Quick Update

Here's the quick and dirty since I last posted. . .

Wednesday - drove to Hokitika, explored town a little, camped at nearby Lake Mahinapua;
Thursday - explored paths around the lake, went back into town to get some supplies for the weekend river trip, drove down the coast, had a walk on the beach in Okarito (home of novelist, Keri Hulme, The Bone People), had dinner in Franz Josef, camped in Okura;

Friday - drove to the Waiatoto air strip, met the group (15 rafters, 3 raft guides, and 12 kayakers), helicoptered (in shifts) to the put-in, hiked around a little, ate dinner in the shadow of Mt. Aspiring, and camped at the put-in;
Saturday - guided a raft of 6 people (and their gear) down the first 20k of the 40k stretch of the Waiatoto River. We started with quite a bit of flatwater, but then navigated a number of Class 3-4 rapids. The rapids were mostly shaped by very large boulders. Some were big mazes of boulders and others were narrow, but steep, drops that were formed by boulders. The size of the boulders (blocking our view) made it hard to boat scout at times, so we did a lot of scouting from shore. We (the rafts) portaged one drop, but ran the rest of the rapids.
Sunday - finished with another 20k stretch. There were a couple more big boulder gardens and a huge rapid that brought the whitewater to a big finish. After that we had about 10k of flatwater. That wouldn't have been such a big deal, but we had some pretty burly weather kick in towards the last few rapids - driving rain, howling wind (upstream of course), and a little bit of hail here and there. Eventually we got back to where we started. Once off the river, we threw all of our soaking gear and our soaked selves into vehicles and headed to the Haast Pub. A group of us then proceeded to the town of Wanaka, where we stayed inside a warm dry "backpacker's" hostel for the night. Yay, a bed!

Monday - took a lazy drive to Queenstown with two folks from the trip.
Tuesday - regrouped. Kayaked the "Roaring Meg" stretch of the Kawarua River with the local paddling clubs.
Wednesday - drove to Te Anua, considered the gateway to the Fiordlands.
Thursday - took a tour of Milford Sound. Camped at Lake Manapouri.
Friday - drove to Invercargill, found a computer, and typed this update.

Like I said, the quick and dirty. Those are the bare essentials. I'll try to give more detail when I'm able to upload some pictures, but that'll have to wait until I find a computer that will do so. Let's just say, my recent travels have made me feel as if I could fly home tomorrow and already have had the trip of a lifetime: amazing scenery, challenging whitewater, great people, great conversations, great fun, and a ride in a helicopter. . . who could ask for more.

I woke up this morning with the question of - What next? Why am I here? I went about my morning routine with that question in mind. As I was leaving the campground, a Maori gentleman stopped me. The only other time our paths had crossed was for a brief conversation last night in the kitchen. I was ready to get on the road, but he looked intent on having another conversation with me. I didn't know how to take it at first, but then he told me that, during his morning prayers, "The Great One" asked him to talk to me. He wanted to let me know that, after seeing the "outside of New Zealand," I should learn more about the "inside" of New Zealand, i.e the medicine, food, culture and spirituality of the Maori people. I was touched my his belief that he had a message for me, and I hope to be able to absorb some of the wisdom of New Zealand.