Last Week

Hi there

As mentioned in the last post, I've spent the past 6 days Backpacking in the North Island. Below is a simple video containing pictures from these adventures.

The beginning contains pictures of natural hot pools in the Rotorua area. Lake Rotorua is actually a Caldera, or in other words a massive volcano which erupted and then collapsed in on itself. Rotorua smells like rotten eggs, and though I removed the audio in the making of the video, most of my commentary includes 1. how unbelievably hot it was and 2. how stinky it was. 

In Rotorua I made friends with my roommates, shared a bottle of wine and a tin of spicy Pringles, taught them about geocaching, went geocaching, and promised to invite them when I decide to bike across America. 

THEN you see three lakes. I met a german girl and we traveled together to these lakes.

I accidentally took an extensive hike and we swam in the first lake pictured, Lake Tikitapu or Blue Lake. Right next to it is Lake Rotokakahi or Green Lake which you cannot swim in because the Maori believe it is holy. Next is Lake Terawera.

Here we met an Irish girl who was traveling for a year in New Zealand alone and stopping random places along the way to work and make friends. 

Next we see more hot pools, a Maori Village, more hiking tracks, blah blah.. and then we get to Black Water Rafting in Waitomo. Here you will see just some of the many attractive pictures of me Absailing in to  the depths of a cave, riding in the dark on a donut inner tube under thousands of glow worms, and overcoming claustrophobia in very small spaces.

Next comes Bill, Please refer to "This is Bill"

Then I ride a train, meet a guy, from San Francisco, and his mom. Pictures from an incredibly long and surprisingly difficult hike and THEN

THEN

you glimpse in to my experience of climbing Mount Doom. or Ngauruhoe (NAIR-UH-HO-EE)
I may not have made it to the top if I had not made a Canadian friend at the bottom who was just dumb enough to climb it with me.
It was not easy. In fact, it sucked to climb. However it was amazing, and completely worth the struggle. Then I completed the trail in between three volcanoes and down to the other side all in about 9 hours. My feet may have suffered permanent damage that day.

The pictures at the end were taken first, but I forgot about them until I had edited the first part, and for the sake of my sanity I did not start all over. Those pictures are from climbing Mount Maunganui in Tauranga on my New Zealand Birthday.

So there you have it. An extremely thorough description of a less than 4 minute video. I am now just outside of Wellington staying with a couple who I know through other people (because that is my life). Who knows what the future holds! I guess you'll have to wait and see.