Today we had to unpack the camper-van, (it was mine and Rickard's doings), clean it and return it. It went smoother than I thought. Robin and I then went to Maui to return it and that went extremely smooth too. Since we had a swap of cars in the beginning, Maui didn't know much of the car we returned and so we didn't have to pay more than the distance from Auckland to Christchurch in diesel tax. No hassle, pragmatic thinking of the Maui-employee, as most of the NZ persons act, even government seems to have a more forgiving than punishing way of handling things. Not at all like Swedish government and culture. We had to fill in a evaluation-form what we thought about Maui and the treatment and car we had. My answers was mainly very positive.

When we came came back the apartment looked exactly like all apartments that we is using, stuff all over. Susan was still resting after yesterdays boat-ride/seasickness and the rest was having a swim in the pool or making food. A typically resting day, we have not had many of these.

Actually we was supposed to do a tour with dolphins when we was in Kaikura, but it was full booked at that time. So we tried to get on a list to get it later. But we had no luck with tat so Susanne found another place that offered the same thing in Akaroa. Well almost the same thing, here there was not the big dolphins that had surrounding the boat at the whale watching excursion, but a smaller type, called the Hector Dolphins. They where threaten to die out and this was almost the last spot they lived on now. Well they where on other places too around NZ but there is only about 7000 of them left.

The road out to Akaroa was a little bit curvy the last 10 km before we came there. This peninsula 70 km outside Christchurch was an old volcano too so we had to pass a summit. On the way down to the sea again we where amazed with the looks. It was totally astonishing.

To swim with the dolphins we had to go by boat out almost to open sea. The waves got bigger as we approached the sea but there they where. Hector Dolphins is about 1.20-1.40 m long full grown. There calfs just about half the size. We had wet-suites on so the water 15-16 degrees was OK to swim in. The water was rather murky though so we didn't see that much under water but we had about 10 of them Hectors around us so we got a good look on them when they passed us just half a meter away. Curiosity made them come so close cause they wanted to look what it was that clicked. We had stones that we clapped together under the water and they heard that and wanted to have a look at it. They don't see any further under the water than us so thats why they came so close. Otherwise thy use sonar to navigate.

All went terrific until we where to enter the boats again. The big waves and the rolling boat was too much for Susanne and she got really seasick, as did some other persons on our boat. We had to go back to the harbor. On the way back I put my eyes on some birds that I first thought was seagull childs, but it was Blue Penguins. Now I realized how close to Antarctic we where.

Today was the day we drove down to Christchurch, the city we is supposed to stay in for the rest of the journey and fly home from. Even if the flight home was some days away it still felt a little like the holiday was ending. A very sad feeling. On the way down we stopped at a beach just outside Christchurch called Waikuku Beach. We had now learned that the Wai in all names was the Maouri name for water. It was a lovely beach like the Baylys Beach we had visited the first day in NZ.

In Christchurch later we entered the biggest camping site we had seen in NZ. It was a Top 10 and had very high standard. We rented a Tourist Unit and to our surprise it had 2 sleeping rooms and a kitchen/living room. We started to get organized, did the laundry and made this our home for the rest of the stay.

Rickard has been eager to go quad-biking since we came to NZ. This was the day we had the opportunity to do that, so we boys went to a place where there was a center for adventuring like bungy-jump, jet-boating, quad-biking and cart-driving.

Update:
We took an trip to the Hanmer Spring adventure place, a river canyon with the road going over on a very narrow bridge. After registration at the desk we waited half an hour before our guide came, he told us that we where not allowed to drive faster than him, but that was not a problem he went very fast and the track was dusty, so dusty so I who didn't have any sunglasses had to top once in awhile to rub out the dust from my eyes.

We drove at first down to the river Waiau, as all the rivers this time of year it was just a wide stream of rocks, and passed some small river branches. The water was just half a meter deep so with some speed we made cascades of water when crossing. It was dirty and fun and we learned how to get up in speed so the return went a lot faster.

This day I wanted to rest a bit with my book but the others went whale watching early in the morning, which meant that I had to go up early to. The start of the tour was at 6.45 and they went away with the bus. The time went quick and soon (10.00) they where back. They had seen 2 whales and lots of dolphins, albatrosses and a seal. I was majestic to watch the whales, at first lying still for 20 minutes catching its breath and preparing the next dive, and then dive with its tail hovering a second in the air before vanishing in to the dark sea down in the grave 1200-1300 meters down.

The olphin swimming under boat">dolphins where playing around the boat and jumping and rolling in the air. I regret a bit I didn't follow them on this trip, but hopefully I'll get to so see the dolphins at another time. The rest of the time we spent going up to Hanmer Springs for a mountain trip.

When we woke up this morning the rain-clouds was hanging heavy in the sky. It was perfect for the activity we had booked for this day, rafting in a RIB (Rubber inflated boat) along the Clarence river. We where supposed to be picked up at 9 o'clock at the tourist office. And just a few minutes late a old Mitsubishi van with a nice lady came and we drove half an hour to her farm. She told us her husband Ben was the guide and she would only do the driving. She also said that she had been to Sweden (Karlstad) once but she didn't remember so much about the country cause se was mostly partying at that time. I felt that she was different then the women on the north island, more basic with her feet more steady on the ground. This was a feeling I felt from more than once here on this island.

Ben was also of the same sort, really friendly and with the with an intense love for what he was doing, both as a rafting guide and as a furniture carpenter. He took us up together with his wife 15 km up the stream and we put in the RIB in the water. He gave us some lessens how to behave in the boat and we where off. After only 5 to 10 minutes we stopped at a cliff and he told us to get of and jump from the cliff down in the stream, The jump was at its highest 5 m but we could choose to jump from other heights as well. We all jumped.

Rafting was fun and we went down the stream rotating the waves when there was white crest on the waves. Susanne was enjoying this to sitting in the back talking to Ben all the time. At one place we stopped and took a swim in the streaming water, they carried us fast down-stream and we floated along the river with tickling joy.

Ben told us that he also had a tour for 4-5 days from Hanmer Springs down to the ocean, a trip going on for 220 km. If we get here once more in life I'd really like to take that tour.

It rained all the time but that bothered us not at all, on the contrary the air became cold so the water felt warmer. What a day!

This day was also a traveling day, this time buy boat the first part. It was a rather big ferry that took cars and trucks. Almost like the ferryboat to Denmark, but it did not have any stores onboard. The sea-journey took 3 hours and we landed in Picton. The first you could see was that tis island had higher mountains. I drove a bit, but since we had to go up about 5 o'clock this morning I wanted to rest a bit and Robin and Lotta drove down the coast to Kiakura where we had decided to stay. Kiakura is a small village with beach feeling, and from here you could go on many tours of different kind, like Whale watching, Dolphin and Seal swimming, White water rafting and so on.

We got information about the weather, tomorrow rain, it said and we decided to go rafting the following day. If your getting wet it doesn't matter if there was water coming from the sky also. Swimming with Dolphins where sold out until the first of mars so rafting was the best alternative. Anna took a bath in a swimming-pool and I dived deeper into a book that Susanne handled to me. I liked it, it was a book by Liam Hearn about samurais and feudal wars.

I was really curious about Wellington, a capital with not more than 200.000 persons. I could see why, there was no space for more buildings, with the mountain on one side and the bay on the other they had to build the city on the shores. We took the bus down from Lower Hut and visited the city, it's information center and a big NZ museum. We also took the cable-car up the mountain to the Botanic garden.

I thing this city would be nicer to explore with a motorcycle or a small car. We could only see the downtown area this day and I was not so impressed as I had been in Auckland. But I hopefully didn't find the city secret places this day.

After climbing the mountain we drove not to the camping site we where before but maybe 50 kilometers south to a village named Okanuna. I was a bit tired so that distance was long enough. We came to another Top 10 Park, but to our surprise we did not get that friendly welcome as we had on the other places. It was a young girl that just did here duty as she probably thought herself. But with no service mind at all. The camper-van got its place though and Susanne got her room to sleep in, it was big and had a eating alcove.

We decided to move from this village, a ski-resort, early in the morning. I went to buy some breakfast in the local grocery-store. The early customers in the store was mostly Maori and boy are they tall and strong. Some of the mans where longer than Rickard and four times his width. I could understand that they see themselves as warriors.

Well the rest of the day we spent driving down to Wellington via Masterton. Masterton is a little town where Peter Jackson is supposed to have his other house, the first one is in Wellington. We had been driving down a completely flat landscape before and a bit after Masterton and we did only have about 30 km left to Wellington when suddenly a green jungle mountain appeared in front of us, we had to go really slow up the dwindling roads up to 555 m above the sealevel. They probably don't have the knowledge to build tunnels in this country.

In the avning we came to Lower Hutt where we should stay for the next 2 nights. Lower Hutt is a little city just outside Wellington.

We had to go up very early this morning cause the people at the reception told us that the walk up on Mt. Ngauruhoe (aka. Mt. Doom in LOTR) would take 6.5 hours, for an ordinary trained trekker and they had seen 70 year old persons go up but they had to struggle, they said. Well with my stamina I probably would be in that category.

After having a sturdy breakfast we drove the car to the base-camp Mangatepopo. Susanne and Anna wanted to stay at base-camp and chill this day, maybe drawing or painting the surroundings. It was astonishing to see how the nature changed so quickly from ordinary Irish sheep-hills to Kebnekaise nature. We started at 10 o'clock and we hoped to be back for a nice ready dinner at 17.

Robin took the lead with a backpack filled with video-equipment, Rickard carried the water and Lotta the food. Since I carried the the most heavy burden I had no backpack. I was carrying the Ring. A Ring of fat round my stomach and the higher we came the more this burden felt. After a light walk up the first hour we started to climb up to the saddle between Mt. Doom and Mt. Tongariro, the walk up was hard for me but I rested now and then so when we came up to our first food stop I was filled with confidence that I would make it.

The last part of the climbing looked hard, the mountain was made of lava gravel and quit steep. That meant 2 step up and 1 step back and was supposed to take 2 hours. I was, not surprisingly, the one that took most breaks and the others had to wait for me all the time, the Ring really felt enormously heavy now and I was crying for "Samwise" to carry me the last part. Well as always when it feels totally impossible to take another step more, the path became lighter and we saw the top and understood that we would make it. At the top of the volcano we saw that smoke came out of the side of the crater. We had done it! We had beaten the Mountain just like Frodo and Sam did, and that only in just 4 and a half hour from base camp. We where now at the top 2287 meters above the sea-level.

We stayed for half an hours before gliding down the step side of the mountain, now and then gliding on our backs down the gravel. On the way down I heard Robin shout something and he was pointing up where I had been a minute ago. I looked up and there came big stones tumbling down right at me. I rolled to the side and saw them passing me 2 meters away, thank God for caring children.

The last part of the walk I was trying to run to Rickard who had gone in advance, but he was also running so I did not come any closer until I stepped into the caravan again and saw the pasta dinner Susanne had prepared to us. I was back and looked up on the dark mountain we had conquered. Hmmm, I think I forgot to drop the ring up there, but it does not feel so heavy anymore. Strange.

The caravan park we slept at this night was a Top 10 (teeeen) again same company as the first day in Auckland. They are a little bit more expensive but usually they have a little higher standard then the others. This one in Waitomo was no exception from that. It had both jacuzzi and a big pool and also wireless networking over the whole park. It was a joy to wake up and see the nature and the surroundings.

Today was a transportation day and the only thing we looked at was a place called the Shearing Shed, a little house with a shop where they sheared rabbits and sold the wool and knitted clothes from these gigantic angora rabbits. Anna was in heave and she was standing next to a big one, patting its fur. I hope we got a good picture of one of them.

After that we traveled to the center of the north island. I wanted to see the mountains and wow did my dreams come through when suddenly, after driving a couple of hours, we saw the mother of all mountains, Mt. Doom. A horrible black shape in the distant with the bigger and snow-coated Mt. Ruapehu at its side. What a sight. After a stopping in a little wild west village on the way, making and eating a nice indian korma curry we drove close to the two mountains, to a camping site called Whakapapa. It was sited near a river and as usual Susanne wanted a cabin to sleep in. The site had more of a ski-resort feeling and the cabin was big and nice. Our plans for the next day was to climb Mt. Doom, who actually was called Mt Ngauruhoe, so we warmed up this evening with the third movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Otorohanga was our next stop. New Zealand has been Maori for a 1000 year and that has infuenced the names on places alot. Its rather hard to remember all the names when Maori language inst your first language. Most places starts eith W ot K, like Waikiki, Wangarei, Kiakia etc.

This town was called Otorohanga anyway, it had a little bird zoo that displayed som of the rare NZ birds, especially the Kiwi which is a national symbol. Actualy all New Zealanders are called kiwis. The Kiwis (the birds I mean) is a night working bird so they where kept in a house with only a weak lamp. We had to use nightshot on the camera to get it on the picture. Actually I thought I saw 2 of them the second day we where in Orewa. We drow by a big field in the evening and there was two live once at maybe 50-100 meters distance.

The other attraction we visit this day was the glowworm caves just south of where we had slept. We visited two caves, Aranui and te Waitomo, the first where up in a mountain and the other was down in the mountain with a river floating in it. Because of the river the glowworms where hunting insects that cam with the river and where lost in the dark. The worms pulld out some strings that the insects where traped in. They used the light they emitted to attracts the lost insects. What a cruel world.

After the caves we took a stroll into the jungle and up a hill. When we came out of the wood there was a typically english farm landscape. Strange. NZ har a nature that is so tight, you see ordinary trees, pines an such, just next to some palmtrees and all these parasite veggies is growing around the other trees. But you also see fields with grass like it was at home in Sweden, its rather confusing for me.

This day we started to take a bath at the hot spring in Miranda, it was a sulfur smelling experience. But it was pleasent in the water with 37 degrees in the water. After that we drove down ti Matamata where the hobbits where supposed to be.Well there was no hobbits at the Alexander farm today the only hobbits we did see was very sheep alike. So after filming the landscape a little we continued to our next camping site.

Today we will hit the road again, first going to the Wangarei waterfall. It is supposed to be one of the north islands most scenic one. So now we will have to unpack the big camera.

Well it was a nice waterfall and we took a lot of nice pictures. I'll put them on the photo site. The kids took a swim down under the falls but the water was really cold. After that we went to a really nice japanese restaurant, even Susanne thought it was delicious and she is starting to enjoy japanese food.

The rest of the day we spent in the caravan heading towards Miranda Hot Springs. A camping site with some sort of warm spring pool. We arrived late and was met by a strict woman popping out commands about what to do and what not to.

This will be our first one-day stop here in NZ. The friendliness from yesterday stays. The guy that owns this camper site at Baylys Beach is so sweet. The weather is fantastic and we are having a good time. The ocean has lots of big waves and we took a swim when we woke up. Lotta and Robin went to the beach first and the tide was little tricky so Lotta had some trouble swimming into land. But I thought it was fantastic, 19-20 degrees and full with wave-crests.

There is a little shop-bar-restaurant here called Sharkey's I hope that points out the fishes that lives in the water. Susanne wanted to sleep in a hut this day so we rented one and slept inside this night. Our comuter was showing an old film "Rules of Engagement" with Samuel L. Jackson.

This day we spent waiting on a new camper van at the camping site. The new car arrived at 18.00 so there is not much to write about this day. Well I went u the bus to downtown in the afternoon an bought a new power adapter to my dear Powerbook. On the way to the Apple Center and from it I realized that this city was just beautiful and muck like San Francisco, with lots of hills and the same architecture on the houses. The feeling was that this city was lust a little bit more slow-downed and friendlirer.

Well after I came back we drove as fast as we could out from Auckland heading for Bayleys Beach. When it still was light we where astonished by the nice-looking nature but the roads where a little bit bumpy for the people in the back seat. We arrived at 23.00 at Bayleys Beach camping site and all was closed. There was a little bell at the reception and I used it. A nice man came up in his nightdress and said that we could take any place we wanted and come back and pay tomorrow. So we did and fell asleep without knowing how it looked here at Bayleys Beach.

We arrived in Auckland, New Zealand after a short stop in Sidney, at 12.30. Lotta was there and Robin did run in advance to see her. We where meet by a friendly passport police but had to stop for a while in the bio-control to get our tent disinfected. New Zealand have very hard regulations so they don't get any new deceases. We then took a shuttle to the Maui caravan renting company. And after some waiting we where on our way to Auckland city to buy a new power adapter to the computer. We where not to stay there cause we wanted to go north as soon as possible and it was only a city anyway.

Well when we arrived in downtown when every store that may have the power adapter was closed. So we decided to stay at the nearest camping site. Just outside the site there was a Pizza Hut so we ate dinner there. After the dinner we wanted to drive in to the camping site but the caravan did not start, something with the electronics in the car was wrong and the dashboard only flashed Error. So we had to call the Maui company. Unfortunately the company had closed for the day so an AA guy showed up after 15 minuted instead to fix the car, but he couldn't. So He called another guy that came and toed us in to the camping site. And all fell asleep the first night in New Zealand.

This day we woke up early to go to the airport, on our way there we stopped to pick up Robins Chinese jacket. It was really nice made, they must have worked all night to get it ready. The rest of the day we was traveling and not much happened. Air flight was ok but we did not sleep that much.

Yea, my power adapter was still back at home so I'm writing this a couple of day after it happened.

Update:
(Rickard later found my adapter when we came to the Wellington in his bag.)

Our first day in Thailand was a lazy one we did not go outside the hotel area, we where a little bit jet lagged and the hotel was so nice we just wanted to stay there. Drinking, eating and we also went to the archery park and shoot some arrows.

Next day we took a bus into the city of Hua Hin. We went to the market and looked at all the junk and the stinking fishes. Anna bought a skirt and Robin went to a tailor to get a chinese jacket. He decided the fabric and they measured him. The jacket would be ready by next morning so we could pick it up on our way to the airport. Anna did her hair and nails look nice at some Thai women at the beach. Robin and Rickard spent the evening at the pool bar drinking Pina-colada and swimming.

...in a little hut in Thailand. But the hut is in a luxury hotel i Hua Hin, or rather outside Hua Hin near a pineapple farm. Everything here looks like all the fantastic pictures from Thailand that you see in the travel-agency catalogs. Can't really believe its true. 25 degrees in the air and there is 3 pools in the huts garden that is just for me and my wife. One bathtub, one jacuzzi and a small swimming-pool. Coconuts in the trees, Robin's and Rickard's hut has a banana tree in the entrance with small bananas in it.

We where greeted by 4 people that took our bags yesterday and we have one butler, to each house, that are eager to please our needs. Our butler is a woman that is named Am and she helps us all she can, trying to explain how everything works here. She was impressed that our whole family was vegetarians and she said she will tell that every hour to new staff.

Well after a quick swim in our private pool its off to breakfast now. CU.

Oh nooo, it seems like I forgot my power-suply to my computer at home.

We have just arrived i Thailand for our first stop. The air-flight was just like any other 19 hour flight, rather boring and not that pleasant. But to our surprise it went smooth on both Landvetter, Heathrow and Suvarnabhumi Airport. Not that much people in the lines and friendly airport staff, especially here in Thailand. All our bags has also arrived safe, even Rickards floorball clubs, they are traveling in a special luggage package.

My wife borrowed 2 more suitcases from her sister so now we have some more space to fill. But we also realized that packing is not all that is left, we have to clean the house, buy more stuff and fix all papers and bills for the next coming month. My daughter also nearly broke here thumb last saturday, so now we have to go to the hospital to change plaster on her arm just a few hours before we go. Stressed? No not at all its only the excitement that drives my heartbeat up a few strokes per minute.

Yesterday I talked to two of my old friends that had spent their vacation on New Zealand last year, they where totally in love with the country and went talking about the places they had visited and where we must go. It was fantastic to hear but I almost wanted them to stop because with all the stories I heard, it was almost like I had been there already. But I'm glad they went on.

... before we go and we feel it. We have borrowed suitcases and such from our friends. I packed all the camcorder stuff today. We will have 2 Sony's and one Panasonic to shoot some nice movies from that fantastic country. I tried to convince the people at Quantas that I had to take it in the cabin, but they said that only 7 kilo hand-luggage is allowed, so I put the harddisks and the tripod in my suitcase. So my case is already filled. I think I can put some socks in there too, but thats probably all that the case will fit now.