You don't have to go far...

Hi.

There's a large number of tourists here. To give you an idea, imagine AU's quad in high college-tour season. That's about what it's like all over here, except most of them are Asians with high-tech photography equipment.

As you may imagine, for someone seeking the solitude and uninterrupted natural beauty of New Zealand, these teeming hordes of tourists can be quite the gear-grinders.

Long live Peter Griffin.

But then again, I'm also a tourist... hm.

Today, though, I realized that I need only step off the beaten track by twenty feet, take the road less traveled, so to speak, and I'm completely alone. For example, I was just hiking along the Waikato River on the Huka Falls track, thinking two things. The first thought was "This is so beautiful. That water is so bright blue and green! The forest is like a jungle! Where the hell AM I anyway?!" Then I started thinking, "Jesus, please take these people away and let me have the Waikato to myself."

Well, fuck Jesus. I only had to walk twenty feet.

So now I sit on the rocks, almost dry from my luxurious dip in the warm river (it's partly geothermically heated). My only worry now is "Jesus it takes a long time to put sunscreen on my entire body..."

No one is to be seen.

Another example of this beautiful phenomenon of tourist escape takes a slightly different form: skydiving. Sounds great eh?! IT IS!!!

Got a lift around noon today to 12,000 feet. I did a tandem jump, meaning someone who knew what the hell they were doing was strapped to my back. There were seven others plus their "tandem-masters" (really, that's what they call them) and a couple of cameramen, the total being about sixteen.

I was to go out the door first. The dude on my back-Henrik-does a final check of my straps, which is somewhat reassuring, then heaves the sliding door open. The wind and noise are incredible. He directs me to swivel on the floor and dangle my legs out of the fucking airplane! I'm holding my shoulder straps, looking 12,000 feet straight down with full knowledge that my time in the airplane is running very, very short. You have never felt anything like this. This would have been a bad time for Henrik to notice a loose buckle-four kilometers above Lake Taupo and I stop breathing. My heart...well, you can imagine.

Without any warning Henrik shoves off. Falling! We do several flips in the air. All I can see is what is right in front of me-somehow I've forgotten how to turn my head. Sky, plane, lake, land, sky, plane, lake, land... You can imagine the inital rush, but what really surprises me is how freefall actually feels.

Perfectly normal. Completely natural. It feels as natural as riding a bike, just a lot scarier. What a killer view. I could see for miles in every direction once I remembered to use my neck.

After a short forty-five seconds at terminal velocity Henrik pulled the ripcord. I was jerked up gently. He did some minor acrobatics and landed softly on the grass next to the airstrip.

This is the company I went skydiving with. It was only $145NZ, which is $101.31 USD, according the the currency converter. 100 BUCKS! So cheap. And a better view than you'd find in most places.

Well guys, that's all the news from Taupo, New Zealand. Post on this blog. Keep in touch. E-mail me, tell me what you're doing.