favourite country yet

the joys i have known in New Zealand's South Island are many. what a place. its hard to know whether it really beats the Namib desert or not, but when i think we are talking about so many different places, everywhere i have been in the South Island has astounded me at some point with such beauty, so i reckon as a country NZ wins so far on my tour of this amazing world.
it turns out i really love walking on my own, i just love the peace and contentment that comes from getting out there and seeing it all with all the time in the world to let thoughts come and go, to remember others, to pray and consider life in all its magnificence. then there is the sense of achievement when i get to set my little timer going on the camera to catch me grinning on the top of some beautiful mountain i've managed to climb. i love the way you can feel blood filling up in your fingers and your leg muscles tighten if you walk fast for a while. i love the loud pounding of my heart as i climb fast. i love meeting people in tramping huts who always seem to be the best kinds of people but so diverse with so many interesting stories. i love beating the estimated times for tracks by going for it.
i have come away with so many lovely memories - kayaking on Milford Sound, climbing up to Luxmore Hut on the Kepler track in a downpour, wandering the rose garden in Christchurch with Nikki, sitting on the shores of Lake Tekapo with amazing colour everywhere, silenced by the beauty of ice on Franz Josef glacier.. it has been the best month and has left me feeling so full of joy and peace and so full of life.
i'm back in sydney now in an empty mansion as the family are away on holidays, back on sunday. then its one more week with them all before flying to bangkok the following sunday (dec 3rd). so you will hear more from me soon

fear and adrenalin

i just had to write again as i had a mad day yesterday. guess i spoke too soon about the weather as i had a day of gale force winds and plenty of rain in which to set off on my day walk to view the rob roy glacier. i would show you the photos of the glacier only my camera couldn't tell the difference between ice and clouds so you can't see it! but it was beautiful.
the walk to get there however was a bit scary. figure its ok to tell you all about it now i'm back safe and sound. so it was supposedly 15 mins across fields to get to a swing bridge, but the valley acted as a great wind tunnel so it was impossible to walk in a straight line the force of the wind against you was so strong. then the bridge was swinging well before i set foot on it. my next stop is queenstown where the norm is to pay out loads of money to skydive or bungy jump but forget that, you get a rush for free by walking across a swinging bridge in strong winds. i nearly turned back at that point, but figured it would be much more sheltered from the other side on as the path carried on below the treeline for most of the rest of the walk. so got across the bridge with adrenalin levels pretty high and beginning to question my sanity, only to find the track that was supposed to be more sheltered from there on had its own fear factors. obviously once in a while there is an avalanche or rockfall that crosses the track which is then patched up and signposted nicely as being a bit dangerous! well thats all very well if you're walking later on once its all been sorted out, but what about the poor people walking there when it happens?! i was a bit unnerved.
anyway after an hour or so i finally passed some other walkers which made me feel much better knowing that other people were as foolish as me, so it surely can't be that bad. although i did note that during the whole day i never saw another person walking alone - it was all couples or groups. last little fright was the thunderous sound of ice cracking when you stop at the top to look over at the glacier.
anyway, i'm back in one piece and it was a beautiful walk, and within limits i quite enjoy being a bit scared! might check out all the warnings a bit better before my next hike though. i am getting more clued up about the fact that one bad step and i could end up pretty injured. the walks i do are always popular enough that there will be people coming past within a short time, but still, i am taking care to avoid tree stumps and roots as i now know they get very slippy when wet, i don't plan to wear flip flops again and i try to slow myself when coming downhill! just so you know i am taking care of myself!

more fun less pain

i didn't think things could get much better, but they are!! i am still absolutely loving it here. i barely even get a chance to miss all you lovely people when i'm constantly surrounded by such amazing beauty, it really is too much! people tried to tell me i'd like new zealand as its a bit like home, but believe me, this is way better than the UK! we don't even come close to the sort of grand magnificence i keep seeing here (in my opinion anyway).
i spent a day doing a guided walk on a glacier and was blown away. beginning to think this place may even beat namibia for my top country although its a close thing. but the beauty of all the ice formations and the snow capped mountains and the rivers and trees and waterfalls and beaches and lakes... its my kind of place for exploring. even better, it shouldn't be too tough on my feet from here on as i'm only doing day walks and one more overnight tramp before leaving.
we have had some rain so i have just holed up in a hostel once in a while and watched too many movies including lord of the rings x 3 all over again - seemed appropriate in this location! but whenever i've had to be out all day its been amazing weather, so i can't expect that to continue but so far so good.
i had such a lovely weekend with Mark, Nikki, Zach + Poppy as well, loads of amazing homemade food, a good coastal run, fun choosing sofa fabric, great local food market.. just a special time with them all.
so its another two weeks of this and then back to sydney. i'm getting some top tips off other people in hostels about my asia travels so thats great. i guess if i'm honest i am just a bit apprehensive about christmas, the one part of my year i've always been nervous about as christmas for me has always been with my family and all the amazing efforts of my mum to make it extra special. but this year could be a chance to enjoy something different so i'm trying to hand onto that opportunity. i'll be spending it with the lawrence family in cambodia which is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity if ever there was one. by the way, as everything this christmas is so different, i'm sorry not to be sending any cards or pressies this year as i'm short on time, funds and the chance to see you all enjoy it! so, rather than stress out trying to make the last posting date in 2 days time (?!) i will be sending my greetings out on this blog nearer the time. the good news is that means i'm not expecting any effort in return, especially seeing as i'll have no postal address anyway. so its a year off buying beautiful orange gifts everyone!

no pain no gain

well i have a new understanding of this phrase. my feet did begin to give me serious trouble on this next tramp in abel tasman park. but it was so definitely worth it. each corner i would stumble across yet another beautiful deserted bay that seemed like a secret just waiting for me to find. the views were amazing, i loved it - see some of the sights on my photos link. again there is something about exploring a place on my own two feet which i just love, even if those feet are in agony.
as well as the gain from being in such beauty, i also realised that for one who likes a physical challenge i rarely get close to my physical limitations and this time i really did. then when you know you have managed to do something near to your maximum capability, you get a much bigger sense of achievement. basically the simple rule has only just been grasped by me - that something has to be difficult for you to be proud of doing it. i now have a very self-satisfied smug on my face!
this second tramp turned out to be flip flop disaster number 2 (number 1 occurred in the Namib desert if you missed that bit). basically i was forced to walk the second day in my flip flops thanks to major heat rash on both ankles, continued trouble with blisters and a darkening purple toenail.... i wouldn't recommend walking on rocky muddy ground with a heavy backpack for approx 16 kms in flip flops, but i managed it and it was preferable to putting my feet back into boots.
so i am now a much more experienced tramper and hope to get in some more practice before i leave this country. for now its feet up resting back at mark & nikki's lovely place.