Gypsy Faire

Gypsy Faire came into town again this year with a lot of the same stuff as last year. As always the food was good and the caravans were awesome.

$5 pony rides for kids

awesome wooden caravans

really cool doors

caravan dogs snuggling chew toys sleeping

Surprise

For most of November I told my parents and all my family that I would be arriving on the 26th of December like last year as flights before Christmas were expensive and hard to come by. In truth I had booked December 22 in June and had been planing this surprise a long time.

In preparation I looked up a complete phony itinerary for the day I was suppose to fly out and made sure all the details for my fake departure were taken care of as well as for my real arrival. A special shout out to two of my friends (you know who you are!) for helping me pull of this feat.

Surprising the folks was awesome but of course uncertain and sure enough the one night I come home no one is there. I call around using skype so if folks check caller id it wont show my sim card that I've been using since LA (I also had to limit internet usage so people didn't see I was in the country). I didn't have to wait too long before my dad rolled into the lot which was great but it took him a few seconds to get over the shock of it I think. I really wanted some Mexican but we couldn't convince my mom ( or say my dad couldn't as I wasn't 'there') to meet us but we went anyway. Dad called her again to say he left his wallet and so spitting lightning my mom shows up to pay his bill. All rainy tears by the end of it.

It was good to see the family :D

Even with the jet lagg Matt convinced me to go out and party hard at Oasis that night with my b'ham friends including my bestie Sophia. Great times.

Tasmanian Sea

Rachel was kind enough to invite me for a drive to the beach. The water is much colder than the Gulf of Mexico and the shells are different too. The sand is black and it doesn't have a strong smell either but lots of wind and rocks. Fun little trip!

Beach

Evan like to push his own stroller until he gets tired

tractor to put boats in and out of the water

Me and Evan

Birthday fun!

So for my birthday on Saturday I road tripped with Rachel and her sister Amy up to Gravity Canyon. All 3 of us opted to do the flying fox which is 175 meters or about 574 feet above the 'river'  from the launch pad. You harness up and go about half a mile on the zip-line. It's like a super awesome roller coaster at 160kph or 100mph!!

Amy the photobomber

downside you have to walk up the stair of mordor to get to said fox

we are this high up. see that building at the corner of the deck? that's where we started from

me and rachel

Flying Fox!

Next Amy and I got on the bridge swing which is 50m or 164 feet of freefall on NZ's highest bridge swing.

Official Travel Dates For Christmas

Hi all back home! Looks like this year I get to plan a little more in advance and so I have already purchased my plane tickets home for the Christmas holidays. I hope to spend more time with the family this trip but I'm also already planning a week of my time to spend with friends traveling around the south a bit.

I'll be flying into Birmingham on Dec. 26th and flying out of B'ham on Jan 27th.

Best of New Zealand

The Best of New Zealand according to Yahoo! News:

Kiwi Experience polled the 'best of' in New Zealand for hot spots and hidden gems. This is what they discovered - do you agree?

Where in New Zealand is the best place to:

Buy a pie?
Steak & cheese from The Stove Oven Bakery in Devonport 

Chicken curry pie from Better Quality Pies in Rotorua

Have a beer?

Lake Wanaka waterfront in the afternoon sunshine

Bungy jump?

Nevis canyon in Queenstown

Go skinny dipping

Lake Mahinapua (where? The west coast, 10 kms south of Hokitika)

Try your luck at fishing?

Catch some snapper in the Bay of Islands

See some buskers?

World Buskers Festival in Christchurch

Make a new friend?

On the bus!

Spend some hard earned cash?

Queenstown nightlife

Skateboard?

Wellington Waterfront

Meet some locals?

Waitomo

Have a dance?

World Bar in Queenstown

Climb a mountain?

Mt Tongariro in the Central Plateau

Get up close to New Zealand wildlife?

Baby seals at Ohau stream north of Kaikoura

Sample the local cuisine?

Hangi at Tamaki Maori Village in Rotorua

Experience a taste of Maori culture?

Tamaki Maori Village in Rotorua

Have a picnic in the park?

Abel Tasman National Park

Sunbathe?

Cathedral Cove in the Coromandel

Watch some live music?

Monsoon Bar in Franz Josef

Witness a New Zealand sunset?

Lake Taupo

Eat fish and chips?

Kaikoura

Go for a surf?

Punakaiki- just you and a pod of dolphins

Martinborough Fair

Last weekend I was invited to join Rachel and her family at a fair close to Wellington, apparently here it's a big annual event filled with all kinds of goodies and fun. They shut down the square of the quaint town of Martinborough and put up acres of vendors with food, arts, jewelry, and just random bits and bobs. Picked up a few items myself which I may post pictures of later when I have the time...

http://www.martinboroughfair.org.nz/

This car was a vendor that sold food, under the hood was drinks in ice, pretty cool

just a cool shirt

tea cups on sticks= Birdfeeders

Our local ride

Traveling from Atlanta to Palmerston North

Traveling back to New Zealand from the states was incredibly exhausting as I spent the last few days running about trying to pack and say my goodbyes. The number of stops coupled with lack of sleep, screaming babies, and the crappy plane on the long haul made for a dragging trip. I slept for 12 hours when I got back. I think next time I'll just try to book earlier (if I have the notice) and pay more for fewer stops.

First stop DFW

2nd stop LAX

3rd Stop Fiji - I really don't like British Brats with Nannies - long story

4th Stop -  3 hours of screaming babies later

5th stop - A taxi ride from sleep

Going back to New Zealand

It has been a fun and overall great holiday

Depart: Jan 20 - 22

11:45am EST - 1:15pm CST--Atlanta (ATL) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) -- American Airlines flight 4722
2:15pm CST - 3:45pm PST -- Dallas (DFW) to Los Angeles (LAX) -- AA flight 3032
9:30pm PST - 5:15am -- Los Angles (LAX) to Nadi, Fj (NAN) -- Air Pacific 3838
10am - 1pm NZT -- Fj (NAN) to Auckland (AKL) -- AirPacific 3842
2:25pm - 3:30pm -- Auckland to Palmerston North -- Air New Zealand NZ8337

Impromptu Party

A wonderfully impromptu party (at least for me) ensued at a mexican restaurant halfway between Atlanta and Wilsonville after my Aunt and Uncle were kind enough to surprise me at the airport. It was nice after 31 hours to see a friendly face and get my first real hugs in about 5 months. Mexican food tasted as good as I remembered it the only down side was that since it was Sunday there was no margaritas. For the best I think as I would have probably immediately passed out from the combination of exhaustion and tequila.

Welcome Home - ish reception at some random Mexican joint 

My Uncle Buddy and Aunt Barbara who were kind enough to pick me up from the airport

My Dad and Mom

My ever bored sister and my jet lagged self

Weta Workshop

Makers of Xena , Hercules, Lord of the Rings and middle earth in general, District 9, King Kong, Narnia, Avatar, I Robot, and soon to be the Hobbit!
The Mecca of geekdom!

Weta workshop <3

Narnian Sheild

reepicheep the mouse

Gandolf plush!

District 9

Sauron

Lurg, life size

gollum/smeagol

Huka Falls Jet ride video

our video just came in the mail

Leaving paihia

Steam boat on the river

Today I am leaving paihia for Auckland as well as leaving my traveling buddy sylvia. Woke up not much earlier than usual since I have a late bus today. Normally I catch the 8am but I didn't want to be rushed today. Since the 10am was booked I'm catching the 1pm which should deliver me to Auckland some time close to 4:30 or 5. To kill time I've been walking around the town discovering hidy-holes and such. One thing I like about this sleepy little town on the bay is how dog friendly it is. People take their dogs everywhere even to work and the beach. Right now I'm camped out in the sun down by the wharf watching some strangely shaped bird dive in and out of the water looking for fish.
It's going to be a nice day

A year of discovery

book exchange: Harry Potter in German

It amazes me on this journey how many people I've met are from small towns across the world. Mostly from small towns in Europe too, specifically Germany. After just graduating their version of high school, young people of Europe are encouraged to backpack for a year and see the world or at least one other country. It gives them a chance to find themselves I think. To realize who they are and what they want to do and get out of their lives instead of jumping right into Uni (college) and wasting time and money doing it there. At least this way they get a greater world view and learn more about self-sufficiency than most of the freshmen i have met back home. Since the majority of them work their way across the trip it saves dear ole mom and dad some coin too. Why aren't we encouraged to do that in America? Why are we, were we pushed into college if we were not prepared , if we didn't know what we wanted?