American Views Abroad

 
Before officially joining the 50 something crowd next Tuesday, my sister decided on having a grand adventure and is spending some time down in New Zealand. Here's her report on how it's going.


Hi All --

Checking email on NZ and thought I'd sent out an update on my "adventure". Here's what I've done so far:

- Went snorkeling, loved it once I learned how to use the mouth piece and not swallow half the Pacific Ocean. Definitely want to do this again.

- Went mountain biking and had my heart in my mouth the whole time. Single track riding which means you are on a skinny, bumpy, rocky little rock that drops off a cliff. One member of the group did drop off down the side but was stopped by a tree - she's ok. As God is my witness, I'm never mountain biking again. I walked half the way.

- Road biking excellent.

- Went on the longest swinging bridge in NZ and that was cool to walk across.

- Went into a cave at night to see glo-worms. Glo-worms great but walking on an uneven surface in the dark with only a small light - not much fun. Don't think I'll be doing this again soon.

- Hiked with mud up to my ankles and crossed a river with water up to my waist while linked to 8 other people so the current wouldn't drag us downstream. Loved it as long as I'm with someone who knows what they are doing. Boots very wet for a very long time.

- Went kayaking on a lagoon and loved it. We go kayaking on the sea later this week. I think this is a good activity for me.

- Passed on the hike on the glacier as walking on ice as never appealed to me and it was pouring rain. Also, chose not to do the steep hike on very slippery rocks. I fall walking down the street in NYC for God's sake. However, took less difficult hike in the same area, which was quite nice.

I'm clearly on the wimpy side of this group in that at least half the group is out para-gliding and parachute jumping today and I'm planning to read a book in the botanical gardens of Queenstown! Great group of people (10 of us) and 2 wonderful leaders. NZ is as beautiful as they say and the weather is mostly ok and we don't let rain stop the activities.

That's all for now. It's great being someplace where the sun is out till 9:30 at night though not as warm as I thought it would be. Stay well.

Love, Carol

- posted by Gloria @ 9:52 AM