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| Hey everyone!
I'm in Christchurch right now, the east coast of the south
island. I've been on the road for just over two weeks, and i've
travelled just over 2000k. I've been having a great time, and i've also
been learning a lot. I'm looking forward to getting home, to my
friends, and stuff like my motorcycle, guitar, and pizza-u.
Speaking of which, if you're reading this you're probably
invited to a pizza party soon after i get back, more info to come.
And really, i don't think this whole xanga things is my
style, so just email me benzcenter2@gmail.com or facebook me if you
would like updates, i wont update on here much more i think.
Later!
Ben
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| Hey everyone, just found a cool little internet cafe so I thought I'd stop and check email and write a quick weblog. It's going to be tough to really keep up with emails and xanga stuff while I'm on the road, but I'll do my best. So far the trip is going really well. My cousin Carl is with me, and we've been having fun driving around and doing absolutly whatever we feel like. I'm taking lots of pictures and video to show everyone when I get back. Right now I'm in Greymouth, it's a OK little town on the west coast of new zealand. We've been on the road for 4 days now, and we basically just camp out every night, it's lots of fun. Well, they're charging me lots to use the internet here, so I'll have to write more later. | | |
| Feb ???
*** WARNING: PRETENTIOUS AVANTE-GARDE CRAP AND BIG WORDS!!!! ***
Some people don’t
care much for beautiful bright evenings and stunning scenery. But then, some
people also thought the world would end 7 years ago. Both types should be
ignored.
The view from
the top of the hill my grandfather lives on in Nelson. Kiri and I came up here
yesterday evening to watch the sunset for the first time, and it was so
peaceful and calm that I’m back here on tonight to paint it. I don’t have a
brush, a canvas, or paint, I’m using words. I’m not saying I’m good at writing,
I’m not. But it is fun, and everyone has to start somewhere. Oh yeah, I don’t
really care much for grammar so don’t be surprised..
Perched on a tree stump on the edge of
the hilltop. Look straight ahead and see almost nothing but the calm blue of
the Tasman Bay. Left I see a lone plane taking off
in the sunset, cruising on towards the North Island, end of the line: Wellington, or the sprawling metropolis of Auckland. It is my custom
to be envious of passengers in planes, simply for the reason that they’re going
somewhere exciting and I am not. Presently however, I am content to linger
where I am. Warmer now. Glowing rays of sunlight just tumbled though a hole in
the clouds. Soft brightness. You can’t look at it directly. The rays of the Sun
have ensnared the houses on the slope with their ubiquitous warm evening
shadows, and Haulashore
Island, just near the
shore, shimmers. These shadows tell you the day is concluding its race and:
time to relax, to contemplate. Rippling, rolling grass below me dancing hypnotically
in the wind. Family of five now strolled up to the hilltop, settled on the
bench to my left. A few, two, yachts are anchored between Haulashore and land.
One only motorboat now drifting out into the bay. The waters waves are sedated
tonight. The balmy sea breeze has expired, so the one lone boat is throwing an
impressive flowing trail as its occupants drift off to their private adventure.
Cool air floating past my legs right now, which is possibly perfect for the
shorts and t-shirt I chose. Dawdling passersby take in the view as they roll
past on the hilltop road behind me so they can see bide farewell to the Sun as
it sets over the hills, which has by now drifted behind the clouds, and it’s
casting a golden glow over a large part of the sky which, were I an alchemist,
would draw me towards it with dreams of fortune. Another motorboat just raced
into the harbor which is hiding behind the hill to my right, and two kayaks
meandered past Haulashore. Cars have turned their lights on, but are still slowing
as they pass. The tide has almost escaped the shore, revealing the Farewell
Spit, which enthusiastically protrudes a quarter of a mile out from Tahunanui
beach, and several other snaking sandbars intertwining with the fleeing streams
of water further out across the bay. Another plane just flew in to land at the
airport, welcome. My companions, the family of five has departed from the bench
and was just recently replaced by a couple in their forties. The sun is still
glowing softly off to my left, and fallen from the sky enough that its lonely
rays illuminate the underside of some long white clouds. New Zealand is
known some as the Land of the Long White Cloud, and true to its name has many
clouds which are easy to appreciate. The mountains across the Tasman Bay
creating billowing, flat, wispy clouds among many others. The Sun is losing.
It’s no longer able to control the sky, but it throws out it’s pastel orange
and red tentacles as it slowly sinks behind the clouds. Streetlights are on,
the insects are beginning their nightly chorus, but the couple on the bench is
still enjoying the view.
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| Feb 6 Well, I haven’t blogged for a while so here I am with an update! Not really all that much has been happening that extraordinary lately. Kiri and I went to a sports camp a week and a half ago, which lasted for three days and had everything from basketball and bowls to rugby and underwater swimming and gumboot throwing. Rugby, I have decided, is without doubt better than American football, although baseball is a million times more entertaining than cricket, which can last for 5 days. Boring. I’ve been working 8-5 for the last two and a half weeks, and although it’s pretty boring sometimes, the pay is decent, and I’m working with some pretty cool guys and getting experience building. I’ve made some friends from my grandfather’s church, and it’s been fun hanging out with them recently. Other than that I’ve been running and reading a lot in my spare time. Life is pretty easy in general right now, which is fine with me because the past three years have been pretty rough relative to the rest of my life, so a break and a chance to step back and look at things has been great. The two main reasons I’m here are to do some serious soul searching and explore my second home. I haven’t gotten into any serious soul searching, although I do feel like I’ve had some good experiences that I can take with me. I’m planning on doing most of my serious soul-searching as I travel around the country, which will last for about 45 days. I’m also going to write a book, sort of an autobiography. It’s mostly just part of the whole deal, but I may let other people read it if they really want to. As for adventuring and thrill seeking as a full-time adrenaline junky around New Zealand, plans are underway- MY TRIP: It looks like I’ll start with a loop of the South Island, going down the East coast to visit Christchurch, Queenstown, Dunedin, Wanaka, and some select spots on the West Coast. I’ll probably go skydiving and bungee-jumping, on this part of the trip, Queenstown has the second highest bungee-jump in the world after South Africa, and is known as the adventure capital of New Zealand, possibly the whole Southern Hemisphere. After this I’ll take the Picton-Wellington ferry up to the North Island and head up the East Coast, ending up in Auckland, easily the biggest city in New Zealand with a population of about 1.3 million, for about a week to visit my uncle and my friend from summer camp, Haley. After this I’ll be heading back down the West Coast, possible to visit a friend in Napier. I’ll try to arrive back in Nelson about a week before my flight to Australia which is on June 1st,, so that I can sell my car and say goodbye to everyone before I head over to Australia. Two weeks down under with my good buddy Liam, and I’ll be heading back home to catch the end of summer. | | |
| Jan 20 I realized 7 seconds ago, that is just before I began to write this, that I don’t need to write one of these every day, and I’ve probably already bored several people so much they stuck Twizzlers up their noses. Well maybe I just imagined that last bit. Anyway, I haven’t been writing as much because I’ve been busy. I started work on Wednesday, and it’s been going good so far. I’m working on a house near the top of the hill my grandfather lives on, and I’ve been doing all sorts of jobs on it. I get paid 12 New Zealand dollars and hours, although I’ll probably get a raise. I would have started on Monday, but I was having serious pain in my right lung which turned out to be only a bit of scar tissues from a bad 2 month long infection I had a little bit ago. All the pains gone now, it’s Saturday, although I do still have some pretty sweet x-rays I’m going to hold on to. I think I forgot to mention that I have a cell phone now. If you want to call, it’s 027-282-7427. I don’t advise it, it would probably cost you more than a meal at McDonalds, or if you prefer actual food, Burger King. Oh, and speaking of that, I’ve been eating very healthy food almost all week long, and I’ve been running almost every day. I’m going to lose about 20 pounds and get in shape by the time I leave Nelson for my adventures, which I’ve been planning in the meanwhile. Here’s a list of the adventure type stuff I plan on doing. I’ll put up what I call the Best To-Do List Ever which is a list of mostly very random things I hope to accomplish before leaving, and after that a list of things I hope to learn or learn to do while I’m here. Anyway, here’s the list, DEFINITLY let me know if you have and thought, criticisms, or things you’d add to it. Sweet as (they say that here, don’t ask me), here it is: ¥¥ACTION ADVENTURES¥¥ -Skydive -Snowboard -Bungee jump -Hang gliding -Spelunk -Scuba -Kayaking -Kite surfing -Sail -Mountain bike -White water raft -Jet boat -Windsurf -Zorb -Jet ski -Helicopter -Water ski -Wakeboard -Dirt bike -Climb a snowcapped-mountain | | |
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