Stray Bus In New Zealand I'm a tourist. In a country filled with tourists doing touristy things at touristy places I've fallen right into it. This has to do, in large part, to the fact that I got on a backpackers bus tour called the Stray Bus. There's a few different companies here... more...

Gollum I met a guy who was a boom operator for the Lord of the Rigns. He told me that Allen Serkis, the actor who played Gollum, was the hands-down best actor in the world. He was literally awe-struck by his talents. He told me this story.

In the upcoming, third movie there's... more...

A Bulleted List Things I've Done

I...

- had a surfing lesson on a big styrofoam board. I was riding waves by the end of the afternoon.

- went whitewater rafting. We went over three waterfalls of 1, 3 and 7 meters. We capsized on the 1 and 7.

- went blackwater rafting. This consisted of hiking and... more...

Pure as the driven snow I met a guy on the Queen Charlotte's trail, a newly retired American who lived on his sailboat with his wife and was spending a year in New Zealand. He was an interesting guy and very eager to chat so we walked together for a while.

He retired from the fire department,... more...

More bullets - Did a two day kayak trip in Abel Tasman National Park. We paddled along a rugged coastline stopping at a couple of nearby islands and cruising by seal sanctuaries. We collected mussels for our dinner. A short hike from our campsite brought us to a walk-in glow worm cave. These... more...

The West Coast After three days of doing just about everything in and around Queenstown I was ready to do nothing. I headed up to Wanaka with the intention of hitchiking up the west coast. it didn't take me long to find a ride. I told a roomate in the hostel about my plans... more...