Adventure Capital

After just three days of travel here is New Zealand, I've already been rewarded some of the most breathtaking landscapes I've ever seen. It's impossible to take a bad picture here - every scene laid before you is a postcard-perfect view begging to be captured on camera. There are rolling golden hills dotted with herds of grazing sheep, snow-capped mountains and cascading tumbling into rivers below and valleys filled with fields of vibrant pink and purple lupins, all within a days drive.

By the way the driving here is intense. And so much fun! The roads are perfectly maintained, traffic is pretty much nonexistant, and the speed limits are ... shall we say, optional? Just as you finish one hairpin turn carved into the mountain, another one begins, and you have to fight to maintain control of the steering wheel. We have a '95 Nissan Sunny rented for the next two weeks and I intend to push it to to the max.

Of course the best way to take in the scenery is up close and personal - hiking. Every day of this trip has some hiking trails planned, and most are not for the faint of heart. Today there were severe weather warnings issued for the entire central and south island regions. We were told to expect freezing temperatures with gale force winds and driving rains, and flash flooding in some areas. In Lake Wanaka, we saw cars half submerged in parking lots that turned into temporary swimming pools. Still, the hiking continued.


The fellowship: Emelie, me, Teresa

Now we're in Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world, and I have more pressing matters on my mind than getting hypothermia. Tomorrow is the Big Jump. As in jumping 12,000 ft off a plane and plummeting towards the earth and terminal velocity until someone (hopefully not me) pulls the parachute open. I'm getting sweaty just writing about it.