• Jumping out of 2005 and gliding into 2006! (proof at the end of this post)

• “I don’t wanna see no more waterfalls, no more sheep, and no more bays!” (Diane in a NYC accent after 8 hours of kayaking).
• “Exactly how does this work? Do you have flares? What are the mortality statistics for this adventure sport?” (Christine, before every adventure activity).
• Hokey pokey flavored ice cream! And lethal-smelling tevas.
• Pupu Springs, the Pipi Patch, and Tekaka Springs, Tekaka Road, Tekaka Falls, Tekaka Drive, Tekaka Hill, Tekaka Valley, Tekaka Mountain………
• Was that 25 hours we spent in the car? On which side of the road?
• Any negative insinuation about Kiwis duly rescinded! Any impressions of them as sterile and boring transformed into virtuous when I began to notice all of the monuments, memorials and testimonials in various parks and churches honoring such great virtues as bravery and heroism. They are a heroic lot indeed and just happen to combine that with a peaceableness that enables them to utter “cheers mate, no worrries” with sincerity.The contrast to Americans was very clear today when I returned to LAX (which likely embodies the worst extremes of our country), where I was confronted with a grumpy, self-seeking, depleted lot of folk. Plus, the bathrooms are a lot dirtier here.
• Another bummer on re-entry: a happy, smiling framed photo of none other than yours truly as we walked into the terminal. Sigh…I’d spent five weeks of bliss having forgotten about him.

And with all the logistics and transfers I’ve done over the past 5 weeks (drumroll please: SFO to Lima to Cusco to Lima to Santiago to Buenos Aires to Santiago to Valparaiso to Santiago to Auckland to Queenstown to Te Anau to Milford Sound to Te Anau to Queenstown to Arrowtown to Nelson to Pohara to Abel Tasman to Nelson to Picton to Wellington to Auckland to Waitomo to Auckland to KeriKeri to Auckland to LAX to SFO) — yes, with ALL of these potentials for mishaps, the ONLY glitch was right here, back home in SFO when our beloved TSA had to detonate some sort of bag before we could enter the gate.

An ignominous end to a fabulous, blessed, refreshing trip…may 2006 be different because of it! God is GOOD. Looking forward to His work in 2006!

• Wellington was so marvy but we sadly didn’t have time to do all that is needed there, such as see the WETA studios (Peter Jackson is the modern patriarch) or tour the Te Papau museum. But very cool modern art and architecture adorns the whole waterfront and made for some nice morning touring.
• On to the Waitomo Caves where we did the coolest most unique thing ever: “Black Water Rafting” , which entails rapelling (or “abseiling” as they call it down unda) through dark caves and floating and walking through icy cavewater, stopping of course for the proverbial civilized tea and crumpets before slidingdown more waterfalls and floating on our backs on inner tubes to view the galaxy-like glow-worms (or more accurately, glow gnats which is of course, less marketable). Yes, we really looked this stupid (we still aren’t sure why they made us wear those oversized shorts unless it was for their own personal entertainment).
• Note to future travelers: the website for the Waitomo Caves Inn is far nicer than the real deal. Stay somewhere else and spare yourself a Bates Motel experience!
• Divine intervention in planning our last leg on the Bay of Islands…about which we can’t say more beyond the fact that it is PARADISE – pure and simple. Aquamarine waters. Dreamy catamaran cruises on the Bay with stops at islets to snorkle. Dolphins that really DO swim right up next to the boat and in large pods to boot. Great hiking. Bright inense sunshine. Fun, age-agnostic bars. Feels like the top of the Maslow ladder to me.

Do we hafta go??!?

• Vegan horror movie! Me and my travelmates will never forget the sight of the hearty “salad” bar we encountered in Te Anau…replete with raw meat cuts all ready to take to the cooking counter…Mongolian “barbie”, as they say in these parts. The British influence was also evident by the other selections, which included pickled onion bulbs (mmm mmm) and hard boiled eggs (or so we think; it was a bit tough to find them floating underneath the pools of curry).
• Please adopt me!! We fell into our best accomodations yet at Ian and Sue McCracken’s marvelous Bay Vista House in Pohara outside of Nelson…simply dreamy — the photos are accurate (even if you can’t se the lavender that adorned each window overlooking the bay or hear the birds that chirped each morning!).
• Proprietors Ian and Sue are the parents we all want…they even handmade our raspberry jam each morning AND are related to the famous Kiwi who invented the Tantrix board game sensation here. But you need to be comfortable with a personable, cosy setup: the guest manual instructs guests to “shout loudly” in the event of a fire in order to notify the management.
• The hottub at the aforementioned locale was worth the hour windy drive to and from our kayaking locale on Golden Bay, because, after a full day of kayakaing (ask Lisa to tell you about my paddling prowess, which I of course make up for in my DJ skills), we were able to return to a hot tub. The only lamentable issue was Julie moaning that her arms were too tired to hold up her Pinot Noir glass….the horrors of wealth.
• Hiking Abel Tasman Nat’l Park wasn’t so bad either — especially when God re-did the Hannukkah thing by making our insufficient supply of petrol last the windy, precarious drive back (had it not, however, we were well-prepared for doom by Christine, who told us exactly how we things would feel just before we veered off the mountain).