New Zealand Days 9-10

I spent the morning trying to sleep in after another poor night's sleep. After a solo walk to the base of the fjord, our kayak tour began. The group consisted of me, Shweth, a confident female med student from Canada, an affable young French couple living in Singapore, and an American couple (both teachers) living in Egypt.

A speedboat took us and our kayaks out to the end of the fjord (it's a fjord, not a sound), and we took 3.5-4 hours to kayak back. Our guide, a bro-ish but nice kiwi guy, did a very good job. We passed a rock with fur seals and kayaked under a big waterfall. The highlight was holding our four kayaks together in a row and using a tarp as a sail. We traveled about 2-3km at a speed of 5 knots. Pretty fun.

After a quick shower, the group reconvened at the Blue Duck for pizza and beer.

The next day we woke early (another night of crappy sleep!) and drove to Queenstown. Mercifully, our hostel messed up and gave us a private room with our own bathroom. Shweth went to go skydive while I got healthy by going on a long run then using a healthy pita. I talked to an American family who had just hiked the Milford Track - noted... I'll need to do this next time I visit NZ.

Blissfully, I fell asleep early watching Terminator 2.

Photos:
- dorm room at Milford Lodge
- computers where Shweth and I spent about 5 hours booking stuff
- Milford Lodge
- the presidential suite at YHA hostel in Queenstown
- me and my trusty lambs wool pillow