My final two weeks in South America consisted of a 17, then 28, then 18, then 8 hour bus ride from Ushuaia, up through El Calafate, Bariloche, Mendoza, Argentina and finally Santiago Chile a second time to catch my 14-hr trans-pacific flight to Auckland, New Zealand. Needless to say, I was knackered when I got to Pat's place in Wellington. A good week of catching up over a few scotches was well deserved.
Patagonia is a beautiful place and reminded me of the small slice of Western Canada I saw years ago. The Perito Moreno glacier was awe-inspiring. The glacier groans and cracks as it slides down the Andes and dumps into mineral-laden turquoise lakes between the Chilean and Argentine Andes. Watching ice-bergs calve off the glacier was a deafening and silencing experience, which seems to be becoming the norm in this dream-like adventure I have undertaken over the last few months. In Bariloche, I spent a couple days on some moderate hikes. The area is littered with sheltered lakes and surrounded by out-shoots of the snow-covered Andes. The only thing tarnishing my experience in Bariloche was the swiping of my Apple i-phone. Unfortunate, but just a phone in the end. Otherwise, I managed to escape South America hassle-free. During my three days in mendoza, Argentina, I met up with Seb and Gary, two English guys who play pro rugby in La Liga (Italy). We rented bikes to go on a full-day wine tour. Do they think driving a bike drunk is less dangerous than a car? They're probably right. However, driving your bike after about 10 glasses of red wine, having sat in the sun all afternoon, overlooking wonderful vineyards can be an occupational hazard when mounting the said bike to return home. After a few falls and losing my ray band sunglasses, I made it back to the hostel in time to hit the bed sleeping.
June 8, I departed for Santiago, Chile, where my New Zeland-bound flight was departing from. I met up with Maudi and Eva, whom I met during my first visit to Santiago. We went to a night club function that served as a fundraiser for Earthquake victims in the south. Evidently, my thirst - and subsequent empty wallet - will have definitely gone to the benefit of another, which I was proud of.
June 9, I departed for New Zealand. Now sitting in Australia, I am astonished that nearly two months has passed since I left South America. After visiting with Pat and Hilary, I left for Rotorua to soak in the Polynesian spa (a real outdoor spa. Not a rub n tug) where they have therapeutic outdoor spas that are surrounded by Lake Rotorua. Feeling rejuvinated, I kept on north a wee bit to meet up with Ben, my kiwi friend whom I first met in Santiago and travelled up the Atacama desert and Bolivia. A few obvious celebratory drinks were in order down at the local pub watching the N.Z. Maori (New Zealand's aboriginal representative side) versus England. Maori won and so did Marc's wallet. Ben, myself, and Ben's mate Dave, headed up to Dave's cottage in the Coromandel penninsula (across the bay from Auckland). The cottage was located just on the outskirts of the National Park, on the banks of the Rangi river. A little solar panel on the roof powers the only necessity - The sound system. Stingray, Ben's 3yr old border collie, found and killed himself a big possum. Possums are a major problem in New Zealand, people are encouraged to kill them whenever possible. Unique, considering they are protected in Australia. After the cottage, I took the bus to Auckland where there is absolutely nothing going on. I couldn't be more bored in that city.
So, in need of some increase in adrenaline, I flew to the south island town of Queenstown, the adventure sport capital. In Canada on July 1st, we celebrate Canada Day. On July 1st, the Kiwis also show us a good time for our birthday. I can't tell you how proud of a feeling it is when your birthday falls on the national holiday. I ended up going out with 4 Aussies, who got me pretty wasted on the famous tea pot shooters at World Bar. We then heard there was a wet T-shirt contest going on at Buffalo Bar. I ended up meeting loads of Canadians in there, dressed in hockey jerseys and Coonskin hats. The bar staff were overly generous to me as well when they found it was my b-day. Somehow still managed to spend way too much of my own money, ha. In order to properly bury the hatchet on my birthday, I decided that it was time i went bungee jumping. After a hungover hour walk up the forest trail, I got to the top of the cliff overlooking the city. They strapped me in and away i went. You get a sense of vertigo when the fella tells you to put your feet over the edge and look down. He has to hold you back really tightly as your inclined to fall forward. The jump is over in seconds, but what exhilarating fun that was. I got a great photo album out of it too.
Bussing north to Franz Joseph along the west coast is a wonderful drive. This time of year there is lots of snow on the mountains and the lakes and trees teem with colour. Once I got to Franz Josef, I went on an ice-climbing trek. Ice climbing is an awesome sport. It's pumped full of always-on-the-edge rush and requires good leg strength. The repel down is also a fun reward after grinding your biceps and quads for what seems like an eternity when you're up there. Moving on north again, I got to Greymouth. This was the first time I tried hitch hiking. It is quite common place in NZ to hitch hike. After waiting for about 20 minutes, an Australian mother and daughter picked me up and dropped me off in Hokitika. In Hokitika, I waited another 20 minutes or so where a fellow on his way back to Greymouth named Paul, picked me up got me the rest of the way. I went on a tour of the Monteith's brewery and tried some really good micro brews. I unsuccessfully tried for a couple hours hitching a ride to Nelson, but eventually just got on the bus. Nelson is a cool place. It is the sun and fruit growing capital of NZ. Nearby, you can also find many vineyards in the Picton area, where Pat's uncle Keith and his wife Karen live. I then took the Inter Islander ferry across the Cook straight. Mistake. It was a very rough day on the water. The Cook Straight is the meeting point for the Pacific ocean and Tasman Sea currents. Once back in Wellington, Pat and I got tickets for the New Zealand All-Blacks versus South Africa Springboks Tri Nations rugby. What a game. I normally cheer for South Africa, but they were gettin' pounded in this game so I found myself cheering for NZ by the end of it. Pat's Air Force mate, Luke was also in town. He met with some other Air Force boys after the game. We then met up with Hilary and some of her friends for some drinks at a couple watering holes downtown.
The following Monday, I left for Sydney, Australia where I met up with Jon, who is studying south of Sydney at Wollongong. After catching up over a few glasses of scotch, we started hammering through the first 2 seasons of Breaking Bad - awesome show. The Illawara valley is a fantastic drive. Even more fun Jon's hippie mobile! We hosted a few mates from Jon's program on Saturday night before heading out to the Hotel, as they call it. I then flew to Brisbane Saturday, where I met up with Jonny Ebanks and Craig Strain, some rugby mates from Montreal. The rest of this past week has pretty much blended into one long night as we terrorized various local social venues - with a few Bourbon n' cokes & Kebabs along the way. Craig, his brother Spidey, and I went to the Brisbane Broncos game Monday night for a clash with the Sydney Roosters. Do not let the name fool you. The Roosters are a scary team. Broncos lost a close one, but it was an exciting first Rugby League experience for me. I met up with Joh Beirne yesterday at the Normanby. I first met Joh when we traveled together in Europe a few years ago. The Normanby is a huge patio where everybody goes on Sundays to party it up and end the weekend in fashion. Spidey and his girlfriend, Joanne, are going to be travelling through South America next year. I'm already jealous of them as they are about to embark on an awesome journey!
I depart Brisbane two days from now, bound for Los Angeles and ultimately Toronto. I have a mind storm of emotions going through my head right now. I am sad that this part of my dream is over, but anxious to get home and see Sara, my bro Ryan, and all the others - you know who you are. I remember being in the planning stages of this trip not that long ago. I then quit my job, moved back to Ontario, filled my backpack and away I went, not knowing what was coming up around the next corner. The 'unknowns' aspect and challenges of travelling is what really helps you grow as a person and I feel I am the benefactor of this. I have been writing in this blog hoping I could put into words the experiences I have lived over the last 7 months. Truth be told, I could never truly describe the re-charging of the mind and soul this adventure gave me. I feel that there are monumental things to come over the horizon. I also have hope that we could, if we truly wanted to, to make this world a livable place for all - insert commercial for Jared Diamond's book 'Collapse' here. If you've ever had a dream, no matter what it is, follow it and don't ever let the nay-sayers tell you what is... You have the ability to do anything you want. If you are truly committed to something, work hard and take action to actively pursue it!
Thanks to everyone who has followed my adventure. I hoped you enjoyed reading this blog as much as I enjoyed writing it. See you all soon back in Canada.
