March 24, 1998
Subject:  From Queenstown, Otago Region

G'day,

What a beautiful day here in Queenstown, alongside Lake Wakatipu and the 
Remarkables Mountain Range.  This is a perfect serene small town.  I would 
even go so far as to call this place a paradise.  It has everything from small 
town charm, to exhilarating heart-stopping activities.  This is the birthplace 
of the bungee and they let you know it.

I started my Kiwi Experience tour last Wed and I'm with a great bunch of 
people.  I've been traveling with a couple English girls, a Dutch girl, a 
guy from B.C. and a bunch of Danish girls.  A bunch of us have gotten to be 
pretty close friends.  We started the tour by traveling to Nelson in the 
Marlborough area just outside of Abel Tasman National Park.  That night, I 
went on a beautiful scenic airplane ride over the park when at 9000 feet, I 
just happened to have fallen out.  Oops.  Well, okay, actually I was kinda 
hanging over the edge when someone pushed me.  But don't worry, I'm still 
alive.  Luckily I was attached to an instructor.  Yes, I made the jump... 
took the plunge.  What a rush I tell you.  Once the chute was open, the 
scenery was breathtaking.

The following day we hiked and cruised through the Abel Tasman Park.  That 
afternoon, we were off to Westport along the Wild West Coast of the South 
Island.  We stopped at Punakaiki to see the pancake rocks and blowholes.  We 
spent the night at a secluded lodge in Hokitika where we had a barbie and a 
huge party.  Unfortunately, to get into the party we had to dress in drag.  
I've said it before and I'll say it again... I make a very ugly woman.  
Afterwards, we went down to the beach and had a huge bonfire all night.  
I borrowed a guitar and played some tunes.  What a blast.

Then we were off to the Franz Joseph glaciers where we took a helicopter 
ride to the top of the glacier and hiked through it for a couple hours.  
It was like being in Superman's fortress of solitude... a completely different 
world.

Afterwards, we drove off to a little town called Makarora where I did the jet 
boating.  I was fortunate to pick the only seat in the boat that got completely
soaked.  We had a keg party that night and the Canadians challenged the 
English (Pommies) to a boat race.  It was fixed since we really did win, but 
our driver, Gibbo, took the side of the Pommies.

Next day, we were off to Wanaka where they had a 3D maze that you can wander 
through.  It was also a place that you could try your hand at all different 
types of puzzles.  And then yesterday afternoon we got into Queenstown where 
we booked our activities and we will stay for a couple days.

Tomorrow I'm off to do some hang gliding through the Remarkables Mountains.  
And then in the afternoon I'm off to do some white water sledging.  That's 
using a boogie board through the rapids instead of a boat.  Anyways, I'm off 
to do some hiking this aft, so I'll sign off here.  I may be able to email in 
Christchurch on Saturday, but I'm flying out to Auckland and then home on 
Sunday, so I'm not sure if I'll have time.  I tell you, this vacation has 
just flown by.  I think this was the best trip I've ever been on.  I'm gonna 
have to come back to this side of the world real soon.

Take care everyone and thanks for listening to all my babbling.  See you 
(most of you) in 6 days.

Rob