherein Eliz & I enjoy a leisurely day on Lake Wakapitu.
Page 18, wherein we drive over a mountain pass to get to Wanaka. The following day, most of us take a hike up Mount Iron. Some of us also go to see "The Lonely Tree"
Page 19, wherein we make a number of stops for beauty on the way to the Franz Josef glacier.
Page 20, wherein some of our group hike to see the glacier.
Page 21, wherein about half of us go on a final group kayaking adventure on Lake Mapourika.
Page 22, wherein some brave singers stand up for karaoke night at the pub. The next day, we stop in Hokitika and see some live kiwi birds on our way to catch the train in Greymouth.
Page 23, wherein everyone but our leader boards the Alpine Express bound for Christchurch, the final destination for the organized part of our trip.
Page 24, wherein Eliz & I have a final day on our own in Christchurch, which we spend wandering in search of good eats and take a ferry to Diamond harbor. We also finally get a chance to check out the Christchurch botanical garden, which is definitely worth the visit.
Page created Nov 27 2017