Thumbing a Ride South

By the time you probably read this, I'll probably be on a plane headed to a more southern location.

Both flights one and two have successfully made it down to the Ice and back. This brings third flight, with it's complement of skilled and dedicated firefighters, up to bat for the company. Now we get to live the thrill of living on the edge of the infamous "boomerang".

Those of you not familiar with the "boomerang", I first ask you to consider the best known trait of the ancient Aussie weapon. That is, for those less informed, for it to return to the thrower.

First flight was boomeranged (if I'm not mistaken) three times. Some of those ended up being short hops up into the air before turning around, others consisted of actually seeing the coldest continent before returning due to weather. Regardless, neither situation is preferable. The thought of waking up at 0400, dragging all of your worldly belongings in bags, standing around for several hours, and finally getting on the aircraft three separate times is not something I want to consider.

Therefore, I can only hope that the plane is in perfect mechanical condition, the weather on the Ice is tolerable for landing conditions, and any other unforeseen issues (such as the repossession of our aircraft due to the lack of government liquidity) do not occur.

That said, I will sadly be leaving the wonder and beauty known as New Zealand, never to return (for 4.5 months, at least).

In our last few days of being delayed in paradise, I managed to visit a few scenic locations in the area. Both were exceptionally rewarding in their own rights.

Yesterday, I managed along with a few other firefighters, to wander over to the small port town of Lyttleton. The weather was beautiful and the views were magnificent, the town reminding me a lot of Astoria, Oregon.

Also, as we explored the town, we came across a few interesting local items of interest. The first was the finding of, acquisition, and consumption of an energy drink containing real absinthe.

It tasted terrible, and I mention it only for the novelty of it. Also, it is quite pricey, as we collectively spent about $20 Kiwi on a four pack.

Secondly, we found real life Kiwi ice cream. I enjoyed Boysenberry. It was delicious. It also doesn't taste like ice cream found state side, though I can't articulate the difference in writing. You just need to try it.

Lastly, we found the "Wunderbar". Both Andy Warhol and someone tripping on acid, shrooms, and/or cannibus would have loved it. A very unique experience visually, if not a little frightening. Luckily the beer was cheap, though the output end of drinking proved odd. Let me just say that I didn't quite know what to do with a traditional Kiwi urinal. In the end, the task was completed, though not with the grace and style of a true Kiwi.

Today proved to be a little less exciting. I ended up wandering off on my own to a small beach town known as New Brighton. The weather was cold and miserable today, with spittings of rain throughout.

The beach and views were still impressive, though socked in. What really amazed me was the wild nature of the weather. It would rapidly change from being sunny and calm to suddenly kicking up with fierce winds and downpours of stinging, pea sized sleet.

After that, I returned back to the hotel to finish up a few last minute things before our attempt at leaving yet another continent. One critical accomplishment was the collection of a bottle of Grant's Scotch.

Yes, it is truly from members of clan Grant and the bottle is adorned with the clan seal. I purchased it out of both the novelty of it, and the fact that most people are bringing down something with them due to extremely limited availability of distilled spirits.

I, not being a large consumer of liquor since I have a strong preference for beer, plan to keep this rather pricey bottle around for decoration and special occasions.

Now that I've rambled sufficiently for what was intended to be a very brief overview of tomorrow and the last few days, I shall cease typing. Not, however, because I'm tired of rambling, but rather because I need to actually sleep before my 0400 wake up call.

Coffee and being loaded into a flying freighter will be the order of the day.

That is all.