Hold on a second am I achieving all of this - it's been a week that I'll never forget here in New Zealand and the time I've had has rapidly vaulted this unbelievable country to the top of my favourite countries in the world list (we'll leave the leave the USA out which gets far too much of a leg up from Rich living there!)
So much to say and it's pretty late, I've 2 blogs to do and I've got to be up early for another busy day tomorrow - it's non-stop here as well Sally!
Since you saw me last (sort of!) I've been Jez 'action man' Lemarchand and the testosterone flying round my system is making me dangerous right now - I'm unearthing a whole new me and boy do I need a good job when I get back to afford new kit for my new skills and interests ...
The countryside and scenery as you traverse your way down the west coast of the South Island (and indeed the whole of the country) just gets better and better and better - it's like they lined it all up for travellers heading north to south - 'OK everyone, let's show them a bit of what we're like then blow them away in the far south west'
When we negotiated our way down from Franz Josef to Wanaka the bus driver had enough time to stop off and show us one of millions of quiet, un-eartlhy, have-it-to-yourself beaches - check out the only footsteps that graced this beach for a week ...
Now for my first crack at the outdoor lifestyle this week I went mountain biking - not golfing Sal C so sorry honey and it was a good tip off but this got the adrenalin flowing about a million times more - although the photograph was taken to show off the peaks of Mount Aspiring National Park in the distance (which LoTR fans were used in the background when Gandalf was saved from the top of Orthanc and flown by Gwaihir, a huge bird, to Rohan) I bike down a pine forest for the first time
Now mountain biking is hair raising at the best of times but stick in a steep downhill incline, closely growing pine tress, banked corners and a disregard (ish!) for your own safety and you have a top day! - my legs were knackered by the end of it (you have to cycle uphill to go downhill) but I loved it and the trails were all marked out like a snowy mountain and my bike handling skills were a million times better than the Slick Rock all those months ago!
And Wanaka (careful you don't drop the odd a!) was the serene alpine retreat - kind of - because in this part of the world it seems the population know nothing about sitting still - I have to come back and snowboard here - although as one local told me 'the snow's wet and the runs short!' - the opportunity of beds for 10 quid a night in fabulous YHA hostels and the accessibility of these incredible towns makes it a cheap option despite a long flight
I headed off to Queenstown and was met by an even better mountain range than those from Mount Aspiring - the Remarkables sit above this place fit for a Queen and threaten to fall on top of it should a fault line shift too far one night - speaking of which I love this shot of the green buoy just off shore on Lake Wakatipu with the Remarks in the background showing off their snow dusting (although it's now sunny everywhere in New Zealand after my start off in rain)
And the next day (OK - one cloudy one!) I hiked up Bob's Peak to get the classic view of Queenstown and bumped into a sharp photographer who snapped me a bit out of breath having not realised quite the distance through the forest - to the right of my left hand is the awesomely placed Queenstown Golf Club with 'downtown' to the left of my right hand - and there's those Remarkables again!
But that was just a warm up for my afternoon of making good on a promise to myself of 2 years ago to learn rock climbing - I'm very glad Martin and I didn't go for the indoor option in Wolverhampton - because Queenstown Hill was a bit more thrilling
Now I have no pictures to prove my activities but I can show you the link to my instructor Helen's company (well it wasn't her company I don't think but that's a trifling matter)
http://www.rungway.co.nz/rockclimbing.htm
The main picture is very close to what we were doing and we got a fantastic 4 hours out of the deal (me and my climbing buddy Joaquin from Santiago in Chile strangely enough!)
This new activity did so much for me by proving that I can trust other people and equipment with my life (I fell twice on the last ascent of the day and 'enjoyed' dangling about 100 metres up a rock face slamming my right side into the rock hard - ouchie - go hard or go home!)
It also tested me fear of heights (remember me leaning forwards in Zion National Park) and I passed - just as I thought - I can conquer what I've decided is only mild - and the method of rappelling and belaying feels way safer than you'd think - it's pretty crazy and exhilarating to have to look through your feet for foot holds and see 120 metres below you to the ground (that's the highest we went up!) - but just typing this is making me excited again!
And like Robbie J says I 'tested myself' and won - I managed to climb a grade 14-18 ascent (there's 32) on my first afternoon of rock climbing - ever! - now to get a gauge of how proud I should feel that night I asked Helen how many people do that on their first go - she said 10% and that it's about as difficult climb as there is in GB - 'he shoots, he scores!' - I'm not overly convinced she's right about the GB bit but I'll take it for now - she was a champ and persuaded me after my two falls to go for it again and I made it - 'it' was placing all the weight of my body on my left toe on a ledge about 1cm wide - while reaching with my right hand and right foot up to holds about a metre higher up the face - and then, I kid you not, leaping for these holds - all 100 metres up - wowzers! - it was worth it - from the top I looked around 360 degrees and saw snowy mountains and an alpine lake - I want to do it again already ...
And if that wasn't enough I decided to try these out the morning just before I left Queenstown
The Kawarau Jet shot us up the Kawarau and Shotover Rivers spinning us round and soaking us - narrowly avoiding gorge rocky walls - skipping over very shallow ice blue clear water - and all the time I was having a good time I wanted to drive! - when you've rock climbed the day before it's pretty hard to let someone else be in charge - it was thrilling - but I think I've just readjusted my body to the definition of a thrill - my copy of The Climber magazine is looking well thumbed ...
For a final Queenstown LoTR moment (they filmed loads around Wanaka and Queenstown because of their incredible location) I skipped around Queenstown Gardens for this photograph of Deer Park Heights - this is a mountain just under 500 metres high and just outside Queenstown - you can see it from the Bob's Peak shot - it was the first time since I left the wet rain forested west coast of the South Island that I saw tussocky grass and that yellowy colour around rocks - it's backed by those Remarks again - and you may be able to tell that is was used heavily in The Two Towers - for the sequence when the wargs attacked (hear me speaking in the past tense like it actually was history!) the people of Rohan heading to Helm's Deep - Legolas' incredible leap onto his horse you will remember ...
For this post all that's left to say is please ignore the spot created by soaking my camera on the west coast a few days earlier!
And read on for blog 2 of 2!
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