what an animal

Some of you know Tiffany's weakness for cuteness. but we're not talking babies here. We're talking animals. But not really dogs, for example. And neither wild zebras. Really, farm animals. Well, we came to the right place here in New Zealand. They have so many. Sheep, of course. But also a variety of cows (including a shaggy scottish breed), Tiffany's favorite the goats, and also llamas and alpacas, along with ostriches and emus. The even have the kuni-kuni, an odd variety of pig that is the first mammal brought to NZ!

We had a couple of different experiences with all of these animals. First, we went to "The Agrodome" near Rotorua, which is an agricultural exhibition tourist attraction, and they have a farm tour where they take you around and show you various plants and animals, but you get to feed some of the animals, which is really fun. Tiffany looked like herself in a little picture she has from when she was about 6 years old at a petting zoo!

Please View Agrodome Photos: http://bitjug.com/gallery/Agrodome

The other opportunity we had was in Queenstown, at the "deer park" which offers guided tours but you can also drive yourself through the animal park and buy food from several dispensers. Imagine several very large animal enclosures draped across some foothills, and you have an idea. There were just about all the animals we had seen before, but we also got to feed the aforementioned kuni-kuni, get up close with the scottish shaggy cows, and practically give the deer a hug! All in all, an unusual tourist experience but one I really enjoyed as well!

Please View Queenstown Park Photos: http://bitjug.com/gallery/SouthAnimals

surf's up

I had been looking forward to trying Surfing at some point. Some of you know I have some experience in other board-sports and besides that a love of the water (especially the ocean), but this combination I had never tried. Whenever I visit a beach, I want to swim in the ocean, even if the water is cold.

I had heard, however, from several people who had tried surfing for themselves that it was very difficult and exhausting. You have a few factors, which I experienced firsthand: 1. you have to paddle yourself around a whole bunch to get in position, which tires you out surprisingly quickly, 2. meanwhile you're getting pounded by the waves, and 3. if you can catch the wave, then you try to stand up on the board and promptly slip right off, and you start back at 1. So where's the fun?

Well, I was very fortunate to choose Raglan, North Island, New Zealand to try it out,~> read more (with photos)

  because this area has very wide beaches with a very gradual change in depth out from the beach, and the waves break a good distance out from the beach for a large portion of the tide cycle. I was doubly fortunate to arrive on a day when the surf was very small. I didn't know this before I started, but small waves make it easier to catch them (at least with a learner's board), and it's certainly less work to fight them.

So, I took a 1/2 day surf lesson, where I spent about 4 hours out. we practiced how we were going to jump up on the board and stand up on the beach before we got into the water. When we got into the water, I caught the first wave and tried to jump up. For that split second, things were feeling good, but I had a thought of "I can't do this on the first try." Well, on the second try I stood right up and rode along. I was really surprised, because I expected it to be so much more difficult to learn. I must point out again, though, that I had wonderful conditions to start. Also, I have done a ton of snowboarding and quite a bit of wakeboarding, which particularly contributes. And on top of that, all I was doing on that second try was riding along, nothing fancy.

So, I was fortunate to stand up on just about every wave for the whole lesson. My instructor told the other students that it wasn't fair when someone like me was in the class, because I made it look to easy. Needless to say, I was very excited. I came back the next day alone and spent another 4 hours. The waves were much bigger that day, so I had to learn how to apply my techniques to these new conditions. I fell off a few times at the beginning, upgraded to a shorter board midway and fell off a couple of times again, then started falling off even more in the final 45 minutes or so when I was getting REALLY tired.

All in all, I had a great time! I even surfed near Kaikoura on the South Island when we were there much later in the trip. This area has no sand, only 6-36" rocks (not sharp, though), which was a challenge in itself. Make no mistake, I am still quite a beginner, but I feel fortunate to have a good start!

More photos here, including a neat sequence Tiffany took: http://bitjug.com/gallery/Surfing-Raglan

The most hilarious non-adrenaline activity

It's called ZORBing. No, you don't think you are going to die as you might in bungee jumping or skydiving, which are both very popular here in New Zealand, at least for tourists.

You see, kiwis have invented this huge clear vinyl ball. It's actually two balls, an inner and outer one, with thin bungee cords and inflated air in between. The outer layer ball is maybe 12 feet in diameter, the inner one more like 8.

so, what do they do with these strange things? Stuff you inside and roll you down a big hill, of course!! There is a way to strap a person to the inside. But there's more! The really fun way to do this is not to be strapped inside at all. See, the genius thing to do is just hop in (there's a little hole you can squeeze through, then they zip it shut), and have them dump a bunch of water in. Better yet, make that warm water! Instant washing machine! As you're careening down this hill, you're sliding around inside this huge ball, totally unable to control your orientation.

but wait, there's even more! What can make this even funnier? Add a person you know and love to the same ball! This way you are both flopping around uncontrollably in warm water as this huge ball rolls down the hill, for what seems like 5 minutes but is probably more like 45 seconds.

You may have guessed that Tiffany and I had the chance to try this craziness together. For right now, the place to do it is Rotorua, in the north island of New Zealand. It's right near the Agrodome which I plan to talk about in another post. There is some talk that they will be opening a ZORB operation in the smoky mountains in tennessee. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend it! We have the photos: http://bitjug.com/gallery/ZORBing