Halfmoon Bay, Stewart Is.

I'm loving this! I rolled over the waves of the Fouveux Str. And landed on a hilltop of Stewart Island. I shit you not, around me is nothing but the chatter of birds.

I awoke this morning, stiff and in pain, soreness my rewards from the Kepler Trek, every creak a reminder of the panoramas and lush vegetation my sore soles had slogged their way over, around and through. Even now, I can remember with vivid color, standing on a peak, looking out over the stacks and stacks of spires and jagged ridges, each forming a fortress 'round the lush forest nestled within, flora snaking its way through the roots of these monsters stretching through the sky. I'd climbed my way through the clouds, and even as I stood in the raw sunshine, I shivered in my Binky and Buffalo. There was a bit of nip in the cold May air, seeping its way through the clothes that I wore (though not my Hot Chilis, they were huaveneros on my shanks by Day 2). I sipped a cup of soup the mist from my mug a mirror of the clouds forming in the valleys below me, hanging to the hills and hiding the terrain below. As the sun climbed in the sky the clouds burnt away revealing views of rippling fjords and jungles of trees.

I spent most of last evening reassembling Le Bete from hiking to backpacking mode (this involves 50 or so lb. And the amount of cheese and sausage in the bag). An hour wore by before I finished, and finally drifted off to sleep, showered, shitted and shaved, lying in fresh linen in a heated private room, sleeping a poil, enjoying a rare luxury of seldom afforded by the road.

A brief interlude: Seriously, I'm loving these birds, it's a hubbub of noise.

In the the dawn sky, shimmering in sunrise over Te Anau, Marie and I bid farewell to Matt, whose warm handshake I'm still basking in here in Stewart (Matt, again, Thank you.) I boarded a bus driven by royalty though the bus itself was rather less than that. I'll digress a moment to mention the cruisy new fuckers I've been riding with Stray on the South, these things are brand spanking new, 400,000 a pop, seriously, all they need to do is pimp them all out with disco balls, they are sweet rides as far as buses go. Prince's bus was not one of these and when I'd creakingly hauled Le Bete out to it, the bus creaked itself and then broke under our combined weight. Less than fun, when that means we were suddenly 3ft. (1 M.) in the air (oye, my weary limbs). I basically remember being the bus being filled with roughly a dozen lasses and maybe 2 or 3 lads (hmm, the road not taken...). Despite the feminine charms from 'round the world, though mostly European, the allure of Stewart loomed and I had a golden ticket for the waiting ferry. Only Marie and I were bound with our bags for the ferry South (though someone had thoughtfully taken them off for us, not realizing anyone was daft enough to cross the Fouveux Str, and the bus quickly made a loop back to the hostel to grab our luggage).

The crossing was not a millpond as our boat rode the small waves. It was by standards here a mild day and I'm still wondering about the voyage back and wondering what it could hold (no big breakfasts that morning).

But I've arrived into a little dream world, about as pleasant a place as one could hope to find on the far end of the Earth. I'm as far South as your likely to find a pub serving a good dark pint and a nice spread of potato wedges with sour cream (they do those good here, and in NZ in general). I'm staying in a peaceful little cottage in a private room with a full size bed with a private entrance to the bathroom. Marie and I flipped for rooms, she chose heads. My view of the screen of this computer is of the Halfmoon bay and the small boats moored in its calm, mostly fishing boats as far as I can see.

From here, I'm finally turning North, moving back towards the equator and finally leaving the Southern sky and the now familiarity of the constellations painted on its dome.

Invercargill, NZ

I did the Kepler Trek! It's been one of my dreams for years to hike in Fiordland Nat. Park, and it was simply wonderful. The first day we skirted around Lake Te Anau and then started our ascent into the mountains. This meant a couple of hours hiking along cutback trails through some marvelous forest. The clouds didn't really affect the views as there were none while we were still below the bushline. Fortunately, the fog lifted as we cleared the bushline and we got some amazing views of the land around us. The sunset that night was spectacular.

The second day was really the highlight of the walk. We spent most of the day walking along ridgelines, and were constantly stopping to taking in the views which were breathtaking. When we woke, there was fog below us in most of the valleys, but this burned off as the day progressed. Finally, near the end of the day, we dropped off the ridges and descended to the second hut which was nestled in a valley next to a river. We'd heard it was cold there, and it was, though I was more than warm in my sleeping bag.

We were greeted on the third morning by Keas, I finally got to see some Keas! I've always thought that they should be the Nat. bird of NZ as most people describe them as cheeky. And they are. The first that I met was either trying to steal or eat a wheelbarrow, and his mates were simply hopping about looking for trouble or things to steal. The third day was a long one, but it was mostly flat terrain and we were able to make good time along the trail. It was mostly walking in forest. The forest here was simply covered in moss, everything, moss would run 50 ft. up a tree and the entire landscape was a soft green. That, and mushrooms, which grew everywhere. The best we saw was on the third day, they were a bright, bright purple.

I'll add more to this account at some point, but I don't have much more time to write at the moment. I've got to get some food and then shoot off, I'm headed to Stewart Island, which seems to be NZ's Tasmania. I can't miss that. I'm spending three nights there, hopefully the clouds will clear and I'll get to see the Southern Lights, which have been out during the past week. Stewart is the farthest South I'm going on the Trip, after there, I finally start moving Northward. Stewart by the way, has less than 300 residents, and I think the power goes off on the island around 9pm. Well, we'll see.

Te Anau

Well, I'm about to embark on the Kepler Trek. Unlike yesterday, when there wasn't a cloud in the sky, the weather is rather nasty today, it's cloudy and I can't even see the lake from across the road. I'm pushing into the wilderness with Matt, from the Bay Area, and Marie, from Canada. We're planning on trying to camp two nights on the trek, but have brought enough food for three. Hopefully, we'll get a few breaks in the weather, so that we'll actually be able to see something, but who knows. Anyway, that's all for now, I've got a mountain to climb today.

Te Anau, NZ

I've finally made it to Fiordland. I first read of this area in "Last Chance to See," by Douglas Adams, and have wanted to come here ever since. I'm looking to do the Kepler Trek, one of the Great Walks here. I'm not going to do the Milford Trek (sorry, Bob), as it costs 140NZD more than the Kepler. But, the Kepler is supposed to be about as good, and I plan to take a ferry through the Milford Sound as well. It is starting to feel like winter here, an odd feeling as it's been well over a year since I've been in cold weather. Queenstown was fun, but it's nice to get out of there, it's a very big party scene, and meat market. While many of you may be raising your eyebrows at this point, I'm not especially wild about that sorta scene. But, the weather's supposed to be holding out, so I think that I will be able to get out on the Trek. It should be cold at night, but I'll be in huts, not my tent, and that ought to help a bit. My only concern at the moment is that I wrenched my neck sleeping last week and it's still bothering me. I hope to get it checked out before going out, but we'll see.

Queenstown, NZ

Well, looks like I don't have to make a fast exit out of NZ. I think my visa extension has finally been resolved, meaning I can take a few more weeks here before shooting off to OZ and warmer weather. Pop, you asked about the weather here, and yes, after well over a year, I'm finally experiencing non summer like conditions. Queenstown is a ski town by winter and the slopes are trying to open sometime in the next month. That said, it's a bit chilly in the evenings here. However, I don't mind it, I haven't had cold weather in a while and when I get tired of it, I'll simply shoot off to OZ where it's sure to be warmer. I pulled my neck two days ago and slept on a large marshmallow last night. That, combined with the Police showing up in my dorm room around 4am last night, to return someone who was sleeping in the room from jail, meant I didn't have the most restful evening. I plan to take a bit of a nap and see if that helps. I did find the first diner in NZ that has free refills on its soft drinks, something I assumed only existed in the US. Decent menu too.

Queenstown, NZ

Well, I've made it down to Queenstown, where I've been aiming for since I left Wellington. Ran into Rosie, Gemma, and Nick from Raglan today while in Wanaka, though not in the laundry room again. I went to Puzzling World (or something like that) today, which was quite simply a hoot. They have a weirdness room which generally fucks with one's perception, water running uphill, optical illusions, etc. and a rather large maze. I had a lot of fun, screw all this adventure crap, give me a place that messes with reality. I figure I'll be here for a few days, to rest, recuperate and figure out my onward plans. I've nearly come to the end of my 3 mo. visa here in NZ and am trying to extend it. If I can't I should be leaving here in a week or so, otherwise I figure I've got a few weeks left in NZ.

Franz Josef, NZ

Someone's got a cruel sense of Humor.

My camera was fixed and I boarded the ferry for S. Island last Thursday morning. Upon arriving, my camera fell out of my pocket and broke in exactly the same manner as before. Less than 24 hours after I got it back from the camera shop, fixed. Oye, someone up there is tormenting me, I'm sure of it.

I've been making my way down the West coast of the S. Island, aiming for Queenstown. I spent the first two nights on this island by the Abel Tasman Nat. Park where I went for a daywalk. I then headed down to Barrytown for the night, which is a town of 40 people. I got up this morning and took the bus south, which brings us up to the present. It's beautiful here, but I don't think I'm going for a glacier walk, money, as always, being the issue. I'm hoping to do a trek up to the glacier tomorrow though, and at least see it. I should get into Queenstown in the next few days where I hope I can get my camera fixed...again.

Wellington, NZ

My camera is fixed and I'm booked on the morning ferry to the South Island. I bid farewell to a wet Wellington, it's been drizzling here the past few days. Last night, I went out with Welshie to a Welsh bar and had beer and Welsh cuisine. I tried the Welsh cakes and Welsh rarebit (to my surprise, not rabbit), but couldn't have the faggots, they were to pricey and as I explained, I was looking for cheap faggots. This place was truly a Welsh refuge, I drank with five such souls who as it turned out drank together till the wee hours of the morning, as I found out from Welshy this morning as she greeted me with a hangover. Welshie, thanks again for the rides, I mean it. Anyway, my next few days are unclear but I'm headed towards the Abel Tasman Nat. Park, so we'll see.

Wellington, NZ

I finally took my camera into a repair shop today, and will later learn if they can fix it. I caught the sniffles this weekend in Wellington and have spent the past few days taking it easy (hard to believe, eh?), and trying to get well. I'm pushing on to the South once I hear how my camera is and collect it from the shop. I also learned that the theatre where I watched the premiere of Hitchhiker's Guide... was where the World premiere of The Lord of the Rings was held. Cool.

One of the other things I was hoping to do while in Wellington was meet up with Gemma and Rosie, whom I met in Raglan. I knew they were here somewhere but I didn't have their mobile number. However, yesterday I bumped into Gemma on the street and then we went to meet Rosie who was, as it turned out, in the laundry room of my hostel, do her wash while wearing her robe. The girls then told me to face the wall while they swapped the robe and stripped (evil, evil women, I hate being a gentleman sometimes). I also ran into Martin whom I'd met in River Valley while hanging out in the laundry room, so I've learned when in a strange city looking for people, remember to check the laundry room. Who'd have thunk it?