Ye-ha! I went skydiving! It was so good, a really amazing experience....
On the ground I was actually more worried about the parents permission (that I didn' have) than about the jump itself. I was about to use this as an excuse to run away from the airport (I mean, what if they find out I'm doing something illegal and shoot the plane down??) but I knew I would hate myself forever if I'd do that. I got introduced to my jumpmaster and was requested to put on a flight suit which made me look very interesting. There's a video of the minutes before the plane went up and I have never ever said so much crap.
We got a short briefing and the opportunity to ask questions (little cora: "what happens if our jumpmaster falls to sleep in the middle of the free fall?"). The plane in which we went up was incredibly small and we had to squash in (this doesn't belong here but have I mentioned that our bus driver squashed three possums today? I found it's a pretty disgusting sight even for a non vegetarian. basically everything just splashed out and sometimes the possums keeps runnign around for a second or two and it's just not nice to look at. Apparently they've eaten the native birds since they've been imported but i still feel sorry for them and after having seen them rolled over by a 50 people bus a few times I have decided to like the possums).
The jumpmasters strapped us together pretty tightly and the plane seemed to climb up the 12 000 ft incredibly slowly. When the first couple actually jumped I found this small plane a perfectly good place to stay but with a stranger tied to your back who obviously wants you to
jump there's not much choice. The jumpmaster moves you towards the exit on the side of the plane, you have to put your feet and your head back and then you just fall out. I totally didn't expect the huge adrenaline rush, maybe also because I thought you'd just lie in the air but we turned over a few times before we got into the right position.
On 12,000 ft you have 30 seconds of freefall but actually they are not the longest 30 seconds of your life but really short. I was so confused because could feel I was falling very fast (at 200kph!!) but the ground didn't seem to move towards us because it's just so high.
the jumpmaster tried to get me to open my arms but I kept holding on to my suit as I could hear him but I simply didn't get it.
It's such a weird feeling if there is one person really close to you but around there's nothing but air for kilometres. It's absolutely undescribable.
Finally the parachute opened and we were floating down slowly with an unbelievable view of snow capped mountains, lakes and forests. It is so beautiful.
The whole thing feels so unreal. I still can't believe i've done it and you probably don't either but there's a highly embarrassing video which I will force you all to watch when I'm back!
Ten days to go!
Lots of love
Cora
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Friday, December 08, 2006
FRANZ JOSEF GLACIER
Hi Guys
I'm still alive! Travelling along the West Coast is a special experience. You find hostels without internet, not many people and definitely no connection for your cellphone most of the time (it is terrible but I got addicted to my new little friend as everyone here is texting like crazy and while i wouldn't mind in Germany, I thought it might be a better idea to avoid the outsider status for at least a few months.). Apart from that this part of the country is very VERY beautiful. It is a total cliche but it actually consists of endless beaches and i feel really bad to tell you I haven't been for a swim yet. It's probablt got something to do with Kiwi Experience (i like it very much to just blame THEM for everything that goes wrong) as we get dropped off too late in the towns so you usually can't enjoy a day at the beach. Another problem is the west coast itself as it is so very beautiful but most of the time you try to hide from the rain by doing excessive shopping at New World and then cooking nice food in your hostel. I try very hard to eat as healthy as possible and I am proud to say that I have been in New Zealand for half a year without eating one single mince meat pie. I consider them evil. Instead I sit in the hostel and eat vegetables which I am actually too stupid to cook properly. I just remember cooking brokkoli in the microwave in taupo with Annalen and Sabine. This was not a good idea.
Hopefully you haven't stopped reading by now because I'm apparently not able to get to the point. Read the headline. This post is supposed to be about the glacier, which is where i am now, pretty much in the middle of the South Island. I left the kiwi experience bus a few days ago to have a break from the 'get off the bus and get drunk' people which i do not love so much but after an overnight stop in Greymouth, I headed in the same direction with an Intercity bus to meet my bus again. I have decided that Kiwi Experience is not my favourite way of travelling, but this is good knowledge for the next time so I'm just gonna use up my ticket and be cool calm and collected all the time even though it gets sooo annoying.
The little village of Franz Josef consists of two streets, of which one obviously is home to the YHA where I live at the moment and which I like, and the other street runs straight to the walkway WHICH finally brings you to the glacier. I wanted to do a guided tour as it's too dangerous to climb the glacier on your own and you can get good photos but are not allowed to actually be IN the glacier.
I decided for the full day hike and after three requests the people at the guiding company were annoyed enough by me to give me the child discount. The full day started early at quarter oast nine and I made myself a huge lunch which I'm still proud of. The amazing thing about Franz Josef is that it is very special together with two other Glaciers in the world who also flow quite low and end in actual rainforest. One of the other ones is somewhere in Argentina and the third is Fox Glacier just down the road from the village.
The name is also a bit weird.....the glacier was first investigated by an Austrian, Julius von Haast and after he had named a few glaciers and rivers around in New Zealand after himself, he decided that it was time to name one after his king FRANZ JOSEF (I don't want to tell you anything wrong but I'm pretty sure this is Franzerl from 'Sissi'!!) . So much about filling up you brains with incredibly useful knowledge about glaciers on the other side of the world.
After a short walk through the rainforest we strapped on our Ice crampons (basically spikes to put under your hiking boots) and they seemed to make a lot of sense when we saw the steep climb up the glacier!! When you're in it all the ice around you forms a bit of nightmare landscape. Some ice blocks look like waves of water crashing down that have frozen right in the movement and between the giant formations are huge crevasses where you better not fall in. Once I underestimated a small spot of melted ice that looked like just two centimetres deep, I stepped into it and it was half a metre and my boot got completely wet. I was wearing shorts to the sharp edges of the ice made a rather disgusting bloodbath of my right leg. It looked much scarier than it actually was but hopefully its gonna end up making a scar which I can show off at home. "Oh yeah, that was when I went ice climbing in New Zealand".....sorry :)
As we got further up we even got to see some blue ice, parts where the blocks have opened to form little caves with a weird blue colour that looks just magic. And finally, we reached about the middle of the glacier itself which was a lookout point again: the sea is so close you can see it from the mountains. Looking forward to showing you those pictures!
Well we all came back pretty tired but absolutely satisfied. You see a lot of things you haven't even thought about before. Just amazing!!
Love to you all
Cora
I'm still alive! Travelling along the West Coast is a special experience. You find hostels without internet, not many people and definitely no connection for your cellphone most of the time (it is terrible but I got addicted to my new little friend as everyone here is texting like crazy and while i wouldn't mind in Germany, I thought it might be a better idea to avoid the outsider status for at least a few months.). Apart from that this part of the country is very VERY beautiful. It is a total cliche but it actually consists of endless beaches and i feel really bad to tell you I haven't been for a swim yet. It's probablt got something to do with Kiwi Experience (i like it very much to just blame THEM for everything that goes wrong) as we get dropped off too late in the towns so you usually can't enjoy a day at the beach. Another problem is the west coast itself as it is so very beautiful but most of the time you try to hide from the rain by doing excessive shopping at New World and then cooking nice food in your hostel. I try very hard to eat as healthy as possible and I am proud to say that I have been in New Zealand for half a year without eating one single mince meat pie. I consider them evil. Instead I sit in the hostel and eat vegetables which I am actually too stupid to cook properly. I just remember cooking brokkoli in the microwave in taupo with Annalen and Sabine. This was not a good idea.
Hopefully you haven't stopped reading by now because I'm apparently not able to get to the point. Read the headline. This post is supposed to be about the glacier, which is where i am now, pretty much in the middle of the South Island. I left the kiwi experience bus a few days ago to have a break from the 'get off the bus and get drunk' people which i do not love so much but after an overnight stop in Greymouth, I headed in the same direction with an Intercity bus to meet my bus again. I have decided that Kiwi Experience is not my favourite way of travelling, but this is good knowledge for the next time so I'm just gonna use up my ticket and be cool calm and collected all the time even though it gets sooo annoying.
The little village of Franz Josef consists of two streets, of which one obviously is home to the YHA where I live at the moment and which I like, and the other street runs straight to the walkway WHICH finally brings you to the glacier. I wanted to do a guided tour as it's too dangerous to climb the glacier on your own and you can get good photos but are not allowed to actually be IN the glacier.
I decided for the full day hike and after three requests the people at the guiding company were annoyed enough by me to give me the child discount. The full day started early at quarter oast nine and I made myself a huge lunch which I'm still proud of. The amazing thing about Franz Josef is that it is very special together with two other Glaciers in the world who also flow quite low and end in actual rainforest. One of the other ones is somewhere in Argentina and the third is Fox Glacier just down the road from the village.
The name is also a bit weird.....the glacier was first investigated by an Austrian, Julius von Haast and after he had named a few glaciers and rivers around in New Zealand after himself, he decided that it was time to name one after his king FRANZ JOSEF (I don't want to tell you anything wrong but I'm pretty sure this is Franzerl from 'Sissi'!!) . So much about filling up you brains with incredibly useful knowledge about glaciers on the other side of the world.
After a short walk through the rainforest we strapped on our Ice crampons (basically spikes to put under your hiking boots) and they seemed to make a lot of sense when we saw the steep climb up the glacier!! When you're in it all the ice around you forms a bit of nightmare landscape. Some ice blocks look like waves of water crashing down that have frozen right in the movement and between the giant formations are huge crevasses where you better not fall in. Once I underestimated a small spot of melted ice that looked like just two centimetres deep, I stepped into it and it was half a metre and my boot got completely wet. I was wearing shorts to the sharp edges of the ice made a rather disgusting bloodbath of my right leg. It looked much scarier than it actually was but hopefully its gonna end up making a scar which I can show off at home. "Oh yeah, that was when I went ice climbing in New Zealand".....sorry :)
As we got further up we even got to see some blue ice, parts where the blocks have opened to form little caves with a weird blue colour that looks just magic. And finally, we reached about the middle of the glacier itself which was a lookout point again: the sea is so close you can see it from the mountains. Looking forward to showing you those pictures!
Well we all came back pretty tired but absolutely satisfied. You see a lot of things you haven't even thought about before. Just amazing!!
Love to you all
Cora
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
The Game of Cricket
Now Cora has only briefly watched Joshua playing cricket and fails to understand this crazy english game " played by men in white pyjamas" .. her words not mine !! ... so here is an explanation for Cora and all of you who fail to understand such a simple game ... YEAH RIGHT!
... and this is a picture of Joshua bowling in a game last weekend
Cricket: As explained to a foreigner...
You have two sides, one out in the field and one in.
Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out.
When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out.
Sometimes you get men still in and not out.
When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in.
There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out.
When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out,
... that is the end of the game.
... and this is a picture of Joshua bowling in a game last weekend
Cricket: As explained to a foreigner...
You have two sides, one out in the field and one in.
Each man that's in the side that's in goes out, and when he's out he comes in and the next man goes in until he's out.
When they are all out, the side that's out comes in and the side that's been in goes out and tries to get those coming in, out.
Sometimes you get men still in and not out.
When a man goes out to go in, the men who are out try to get him out, and when he is out he goes in and the next man in goes out and goes in.
There are two men called umpires who stay out all the time and they decide when the men who are in are out.
When both sides have been in and all the men have been out, and both sides have been out twice after all the men have been in, including those who are not out,
... that is the end of the game.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Sailing Away ...
Mt Kau Kau (where we climbed on Sunday) on Cora's last night
The ferry at the bottom of the garden ... YEAH RIGHT
Sailing across the harbour to Cook Strait & Picton
Soames Island behind the ferry with Eastbourne (where we had fish & chips) in the background. South Island watch out for "Cora: The Hungry German"
Farewell, take care, safe travels ... love Fay, Jeremy & Joshua
The ferry at the bottom of the garden ... YEAH RIGHT
Sailing across the harbour to Cook Strait & Picton
Soames Island behind the ferry with Eastbourne (where we had fish & chips) in the background. South Island watch out for "Cora: The Hungry German"
Farewell, take care, safe travels ... love Fay, Jeremy & Joshua
Checking Out
Cora and Fay ... saying goodbye is hard
Very thoughtful
The sky this morning .. very moody
Very thoughtful
The sky this morning .. very moody
Sunday, December 03, 2006
Dog Day Hair Styles
Ziggy with the latest mowhawk style for poodles ... YEAH RIGHT
Joshua & Cora ... TV, swotting for exams, Shorty St, etc
Cora being studious & reading Jane Austin
Joshua & Cora ... TV, swotting for exams, Shorty St, etc
Cora being studious & reading Jane Austin
Reaching the Summit
The TV mast on the top of Mt Kau Kau
Walking up Mt Kau Kau .. to find the TV mast that we can see from the house
Fater #2
Refreshements, faces and the wind
Wellington from the top of Mt Kau Kau
Cora & the TV mast
Walking down again & 14 Karamu Street from the top
...thg & Ziggy
Walking up Mt Kau Kau .. to find the TV mast that we can see from the house
Fater #2
Refreshements, faces and the wind
Wellington from the top of Mt Kau Kau
Cora & the TV mast
Walking down again & 14 Karamu Street from the top
...thg & Ziggy
Shopping with the Baby Boomers
caught shopping at IKO-IKO again !!!
my favourite shopping place ... Cuba Street
Another neat cafe ... OLIVE in Cuba St
The Matterhon Cafe in Cuba St
The Cuba Street Bucket Fountain
Fay enjoying the sunshine
more walking & shopping
The tasty chocolate orange cookies the Cora made for the BLANDFORD Family
Playng Monopoly & watching TV !~!!
my favourite shopping place ... Cuba Street
Another neat cafe ... OLIVE in Cuba St
The Matterhon Cafe in Cuba St
The Cuba Street Bucket Fountain
Fay enjoying the sunshine
more walking & shopping
The tasty chocolate orange cookies the Cora made for the BLANDFORD Family
Playng Monopoly & watching TV !~!!
Monday, November 27, 2006
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Tongariro Crossing
The Tongariro Crossing has been described as one of New Zealand's best one-day treks. It is a spectacular one-day trek across New Zealand's Tongariro National Park World Heritage Area. The trek begins at Mangatepopo in the west and ends at Ketetahi on the northern edge of the Park.
The Tongariro Crossing starts as a gentle gradient up the Mangatepopo Valley to a steep climb to the saddle between the active Volcanoes of Mt Tongariro and Mt Ngauruhoe, across South Crater and finally climbing up to Red Crater, the highest point (1886m) on the track. Then descending down to the Emerald Lakes (a group of water filled explosion craters), over Central Crater to the Blue Lake (an old vent) sidling around North Crater past the Ketetahi Hut and the Ketetahi Hot Springs down through the native forest to the car park.
Cora's email this morning ....first the bad news aye....
I think I have killed the cellphone on the tongariro crossing. They told us to make sure we bring one so I decided to take us for emergencies. the weather was supposed to be really fine but apparently the weather forecast was wrong, tongariro expeditions even told us where to send our complaints.
After a beautiful sunrise and the first two hours in sunshine, the weather turned into absolute crap and it was too late to turn around as we had already climbed the "devil's staircase" and they had told us it would be too difficult to get down from this point. Just saying that I had tried to package the phone waterproof but actually even the last one of my five layers was completely wet when we came down and so I don't know whether the phone just got too cold or whether it died from the rain. I'll take it to a shop in Taupo today and see whether they can fix it, and if not, i'll replace it or I'll leave you mine. I'm sorry.....
So that was that - the crossing itself was quite disappointing as the fog was so extreme that it was even hard sometimes to find the next marker stick which showed us the way. and of course we didn't see any of the "sights", only the emerald lakes but the wind was so strong that we tried to get down as soon as possible from that point as well.
When we finally arrived at Ketetahi Hut it was so full with frozen backpackers that we didn't really stay and I just got out of my wet jeans and decided to wear hotpants for the rest of the track that was still better than long trousers. some of the guys seemed to think that was really funny :)
well after all we managed to get down and tackled the whole crossing in 6 hours instead of 9. that was probably beacuse we didn't even have any of our lunch as it was just too cold to stop walking.
the rest of the day was good, we basically spent it in the spa pool of the hostel and had an early night. over all, I found it quite challenging and I was pretty scared in some parts but it's still a good experience....:) sorry again about the cellphone, i hope you're all fine, say hello to josh and fay and have a gr8 day lovya cora
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Randoms Cuts
Cora mowing the lawn in the eclectic random style of Jackson Pollock
The artist model ...
The artist model ...
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