The west coast of NZ...

Just north of Punakiki.

The drive from Glenorchy to Queenstown

(Hope this movie can be seen on the blog...)

Day 4: drive down the west coast

The previous night, Shweth snd I watched the last Hobbit movie in the theater. It was filmed in NZ so we saw a bunch of sites we'll see (I think), like Glenorchy and Tongariro Crossing.

The first few hours of drive from Nelson to the west coast passes through some beautiful, idyllic sheep-filled valleys, and rivers. We stopped at Westport for a quick lunch then drove south on the coast. Having driven south from SF many times, I'm quite spoiled when it comes to costal scenery. Still, the "wild west coast" was still quite stunning. It's different than the california coast in that it's more rugged - the beach quickly ascends into mountains, leaving little room for houses. So, you have the feeling of being quite remote.

We stopped at the "pancake rocks," which are rock formations that have many exposed layers... They look like pancakes. They were kind of interesting, but mostly... They're just rocks. In the parking lot we ran into yet another current Fuqua student.

It doesn't get dark here until about 9:30, which really distorts your sense of time. We arrived in Hokitika, a small town known for their jade products (jade is harvested from rivers near Hokitika), around 5. Only one jade shop was open: Heritage Jade. We talked to this young guy Colin Davidson, who owned the shop and made everything he sold. Fun conversation, mostly about dating and the differences between city folk and country folk.

Most everything in NZ closes around 4:30pm (inexplicably... I guess everyone just goes home), so we ate at one of the few restaurants open and continued on to Franz Josef. I slept about 10 hours - so, so needed after a few nights of poor sleep. Buying that pillow was a master stroke.

A few bungie and swing photos

Me, pre-coffee and pre-jump

And why?

This morning I jumped the world's second highest bungie, and went on the world's highest swing (upside down and backwards). Does it make me stupid or brave that I wasn't nervous. Ok, maybe a little nervous as I walked out to the ledge before jumping. You do have the thought "why the hell am I doing this?" but then it's over before you know it. Would I do it again? Hell yeah.

At the swing I met a couple cool Brazilian guys who have been traveling for 6 months. One guy had worked as an engineer for 6 years and had gotten totally stressed out, so he quit to travel the world. Only 1.5 years until my FSG sabbatical. I will definitely be taking 6 months.

Here's a video of my swing... Hope it works.

The road not traveled, being ok with that, yet still wanting it

It's Christmas today, and I felt like spending it with Mother Nature. So, after a potluck lunch with all the folks in our hostel, I drove to Glenorchy, which is about an hour from Queenstown. An Air Force guy recommended that I go past Glenorchy toward the Routeburn trail, hike through sheep-filled pastures, up some switchbacks, and sit and admire the panoramic view.

I reached the step ladder...

NZ Day 3

Hostel pillows suck. I hadn't stayed in a hostel since 2009 until this trip, and had forgotten this little fact. Luckily, Bed Bath & Beyond exists in NZ so I bought myself a genuine lambs wool pillow for 20 bucks. It even smells like lamb. Really. And I love it.

Our hostel in Nelson was serviceable, but the room quite cramped. After going to bed with a headache and walking up with one (I can't quit these damn things!), the cool air from our 45-minute drive to Abel Tasman national park cured me for the day.

Here's what we did:
- booked a full day kayak and hike with the Sea Kayak Company. Our group was 6 people. We kayaked to a nature sanctuary island where about 400 fur seals live. Learned a bit about the seals, but it definitely wasn't a nature tour. The seals were really cool. A few swam under our kayaks and generally checked us out, but they weren't too concerned with our presence. After a quick lunch on the beach, Shweth and I walked about 3 hours to where our boat would take us back to the starting point. On the beach we ran into a current Fuqua student who is traveling with 3 other Fuqua folks. (Also, the next day we met another current Fuqua student at the pancake rocks at Punakiki... Shweth had been wearing Duke shirts every day, so people notice him). Tonight we're staying in queenstown and will meet up with the Fuqua people and drink at a place called Ice Bar. Anyway, on the way back from Abel Tasman we talked to two Vietnamese who worked 6 days picking apples, which funded a 7th day of vacation.
- I liked Nelson a lot. It reminded me of Mendoza, Argentina (although a bit smaller) and Nevada City, California (although probably 3 times Nevada City's size). Very chill town.
- after we got back from Abel Tasman, Shweth went to see a Cinderella pantomime show at a local theater while I went to a Sunday evening Anglican church service. I figured it would be interesting in some regard. Some of my most memorable travel moments have been going to church services (including a few in Mexico), so... Why not. It was a very strange service. At one point the priest asked people to come to the front and speak about whatever they wanted. Two women came up and said they had had visions/that God spoke to them that day. Lots of hands raised in the air. I left 25 minutes into a very rambling sermon. Sorry mom - I couldn't take it and I needed to go eat!

That's all the update I can muster for now. Just got to our hostel in Queenstown and it's bro central. Need to shower and go out.

Here's some photos:

Quaint downtown Nelson

Somewhere between glaciers and fjords

Shweth and I are driving from Franz Josef glacier to Queenstown (a 5-ish hour drive). I took a quick nap and woke up to this. The feeling is that of Yosemite Valley, but with a more powerful river and far less people. This is my favorite view thus far.

New Zealand - Day 1

Bookish Dave is back. It's been too long.

My friend Shweth and I will be in New Zealand from now through January 5th. Shweth is a friend of mine from Duke and who also lives in SF, and we're already proving to be good travel partners. Unfortunately, as I write this (in the Auckland airport on our way to the South Island) he's talking to his boss at Apple. So much for disconnecting at this moment. Still, we both want to go back to the states feeling like we've had great adventures and learned things, but also healthy and rested. Yesterday we went on a 30-minute run, and today we started by going to a gym - great way to stay centered while traveling.

My related goal is to detox from my cell phone. The past few months I'v been particularly compulsive about checking my phone, so hopefully I can break that habit with some forced detox.

The direct flight from SFO to Auckland was a piece of cake. I watched Boyhood, ate dinner, and slept for 8 hours. At one point I got up to use the restroom and halfway expected to see my sister Jenny somewhere on the plane - I've taken my last two big vacations with her. Anyway, the time difference between SF and New Zealand is 21 hours, but we only cross three time zones. Hence, very little jet lag. My flight arrived around 6am, and as I waited for Shweth had a coffee in the cool air and watched airport employees and travelers (paying particular attention to the Maori). Our driver arrived and promptly said in a thick Kiwi accent "hold a moment boys, I need to go take a shit," which he did. He was quite a character. Shweth and I went on a run to Mission Bay and hung out there for a while, and walked up to some lookout point, where an annoying Brazilian guy couldn't figure out his iPhone and I volunteered Shweth to help him ("this guy MADE that iPhone!"). After some shopping for shampoo and other provisions, we headed to a bar with Mita and her friend Dee, and ended up at Dee's awesome apartment (see photo of the Auckland skyline, taken from her rooftop deck). Of course upon seeing such a view, I want it for myself. Someday I'll have a room with a view... This WILL happen.

I like Auckland. It's very relaxed. Very little crime. A bit expensive.

Our cab driver this morning, Matatia, was an interesting dude. He's about 50, from the small island called Tivola (??) near Fiji, used to work in an engine room on a big container ship. He said he likes the U.S. because we saved his island from the Japanese. He also liked Rio because they had the best women of all his ports of call. Matatia, the other cab driver, Mita, and Dee quickly remind me of the joy of not only meeting new people, but of exchanging information with them. Talking about what people know and think and telling them what you know - definitely a big rush.

Signing off for now. Here are a few photos.

I Am the Decisive Element

As I set goals for 2014, I recall these two quotes that North Stars for our Outward Bound trek a couple years ago.

I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration, I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Why don't you stay in the wilderness?  Because that isn't where its at; it's back in the city, back in downtown St. Louis, back in Los Angeles.  The final test is whether your experience of the sacred in nature enables you to cope more efficiently with the problems of man.  if it does not enable you to cope more effectively with the problems - and sometimes it doesn't, sometimes it just sucks you right out into the wilderness and you stay there the rest of your life - then when that happens, by my scale of value, it's failed.  You go to nature for an experience of the sacred... to re-establish your contact with the core of things, where it's really at, in order to enable you to come back into the world of man and operate more effectively.  Seek ye first the kingdom of nature, that the kingdom of man might be realized.

Willi Unsoeld