And here we go again… kudos LB on the ghostwriting… and eventually my tweaks….

Oh my sooo, here I am again..this time at blazing hot Lake Wanaka.  Well I’m going to make this report as brief/cliff notes as possible due to my exhaustation from the extreme adventure activities Mimi and I have done.

Saturday, February 6, 2010

  • Drove 3 hours from Te Anau to Milford Sound and the view was absoluetley AMAZING!!!  Several thousands feet snow capped mountains with  turquoise-rivers rivers flowing into the pine forest dense valley with a small 2 lane highway snaking it’s way there.
  • The drive was filled with crazy tight twists & turns, so TIGHT that when I made a sharp left turn on a bend…our bug spray and pen flew out the open window!  We were only driving 15km/hr but Mimi can attest that she had to keep her elbows inside the car to avoid “brushing” against the mountain wall.
    Then we drove through the one lane Homer Tunnel through a mountain and eventually made our way to Milford Sound.
  • Eventually we made it to Milford Sound harbor, where stood mountains, dense ferns and trees, and the inlet of Sea Water from the Tasman sea.
  • Mimi & I took a 1.5 hour cruise (*sound like Gilligan’s Islands) around Milford sounds and here are the highlights:  Surrounded by High Mountains, Sea Lions, Light house, dotted with water falls as high as the Empire State building and even DOLPHINS! 
  • Then Mimi & I took a long well deserved nap in the van for 2 hours and drove back to Te Anau for another 3 hours to camp out.
  • With the recommendation from Pete (Soan’s fiance) we had dinner at RedCliff.
    We started out with battered oyster served with Soy Sauce and chives.
    Mimi’s main Entree consisted of: Medium-Rare cooked Hare servered on top of a heaping pile of sweet potatoes and the most amazing sauteed Shitake Mushrooms EVER!..cooked in olive oil and garlic, served with a 2007 Pinot Noir.
    My taste buds enjoyed: Venison (deer steak) laid on top of the same amazing sauteed Shitake Mushrooms, with large beets and soft & moist turnips, and I washed it down with a 2007 Reisling White Wine.
    For Dessert we had good ol’ finish Rice Pudding served with local strawberries and cream….absoluetly DEELUSH!

Sunday, February 7, 2010
The next morning, we went grocery shopping at “Fresh Choice” in Lake Te Anau then drove to Lake Wanaka. (left at 9:30am and arrived at Lake Wanaka airport at 12pm)

  • Mimi & I enjoyed a lunch of crackers, cheese, Pancetta (Italian Bacon), Dijon Honey Mustard, and 3 cheese Black Pepper Corn & Chive Cheese.  Then washed it down with water and Mango/Orange “Just Juice”.
    We checked in at “Sky Dive Lake Wanaka“  at 1pm by the Lake Wanaka Airport.
    After selecting the 12,000 feet dive (45 seconds) option with 2 DVDs (a video of your free falling with your tandem parter and another video taken from a seperate sky diver) and Free T-shirt.  We signed the liability waiver (including medical condition notification) and a personalize sound track of our 2 DVDs!
  • Mimi & I both took seperate video interviews as a our Intro for our Sky Diving DVDs.
    Then we hopped on a small puddle jumper single propeller airplane and took off the air field.
    The plane was circling around the airport, every increasing it’s speed to catch the altitude of 12,00 ft; during this time we got a great view of Lake Wanaka and town, several smaller lakes, flowing of the river, green grasses, cows, sheeps, clouds and of course the surrounding Mountains!
  • The plane ride was pretty smooth;there was 11 people in about a 20sq ft space with a ton of parachute gear.
    During the flight, I was actually really clam and relax throughout the ordeal, even ask Mimi herself.  I kept going over the instructions for the pre-jump.
    1. Put your legs behind the plane.
    2. Move your hips forward.
    3. Lay your head back on the right shoulder of your sky dive partner…then off you go.
    I heard the constant “thump, thump” of the propeller engine, then the door on my left hand side, slowly opens, the gush of the cold 12,000 ft altitude wind fills in the tight compartment of the plane.  I heard my heart beat but I remained calm and breathed in slow-consistent patterns.
    Being the FIRST PERSON out of the plane, I know I had to set the example and did my best to follow the instructions.
    As instructed, I reached up and grabbed the cold white metallic pole above me on the ceiling of the plane’s interior.
    Then I sat down on the edge of the plane and feeling the gash of the wind go across my body.
    I tucked my legs tight underneath the body of the plane, with my breathing picking up pace…moved my hips ever slowly forward and then laid my head back on my tandem partners shoulder.
    Then ALL of sudden, the coolness under my butt from the plane was gone and I felt nothing but a push forward,..then I tumbled and rolled forward into a tight flip.
    Next thing I know; I see clouds flowing passed my face, then the hurdling speed of wind going across my body as I flew down to the ground at 200km/hr.
    My instructors tapped my shoulders; indicating that I can release my hands from harness and be free to do what I want.
    I instinctly started dancing with my hands as I was ecstatic of “flying” again through the wind (went Hang Gliding at Queenstown a couple of days ago). 
    The surrounding view is totally breathless…words can’t express so it I won’t go any further.
    45 seconds later; I float down in a parachute and land on my bum on the field.
    I actually remained calm throughout the experience and I have the DVDs to prove it!
    Overall I must honestly say, it was one of the most thrilling and exhillerating events in my LIFE.
  • After sky diving; it was soooo hot in the upper 80s; we took a dip in the cool refreshing Lake Wanaka.
    We rented a kayak and let’s just say that was an ADVENTURE itself…as Mimi would put it “It was supposed to be Relaxing!!!”…however the winds from the mountain proved to make it another adventure…our shoulders & arms got a work out…which would be needed later in our next Adventure (“Deep Canyoning in Niger River”)
  • After we battled the elements of Wind & Water, we arrived onto shore with my broken sandals. :-(
    We got a well deserved ice cream dip: Mimi had “Cookies-N-Cream” and I had a “Hokey Pokey” (New Zealand ice cream of Vanilla with chips & bits of caramel…hhhhmm”.
    So we ate our ice cream on the park bench as we watch the sunset over the mountains and lake…HOW ROMANTIC!
  • Then we settled into the Holiday Park for our camper van and prepared a home cook meal of Spaghetti, Spanish Chorizo and Fresh Garlic bread; with “Speichter” to wash it down. “Local New Zealand beer…kinda like an IPA).
    After the scrumbtious meal, we settled in the night to gain our rest for “Deep Canyon of Niger Creek”.
     
    I wrote A LOT MORE than I originally intended and I apologize if it takes to much time.  However, I highly recommend sky diving and ice cream if you’re in the mood for adventure & relaxation!  Till the next time….Cheers Mate! :-)
     
    -Lundy

Sooo basically…… I ditto the above, aside from me being #2 off of the plane for skydiving…. To be honest, I was totally chilled out about it all… wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be/should be. I more or less, had a “ain’t nuttin to it, but to do it!” mentality. Wanaka Skydive staff and instructors were super calm, professional, funny and fun to work with. I most certainly recommend them for sure!  But I will admit, after I saw Lundy just tumble off like a lil’ nugget, I had the immedite: “oh shit, I’m next” thought whirling ’round my head. But I really didn’t have time to react to my thoughts as my tandem instructor, Eric said.. “Ok Mimi, move to the edge.” I did as told, tucked my legs under as had been advised, flipped my head back and gave him the “OK, GO-SMILE”….AND DOWNNNNNN I WENT!!! I closed my eyes for the first .2 seconds but quickly opened them because I knew closing would just give me a more heightened/faster fall experience, and plus, I wanted to enjoy the freeeeeeee fallllllll riiiiiiide. Eyes Wide Open…… the scene was beautimousssssssssssss as described by L. I was totally rockin’ out to the camera lens (esp with Mac, my cameraman who flew besides us to capture it all — he was super charged up in getting me all pumped wayyyy up in 12,000 ft above ground!!!)  Landing was super smooooooth…….. and all I can say is, the next time…. I’ll opt for higher! :-)

Monday, February 8, 2010

We just finished another magnificent adventure of deep canyoning today, which involved: hiking, climbing, waterfall abseiling (repelling with harness; think: rock climbing), jumping, sliding, zip-lining, swimming through AMAZING creeks, crevices, gorges etc etc…

Tomorrow: Hiking up Franz Josef Glaciers

. . don’t burn the day. .