Goofy Cousins

Glaciers

I’ve travelled a fair bit and I’m always hit by an interesting realization: it doesn’t matter how much cool stuff you see or what outrageous things you do; at the end of the day, the real memories are made by the people you are with.

James and Zeek have proved to be great travel companions. So I have to put up with the guy humor, toilet seats left up, and being the outnumbered one…But I don’t care because we’re having an absolute blast.

Close up of the glacier

Take today, for example. We woke up crammed in a little room (notice I haven’t mentioned our accommodations? Since the lucky upgrade in Queenstown, while our living accommodations certainly out-prize Asia, these are no 5 star hotels). We stumbled all over each other to get ready for the day and made way to the community kitchen, where we made our daily batch of porridge (yes, for those of you who know my fetish for a breakfast of oatmeal, the tradition still remains out here). We then commenced our road trip and drove to Franz Josef, home of a spectacular glacier. Originally our aspirations were to do a major hike, but after yesterday, we were tired (and frankly, my butt muscles are killing me) so we did a mini hike instead to see this glacier. I’ve never seen a glacier before and the view did not disappoint. To stand before a spectacle of ice and snow dressed in a tank top and capris is a privilege indeed.

Me (trying) to help Zeek grill the steaks

We then drove several hours to Greymouth, where we were thrilled to see that springing a couple extra bucks landed us a nice accommodation practically on the ocean. We actually relaxed for the rest of the day (for those of you who have accused me of being unable to relax, take note). The boys played catch on the beach while I read and fervently attacked my Soduku puzzles. We goofed off on the flying fox (a zip lining contraption for children that had every potential of hurting one of us, but we survived) and lived to tell about it. The day progressed with an amazing steak dinner we cooked (ok, truth be told, Zeek grilled the steaks), thanks to the barbecue our accommodations afforded us. We then played ping pong in the games room (I lost all games but gave it a valiant effort), sat in the hot tub, then played on the flying fox one last time (we got complaints the next morning that we were too loud and rambunctious on the flying fox at midnight). We then went to the beach in the pitch black, marvelling at the countless stars in the sky while the waves pounded the beach. It’s so neat to look up in the sky and see complete unfamiliarity; there is no big dipper in this hemisphere, but you can see constellations you only learned about in grade school.

Eating like kings

I’ve been on vacation for 6 days now, and I finally feel completely relaxed, and it’s great. Even though we sleep some place different every night, I’m sleeping like a baby, which is unusual for me. And this in spite of forgetting my magnesium. I feel great- relaxed, well rested, and energetic. I forgot what a great feeling this is. I really must try to maintain it.