January 11, 2002
CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND
We've arrived in New Zealand and it's COLD! In the low to mid 50's and I'm not used to it. Plus, I've only got one long-sleeved shirt with me so I'm borrowing some clothes from Justin's mom - we're staying at the McErlains' nice home in Christchurch (Justin's parents).

Turns out we're on a pretty tight schedule here, but if all goes well, Kim and I will be on a Glacier heli-hike tomorrow - that is, a helicopter ride over the Franz Josef Glacier and then a two hour hike over the ice and crevasses.

Since we last wrote, Kim and I spent the 8th and 9th in the Wooroonooran National Park south of Cairns hiking in virgin rainforest. Our first day was about 14 km through rugged terrain climbing over fallen trees, through prickly branches, and over boulders to get to camp nearby a small waterfall. The most common form of wildlife we saw was a gigantic spider in her huge web across our path (many times). We refilled our water at the fresh water rivers and after doing that, jumped in to cool off from the incredible heat we felt from the strenuous hiking. Kim and I decided that "We're fit!"

About seven hours after we began our journey into the forest, we made it to camp where we hung our hammocks and discovered what it feels like to be leeched. YUCK. Kim and I both got several leech bites (as did others) and it was a pretty nasty experience, especially the part where you have to grab and yank 'em off your skin. Gross. Norm, one of our tour guides, told us that if you want to be bitten by anything, it's a leech, because they're so clean. No thanks.

In the morning we woke up to a nice hour hike to the Muchupa (sp.?) waterfall, the best one we'd seen since we were in Australia. We got into our swimmers (that's what they call suits here) and had a nice cold blast of water to wake us up. Swimming underneath the waterfall was one of the highlights of our trip in Australia, as we were surrounded by the rainforest and its unique sounds. We asked Peter (our funny guide) what Muchupa means in Aborigine. He said "Mom eats dad." After another thought, he said "cow eats dad" and we decided we were better off trusting Norm with our questions. Back on track with camp packed up, we made it out of the rainforest after about 12 km of climbing uphill to the finish. We made it - even with our injuries. Injuries? Well, minor, but they hurt like hell. Kim's feet slipped out from under her on one of the boulders by the waterfall and she landed on her tailbone - who knew that it hurts your butt to sneeze? Now we know. I on the other hand, slipped on a rock and nearly face planted into another but managed to keep my nose off the rock and instead hit a shin. My next injury came when we had to climb onto a log to cross the river. My knee went up and - oops - discovered a log. So, bruised and battered (and there are a lot of spiky ferns in the rainforest, mind you), we made it out alive and well and returned safely to Cairns.

About 10 hours after returning to Cairns, we left for the airport at 4 a.m. to get to the airport for Sydney for our layover to Christchurch. Once at the airport, we discovered to our great dismay that my connection was unconfirmed (even though we were told it was earlier) and the flight was overbooked by 14 passengers. Not happy with my travel agents, Kim and I rushed to the Qantas counter at the airport to get myself onto the Christchurch flight. Gary, the supervisor on hand who looks a lot like Anthony Hopkins, was kind enough get me onto that plane. Phew! With all of that over, Kim and I headed to town to do BridgeClimb - climbing to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, about 438 feet above the water. Very cool experience and great views. As soon as we finished with that, our nonstop selves returned to the airport and got on our flight to Christchurch, arriving at my friend Justin's parents' house at about 1 in the morning.

It feels so good to be in a home and not in a hotel - the McErlain's are taking great care of us, feeding us, warming up the beds with the electric blankets, and warming up our bath towels on the great towel rack warmer. We spent the day in town browsing around and taking the historic little tram.

We're in a bit of conflict with the weather, but we've decided to change our itinerary so we can chase after the sun and avoid the rains where we can. After the glaciers, Kim and I will head to Queenstown - the Adventure Capital of the World. Don't worry moms and dads - we're not stupid enough to go bungee jumping.

All right - good night to all - we've got a long drive ahead of us.