Kiwi Day 6

Back on the road this am heading to Haast and Wanaka. First stop Lake

Matheson near Fox Glacier, where I jumped , for a hike to catch the reflection of Mt Cook and the southern Alps on the still lake.

As we head down the coast it will be our last glimpse of the coastline before reaching Haast and heading inland. At the Gates of Haast we head up the pass and into Mt Aspiring National Park. Here is where we start seeing the thousands of waterfalls that line the roads in new Zealand. As we drive toward Wanaka we pass stunning lakes surrounded by mountain ranges. Wanaka is headquarters for Mt aspiring NP where everything outdoor goes, camp,fish,swim,boat,mtn bike,waterski,wakeboard, snowboard in the winter on the snow fields...Cardrona and Treble Cone NZ's steepest. This is the Otago region, where we have lake Wanaka and lake Hawea. Wanaka population 6000. Wanaka home to Rippon festival...kick ass..

Kiwi Day 4

After a long night we hop on the bus for a short drive to the Bushman's center at Pukekura. There we learn about Helicopter hunting and deer recovery for the deer farms, as well as possum trapping and possum pies.

We head on down the coast to Franz Josef Glacier Village nestled in the westland National Park, passing several kettle lakes along the way left by the glacier long ago. The Franz glacier has a depth of 45m and has been receding dramatically since the 1890's.

It is here that I jumped out of a plane!!!! I jumped with Rod at Skydive NZ over the Alps near Fox Glacier. I was right up there at 13,000ft level with New Zealand's highest mountain Mt Cook (Aorangi). The scenery as I floated, or actually sped to earth for 45 seconds...and then floated was mind blowing!!! The most intense was when the door opened at 13,000ft and I was hanging outside the plane, did a roll out the door and saw the plane flying away over my shoulder as I did a flip and realized I was speeding toward the earth!!! INTENSE!! and so exhilarating. Once the chute opens it is just quiet and peaceful as the Southern Alps. glaciers, rainforest's and the oceans, rivers and farms surround you below, unreal...as you float to the earth the sheep below and then gently land right next to the car....Loved it!!!

Franz Josef is a cool little town, just there to cater to the activities on the glacier and the tourists, fun and quaint and everyone knows everyone..fun 2 days here!!! Had a massage an hour before my jump...couldn't have had a better day!!

Kiwi Day 3

We leave Westport down the spectacular Hwy 6 along the rugged Tasman shoreline. Lots of farmland, sheep,deer,cows,deserted goldfields, rainforests and the snow still left on the Southern Alps. Our first stop is a beautiful sea walk for a few km at Cape Foulwind and tauranga Bay and a huge seal colony.

Next stop is Punakaiki, the pancake rocks and blowholes. The pancakes are limestone stacked after years of erosion, see the picture...

On to Greymouth, chief commercial center of West coast, population 12,000!! We shop here at St Vincent de Paul for an outfit to wear at our party at the poo pub tonight, theme..anything but clothes, or if clothes must be less than $5.

On to Hokitika, where we cross the Arahura River and the valley where the Pounamu or Nephrite jade aka greenstone, sacred to the Maori people comes from. Also Hokitika was known for its abundance of gold back in the day.

Final stop today Lake Mahinapua Hotel where we spend the night with the only resident of Mahinapua Les Lisle, the 85 year old who runs the place and cooks us dinner with Smiley tonight. I get out and head off to the ocean, out the door and to the right, over the dunes..pure gorgeous beach, noone on it as far as I can see in both directions! I snap a few photos and head out to the Lake before dark....Out from the hotel to the left, down a tunnel of heavy bush and rainforest which ends with a beautiful moutain lake and the southern alps as a backdrop.

Dinner was great...Thanks les and Smiley, we even got to try some fabulous venison. The Poo Pub was where we were told to buy our Pounamu...some of the best we would find...carved by a local Gary..and good prices for the beautiful work...My piece has recieved countless compliments from people all over New Zealand!! I love it!!!!!!!!!!

The party was a riot, lots of costumes and fun and the whole pub closed down to only us...Much fun at Lake mahinapua!!!

Kiwi Experience Day 2

We were picked up today by the big green bus..and Smiley, our driver...I have never seen so many teeth!! He is a riot. We head out and wind through the mountains next to the Buller River on a very skinny road. The bridges in New Zealand are all one lane, so you wait for traffic to clear and then proceed... Smiley tells us about the land the river, the history, etc..as we drive along, pretty entertaining. Along the ride all our accomodations and activities are also organized and taken care of, pretty simple.

We arrive at Buller Adventures for our jet boat ride on the Buller. The jet boat is sweet!!! and loud and fast. Dane is our driver, he has a bit of devil in his eyes...and what a ride we get!!! Spins and dunks and driving full speed at the rock ledge and turning within inches..yikes, what a ride!! And soaked, yeah we were soaked, raincoat did nothing, it was like someone took a barrel of water and dumped it on our head!! over and over.

Dane drove us to Westport, a cute west coast town where we checked in to Bazil's Hostel for the night. Headed downtown to sample the "best pizza on the west coast" according to Smiley. The pizza place is also the bar, owned by an Aussie, our bus all showed up there, including Dane and Smiley. We met up with an Auckland couple who were taking her mother around on the bus, she was from Brazil. They were the closest to our age at a whopping 30!!! The town was quite deserted aside from us, there were really no other people out or on the streets.

Kiwi Experience day 1

Spent a few days with Chris, Jill and Jade...seeing sites, out on Chris's boat seeing blow holes, Hector's Dolphins, mini dolphins found only here..and driving the boat into caves..yikes..watching heaps of surfers in Sumner, and partying in Christchurch until the wee hours...

Decided the best way to see the country is going to be bus tour due to lack of public transport...so we hop on the Kiwi Experience, the big green bus, which we later learn has quite a reputation and quite a few nick names...but I will tell you it is what you make of it and we had a GREAT time ( hanging out with 20 year olds)..not all of them....

We get left the 1st night in Murchison, by our driver Brent, a Maori guy, who is a little concerned we are staying in Murch....On the way from Christchurch, we stop for a lovely bushwalk and look at a lake and gorgeous mountain range. We are flagged down by the police and given free sausages, drinks and lollies...strange Kiwi experience already...

We stop again to see a waterfall, learn about the flax plants, and Manuka trees, the kiwi tea tree. On to Murch, a teeney little town, we walked the whole town and visited every shop in under an hour, tried to hit the bar and found some scary locals and lots of ACDC playing, shot back to the hostel, The Lazy Cow, learned about the owner and his 2 gold dredging machines, saw pictures of the dredgers in action and all the gold he has mined off the Buller River, about 100k a year, not bad....night

New Zealand

After 26 long hours on a plane...no it was not suppose to take that long!!! I had a 3 hour sit on the tarmac in Montreal and another 2.5 hours on the tarmac in LA..bummer! BUT...I am here!! and it is gorgeous!! Staring out the airplane window I was giddy looking at what was below...beautiful sweeping hills, farmland , rolling down huge cliffs to the sea, so much unpopulated gorgeous land.

new Zealand is a young country and there are only 4.2 million people in the whole country!! 1.5 million of which live in Auckland...you really get a sense of how unpopulated it is as you travel the coasts and the roads, amazing.....

I hopped another flight from Auckland down to Christchurch after arriving and was met at the airport by cousin Russell and Chris, a friend from christchurch we will be staying with. Chris , Jill, from the US and Jade live in Redcliffs, high above Christchurch overlooking the Tasman Sea with sweeping views of the whole coast from their fabulous house.

om time centers for yoga practice, trainings, supplies, community and inspiration Jan 8, 2008 The Ransom Note of Dreams New Years would not be New Years without a pair of scissors and a glue stick. Sitting down the other evening, New Year's Day, with my husband and business partner, we cut out snippets and words, and letters and images of WHAT WE WANT to manifest this coming year. We played like kindergartners as the collages began to take shape. Upon the last image glued in the last perfect inspired space on the poster board, I gazed. How is it, that life can offer so much color? How is it that I can want so much from one year? How is it that all of these feelings, people, places, and goals are POSSIBLE? Because, they are. The universe just SAYS YES. How cool. The universe remembers you, even when you forget. The universe answers the call of whatever is plastered across your mind. The universe does not know the difference between what you want and what you do not want, it just feels the power of your minds manifesting energy. I have learned this through years and years of study, noting that my worrying practice manifested many of my worst fears into pure truths. I have learned this through years and years of study, noting that my visioning and daydreaming practices brought me everything gorgeous and loving that my heart and mind dared to consider. The mind just moves. The mind just thinks. What I want my mind to think is deeply my own responsibility. I sit DAILY in a decision post of how I am going to claim my dreams. I sit in a space of choosing to either worry about all of the possible dramas and obstacles that may arise or dreaming about what it will feel like to have the dreams come true. This year, as I stare at my vision board, I realize that I created a visual RANSOM note for my soul. I have 365 days to respond to these dreams. If I choose to ignore these demands, my heart will have grave consequences. Since my lifetime is at stake, I am complying to the terms of the ransom. I sit here… envisioning and dreaming… BIG. To create a vision board for yourself, follow these easy and FUN steps: Collect all of your favorite magazines, a glue stick, and pair of scissors. Secure a piece of poster board, any size and color you choose, the bigger, of course, the better. Flip through the magazines and begin to cut out words and phrases and images of places, inspirations, colors, themes, intentions, and goals you would like to MANIFEST in the coming year and your life in general. DROP any worries about HOW or WHY or WHEN… just cut them out. When you have cut as many snippets of success, happiness, and love as you desire, begin to organize on the poster board and glue them down. Once complete, take a long and inspired gander at the coming brilliance of ALL that you are inspired to experience. Place the completed vision board in a conspicuous space in your home or office. Commit to a visioning practice of 2 – 5 minutes a day: wherein, you commit to looking at these images and holding space for them AS IF THEY WERE YOUR PRESENT moment experience. Dream BIG. If there were ever a time to dare, to make a difference, to embark on something worth doing, it is now. Not for any grand cause, necessarily — but for something that tugs at your heart, something that’s your aspiration, something that’s your dream. You owe it to yourself to make your days here count. Have fun. Dig deep. Stretch. Dream big. Know, though, that things worth doing seldom come easily. There will be good days. And there will be bad days. There will be times when you want to turn around, pack it up, and call it quits. Those times tell you that you are pushing yourself, that you are not afraid to learn by trying. Persist. Because with an idea, determination, and the right tools, you can do great things. Let your instincts, your intellect, and your heart guide you. Trust. Believe in the incredible power of the human mind. Of doing something that makes a difference. Of working hard. Of laughing and hoping. Of lazy afternoons. Of lasting friends. Of all the things that will cross your path this year. The start of something new brings the hope of something great. Anything is possible. There is only one you. And you will pass this way only once. Do it right. ~~~ Author Unknown

Next............

JB loving Christmas!

Bill (un)dressing his doll

Aunt Beck and the Girls!


Ok...back stateside for the holidaze!!!!!!!
Upstate New York is actually covered with snow this year! a WHITE Christmas, sure beats the rain last year!! Went shreddin (aka snowboarding) at Titas with the Casey Family for New Years Eve, felt great getting on the snow, fresh fluffy powder...very special for the North Country!!

I am switching blogs for the new year...this one allows pictures in the text..and has spell check!! Looking forward to 2008...or 2000 GREAT as Stuart is calling it!! I am anxious to get back on the road, trying to figure out my travels....for January to March I am trying to decide...Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan with a Meditation retreat in Kopan Monastery outside of Kathmandu. Then I would travel to Madagascar and on to Mozambique and surrounding islands OR New Zealand and Fiji and surrounding islands and then to Denver, then Florida and back to the North Country to get ready for my trip in April to the Greek Isles, Turkey and Egypt and then on to finish Europe and head over to Bali and Thailand..decisions..decisions..Life is good...OM