Bored. Snapped a few pics in the airport. 3 hour layovers in terminal 1 are toooo looong. Happily the Red Rocket supplies us with beer. 2 pints of Rickards – an outlandish $19 after tax and hefty tip (hey, I’m on vacation and happy). Looking forward to $3 bottles of Argentine Red!! Next up, the hung for Chester Cheetah’s Cheese Corn! Rumour has it that Nacho Libre is slotted for the next flight. THe Notebook is also on tap, but luckily, it’s later on so I won’t have to stay up.
02/01/08
Howdy gang! I hope everyone had a brilliant New Year’s Eve and New Years Day celebrations. As you would have read in my last post, today, it was back on the road for cyclin’ Steve. My destination for the night was Rotorua, which is one of the major tourist destinations in New Zealand. Basically, in the South Island, it’s Queenstown, in the North Island, it’s Rotorua. As such, I have pre-booked 3 nights in the “In the Zone” backpackers hostel here. I’m in a 4-bed room, with 2 other guys, one of whom is here only to bike. So, what’s so good about Rotorua? Well, heaps I guess. The whole region is basically a hotbed of Geothermal activity. You can’t walk far without tripping over hot springs and the like. Also, it is a mountain biking mecca, having hosted the world mountain biking championships this year. And lastly, this is the prime area for Maori culture. So, as you might guess, I’m wondering if I need a third full day here as well. Read on for more about my ride into town, and first evening here. Check out the map too.
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.
Howdy sports fans. Well, I guess this really isn’t a sports-related post, as my season is sort of over for 2007, but there are sports and games involved. That is, if you consider drinking beer and schnapps a sport! Yup, Jody and I returned to our October tradition of heading to Oktoberfest in Kitchener-Waterloo. In the past 7 years, I’ve been there 5 times, and Jody has been there 4 times. Each year, a different crew of us head down to Alix’s parents place, where we sleep in the basement, have a delicious Turkey dinner on Saturday, and of course head to the local sights and Festhallen for some Bavarian treats. Although there’s not a whole lot to tell you about the weekend (you sorta have to be there to understand it), I’ll still give you a little sense of the fun. Also, you can head over to Flickr to check out some pictures from the weekend. On with the tale.
30/01/08
Hi gang. I’m back again, writing a story for you even though I’m still a little under the weather! It’s nothing super-bad, just a sort throat and general tiredness, which as you may imagine does make my 5 hours of cycling each day a little challenging and exhausting. I chose to take a route today that would take me right out to the west coast, to a place called…. Westport. It’s a town of about 4600 people, but has lots of cafes and a supermarket. It was only a 65km ride, and I got in just before 1pm. This gave me the chance to do laundry, buy some supplies, eat a lunch, and then hopefully catch up on my Internet and stuff. I’m hoping to wrap up all my chores by 7pm or so, so that I can maybe just watch a movie, and snack, then hit the hay early. I’m not taking a day off, so I hope the extra rest will give me the boost for tomorrows ride. Luckily, it’s another relatively short day, so that’s in my favour. As usual, I’ve got a little map put together for my faithful followers, and some pictures to amuse you. Today’s ride was good on scenery, but that’s about it. You’ve pretty much seen it all, so I held back on taking too many pictures. Read on just the same…
