Day 39 of 100: What were you doing on 10/10/10 @ 10:10am???

We took the 10/10/10 10:10am flight from Sydney to Ayres Rock (Uluru) so it was already a very special start for the day. Usually when you travel with a friend, you two will probably sit together. However, our strategy changed this time. In order to make sure that we could take some pics of Ayres Rock up in the air, we decided that i would get a window seat on the left and Selina would get a window seat on the right and we’ll see whose side would have the first glimpse of the Ayres Rock up in the air. Guess who was the lucky winner of this competition between Selina and me? Of course, I am the lucky winner !!!

Over the years of global traveling, I have developed a habit of getting a window seat and taking pictures of the city or landmark up in the air...I will upload some of my collection of up in the air pictures later.

After checking into the Sail in Desert hotel, we met up with the tour group that took us to Kata Juta champagne sunset and BBQ dinner under the stars. Interesting setting of all these Ayres Rock tours that usually the coach driver will also provide commentary along the way and they have another guide following as well so that they can split into 2 groups: One for more extreme hyper-active participants like myself. The other for more leisurely and less physically demanding participants like S_l_na [which i shall remain nameless] :-) I took the harder way to climb up the valley between the rocks so i was rewarded with an awesome view and photoop. Later,i heard from S_l_na that the view she got wasn’t bad either.

Sail in the dessert hotel @ Ayres Rock

Inside kata Juta

When it was time to see the sunset, the two guides set up the champagne counter and each of us was given a stool to sit on to face the rock turning super red.....magical huh?






Dinner time! Sky was clear and we were far from civilization. We enjoyed a nice BBQ dinner with a special bonus of kangaroo kebob. It actually tastes like beef....After dinner, the guides told us all to close our eyes and only opened after the countdown of 3, 2, 1...when we opened our eyes, the lights surrounding us (so that we can eat our kangaroo meat) were all turned off. The only thing we saw was numerous stars shinning upon us. When i saw numerous, i meant countless no. of stars right there above us. Never seen anything like that before in my life. It is as equally spectacular as the Northern light i witnessed up in the artic circle during one of my adventure side-trip when i studied my MBA in Norway. Too bad that i cannot take a picture to capture the moment but that image i think will forever mark on my mind.

Day 38 of 100: Ziptrekking in Queenstown

Pararomic view of Queenstown

Wearing all the gear ready for Ziptrekking!



The weather has been cold and rainy. Just like yesterday we had our Milford Sound cruise but the pouring rain almost made it invisible. I just i just have to come back and experience the amazing Milford Sound all over again. Today, I had a ziptrekking appointment. I did my ziptrekking in downtown Vancouver during the winter Olympic. (note: 1st ziptrekking ever being set up in a downtown setting!) It was free but i lined up for like 5 hours for the 30 seconds thrill. The Company which set up the ziptrek also operates the ziptrek in Whistler, BC and Queenstown. At the end of the ziptrek during Olympics, they gave each participant a 10% discount card. Of course, being me, I didn’t take the easy way, i.e. trying the one in Whistler as i live in Vancouver. Instead, I went all the way to downunder to try the one in Queenstown. Oh well, thats me. Anyone, according to the operator of Ziptrekking in Queenstown, I am the first one ever that took that discount card they gave out during winter olympic to Queenstown. How come I am not surprised by that??? 

Anyway, it was partly cloudy today. When i went up to the mountain where the ziptrekking was set up, it was actually snowing a bit. We were the first group of 8 to ziptrek today. There are altogether 4 ziptreks and it was getting longer and longer. The guide even taught us how to be upside down as well as all other styles. Of course, when you are on the ziptrek, you can hardly control which direction you face or whether you are upside down or not. Check out my video for the last ziptrekk which has an amazing view of the snow capped mountain surrounding Queenstown.

Day 36 of 100: Fun / Interesting / Zen Moments in NZ

This is my first time to go to New Zealand. As a matter of fact, this is my first time to go downunder. Therefore, there were lots of interesting / fun moment as well as what i called ZEN moment to share with you. Check them out.

Zen Moment 1: The beach


Zen Moment 2: Waterfall


Interesting Moment 1
Do you know how I got all the sheeps to look at the camera? The answer is in the video !

Interesting Moment 2: Core Values for a restaurant

Day 35 of 100: Helicopter Hike @ Franz Josef Glacier

Today, we were booked for taking the Helicopter hike @ Franz Josef Glacier. Basically we, as a team of 6 , including our guide Ryan,  took the helicopter to the top of the glacier and we hiked in the surrounding are for about 2 hours. We walked under those ice caves. I even tried the ice which was so pure and crunchy !!  Make sure you check out the pictures and also the helicopter ride video up to the top.  The ride itself was just stunning. My friend Selina mis-step into an ice hole and was stuck there. Our guide was trying to save her. Did he succeed in saving her at the end? Check out the video by yourself for an answer...

Helicopter ride to the top of the Glacier




Was Selina saved by the Guide??????

Taste so good!



My helicopter...:-)

 

My Team mates

Day 34 of 100: Arriving at Franz Josef Glacier from Christchurch

Bottom of Franz Josef Glacier

We rushed to the Sydney airport to fly to Christchurch, New Zealand last night after the Sydney Bridge climb. We didn’t know what to expect in Christchurch considered that they just had a 7.1 earthquake and seems some buildings were seriously damaged. When we took the taxi to downtown, seems like majority of the town are fine.

Another early morning for Selina and I because we took the Transalpine train today from Christchurch to Arthur Pass then coach to Greymouth then another coach to Franz Josef. The train was nice. I think it is very similar to the scenic train in BC/Alberta that people take from Vancouver to Jasper or Banff.




We finally arrived in Franz Josef and we checked into Glen Fern Villa. The front desk operator was super nice and we were a bit surprised that it wasn’t just a hotel room. It is a whole house with a backyard. The whole villa was surrounded by snowcapped mountains as the background and facing a huge farm.





We enjoyed the new home a bit then we rushed to visit the glacier. We are going to take the helicopter to the top of the glacier the next day so we were walking to the bottom of the glacier today. I had never seen a glacier in my life. Strange but true given i studied in Norway. Hmmmm...anyway, we saw the bottom of the glacier from far but people told us it took 1.5 hours to walk back and forth. It really didn’t look that far but when we started walking, we knew that it really takes at least 1.5 hours of intensive walking to get back and forth. It was raining a bit but we kept on walking and we finally got rewarded for the up close view of the glacier.

Day 33 of 100: Sydney Bridge Climb

This morning, I met up with my other friend , Selina who would take the adventure with me for the next 2 weeks. Good luck, Selina! We met up at Sydney Hilton for breakfast and then we headed to the Sydney Bridge to climb the bridge. Fortunately, the weather was good and the sun has come out. We arrived, we changed into jumpsuits, we practised with climbing the stairs and we finally went out to the real thing. We pretty much walked on the narrow catwalk alongside the bridge structure until we arrived at the arch of the famous Sydney bridge. Selina was afraid of height so need to thank her for experiencing this with me. We walked to the highest point of the arch and then across and came down. Of course, we could pretty much see all the surrounding area from the top of the bridge but tourists like selina and i, would automatically lock our eyes on one of the most iconic structures in the world, yeah, you guessed it right...the Opera house. The whole climb was about 3 hours and it wasn’t that demanding as selina originally thought. Since we were not allowed to bring camera, we pretty much have to purchase the official yet expensive photos at the souvenir store. Here are some shots we took from the adjacent tower and you can see i was trying to swallow the opera house...LOL

Can you see those people climbing up the Sydney Bridge???? We were one of those in the morning.

Having fun with the Opera House!

Artistic Shot from Selina (Thanks!)