The time has come to leave Wanaka. There is much to do here, but I am exhausted and cannot do it justice. Instead, I pack my bags and walk a few kilometres to the main road. Here, after much waiting around, I manage to hitch a lift 300km from Wanaka to Franz Josef, via Lake Hawea. I am too tir...
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Nothing much happened today, friends. I got up, hitched a ride from Frankton to somewhere around Cromwell, and then another one from around Cromwell to Wanaka. My first ride was in a bus, would you believe it? It was being driven by a fantastic old guy, who was driving three girls from the Kiwi E...
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Once I am out of Mossburn, I stop to catch my breath and readjust my backpack, which already weighs a ton. My knees throb and the lunacy of attempting to run 22km in this condition has dawned on me. Still, at least I have made some good distance towards Five Rivers. Casually I check my watch for...
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Today, I shall hitch hike back to Queenstown from Te Anau, after a week of walking in the mountains. Sarah and I have managed to get as far as Mossburn; I have jumped out at the turnoff for Queenstown and she has continued on to Dunedin, on her way back home to Candada. So here I stand, on Highway...
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I'm going to be honest here. The Routeburn Track was a bit shit. The walk itself was clearly wonderful, but the weather was simply atrocious. I had hoped to spend at least 3 or 4 days meandering through the mountain pass, having long lunches and taking lots of photographs. Instead, I pract...
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I wake upon the final day of the Routeburn Track and check my clothes. They are drenched. All of them. Squishing myself back into my boots, I hit the road. I shall not be taking my time today. I shall be running, wherever possible - until I reach THE GREAT DIVIDE! In reality, the Divide is just th...
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This is not how I imagined starting my three day hike through the glorious mountain pass of the Routeburn Track. Having hitch hiked my way from Queenstown to Glenorchy, I have been walking ever since... It is about 26km to the start of the track. I have 19km left. The day is passing too q...
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OH MA GAWD! SIM BOWA MUST BE 50...60....70...134 METRES HIGH! HE CAN'T BE THINKING OF... DOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMBBBBBBUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!! [gallery type="rectangular" ids="3197,3196,3194,3200,3199,3198,3201"] There are only 2 bungy jumps in the world higher than this one. It...was...AMAZING!...
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I wake to a hum of pain about my body. There was nothing enormous to lift in the park last night, so instead I performed a series of exercise and feats beneath the full moon. When exhaustion claimed me, I fell to my knees and reconsidered my vows of adventure. Then I drank some free beer ...
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The days have become ablur. Not a blur, mind you, for they are a series of distinctly separate blurs, including the blur of being kicked out of Cheeky Monkeys nightclub, the blur of repeatedly falling off a surfboard, and the one long blur of my daytrip (trip being the operative part of that word) t...
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I arrive in Byron in the middle of the night. My hostel, Aquarius, is a maelstrom of humanity – some of which is...sticky?! Apparently tonight is “Girls Wrestling In Jelly For Cash Prizes...Night”. I'm pretty broke...and I have long hair... Perhaps if I had a shave... The fatigue of the...
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Contrary to its nature, hunger fuels me. It has been around 30 hours since I last ate and it feels good. It makes me more...alert. Perhaps it is my carnivorous nature, but after feeding I feel slow. Actually, that is probably because I feast until I am bloated... Thus, the Guild. Eyes keen and...
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So this is Brisbane, my transfer to Byron Bay. The second I land, I realise I have made a mistake by sacrificing all my plans in Queensland to save a few bucks and a week of my time. In reality there is no need to rush, but always I feel the pressure. It grates on my soul. Immediately, I miss th...
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My alarm goes off to the sound of rain hammering on the window. Good. This justifies my decision to leave the Cairns region and seek adventure elsewhere. The rain has ruined too many plans already. As my mind clears and my eyes open, I realise something. This is not the sound of rain...this i...
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On the way to the coffee planation, we stop by Barron Falls to see it in full flow. After being rained on for my entire visit to the rainforest, I am fairly certain the falls will be raging like Thor in the hall of Thyrim! They probably won't be dressed in a bridal gown, however. That would be a ...
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Today is the weekend and, here in Queensland, that means the pace of life slows down even more than usual. It is almost stationary...and blissful. I sleep in and we head out for a late breakfast at the Edge cafe. It is amougnst the most expensive breakfasts I have even eaten, but also amoungst th...
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Today, I have been told that the Cairns Trinity Beach Bulldogs have put me on their team for tonight's match against Cairns City Lions. I suspect they are simply one man short of a full team. (If that sounds like a euphemism for being crazy, I stick by it entirely). Still, the Guild knows no fear...
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Luckily for me, tonight's Aussie Rules training is mainly just drills. The guys have a match tomorrow, so they don't want to get too bashed up in the pre-match training session. Also luckily for me, everybody here is friendly and inviting; they include me immediately and don't even mock my u...
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Today will be busy. To start with, we are heading back to the tree house to clean, tidy and put up some walls to keep the worst of the rain out. I'm actually quite excited; not only do I love the tree house, this is my first chance to hang out properly with Matt – the man who built the tree hous...
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If it keeps on raining, the levy's gonna break...and by 'the levy', I mean my list of forest-based adventures. Some Led Zeppelin would be perfect right now, as we relax around the house of Phoenix Murray, wonderful son of Juss Murray. He has provided us with a roof over our heads and a second eve...
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