Liz and Richard's 2007 Adventures

Swimming with Dolphins!!!

Liz here - I have always wanted to swim with Dolphins - we've seen them from boats but not been in the water with them before.  A friend (thanks Sarah!) told me about Swimming with the Dolphins in Kaikoura (90 minutes north of Christchurch).  It's a very well run operation that books up months in advance (only 13 swimmers are allowed in the water at a time)...........so I booked it in November.

We have only a few photos we snapped from the boat before we entered the water - Richard had a disposable waterproof film camera we haven't developed yet - but it all happened so quickly we don't know whether there will be any shots.

The pod of over 200 dolphins passed under our boat - we left port at 6am after donning full wetsuits and hoods (water is 16C), masks snorkels and flippers. 

The dolphins are nocturnal feeders and are now just goofing off for the day....mating (like humans they are always receptive, but only conceive seasonally) playing, leaping and examining these strange creatures - us!

The experience was magical.  The dolphins appear around us like wraiths.  You make actual eye contact with their huge orbs.  There are young calves paired with their mothers.  Then they disappear.  Other dolphins materialize out of the watery gloom, investigate us and also vaporize.

The experience is magical and momentary.  It repeats randomly.  The dolphins are in control - we are the curiousoties.

If you ever get a chance - swim with dolphins!

Tanks for the Memories - 3 Videos!

Yesterday Richard drove a Centurion tank - more commentary to follow but first here are three videos taken by Liz - Richard is at the controls and Matt (the tank "wrangler") is hanging on outside the tank

Video #1 - Richard starts around the circuit (approximately .5 km) and videos #2 and #3 are as he comes into the corner - you can see the dust first!

Tanks for the Memories - or Richard has his Michael Dukasis moment - #1

Richard has always had a fascination with tanks, so when Liz found a place that lets
you drive a Centurion tank it was a must do.

The service has a number of vehicles you can take for a spin on their ATV rack.  Matt, our trusty mechanic and historian gave us an interesting guided tour of each vehicle and let us sit in the seats, play with the knobs and generally act like kids in a theme park.

First, the Ferret Scout Car.  Matt suggested that is was the most fun drive of all.  Armour to stop small arms fires.  Like cheese for a 50 cal.

A Saracen 6 wheel recon vehicle/APC - similar to what Canadian troops are using in Afghanistan

And a British APC - FV 432.  A relatively modern APC - more comfortable, somewhat safer

Next the Hagglunds BV206 articulated vehicle.  Two independently driven sections that can climb a 6 foot vertical wall.  Works on snow, desert and and can ford rivers u to 6 feet deep.  The perfect upgrade for the Rosedale soccer mom bored with her SUB and even her Hummer - great for taking kids to school and shopping at Pusateris!

Onto the Centurion Tank - 5.2 tons, 600hp, 12 cylinder Merlin engine, 105mm gun (breach and bore welded closed; Machines Guns x 3 removed).  We clamour around in the turret, awed by the horrid reality of what actual combat must be like in this steel behemouth. 

There is nothing pleasant about the inside of the Centurion.  Nothing is soft and comfy.  Levers, pedals, dog clamps jut out everywhere.  It is an engineering marvel without humanity.  All is sacrificed to killing efficiency.....just crawling inside it is a lesson on the fragility of the human body.

Following is the gunner's position

Next post - Dickie suits up and takes the Centurion for a spin!!

Tanks for the Memories - or Richard has his Michael Dukasis moment - #2

Richard suits up, goggles and face mask.  Then, a lengthy lesson on how to drive the monster. 

4 gears and a clutch that is cripplingly hard to depress.  2 levers activate turns - far easier said than done. 

Watch the revs, find the gearshift, shift it, watch your revs, depress the clutch (actually push so hard you think your knee joint is going to pop. 

Then....we're off with Matt hanging on the side and yelling instructions.  No seat belt, but at 52 tons nothing short of another tank is going to slow you down.  We run up and down the gears, weaving through the course.  The dust is suffocating.  Visibility sucks.  The power is awesome.  It is a life lesson and experience.....one can only fantasize about doing it with the hatches down, the guns firing and the bad guys firing at you. 

Following are photos of the instruction session and then 3 videos of "Ricky Rommel" underway

And he's off - here's the video and a pic - I'm reposting the video as some had problems with it.......there are 3 videos in all so I'm going to post them separately

Tanks for the Memories - Video #2 - Watch for the Rabbit!

Here's the 2nd video - Richard's cousin Arthur has an eagle eye and spotted a rabbit running as the tank comes around the corner - we laughed hysterically when we saw it - thanks Art!

Tanks for the Memories - Video #3 and Richard alights from the tank!

Here's the final video - and a photo of Richard at the end!

Tank Videos - could you view them?

Some people were having trouble with the tank videos and the Milford Sound ones as well - I reloaded the tank videos separately - pls advise if you can view them ...... leave a comment - thanks!

North Island New Zealand - 90 Mile Beach and Bay of Islands - #1

Posts are a little out of order (no kidding!) - following from our visit to the Bay of Islands and Cape Reinga - the northern tip of the North Island of NZ.

The 90 Mile Beach is on the western side of the northern tip of NZ.  It's a wondrous world of hard packed sand, beaches, dunes, wild horses, fishermen, legends and folklore - following are pics of the beach, north and south

The thought of taking our rental van for a spin on the sand conjures up amusing (and costly) visions of our own personal lesson that tide waits for no man....we decide to hire a guide.  Driving the beach is permitted but really requires knowledge, and a LandRover!

Gordon is larger than life.  He's big, his stories are bigger, he laughs, he jokes, he cajoles - we love him.

For starters, Gordon is married to a retired female professional wrestler.....a lady whose trademark move was the "Sabrina Slam".  They have 8 children between them.  One is a mercenary in Iraq serving his 2nd contract as a private guard.  He's planning to come home in 60 days because "it;s getting crazy dangerous". 

In his life Gordon has been a coal miner, a tunnel hog, a long haul truck driver, a carpenter and then he started the touring company whose van we're in.  We could not make this up.  We spend a delightful day with him.  The Beach drive is enchanting and the conversation is delightful.  If you're ever marooned on a desert island, you need Gordon along.

Getting to the beach we pass through lovely country with our obligatory gnarled trees and a backdrop of dunes

The cowboy is still alive in NZ,  looking even more macho than members of the Village People!

As we work our towards the coast, there are "travel brochure" shots of secluded beaches

More to come!

North Island New Zealand - #2

We start our beach run at the Northern Tip of New Zealand - 11.2K kilos from Vancouver

At the head of the beach we pause for a picnic (all part of Gord's services!) - enough food (great seafood salad, chicken, et al) for an army.  We swear the gulls recognize Gord as they line up for handouts (note the gulls have red feet and bills compared to the North American yellow.....but we're still not sure if the water swirls the opposite way down the drain)

The beach and the dunes are lovely, with intermittent rock spurs that the 4WD surges over.  Some of the spurs have eroded into natural bridges, others are platforms for fishermen (the fish were clearly running the day we were there)

Gordon is, of course, full of charming anecdotes - some historical, but most recent involving the village ass - too much booze, a rising tide and an expensive car.  He assured us that at the last storm this chunk of debris was revealed to be the upper part of a vehicle lost to the tide

Who were we to argue?  The tale was rich and charming.

There are few people and fewer vehicles on the beach.  Wildlife is still relatively undisturbed - wild horses and numerous sea birds abound.  The wild horses were particularly elegant

Still more to come!

North Island New Zealand - #3

On our tour with Gord we did encounter the most dangerous indigenous species....the local constabulary checking guide licenses.  Much against character, Dickie managed not to do the "we're international tourists spending money in your country" speech and Gordon was left to handle the issue without problem.

Then we went sand boarding on the dunes!  Turns out Liz is a natural - (if you know me you know I'm not exactly the "sportif" type - so this was a bit of a surprise!).  There are some interesting features to this sport - going up the dune you keep climbing because the sand is so hot that if you don't lift your feet, they burn.  Going down you're reminded that snow melts when you get it in your mouth/eyes/nose/elsewhere.....sand does not.....and two days later you are not still shaking snow out of your shoes, shorts and elsewhere!

We have alot of photos to try to create the sense of the ride - but the internet connection is slow....

Going up......

And coming down.....

The legs high in the air was the desperate attempt to stop before I hit the water pool at the bottom!

A triumph of capitalistic marketing......one of the local restaurant/souvenir stores provides free fresh water showers for the tour drivers/guides to get the salt off their vehicles....in exchange the tourists hit the store.  It's a fair and creative system - Gordon washed his truck, we buy nothing.