March 30, 2002
02:38 AM dublin time
being a mere spectator at aonghus' bungy jump was more than exciting enough for me, and seeing as i had to fork out $35 for the privilege, it's just as well.
the jumping location was a forty minute minibus drive out of town. the jumpers' already frayed nerves nearly snapped as we turned onto a hillside dirt track and the four wheel drive minibus launched itself up a forty five degree incline with nothing on the left hand side but a few inches of wild thyme and scrub between us and a serious drop. at one point the reassuringly solid rock on the other side also disappeared and we teetered along the narrow ridge-top track.
we reached the relatively flat area at the hill's summit to see a set of sturdy looking cables cross over a river valley to the neighbouring hilltop. midway between the two hills, about 150m above the little nevis river, was suspended the launch pod containing the bungy platform.
the pod coule fit about twenty people and we made our way across in groups of six, sqeezed into a scarily tiny airy cable car. as if we weren't nervous enough [including me, and i had no intention of jumping], the floor of the cable car was a metal grid. it felt like there was nothing but air between us and the distant valley floor as the car jerked slowly towards the pod. i think the whole setup is designed to heighten tension and excitement and it was certainly scaring the sh*t out of me. well worth the $35!
in the pod itself, a section of the floor was made of glass. i stayed well clear of that and manouvered myself into prime photographing position to await aonghus' mad leap.
while i waited i was able to relax a little and enjoy the view. seeing the three bungy operators in action was a bit like watching the elves work the production line at santa's workshop, they'd call the next person and start: click, clump, secure, attach, countdown, release, grab, click, clump, unhook, next...
and aonghus was up. my brain froze. aonghus at edge. aonghus jump. click photo. little aonghus shaped dot in the distance. aonghus not dead. phew. mind unfreeze.
it was fun to watch really. i think it's made me relax about heights a bit. still absolutely no temptation to do it though.
[link]March 29, 2002
02:42 AM dublin time
the air reeks of testosterone, people are launching themselves off, onto and into all manner of vehicles and natural features, excitement and tension abound - welcome to queenstown, action capital of new zealand and home of the bungy [no i didn't, but he did]
[link]02:35 AM dublin time
the easiest single word to use to describe new zealand's landscape? tolkienesque. though having been travelling in tandem with a couple of girls from norway for a while and hearing constantly of the geographical similarities between norway and new zealand maybe norweigean would also work.
new zealand used to be chocca with glaciers way back when. of course a couple of them are still around, but most have long since melted, leaving a dramatic countryside of steep barren valleys, 'bottomless' lakes and soaring seaside cliffs.
we visited one of these flooded glacial valleys or fjords. though this one was mistakenly called a 'sound' for some reason. milford sound. most spectacular. and with the highest level of rainfall in new zealand most damp.
yes indeed, lots of sheer cliff walls rising straight out of the sea. we couldn't see the tops, though i think that was due to the swirling misty cloud covering them.
i may be staring to sound a bit unimpressed with the whole breath-taking landscape. not because it's not impressive, but because there's so much of it here that one starts to become immune to it. i wish i could wake up every morning with a fresh pair of eyes. how bad is it to catch oneself watching a video [and pretty awful one too] on board the bus instead of gazing at the pinky yellow sunset stained sky above the remarkable mountains [yes, that's their name, yes they are remarkable] on the journey into queenstown.
[link]March 25, 2002
04:28 AM dublin time
ow. my legs really hurt. i haven't felt this stiff since the time i decided i needed some exercise [i did] and joined the company softball team. i was in intense agony the day after the first session of less that half an hour of mild exercise.
the reason for the stiff legs this time, however, is a little more credible. it results from climbing up, down and across the rather steep franz josef glacier. [yes, i don't know what's come over my anti-activity self, but i guess this is what new zealand does to a person. most people get into the 'extreme' sports here, it's just that my level of extreme is a little lower that other people's].
but the glacier walk was amazing. it began with a fairly hefty slog up a stony dry river valley to the start of the glacier. this was followed by a thigh straining climbing trek up the rock of the 'terminal moraine' at the top of which we finally hit the ice. all this was done while wearing specially heavy, aparantly lead-soled boots supplied by the glacier guide people. the reason for these boots [apart from my suspicion that they were to slow us down] was that they were compatible with the talonzTM or crampons that we had to put on as soon as we reached the ice. these talonzTM added a further weight to my already laden feet and it's no wonder that my legs are aching today. so equipped with the boots and talonzTM as well as an ice-pick and an expensive gortexTM raincoat i felt just about prepared to brave the glacier proper. it was just the climb i was worried about.
we began walking up the ice, though as yet it didn't feel properly glacial - more like a snow covered mountain. however after a relatively unexciting ascent and a stop to eat our packed lunches, the fun stuff really began.
the landscape started to get a bit more rugged and we found ourselves going over a series of large 'speed-bumps'. at one point our group of ten waited at the foot of the biggest bump so far - a fifteen foot near vertical wall of ice - as our guide hacked steps into it with his trusty pick axe. aonghus and me were at the end of the group and my nervousness increased as one by one everyone else disappeared over the top with gasping oohs and aahs and talk of "...spectacular crevasses...".
we'd passed over a couple of small crevasses already. these are narrow, but potentially deep gashes or ravines running down into the ice and though the ones we'd seen were way too narrow to fall into, the mere sight of their depth had turned my knees to jelly as i had to pass over them. i'm not good with heights [or depths in this case] and i was dreading that at the top of the rise lay a crevasse bigger and deeper that any we'd yet seen. i was not looking forward to it.
with wobbling knees i reached the top and leaned over to see what was indeed a spectacular crevasse - about one foot wide and ten or fifteen deep with a path leading down into it and most of our group already in it. the plan was to make our way through a series of these icy blue gorges - which in places were barely wide enough to slip through - all the time surrounded by wet cold glacier. occasionally there were tunnels or caves through the ice. overhangs dripped melted water and the freezing walls saturated trouser legs in the slippy squeeze along frozen corridors.
there followed more clambers uphill through widening valleys. followed my side-stepping down freshly hewn ice steps in sixty degree ice faces. once we'd mastered walking with our talonzTM we could walk nearly normally though the ice pick was essential for trickier de/ascents.
it was incredible and our five hours on the ice ended all too quickly [though my once more blistered toes might disagree].
[link]04:14 AM dublin time
we reckoned that travelling by bus was our cheapest touring option for new zealand - especially when there's two companiew catering for cheapo backpackers - kiwi experience and magic bus.
i had read a bit about each before we picked the kiwi experience [or kiwi bus], but we mainly went for it because of a friend's recommendation and due to the fact that it sounded a bit more 'lively'. this has had its advantages and disadvantages.
probably it's worst point is that during the busy season - which should be easing off now at the start of autumn, but seems to be lasting longer this year - you need to book each leg of your journey at least two or three days in advance - which isn't so easy for us disorganised travellers. and when we found out there were coincidentally a couple of friends in the town we were leaving the next morning it was downright inconvenient as we couldn't stay just one extra day. their quirky booking system also takes a bit of getting used to - figuring out times for re-confirmations and such like.
another bad [or good] point is that they make an awful lot of stops and detours ensuring that every photographic landmark and cheap supermarket is visited. not fun when you awake for a 7.00am pick-up to spend an an hour shopping for groceries you don't really need.
this morning we were collected from our hostel at 7.30am. we stopped once for breakfast [even though we'd eaten at the hostel], once for lunch [though we'd done that at the breakfast stop] and numerous times for photo opportunities with mountains and waterfalls before being dropped at our hostel. we'd had three meals already and it was only 4.30pm.
it is handy that the bus will collect you from your hostel - and also book you into it. though their choice of hostel is sometimes dodgy. they also offer various discounts on activities along the road.
kiwi and magic bus, being rivals, have suitably derogatory names for each other; 'kindergarten bus' and 'tragic bus' however thay both partake in what must be one of the nigh and low points of our tour so far: in mahinapua - a barely existant townland on the west coast of new zealand's south island is held a fancy dress party of the basest kind. it's theme is usually a 'crossdressing' one with a 'bin bag' option if that didn't tempt you. it didn't, so $2.99 and a five pack of black sacks, roll of sellotape and assortment of safety pins later we were set.
we had gone for the bin bag option after a quick perusal of each other's wardrobe. i hadn't even a skirt with me for aonghus and you could probably have pulled a man's outfit as easily out of my own bag. aonghus' were decidedly backpackerish.
with my glittery green lipstick in mind [brought along for st. patrick's day] i fleetingly toyed with the idea of a double-bluff cross dressing outfit by dressing myself up as a drag queen, but my wardrobe was just not up to the challenge.
but the sparkly green lippy wasn't safe yet. as we prepared for the night in our dorm, a very trusting norwegian girl insisted that aonghus borrow her 'little black number'. he was into it in no time and with greep lipstick, eyeshadow, shiney ribbon and one pair of socks was sorted. i was bin-bagged alone, but well punked up with a few well placed slashes and safety pins, some mowhawk effect hair twists and a helluva lot of red eyeshadow.
it was hard to view one's fellow bus passangers in the same light after that night. some of the boys looked too good in dresses. though the bus subsequently got a fair bit rowdier.
kiwi bus verdict at this stage: fun, but better in off peak season or if you've your trip well planned [to the point where you've remembered to pack that dress boys!].
[link]March 20, 2002
05:17 AM dublin time
after a sunbaked day in nelson [the sunniest town in new zealand] and a little persuasion from aonghus, i found myself packing for a camping/trekking trip in the abel tasman national park at the north of new zealand's south island.
i think i was so easily persuaded by the thought of the otherwise unused walking boots i'd have lugged around with me for no reason [i knew i shouldn't have bought them].
one rented tent, camping stove, pot and pair of sleeping mats later and we found ourselves on the abel tasman water taxi service in drizzling rain, wishing we'd listened to a weather forecast before launching into anything. camping in the rain is not something i'm fond of.
the plan was to boat it about 12 kms up along the beautiful beach-dotted coast, get dropped off and over two days walk the 20km meandering costal forrest track. hrmmm. cd walking? cd walking in the rain? cd walking a long way in the rain up and down hilly costal paths? i was beginning to have my doubts.
happily the clouds parted as we hopped onto dry land and we cooked our first camping lunch of instant noodles as sunshine threatened. now all i had to worry about was whether i was up to the trek or not.
but any fears i had were foundless - the track was well trodden and easy to walk - even with tent and equipment on board [well, aonghus was carrying most of the weight].
we wound around golden sandy inlet beaches, descending past streams, over foot bridges and ascending on the ferny forrest path to spectacular bay views. i wasn't even tired when after two and a half hours walking we reached our night's camp. though i was dissapointed that aonghus had made no attempt to learn or join in my walking songs [faldereee, falderaah!]
our rented dome tent was a breeze to assemble but whoever implied that sleeping mats were an adequate substitute for any kind of mattress was sorely mistaken. i slept fitfully - woken by the cold [cheap sleeping bags] whenever i found a sleeping position that was bareable on the hard mat. we were both awake at the first light of dawn, surprisingly alert and ready for another day's tramping.
more costal meanderings followed as we fell into the pattern of the land: in and around to the right, down a short gentle incline to the small bridge over the stream where the canopy got denser, more lush damp ferns appeared and the air was cooler. then up and out along the path to the sea again where the growth became thinner and the black-fungus covered trees dominated. and repeat ad blisteratum!
yes, after another 7kms of walking my big toes were both blistered and our packs felt heavier than ever, despite the fact that we'd eaten all the food out of them.
it was with satisfied relief that i eventually hobbled out of the park and into an expensive coffee-and-cake-please-would-you-like-cream-with-that-yes-please-thank-you-very-much.
[link]March 19, 2002
09:11 AM dublin time
given the miserable situation in christchurch, we decided it would be best to move on to our first planned port of call, kaikoura as soon as possible and remove my now epedemic level of tissue usage from hamish's mother's sewing room floor. so we booked tickets on the kiwi-experience bus and left hamish's timely hospitality at 6.45am the next morning.
in maori kaikoura means 'eat crayfish' but it's main attractions are of the sea mammal variety with seal and dolphin swimming and whale watching the most popular activities. too popular it would seem because on arrival in the town we learned that there were no places for dolphin swimming [our chosen activity] available for three days. as we'd planned to stay only two, we put ourselves on a waiting list for the 6.00am swim the morning of our planned departure and crossed our fingers. [note: i say planned departure because the kiwi-experience bus also has the annoying tendency to be booked up and we were on a waiting list for the bus aswell].
our aparant keenness to wake at 5.00am for a freezing dip with some mammals we'd never met before paid off and we got our place on the morning swim - hopefully our bus places would also materialise, though we wouldn't actually find out til after the swim.
we woke on the morning of the trip to a chilly still starry pre-dawn and questionned our sanity over a quick vegemite-on-toast breakfast. at the dolphin encounter hq we kitted out in damp wet suits and snorkle gear and headed boatward as the first glimmer of yellow-orange lit the eastern horizon. fifteen minutes out to sea a small pod of dolphins was spotted and the go ahead for the bitter plunge was given. i didn't have enough time to dally about anticipating the water's freezing temperature and as soon as i was in i realised that with the wet suit it wasn't really that bad. now down to dolphin business.
it had been explained to us that the dolphin swim was going to be very different to usual human-animal experiences where the human is the spectator and the animal the spectat-ed. these dolphins, being totally wild, were there only because they wanted to be and would only stick around as long as they were being entertained. we were instructed in the best methods of keeping them amused which included swimming in circles, diving down into the water and singing. i set straight to it.
at first as they swam around us i was content to let them do what they wanted and swim on, but as my confidence grew i started to play with them - moving in a circle when they came close which encouraged them to swim around me. i'd spin as fast as they could and they'd circle me going slowly until they'd lose interest and flit speedily away into the murky depths, maybe coming back again if they had nothing better to do.
one felt a bit like the newest, least interesting guest at a party. your appeal lasted until just after the introductions had been made and the other guests discovered that you couldn't really keep up with the conversation. though happily new [dolphin] guests continued to arrive and one's novelty held long enough to keep at least me entertained. fantastically entertained.
just as the cold water was getting too much for me, the call to the boat was made and after a divinely warming hot chocolate we propelled alongside a large pod for some truely amazing photo opportunities. the dusky dolphins are known to be real acrobats, diving, flipping and somersaulting out of the water in a postpor-perfect display. i hope my frozen fingers were fast enough to capture it all on film.
after a quick change of clothes, we learned the happy news that we had places on the bus. good good. a goodbye to kaikoura, though not quite yet to the crayfish - about an hour down the road the bus driver stopped at what he declared to be the best and cheapest source of cooked crayfish in new zealand - a roadside trailer called nim's bin. aonghus an i couldn't resist and bought a medium sized one for $26nzd to be consumed later on a grassy verge during a bus lunch stop with some lemon, plastic forks and claw snapping dexterity. delicious.
[link]March 15, 2002
12:37 AM dublin time
of course, what's the very first thing i do on finishing work and starting holidays? get a horrid, stinking streaming cold!
well, maybe not the very first thing, more like the fifth - after some goodbye drinks with work people, aonghus' birthday celebrations [involving dancing til 7am the next morning], a hectic [but thorough] cleaning and moving out of our studio apartment and an unhealthily steady diet of vegemite on toast. then the start of the nasty snivelling cold.
it didn't kick in properly until after we'd left melbourne and landed in christchurch, new zealand - to be greeted by hour long queues at immigration, customs and quarantine. The sniffles were sporadic as we waited and were mostly coming from the 'bio-sensitive' sniffer dogs who were investigating the lengthy lines of people and luggage. we prayed they wouldn't sit down beside us - an indication of posession of something as illegal and dangerous as an undeclared bar of chocolate which could possibly [if you looked very dodgy] necessitate a full body search for contraband maltesers or m and m's!
but we were declared a non bio-hazard and made it through unscathed if a little weary, arriving at the airport information desk still relatively sniffle free to hear the news that there was nowhere to stay in christchurch that night - everywhere was full - conferences or something - arrghhh!!
we were considering our options - sleep on the street/get a bus to the next town about two hours away/get a plane back to melbourne - when a godsend in the form of hamish - a friend of a friend - appeared and offered us 'doss space' on his floor. halehlujhaaa! we had met hamish a couple of times in melbourne. he was on a short visit home to christchurch for the first time in a year and was on an earlier flight than us but had had a bit of trouble with the airport sniffer dogs [a suspicious chocolatey aroma?] and been delayed long anough to come to our rescue - just as my compulsive nose-blowing really began.
[link]March 08, 2002
12:53 AM dublin time
last day at work.
last day with free internet.
blogging shall henceforth be sparse and intermittent.
this is where i'm going [scroll right].
see ya when i see ya.
[link]March 07, 2002
01:01 AM dublin time
i tasted the most delicious cookies over the weekend - made by my canadian friend colleen. the recipes she used was one that was doing the rounds in a 'true story' email a while ago:
My daughter and I had just finished a salad at a Neiman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas and decided to have a small dessert. Because both of us are such cookie lovers, we decided to try the "Neiman-Marcus cookie." It was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the recipe and the waitress said with a small frown, "I'm afraid not but, you can buy the recipe."Well, I asked how much, and she responded, "Only two fifty, it's a great deal!" I agreed with approval, just add it to my tab I told her.
Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement and it was $285.00. I looked again and I remembered I had only spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said, "Cookie Recipe-$250.00"
That was outrageous! I called Neiman's Accounting Dept. and told them the waitress said it was "two-fifty," which clearly does not mean "two hundred and fifty dollars" by any *POSSIBLE* interpretation of the phrase.
Neiman-Marcus refused to budge. They would not refund my money, because according to them, "What the waitress told you is not our problem. You have already seen the recipe. We absolutely will not refund you money at this point." I explained to her the criminal statues which govern fraud in Texas.
I threatened to refer them to the Better Business Bureau and the State Attorney General Office for engaging in fraud. I was basically told, "Do what you want, it doesn't matter, we're not refunding your money." I waited, thinking of how I could get even, or even try and get any of my money back.
I just said, "Okay, you folks got my $250, and now I'm going to have $250.00 worth of fun." I told her that I was going to see to it that every Cookie lover in the United States with an ! e-mail account has a $250.00 cookie recipe from Neiman-Marcus...for free. She replied, "I wish you wouldn't do this. " I said, "Well, you should have thought of that before you ripped me off," and slammed down the phone on her.
So here it is!!! Please, please, please pass it on to everyone you can possibly think of. I paid $250 for this...I don't want Neiman-Marcus to *ever* get another penny off of this recipe...
NEIMAN MARCUS COOKIES (Recipe may be halved)
~ 2 cups butter
~ 4 cups flour
~ 2 tsp. [bread?] soda
~ 2 cups sugar
~ 5 cups blended [ground?] oatmeal
~ 24 oz. chocolate chips [colleen used dark chocolate which was yum]
~ 2 cups brown sugar
~ 1 tsp. salt
~ 1- 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
~ 4 eggs
~ 2 tsp. baking powder
~ 2 tsp. vanilla
~ 3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)Measure oatmeal and blend in a blender to a fine powder.
* Cream the butter and both sugars.
* Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour,oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda.
* Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar and nuts.
* Roll into balls and place two inches apart on a Cookie sheet.
* Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies.
they really were some of the best cookies i've ever tasted and the real reason i'm putting the recipe here is that i know i'll lose track of it otherwise what with all the moving about i'll be doing in the next while. but i'm definitely baking these next time i find myself with an oven, a weighing scales and a spare hour. [link]
March 06, 2002
06:34 AM dublin time
i haven't really enough time to tell you about the ginormous spider that was exploring the ceiling of the cafe i ate lunch at today. while i bolted my food and kept an uneasy eye on his travels the two [male] aussie colleagues i was lunching with scoffed at my nervousness, pronouncing him 'just a small tarantula' and invited me to see ones 'heaps bigger' at their spider infested countryside abode. naturally i declined.
so yeah, not enough time coz i'm off home now.
i might tell you about it tomorrow though.
[link]March 05, 2002
07:14 AM dublin time
busy busy for last week at work - these road music cds wont burn themselves y'know. and i am doing a lil bit of work too, of course.
we've been borrowing cds on all sides to pad out our sparse road-music-y cd collection - music is an absolute must for long road journeys. and i think australia really takes the tim-tam[1] when it comes to long roads.
my favourite ever road tape has to be the one that my parents made for one of our long driving trips to france one summer. it had songs like 'heart of gold' by neil young, 'long black veil' by the band, 'treat me daughter decent' by steeleye span and 'the amoeba song' by the incredible string band. real classics.
that and 'the road to hell' by chis rea will always mean hot sticky carseats, bickering with my sisters and the car sickness brought on by too many lemon travel sweets.
[link]March 04, 2002
06:01 AM dublin time
this is the start of my last week at work for possibly eight months.
i'm not sure how i feel about this self-inflicted working hiatus. i hadn't really realised it was going to be for so long, and i'm beginning to think that it mayn't have been such a wise decision, abandoning my career like this.
it's not like the industry is very secure right now, who knows how many software jobs there'll be when i'm next looking for one - especially with a gaping eight month workless hole on my resume. though i will be well qualified for a position as a wandering hobo. maybe i'll join a travelling circus. i could do their website for them.
[aside: are there such things as non-travelling circuses? why do people say 'travelling circus' as against plain 'circus'?]
[link]March 01, 2002
05:15 AM dublin time
i really can't compete when it comes to disturbling search requests.
nobody ever comes here looking for 'swedish grandpa sex photos', 'water fill enlargement bladder torture' or 'funny ways an armadillo can be used' [well, until now anyway].
maybe my subject matter is too tame [the parents are reading], maybe the blurb that google returns makes it obvious to the disturbling search requester that this is not what they are after, i dunno.
but what i do get a lot of hits from [grace: look away] are search requests containing the words feet and photos. not very strange really, there are indeed about fourteen photos of abcd's feet here - taken while we were travelling in asia. however what i am curious about is why the majority of these requests come from www.google.it.
why italy? are foot fetishists predominantly italian? is there some kind of crazy italian competition happening at the moment where the person with the most photographs of feet wins a prize? it is most bizarre. i am perplexed. somebody please explain.
[link]