Hey!

Just thought I'd update you all on the happenings before I come home. Australia is really nice. Sydney was beautiful. We took a ferry over to the zoo and saw many animals. We also did a tour of the Blue Mountains where we got to take a ride on the worlds steepest railway. It was freaky but it didn't move fast. We didn't do the bridge climb in Sydney because it was priced something ridiculous like a million dollars. After Sydney we stayed in Port Maquarie for a few nights. It's a just a small town, there wasn't much to do there. We went for a nice walk along the water, ate some yummy pancakes and we did another walk in a foresty area. There were a lot of bats there at night! I have never seen so many bats before ever! We then went to Byron Bay which was beautiful but the hostels were terrible. We stayed in two but neither were very nice. I had ant bites all over my arm and legs from the first place we stayed in. We had a day here to just lie on the beach, where Terry dug a big hole and made me bury him in it. It was really funny to watch him try to get out of it. We also did a really nice walk along the beach to get to the lighthouse. On our second to last night here we had some wicked thunderstorms!. It was awesome!!! We then left here to go to Surfer's Paradise. We didn't surf here but instead went to three theme parks. Two of these were water slide parks and one was rides. In the one theme park, Dream World, we saw an amazing tiger show where we saw a tiger climb a tree! Our next stop was Brisbane. We didn't do much there because all there was to do was shopping and night clubs. We stayed at a really nice hostel though, which was sad to leave. After Brisbane we spent two nights in Rainbow beach where we didn't get to see the rainbow sands because it was extremely rainy and windy for our entire stay. We are now in Hervey Bay. We are only here to break up what is still going to be a 15 hour bus ride to Townsville tonight. It's still raining so we haven't done much of anything here either. The weather is supposed to clear up in a few days but hopefully since we are traveling 15 hours away the weather will be better there. I hope everything is well at home! I can't wait to come see everyone!! See you all in two and a half weeks!!!

Halloooo!

I thought I should let you know that I am coming home on June 17th! We are flying Air Pacific. Our flight leaves Auckland at 1pm on the 17th, we arrive in Nadi at 4pm and leave for LA at 10pm where we arrive in LA at 1:20pm. We then leave LA at 4:29 and arrive in Vancouver at 7:20pm on June 17th...longest day of my life!! See you then!!

Hey!

No I did not drown in a river, I'm still alive!!! It's good to hear that Annica will soon know the letter y as well as the rest of us do. I am also glad that Mark didn't win the Biggest Loser. Also, Nikki was actually laughing the video...not crying...definitely not.

Just thought I'd let you all know that we are heading to Australia in the next 2-3 weeks and will be home mid June. It's not all booked yet but we are booking our Oz tickets today and our home tickets are being worked on.

Hope the weather gets better at home! Good luck playing baseball in that snow!!

P.S. I put up some photos on facebook so those who have it can check them out.(Mom, just get Uncle David to show them to you)

Hello all!!!

It's been awhile, hopefully I can recall everything that I have to tell you.

Well, the ferry across to the south island was not a pleasant day at all. The water was so rough that Terry and I both felt that we were going to lose you breakfasts. After we got off the boat we went to a wine tasting where we found out that neither of us like the taste of wine. Then we were off to Abel Tasman National Park where we stayed two nights. I saw so many stars, it was amazing. We were supposed to go sailing there but we failed to make it to the kitchen in time to give the guy our money so we went for a hike instead. We hiked to a beautiful beach where we stopped for lunch and some beautiful pictures. While we were at our hostel/cabin we met a girl from Calgary and another girl who worked at our hostel in Raglan...small country. After Abel Tasman we stayed overnight in Barrytown. There was nothing in Barrytown except a beach that we walked in the rain looking for green stone/jade but ended up with a bag of green rocks instead. Most people from the bus got drunk at the bar that night and I will spare you all the details of the 4am happenings that woke us up. That next morning a few of us walked across the street and make our own bone carving necklaces. That was so fun and well worth it; so much better than buying the necklace in a store. Mine is a spiral that means growth and new life and Terry's is a fish hook which is supposed to bring good fortune on journeys over water. We then traveled down to Franz Josef where we did a half day hike up the glacier. We got to walk through a small ice cave. That was cool! We could have gone skydiving here, which I wanted to but it was the most expensive sky dive at $300; A little bit too steep. Then it was off to Makarora where we went jet boating. there was nothing else to do there so after that we just ate dinner and went to bed. We then did a short one night stop in Wanaka where we walked along the lake and watched a couple of movies with some other people who were staying at the hostel. We also took a trip to Puzzling World where we did the most difficult and frustrating maze in the world. Then it was off to Queenstown!

In Queenstown we finally met up with Nikki!!! Our first day we just made our activity bookings because Terry and I arrived a bit late in the afternoon. The second day we all went and did the Shot-over Canyon Swing. This was a 60m free fall into the canyon. I only jumped once but Terry and Nikki jumped twice. It was so amazing!! My video is up and you can watch it at this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3Y7kOBWpwE. In my defense the scream is so loud because I was supposed to hang in the air when I stepped off the platform and they were supposed to release me to my doom but instead they thought it would be better to just let me fall without telling me. Once we were done attempting to kill ourselves, we went up the gondola in town and played on the luge. That was fun and we got a really great deal on it. The next day Terry went and did his bungee jump. I wanted to go and watch but it was $50 for spectators so I just sent my camera with him. Instead, Nikki and I did a jet boat ride. This one was much better than the once we did in Makarora and it was $10 cheaper. We went a lot faster, did a lot more spins, and I got soaked.

After we were done playing in Queenstown we headed up to Milford Sound and took a boat cruise of the Sounds. It was very beautiful; many mountains and waterfalls and a glacier that looked like the face of the Stay Puffed marshmallow man...it was frightening. That night we Stayed in Tuatapere where we did a farm tour. Terry and Nikki both got to shear a sheep. I didn't take part because it looked a little bit to cruel and after they did it they both said they felt a little back while doing it. We then Headed down to Invercargil where we stayed one night. We just took a day to relax and do nothing here. It was kind of nice. The next day we drove up to Dunedin where we wandered around the city. It was quite bigger than I expected it to be. In the morning before our bus left we got to go on a tour of the Cadbury chocolate factory. It smelled so delightful in there and we got some free chocolate and some really cheap chocolate. It was a tasty morning that we all enjoyed. Then it was back to Queenstown where we are right now. Terry and Nikki are River Boarding today. I wasn't comfortable with it so I did some grocery shopping for tomorrows dinner and then I spent the day online editing and uploading my video and chatting with people on MSN. It's been a  nice, relaxing day. The weather has been great!! It has been getting chilly but we are heading back up north tomorrow because Nikki needs to get to Christchurch to catch her flight back to Australia. Terry and I will be off to Australia soon but we still haven't booked our flight as we are lazy but I'm sure we'll have it done soon enough.

How are things at home? Let me know about the Biggest Loser finale!!!! How is Annica's preschool going? How's the weather...all that stuff!!! Miss you guys lots!!!! Love you!!!!

Sorry that I haven't been posting but I haven't had any free internet access and buying internet tmeis way to expensive for my liking. I am also sorry that I didn't call on Easter but I'm sure my mom explained that I was on the road that day. Since I last posted I've been to a concert (Iron and Wine), it was really good and I'm glad we decided to go. We also went to Hahie (I think I spelled that wrong). Here we were supposed to go t the hot water beach and dig hot pools but the surf was so riddiculous that we couldn't dig holes because the waves kept coming in and ruining them. After Hahie we went to Raglan where we got to learn how to surf. It was quite the process. It's tough but fun! on our way to our next destination we made  stop in Waitomo and we got to do a cave tour. It was so cool to see all the glow worm in the cave! Then we went to Maketu and sayed at Uncle Boy's where we saw some maori dancing and got to do some too. It was really fun! We then travelled down to the land of stench, Rotorua. We did not stay here long at all! We left the next day and travelled the East cape for three days. It was so beautiful there. We staed in a hostel that was right on the beach. From there we walked through the forest to a beautiful waterfall that we were able to swim under. While on the East Cape we also did rocksliding. This is where we lie on a boogie board and slide down a rock waterfall. SO FUN!! We have also stayed in Taupo where we then travelled to Tongariro National Park where we did the Tongariro Crossing. This was a 19.5 kilometer hike that took us roughly 7 hours. It wasvry strenuous but it was also a very beautiful hike. We got to hike past wherethey filmed mouth doom for lord of the rings! We are currently in Wellington, wher it i very rainy. We are going to catch a ferry to the south island in a couple ofdays. I can't wait! The south island is supposed to be better thn the north acording to many people we've talked to. Well I guess I'll be off now. I still have sme things to do and my time is almost up. Love you all and I'll post again soon!

P.S. I would send you the link to my pistures but I hecked and apparently none of them actually uploaded like I thought. I will try to upload them again later when I can use my own computer.

Hey!

So, the day after my birthday we finally got on the Stray bus and drove up to Pahia or the Bay of Islands. Along the way, we stopped at Goat Island where some people went snorkeling. It was a bit cold for Terry and I though, so we viewed the brightly coloured fish from the rocks. After that we stopped at a bird sanctuary where we saw a Tui bird that was talking to us. We also saw and touched a Kiwi bird, and an owl as well as some other birds.

Pahia was so beautiful. The day after we arrived we took a day trip up to Cape Raenga. Up there we saw a lot of fog and a lot of rain, where we should have seen the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean colliding. It was a bit disappointing but it just means I’ll have to come back one day to actually see it. Then the bus took us to the sand dunes where we climbed up the massive dune and slid down it on a boogie board. It was easily the most fun we’ve had so far. On our way back to Pahia we drove along the 90 Mile beach. By this I mean that we drove on the sand along the shore. Then we all stopped for fish and chips in a small fishing town before the final leg of the drive to Pahia.

In Pahia we went on a boat tour of the Bay of Islands where there are 144 islands. The water was astonishing. The boat took us through the Hole in The Rock and we say marlins and penguins but no dolphins. Because we didn’t see dolphins, we each received a voucher to go back. When we went back a couple of days later we decided to go on the swim with the dolphins tour, alas once again we saw no dolphins; therefore we got two more vouchers to go back again. In Pahia we also went kayaking because our hostel had free kayaks. It was really fun. We stopped on one of the islands and went for a swim before going back to the main land. On our last day we just kind of hung around the hostel because our bus didn’t pick us up until 4:30 to go back to Auckland.

Now that we are back on Auckland we are going to go us the Sky Tower (finally) as long as the weather stays nice. We might make a trip over to Waiheke Island before we come back to Auckland for an Iron and Wine concert that we are very much looking forward to. Then we will be of on our bus adventure again!

How is everyone at home? Is the weather still good? Amanda, how is your new place? Well I hope everyone is well! Talk to you all soon!

Thank you all for your Birthday greetings! It's so good to be able to post things to you and hear back. Sorry about that little comment problem before, I'm still learning how to use this thing. Today we were going to go us the Skytower (it's like the space needle) but it's still cloudy so we are going to try for a sunnier day when we come back to Auckland on probably Friday. We finally found a coffee shop that gives and hour of free internet when you purchase something. A bird was eying my banana chocolate chip muffin, but I shooed him away/ate the muffin. I wish I could see/hear Keiran make the noise of a fish, I'm sure it's very cute. Dad, to answer you question, he charged us what was probably $25-30 Canadian each. (P.S. I hope you're feeling better) Amanda, how is your new place? Did you call the phone people? Mom, thanks for going in to get my pay stub! I love free money!(the bird is back! he's trying to eat the leftover crums) Not much else to say but I hope everyone is well and Happy Birthday Auntie Alana and Auntie Doris!! I love you all!!!

Hellooooo!

On our last full day in Mount Eden Terry and I went for a nice hike up the mountain of Mount Eden, which is a hopefully dormant volcano. It’s the largest volcanic peak in the area and it has a massive crater. From the top we could see everything, a 360 view of Auckland. It was absolutely beautiful! We ate our lunch up top the volcano and then we headed back down to our hostel. I received a lovely gift from the sun that day in the form of a very, very dark red burn on my shoulders, neck, chest and back. Three days later and it still hurts a bit, but I’ve been putting aloe vera on it so it should heal soon.

We left Mount Eden the next day to stay at a hostel in central Auckland. We arrived at 11 and they told us we couldn’t check in until 2. So we left our bags in the storage room and we went to the art gallery where we saw some local art as well as some international pieces. We just explored the main street here after that and ate some lunch. There are so many Asian restaurants here it is unbelievable. I have never seen so many on one street ever! I’m sure there are more here than in Asia. Auckland looks just like Vancouver but with a lot more old buildings, some even built new but to look old. There are also a lot less homeless here. It's very nice!

Yesterday we walked down to the seaside, which we couldn’t see very well because of the wharfs and such. We only went down to go to Food Town for some groceries and to go to the Stray office to set up our departure date. We also walked through a market they had set up by the theaters. Apparently they do it every Friday and Saturday and people sell clothing and jewelry and some of the booths are set up like a garage sale with old books and records and shoes. I think Amanda would have liked it!

Today we were planning on going to the zoo but it was raining this morning so we decided to stay in to look at some of our stray locations and plan out where we will stay extra and what activities we want to do. After going through all of that, it looks like our trip may come to and end in July or August depending on how long we can stay in Australia.

We are leaving Auckland on Monday to go up north to The Bay of Islands. It looks like free internet is nearly impossible to find here, but we will try to get hours where we can for low prices, and we may be getting a phone card today or tomorrow. I am also still working on getting my photos up on my livejournal. Some are up on facebook and I’m going to try to get more up for you facebookers.

Loads of love!!!

P.S. I think I fixed the comment problem.
P.P.S. Mom can you open my phone bill and let me know how much it is for before the 10th and also if you could go to Coles and pick up my pay stub and check if they over payed me, because I think there might be a mistake. Thank you!

 Hey everyone!!

Well, our last day in Fiji looked like it was going to be a nice clear day alas the rain caught us again. While it was clear we were on our way to Port Denarau in a cab and our driver, Mohammed, decided to take us to The Garden of The Sleeping Giant. The Sleeping Giant is the name of the big mountain there because it looks like a sleeping giant and the garden was at its base. It was very beautiful and I took some lovely pictures that I will try to get up ASAP. After the garden Mohammed then took us to the Port where we looked in some shops and ate some lunch. While we were shopping the downpour started. I got a little bit wet on the cab ride after that because the windows were rolled down a bit, as that was the only air conditioning. Before we went back to the hotel, Mohammed took us on a little drive around the resorts on Denarau Island. The golf course was beautiful. He also drove us through Nadi Town, which was a bit sketchy.

Of course this morning when we were leaving Fiji, the sun decided to finally show its face. We were not too impressed. The flight over Auckland wasn’t too bad as it was only a 3-hour flight. The view from the plane was gorgeous while flying over New Zealand. The turquoise ocean, the islands and the hills were quite the sight. (Although I didn’t see any sheep)

The weather here is beautiful! It’s very sunny and there’s a nice breeze. Our hostel is pretty nice. We have a small room but it’s no less than what we need and there’s a trampoline!

We took a nice walk to get some sandwich supplies and water. It was a refreshing walk since we didn’t get to walk anywhere in Fiji. After we ate we went for another walk into Mount Eden Village. We didn’t go into any shops because most of them were closed at 5 but it was just good to get out.

I miss you all loads and I love you all so much! I hope to get a phone card soon!