time passes quickly!

oy! it's sunday night and in a week's time I will be on my way home. how weird is that?! well, at least I have 7 lovely days to go here in kiwiland. many things have happened in 50 hours, since I last blogged.

I have
1. learned that I need to be more unfriendly and more harsh if and when I venture out on my own. went out on friday night to see some climbing pals, but was chatted up by a little geeky mountain goat with his mates cheering in the background. not fun at all actually. ok, sometimes it can be flattering to be approached by young men, but not this time. it just didn't feel right. he asked all sorts of questions and it was just so obvious that he was only interested in getting into my pants. and that's fine. not to get into them of course, but to be open about it. what I really didn't like what that if felt as if he thought that was my ambition too, just because I was out on my own. terrible feeling. I went to bed early but scared that he was following me to my little dodge motel. bah.
2. driven 390 km from franz josef to queenstown in pouring rain. not that it was any less pretty though, amazing nature this place. at one point I was in a forest with enormous tall trees that really looked like the trees in lord of the rings. totally totally amazing.
3. arrived in queenstown which seems to be a heaven for outdoorsy touristic stuff. i would imagine the place to be unbearably filled with tiresome tourists in the summer, but now in autumn, it's just perfect.
4. jetboated! sooo much fun. http://www.shotoverjet.com/queenstown/main/. speedboats whizzing through the waters and doing 360 whirrls, sooo cool. don't think it's too organic, but still, sooo much fun.
5. had dinner at a FAB resto in Queenstown. really good wine and seafood, had table just by the shore. looovely.
6. bought some tacky souvenirs to friends and folks. terrible stuff, but sort of fun.
7. got miself organised for the big hike, starting on tuesday. can't wait. but it's a lot of stuff to get in place. bah.
8. discovered that the wine- and food tour I went to have displayed shitloads of photos of me! I really have to do sumfinx with that silly hairdo. ASAP!http://www.wineexposed.co.nz/tourgallery/wm08.04.09.aspx
9. have booked a WHITE WATER RAFTING tour tomorrow including a helicopter tour! how cool is this? heavily touristic of course, but should be loads of FUN!

now back to my laundry mission. need clean stuff for the hike.

adios amigos.

xx

A very GOOD FRIDAY

The days are clearly trying to beat eachother in perfectness for the moment. Today I have been iceclimbing on the glacier in sparkling sun and clear blue skies, been in a hot pools www.glacierhotpools.com in rainforest and am now off for a drink. And I am sleeping like a log at night! All jet lag is balanced now! Tomorrow I am off to Queenstown. I don't really know what to expect from this place. Some people say it's a tourist trap from hell, other love it.

We shall see, we shall see.

xx

"You can spit backwards also..."

That's what he said, the funny guy at the wine tour. Went on an amazing wine- and food tour around the Marlborough district yesterday. FANTASTIC. It was only me and a guy from the hotel with the guide and we had very exclusive service. Went to 6-7 vineyards, had lunch at a fab restaurant, lovely snacks here and a visit at a choclate factory. I was rather wobbly when I was transported home to my great hotel after around 10 hours tour. I asked Noel, our guide, if we weren't supposed to spit out when we were trying out 4-6 wines at each place. He just answered that there are 2 ways of spitting -- forwards and backwards. We spitted very much backwards, I can tell you...

Today i have been on the road for 500 km! Great long drive down south and out at the coast. Excellent all. Totally fabulous views and sceneries. Just like a dream land. . Have now arrived in Frans Josef. It's fun here, a bit odd village. And I have booked a motel that they recommended in my guide book. Not too sure about it. The room/studio is excellent but the door is just a glasdoor with a simple lock that goes straight out on the veranda. I am not totally superstitious but it doesn't feel all too safe? I arrived a bit late and didn't want to hassle with changing, perhaps I should have. Anyways. Better stop thinking about it. i will speak to my neighbours and the receptionist and perhaps they can provide me with some extra locks or something...

Tomorrow ICECLIMBING. How weird is that? I'm a bit nervous about this too. I think a sleeping pill will be a good idea for the ME tonight. She is getting a bit silly.

puzzz

NZ reflections

People are -- curious, friendly, a bit less world-wise and more modest and interested, not at all blase. The country is very very different to anything I have ever seen -- so clean, well organised, functional and so polynesian and integrated. It's just amazing. When I was little there was a TV programme about a flying doctor on the coast somewhere in NZ, but I can't remember its name -- does anyone know??

Wellington now, off for some foodie. Laters.

puzz

picture perfect morning

auckland april 6th: perfect blue skies, light breeze, high and very clear air, around 22 degrees. perfect. absolutely perfect. and moi am off to the lovely America's Cup boat! Yeahaaaaaa.

flying out to Wellington tonight, for a very speedy stop and then over to the south island. it's an amazing trip this, it's like christmas is happening every day, new exciting thing all the time.

perhaps that's why I don't sleep much too? sorry to be going on about this, but my insomnia is a bit.. tiresome...! I feel like people with small children, they constantly worry about their sleep -- are they getting enough, will they be grumpy, how will they sleep tomorrow night if they sleep too much during the day? except it's only me, myself and I. so I am reasoning about this ME person that I have to drag along everywhere. but on a postive note, the ME got at least 6 hours continous last night, and felt rather fresh this morning! very good. plus 2 hours before those 6 hours, but then had a 1.5 hours break to talk to HSBC Fraud Protection (best pals now) and plan vineyard trips. all good though, it doesn't worry me.

The ME person is rather ok otherwise, very energtic and in a great mood and curious, so all good. she has been a little bit impatient with people (airport, receptionist), due to lack of sleep no doubt! she is also a bit indecisive about how to plan her vineyard trips -- Nelson seems to be cute town to have as a base, but the vineyards around Blenheim (which seems to be a rather dull town) are a lot more famous (Marlborough region). hmm... It veers towards Nelson right now.

au revoir mes amis.

am here now!

and dead tired, of course. man -- am up until almost 9 tonight. ok, I did sleep a good three hours on the flight, but still. I haven't been able to stay awake any of the other nights. jet lag is improving. also, I had to add another two hours when I arrived here i NZ too. so doing well me think.

NZ, so far absolutely gorgeous. not sure what it is, certainly not auckland, but it's just an atmosphere. people are super nice, the place is clean and the colours are amazing. tomorrow I am off to sail on one of the americas cup boats. can't wait! and the weather is great too so I will so enjoy it. had a great seafood platter at HARBOURSIDE too, which is one of their best ones here. perfectly ok, great view of the harbour, but not amazing food. getting into the nice white NZ wines tho, looovely.

am right now planning this week a bit. when I arrive in Queenstown on Friday I have full agenda, but it's a bit loose up until then. picking up a car on tuesday pm after having spent a night in Wellington. will be cool. would love to stay in an old 19th century resort in mt cook, but it seems difficult to drive there. it's been refurbished and looks AMAZING. it might be that I need to get to Queenstown one day later than planned. which is no biggie at all.

god I am so tired now. thought I would detail plan my trip, but hey, I will plunge into the duvet instead!!

europeland and everywhere else, have a great sunday and speak soon.

puzz

now boarding -- AUCKLAND!

am leaving, on a jetplane now. to go to NEW ZEALAND. how weird is that? nothing else to report. had a fab dindin last night at ONDE in Darlinghurst. what a great place! contemporary australian, great service, wine, all super. recommends strongly. and went for a jog this morning. very slow and heavy it was. could be the three excellent wineglasses I downed last night. or that I didn't sleep at all between 2 and 5. me knows not. jet-lag is keeping a tight grip, but it's ok. I just read the entire super pretentious magazine Intelligent Life. great reading actually. so now I am supersmart. or smartER, of course. 

kisses to all.