Ice Ice Baby

TeamGeek
It's been a few days since an actual proper entry. There will be no pictures from me unfortunately as the Jester has them all on his laptop and I'm just using a random terminal in at this Internet place. Downside: I think it's satillite internet, which means it's got this really nasty lag. Upside: the computer room is an old bus that's been converted for this use. It's pretty funky. It's kinda hippy, kinda trippy, and all bad ass.

So yesterday we went to...I can't remember the name off hand, or rather, I don't want to take a guess at spelling it just now. Punaiki or something like that. Anyway, the big thing there is the "pancake" rocks, and blow holes. The pancake rocks look sorta like these chunks of rock made up of a stack of flat ones. It's really not that impressive as a specific feature, although like everything else here, it does look pretty cool. The blow holes are these pseudo-geyser things, at the high tides, water rushes into a cavern where it squeeze out an opening in the top, with varying force, creating a blast of water. We initially went during low tide, so there was nothing to see. When we went at high tide...there was also nothing to see. I guess we didn't wait around long enough or the high tide wasn't high enough when we went. I've seen some pictures of it, and the pictures at least have a pretty impressive look to them when it's really going off well.

The real awesome part of that actually happened before we ever got to the rocks though. We pulled off at this...natural beauty site thing, they have them all over the place here...well anyway, we got to climb around on these really large rocks in the surf, it was really awesome! I got some sweet pics, although I admit I was worried here and there I'd drop my camera in the drink. Speaking of which...so The Jester was also rock hopping around like me, and at some point we decided it would be a good idea to go out to this really large rock that was really far out in the surf. On the way out there, Jester did this really cool save, I think the gymnastics from years ago must have paid off, he did this really neat spin around, and post-wedge of a foot into a rock and barely saved him self from a pleasent dip ino the ocean. Just kidding. He totally slipped and went in. It was classic. I'm moving in my ninja-like manner from rock to rock when I hear him yell and laugh. I turn around and he's waste deep in Pacific. I start yelling about the camera. He yells back the camera is fine. Only thing is, he's talking about the one he's wearing around his chest that's riding high up on his back. I'm talking about the small one that is in the fanny pack on his waist.

So the long story short is we took the camera apart, and valiently tried to save it, but it's now a very stylish, brand name paper weight. We were able to save the pictures off of the memory card however, so it wasn't a total loss. Of course the pictures are the things that I was really concerned about.

Anyway, after that tramping about the rocks on the ocean, a really awesome interactive deal, the pancake rock things were pretty...flat.

Today we had a nice drive further south to Franz Joeseph, which was cleverly named after the Franz Joeseph glacier which is nearby. We trekked over the glacier. It would have been a nice hike with some kick-ass scenery except it was raining on us constantly, and I wasn't quite equipped to handle it. Pretty cold and miserable, worth it I'd say, but the experience would be vastly better in nice weather. If it's nice in the morning I think that we will go back as I'd like to try and get some better pictures, the ones I took I think will be mediocre. Or at least I won't be happy with them.

Oh, side note, the place that we stayed at last night had it's own little glow-worm thing. It was actually better in my opnion then the Waitomo caves because we could get close and take pictures. I mean seriously close, like I could have touched one if I wanted to. I didn't. I think I did get some way better pictures. Again stuff that's all forthcoming when better internet access is available to us. I'm starting to think that much of it will have to wait until we get back to the statues. We'll easily have more then a thousand pictures, I think a good many of them will be worth taking a look at, which is serious upload time, so I'll be using the work internet connection.

It's still raining here as I write this btw, I felt the need to mention that as my segue into the weather. You can tell it's spring here, at least I think this is a side effect of spring. The weather is crazy all over the place. Where we were yesterday I could have worn shorts. Today it's freezing cold and raining. Tomorrow I expect donuts to fall from the sky in a shower of fatty goodness. Except I think people will be confused here as they don't seem to have donuts much around here.

And speaking of tomorrow, we drive to Queensland. I think it's the longest drive yet, estimated at like 5 hours. I think that means it will take us around 7. A very long time in the car anyway. But we're there for a couple days. We've got some activities scheduled for Queensland that I think will yield some great pictures, but only if the weather clears. I have to keep reminding myself this place is like the size of Michigan, only with lots and lots of mountains and awesome curvy roads...well awesome if you are on a fun, good handling vehicle. Otherwise it takes extra long to go from place to place. But it's ok since the scenery looks grand.

I've realized today that in only 4 days I'll be back home. I own't quite be in my own bed, as work in my house is not estimated to be quite done by then, but with in a day. Anyway, I'm both sad, and a little excited. A bit of rest from the vaction will be nice. But I've started thinking about my next vacation. The houseboat thing we saw a few days ago would be kick ass awesome I think, for a week long thing to do, but I'd also like to see some other places. Japan seems like some place I should go - I've been accused of being obsessed with Japan in the past.

Course it also means I'm getting close to my knee surgery, no real worries there, it' should be all plusses, I think I'll be able to get my fat ass more active if my knee doesn't become gimpy for 24-48 hours at a time when I put stress on it.

I think this place is closing up soon and I really wasn't prepared to write this post. Plus I need to do laundry. So I'll sign off now...from the Franz Joeseph glacier in New Zealand...
-The Cleric