Capturing the Moment

Great Oceana Trip in Review  Australia: Adventure Down Under Day 1 of the adventure    Four countries in a month and a half with Myles and Jack as my surfing, diving, and adventures buddies through it all. A lot of planning went into where we would go and what we would do but ultimately it would come down to weather, waves, and a little of that famous Gillespie luck to pull off what I had planned. Now that I am back home in Oahu, looking back at all the pictures and remembering all the experiences, I would saw that we accomplished 99% of everything we set out to do, plus a bunch that we stumbled upon on the way. Exploring inland Oz   It started for me back on Nov 15th with a long flight from Honolulu to Australia. Ending up in Brisbane, late at night, I was thrown into driving a right side steering wheeled car thru unfamiliar territory to a hostel with no way in. I fought the urge to rubber neck as I drove through downtown Brisbane and managed to unhi...

Looking back on New Zealand Hiking Mt Cook Mt Cook- We finished up our boat cruise through Milford Sound with the weather still clearing and the need to put some miles behind us. Milford is the end of the road and the farthest point from our departure city of Christchurch. I thought about heading the four hours back to Queenstown but it was such a beautiful day and driving in New Zealand is such a pleasure in itself we just kept going. As the sun was setting we turned off the main highway towards the tiny village of Mount Cook.   The mountain itself loomed in the distance, getting ever closer. Even in summer it is covered in snow which feeds a lake of pure turquoise water. We had to stop at several overlooks to take it all in. The picture postcard scenes here in New Zealand just keep getting better. Our hostel was one of only a few buildings that comprise Mt Cook village. It is a jumping off point for hikers and mountaineers. Wanting to take full advantage of the lon...

   Fjordland National Park is the biggest national park in New Zealand. It covers the southwest corner of the south island and has ice carved fjords, massive sea cliffs, lakes and valleys, and towering waterfalls. Multi-day hikes abound and since you can fill your canteen with water straight from one of the thousands of waterfalls your pack won't even be that heavy. Although it might be wet, everything is saturated here with the incessant rain. Looking back from the mouth   Of course as we neared the town of Te Anau, the gateway in Fjordland National Park, the rain started and didn't stop all day. Luckily the rain does not stop things here in the Fjordlands. In fact it just brings more waterfalls. Some of which dry up shortly after the rain stops. Our final destination was Milford Sound, the end of the road. From here boats leave a tiny harbor and spend a couple hours motoring around the fjord and out to the opening to the Tasman Sea. Fur Seals are often seen fr...

Queenstown, New Zealand   Queenstown, New Zealand   Queenstown is the epicenter for backpacker adventure thrills in New Zealand. Stories of bungee jumps, sky diving, canyoning, jet boating, luging, all in one day and bar hopping at night are things of legend out of this city. We had two days planned just for this one town so we got right to work when we showed up.   First thing on the list, buy advanced tickets for the world premier midnight showing of the Hobbit II. We waited in line for over an hour, behind a few people dressed as hobbits. Since New Zealand is in the first time zone we were the first ones to see the movie anywhere, and I couldn't imagine a more fitting place to see it, surrounded by the scenery of Middle Earth. Many of the scenes from the movies were filmed in and around Queenstown. View from the Gondola    We also packed in a Gondola trip up the mountain overlooking the town and a couple of luge passes, which is pretty much like g...