A Trip to Middle Earth - New Zealand's North Island
April 12 - April 27, 2004
Activities not pictured, but wish they were:

* Surfing in Raglan
* Cave River walk in Waikato
* Skydiving in Taupo
* Hang Gliding in Queenstown
(Left) SkyCity.  (Above) City of
Auckland, 1/3 of the NZ
population live here.
 (Left) Carving on Waiheke Island (Above)
Ferry Ride to Waiheke Island.  (Right)
2000 Yr old tree, the Tane Muhata
Pictures taken
during Ferry
ride through
the Bay of
Islands, outside
Paihia in
Northland >>>
Being followed on the Ferry
 Dolphin spotting
Leaving Auckland - View of
Volcanoes throughout city
 If you have a chance to take a
picture of a cow in a volcano
crater, then take it!!
 Raglan Beaches - took surfing
lessons here.  Where Endless
Summer was filmed
 Raglan Sunset - Wow.
Rotorua: Pictures
during Maori
Challenge, a tribal
ritual for entry into
village >>>
Intro to Challenge - I was
chosen as one of the 5 bus
chiefs to be challenged :)
 Maori Chief entry
 Maori Chief exit
Rotorua: A walk
around the
Lake brought
on some nice
shots >>>
Tree shot
Taupo: A
thermal areas
of NZ - Also the
city where I
went sky diving
from 12000 ft !
>>>
Lady Knox Geyser and New
friends, Jenna  (England) and
Sophia (Sweden)
 Thermal pools/waterfall boondoggle during
the bus driver's "off" hours
The
Tongariro
Crossing.  A
spectacular
7 hour hike
outside of
Taupo
Some how, some
way, a bunch of
backpackers find
few friends :)
I believe 8
countries are
represented here!
Taupo area mountain range
 This is me.


Hole in the Wall
Uninhabited beach stopover
Maori Chief choosing a
challenger - I am the 4th one
down
Me, a sled, and a Class IV rapid;
yep.
Hi Mom!
Safe and Sound...what's next?
Sun shot - awesome!
The Black Swans of NZ
The Black Swans of NZ
Thermal area
"Mt Doom".  Note, the cloud is
covering the eye :)
My one good picture in the country's
capital: Wellington
New Zealand is a spectacular country!!

After 11 straight years in the technical support and sales world,  I decided to take a
sabbatical.  I booked a flight to New Zealand and would spend 4 weeks backpacking
through the North and South Islands of Kiwi country.  Sweet As! (NZ slang for
Awesome!)

I left the States on April 12th (US) and arrived on April 14th (NZ) in Auckland.  And
here is what I found (Click on thumbnail pictures for a better view!):
Sledging! Learning
how Not To Die ;)