Sitting in Nate’s in the Ottawa airport waiting for flight.
Last Canadian meal before beef time!
Dreary weather is looking in on us from the outside world. Overcast and the like.
I’m peering out at a robin’s-egg blue Air Canada plane at gate 17. Ours is next to it.
C-GJWO is our equipment. Airbus 319. Looks air-worthy. We’ve got about 1:15 till lift-off 0:45 till we board.
Update: there was a gate change, we were actually at Gate 15. Don’t know what the tail ID was. Sorry kev.
Well, the bags have been packed, re-packed, weighed, and re-weighed. I’m now at my maximum allowable size and weight for pretty much everything. It’s after 11pm the night before I fly out for Fiji, and it still hasn’t sunk in. What am I embarking on? What will I discover? How will this change me? How will this bring me closer to my own realities? I have no idea, but I also have absolutely no fear. My life thus far has been as rewarding as anyone could possibly hope for. You could say that I have everything I need right here. And yet, this idea to get away and undertake an adventure on my own has been germinating within me for as long as I can remember. I already wish that I was going for longer, even though this is the longest trip I’ve ever taken, and I will be doing it all on my own, while Jody minds the ranch.
Yes my dear friends, it’s that time of the year. The air is turning cold, and the leaves have all changed colour and are fluttering to the ground. You know it’s going to happen, but you’re reluctant to admit it, and would just rather keep running in shorts and a tank top. Unfortunately, it’s becoming readily apparent that something does have to give here. I don’t have a really deep or meaningful story to share with you this time, but just a brief update on what was up on the weekend for me. The main event of the weekend was supposed to be a wine and cheese soiree downtown, but the host ended up falling ill, which meant we had to put the kaibash on that plan at the last second. Not to fret, there’s always plenty to do, right my friends? Read on for a couple Seinfeldian paragraphs about ‘nothing’ to keep you entertained for a few minutes. You can also gander at some pictures that we snapped on Saturday.
Hello fellow adventurers! Strap yourselves in, because we’re finally there. Summit day on Kilimanjaro. Today you will finally find out how Cantrailia fared on the roof of Africa. Now, admittedly, this post is likely going to run long. I’m just going to start writing it up, and see how lengthy it becomes. I may in fact decide to break it into two posts: up to the summit, then descending from the summit. That’s just the way I roll. However, in spite of whether I split it, there remains only one map of the day’s hike, as well as one set of pictures on flickr. But what a splendid map and set of pictures they are 🙂 For in those, you will see that we made it all the way to the top, at 5,895m AMSL. The roof of Africa. The top of Kibo, Uhuru Peak. Any way you slice it, and by whatever name you refer to it, there is no higher place in all of the continent of Africa, and it is the world’s tallest freestanding mountain! Not a bad accomplishment I’d day. Read on to find out more.
06/02/08
So, what is Waitangi Day you ask? Well, it’s a national holiday here in New Zealand. Sort of like Canada Day, but not quite. There aren’t massive celebrations everywhere, but it is a significant date for Kiwis. This is the day the Treaty of Waitangi was signed by the queen, which recognized the land claims and rights of Maoris. Of course, things are still not settled for Maoris, so as a result, there is not much celebrating, but rather, a fair bit of protest on this day in certain parts of the country. However, it is still a federal holiday, which means food places all charge 15-20% extra if you want to eat. Ha ha. Guess I’ll be eating noodles and peanut butter sandwiches today! At any rate, I’m still in Fox Glacier township right now, enjoying an almost complete day off. My only activity was about 25km of biking and hiking, to check out the stunning views of the Southern Alps from here. The rest of the day is hopefully for laundry, Internet, phone calls, etc. etc. Yup, I’m resting and getting ready for the next few days. Read on and check out the map for a bit more info.
