Time has really started to speed up, I cannot believe
that I will be back in Australia this time next
week....

I last wrote to you all from Dunedin.  So much has
happened, it will be hard to put it in a nutshell, so
I'll just describe the bare highlights.... There has
been little sleep, much activity, much partying and
merriment... Oh so tired am I!

After having so much luck with the weather so far, we
did spend much of last week sheltering from some
pretty violent storms that brought rain, more rain,
rain, and Oh....? Did I mention we had some rain?  I
have begun believing that a tent is no longer properly
functioning unless there is a river of swift current
flowing directly beneath, next to, or through it.  If
contents of said tent also become drenched then one is
officially camping.  Needless to say, this did serve
to dampen our spirits a little, but we have braved
through it, and now head to a North Island where major
highways have now re-opened after some of the worst
floods in 25 years!  I sure know how to time my trips!

After I last wrote, we drove into Fjordland on the
south west coast of New Zealand.  We took a four hour
boat cruise on Milford Sound, which was so mind
boggling beautiful that flies had laid eggs in my
mouth since I had my jaw dropped to the floor for the
entire voyage....  On our return from the sound, a
group of eight of us were dropped off to start  a 3
day back country hike through the Routeburn Track.
Again, we had a stunning time despite the rain on the
second day.  My only issue on this trip was dealing
with the rage of my fellow hikers who stupidly forgot
to pack any lunch provisions and therefore vied to
harbor as much guilt on me as possible for thinking
only of myself and packing the night before....(my
salami and cheese was most precious....!)

Heading north from Fjordland we arrived in Queenstown,
which I have decided is the Boulder equivalent in New
Zealand.  I loved it.  Lots of open air cafes around a
stunning lake with "The Remarkables" (mountains used
many times in the LOR movies) in the background.  My
only travel bugs here were the unfortunate occurrences
of having my mobile stolen (please email me your phone
numbers if you are in Australia!!!) and taking an
ill-fated Lord of the Rings jeep safari tour with a
driver who was better suited to a career selling
funeral packages....He received the not-so-often-seen
dark side of my pissed off nature, and I got a full
refund.  What a jerk.  He even had the audacity to
point out that he hadn't seen any of the movies
because he had "better things to do than spend 3 hours
in a movie theater!"  I can think of more appropriate
things to say to six eager (and yes, somewhat
pathetic, I grant you) young LOR fanatics who had just
foregone the opportunity to hand glide to spend $100
seeing film locations in the flesh.

Anyway, moving north again, we took a trip to Fox
Glacier (Jon, I thought of you.) situated among
coastal rain forest.  Several of us took a guided
crampon hike on the ice and I got to crawl inside an
ice cave complete with flowing river.....great
experience.

We stayed a few nights in Punakaki in the Paparoa
National Park.  I went Black water rafting which is
basically an inner tube ride in complete pitch black
other than the mesmerising star-like luminescence of
glow worms in the sky. Excellent!

Today we left Abel Tasman National Park where I went
Sea Kayaking for the day, only to be turned around due
to gale winds....oh well, no rest for the weary....

Heading to Picton tonight, and ferry tomorrow back to
the North Island and then 2 more days to Auckland.

I will stay in touch!

I am in Dunedin and have a few internet minutes.  The
trip is still mind-boggling.  I am sure I will calm
down in a few days and not feel the pressing need to
bombard you all with such frequent letters!

Our travels took us to the South island where we spent
our first night in Picton (looked very similar to
Skagway!).  We journeyed on to the coast to Kaikoura
and had the opportunity to rise at dawn and swim with
wild dolphins in the ocean!  It was mesmerizing.

We woke at 5am and put on freezing cold wetsuits.  I
was sea-sick on the speed boat but it was soon all
worthwhile.  These dusky dolphins enjoy their human
interaction and found us to be something of a
curiosity.  After several sweeps, swimming in circles
around all of us in snorkel gear, a few responded to
my high-pitched singing in the water, and swam right up
to me.  Looking beneath me, I saw dolphins brush right
by my skin, a calf and its mother twisting and
tumbling below me.  One dolphin stared me right in the
eye as we swam together in a large circle for what
must have been eight repetitions.  I couldn't believe
that they could be so close and so real....
Breathtakingly beautiful. 

Back on the ship we had an hour or so watching them
"perform" including their magnificent acrobatics
(apparently, dolphins are one of the few other animals
in the world who have sex for fun; the guide said that
dolphins nearly always leap and spin right after
finishing the sexual act which is participated in
frequently and with multiple partners!)

On from Kaikoura, we travelled south to a wilderness
camp below Mt. Cook - one of the most spectacular
mountains I have ever seen.  I have been cycling a lot
on this tour 20 or 30k a day, and its really been a
great way to see the countryside off of the bus!
Yesterday we took a hike in Mt Cook National Park to
Hooker Lake; again, scenery and weather could not have
been more satisfying.

And I am finally feeling a little better...Thank
goodness!  Went to the doctor in Christchurch where I
was prescribed steroids for inflamed bronchial
passages.  They seem to be working...Got the rib put
back in too - but my back is so messed up its just a
matter of time before it falls out again.  I've bought
a Theraband to do my physical therapy as prevention!

The physical pain has been quite a downer, but I am
trying hard to enjoy myself nonetheless, and with such
a great country and group to enjoy; its been easier
than it might have been.

Last night, Giovanna and I went on a tour of a Penguin
Colony in Oamaru on the coast.  We sat on a beach as
the sun went down and watched over 80 of the little
darlings waddling out of the ocean.  They were so
cute, you just wanted to nuzzle one of them.  That was
a highlight.

Today we are in Dunedin; a beautiful seaside town that
looks and feels very scottish.(the bus overheated on
the way here; it was very exciting, flames and
everything on the side of the road!)... I still have a
date with coffee and cake, the photo shop, and a hat
shop, so I better go for  now!

Going on a 3 day "tramp" in Fjordland next, so the
next update will be from Queenstown!

Dear Friends

It has been an incredible last few weeks here in sunny
Sydney.  I have found romance, rekindled a wonderful
childhood friendship, partied like a rockstar, and
finished my job at The Sheraton!!

I am now heading off with Giovanna for 3 months of
travel, adventure, and the great unknown....  All that
hard work is about to pay off!

Giovanna arrived on Sunday the 25th.  She did not
suffer much in the way of jetlag, probably because she
was just so excited to be here!  Interestingly, the
same day, I was at work and bumped into a work
colleague who had stood me up for a date the previous
Thursday.  I have liked him for the past two months,
and just assumed that he was not interested because he
had not called.  Well, as it turns out, he had one
digit incorrectly entered into his phone address book.
So, all this time, there were sad assumptions being
made on both our parts.  Anyway, whilst I was
disappointed to find this out with only 1 week left in
Sydney (typical for me, right?) I couldn't pass up on
the opportunity to make the most of the time we had
left.  I have enjoyed an amazing week with him,  I am
so glad that we had this time together.  It has been a
romantic high, and proven very difficult to juggle my
time with my new friend!  I have gotten so exhausted
that I now find myself stricken with yet another cold,
with one day to go before I take to the New Zealand
skies.....boo Hoo for me!

Not to say I didn't find time to take Giovanna to some
cool places.  We have been to the beach (many times!),
done some coastal hikes, enjoyed a picnic and free
opera in the botanical gardens, numerous free meals at
The Sheraton, Open Air Cinema, Theatre to see Sir Ian
McKellen in Dance of Death, the zoo, a gay drag show
rendition of the Sound of Music, had massages & high
tea, gone on a tour of the Blue Mountains, not to
mention a lot of coffee shops, bars (drinking? Never!)
and breakfast establishments.

I think my highlights were the opera in the domain -
we saw Bizet's Les Pecheurs Des Perles and it was
absolutely incredible, and free! We had wine and
cheese on a blanket, with over 25000 people in
attendance.

I am saddened to be leaving Sydney.  A city that
proved so tumultuous for me when I first arrived has
slowly become a place I've found good friendships and
a comforting sense of home.  I actually remember my
work with fondness (now that its over) and all of the
wonderful people I worked with....

Giovanna and I are in the Travel Agency right now,
about to book all of our trips beyond Melbourne.  We
have a full schedule ahead of us, including
Australia's West coast, learning to dive, canoeing in
Bushland, treks in the red center, sailing in
Queensland....the list goes on.  Of course I will stay
in touch and be sending more photos shortly too!

Keep writing!

Much love and wishes

Anita