Hitch Hiking is the BOMBdiggady!

Okay, so the original plan was to stay at the Shaskeys for a week.

Four weeks later and I think it is time to start moving. Don't you?

So out goes the thumb, after a big cryfest with the Shaskeys. And YES, it WAS just some dust in my eye, ok! It was hard, but had to be done at some point.

Tammy's Birthday Goodtimes!

So we got back from that trip with Matt so that we could have a surprise birthday party for Little Tammy Shaskey. Annette had arranged a surprise birthday rabbit shooting party. I almost thought the party was for me!!

So Tammy's good friend Carly came to the house and picked us up and we drove out to the farm where we were going to do the shooting. So where we get there all we had was a 22 and a half dead flashlight. We drove around on the back of this old ute for 45 mintues before we even saw a rabbit and then the flashlight died.

dang.

So we went back and got another one but it wasn't very bright. What are we going to do. So as we are paddock bashing, looking for bunnies, we drove by a friend of the Girls place. Alec was keen to join and he added another 22, a double barreled 12 gauge shotty, and a really awesome spotlight. We soon got three rabbits and took them back to eat. We ate the birthday dinner (no rabbits involved) and then went out again for an hour and only got one more. On the way back we chased a few more trying to get an opportunity for Tammy to shoot one (alec and I had done all the shooting thus far... he he eh..) And we finally cornered one and she got it hanging out of the window of the Little red corolla! It was sweet.

The next day I made the best rabbit in the history of the world. That's right, of the world. it was delicious! And the batch was so big that it fed over twenty people (in the course of three meals or so...)

and that is the story of some more goodtimes

Playing catch up now....

So I will now start t continue what was started as a blog of this trip, not just the first half.

Week three in NZ:

Hanging out with the YWAMers just down the road was awesome, and we got really connected with a Guy from Alaska that wanted to do trip down the west coast of the South Island. So we joined up.

It was a great time and we got to see alot on the drive including the following main thingers that people like to see:

-Castle Hill, where they did some of the filming for Lord of the Rings. Very cool area close to Oxford. I would like to go back in the summer so that I could do some bouldering there. Awesome rocks, but were too icy to climb on at the time.

- Cities such as Greymouth, Hokitika, Haast and other cities that are just cities/towns. Nothing too interesting.

- Franz Joseph glacier and the Fox Glacier. Both have shrunk so much in the last thirty years that they were not really impressive by any means. Beautiful area though.

- On the drive back we covered some ground that was visited on our first little trek down south so nothing new.

Jordan and I gave Matt some space because he needed some quite time, which was cool, so we just got him to drop us off at a couple different camping areas where we could fish. The first was on the Hokitika River. No fish. Second was in Albert Town near the Clutha River. No fish.

These fish are smarter here.

The trip involved alot of driving and hanging out which was still good. Not as action packed as I hoped, but wrong season really. We both really enjoyed hanging out with such a solid guy as Matt. Still good times!

Busy Week

So yes, this has been a busy week, let me break it down for you:



Sunday went to church and hung out with YWAMers and found out that a couple of guys from university were in Christchurch so we planned to meet them on Monday evening. Oh, and on the way home from church, Annette asked us if we wanted to go for a ride in a plane. It was kind of a random question so we were taken off guard, but were eager (keen) nonetheless. So that afternoon we met Dave who built his own little two-seater airplane. We got to go for a 15 minute ride each, and Jordo even got to play with the controls a bit! It was pretty sweet!!



Monday we helped out at the local YWAM base, building stairs and installing door closers. Then we went into town and met up with Andrew Gust (gusto) and Dan Radke (rad dan, boo radley, radski, redanski...ect.) and planned a trip down to Queestown.



Tuesday we left and drove the 6 hours to queenstown and hung out.



Wednesday the boys (jordo, radley, and gusto) went snowboarding at Treblecone near Wanaka, while I hiked to the next tow to do some flyfishing. It was fantastic!! I didn't even get a bite but spent the whole day with God and my rod and some beautifully clear water! I saw some trout rising and they were big by my standards, and it was just a good time. Also while I was fishing a lady approached me with a camera and told me that she was a reporter for the local newspaper and was doing an article on trout recipes and wanted a picture for the paper. The local flyfishing guide said his image was copyrighted so she asked me if she could take some pictures of me while I fished.... ok. So I am in the Thursday edition of the Wanaka Sun. How cool is that?



Thursday we were woken up by a pounding on the campervan door, upon answering we were greeted by "I'm Dave from the City Counsel of Queenstown, this parking lot is not campground, you have five minutes to get out of here. I am coming back in five minutes and if you're still here I'm giving you a 400 dollar ticket...."

LOVELY start to the morning!!

So we left, got changed and parked the campervan in the same parking lot, and went about for the day... it was fine. So for that day the boys did the nevis bungy jump (134 meters/ 300 ft) and I hung out at the library...cool... I hate heights.... then we met in the afternoon to do the shotover jet! WOW

WOW!

It was pretty awesome. i never knew it was physically possible to do the things they did in a boat! Power slides, 360s and all the time narrowly missing gigantic boulders on both sides! i can never discribe what it was like. so go do it yourself!

Friday we were in Dunedin. Nice town, but not as good as Christchurch. We did a tour of the Cadbury chocolate factory, which was pretty good. The best part of the tour was the overwhelming smell of chocolate. I tried to stuff some of the smell into my pockets, but I don't think it worked out too well.... The stupid thing was after the tour you get to go to the "discount" chocolate store which was STILL more expensive than the grocery store across the street. How bizzare, how bizzare....

Saturday we drove back to Oxford and stopped in sheffield for some award winning pies and Lift+ (the best energy drink out there!) And that night we went to an All Blacks game, and it was sweet!! All Blacks totally FLOGGED South Africa, even scoring a Try after the game had ended! We had seats taht were in the corner at the end of the field, and we were in the fifth row up, so it was great! All the tries of the game were scored at our end, most of which were right infront of us! Technically we were on TV (we watched the second half of the game, again, when we got back to the house) although you wouldn't be able to recognize us..... My point being that i got to be in the newspapers and on TV in a foreign country WITHOUT robbing a bank...

So yeah that was this week!!

This coming week should be good involving more camping and fishing! so stay tuned so you can catch me rambling on and on and On about fishing.......

Goals

I have recently read someone else's goals on their myspace and found it very interesting. I think goals can tell you alot about people. So I will tell you my goals, capische?

These are only in the order they appear in my head.....

- Get a dog. Yup I want a dog real bad. I think it will be a german shorthaired pointer.... but I won't bore you with those details...

- Buy a chunk of land and build my own house. I just finished the rough plans and think that it is going to be the SWEETEST house ever (if you like cottage-ish-ee looking houses, I hate modern looking stuff. Too clinical, cold and impersonal... ((sorry if that's your house))

- Travel at LEAST to every continent, fly fishing every one of them.

- Take a cooking course

- Hunt big horn rams in the mountains with traditional archery gear

- I want to refinish the inside of a boat, perferably one to wakeboard behind (yeah that's right Trev, I AM going to get your old boat someday..... and make it pretty...)

- Record an album and hear one of my songs on the radio (might have to be a short wave (walkie talkie) radio!)

- Climb the highest mountain in Canada, Mount Logan at a whoping 5959 metres elevation!! Also the highest point in Alberta, Mount Columbia at 3747.

- Wrestle a crocodile (didn't get to do that when i was just in Australia. I didn't see a single one in the wild and was worried about getting caught for jumping over the fence at the billabong sanctuary) But Someday................

- Be able to grow a handlebar mustache. Stupid connectors....

- Speaking of handlebars... I want to get my motorcycle license and a bike.

- Build an airplane. yeah sounds hard, but really is quite feasable. I just met a guy on sunday who made his own plane and it is the Bombdiggity!! ! even got a ride in it! It's addicting!

- Do crab fishing. Apparently it's the most dangerous job in the world, so i think that would be bragging rights, and it's killer money!

- Surf somewhere in Canada

- think of some more goals to add to the list!

I have found paradise!

Welcome to a land full of mountains, where "expensive" fish and chips are 4.80. Welcome to a land where everyone is friendly, to place where the trout are as big as my leg, a place where there are no hunting seasons or regulations. A place where I can wear a t-shirt in the winter but still get to snowboard

A place where complete strangers will go the extra mile for you.

WELCOME TO NEW ZEALAND!

So yeah, you guessed it. I love this place. It is the first place that I can imgaine living that isn't Alberta. This place is the perfect spot for me, I don't want to ever leave, unless it's temporarily.

We arrived at Midnight on monday.

Annette was so good to come and pick us up so late!

We awoke the next morning to find the most amazing scene from the bedroom window, with white capped mountains and beautiful plains, side by side; one after the other.

Beautiful

It's quite here

The Air is clean and fresh

So far we have been supposed to be working on the ouse as room and board and I don't feel like we have accomplished much for our wonderful hosts. Monday should get some stuff done.

So we have already accomplished one of my "Very Important Things To Do" List and that is

WILD BOAR HUNTING! with KNIVES

Today we were taken out by a local guy that the Shakeys know, to the mountains where, by the aide of his dogs, chased wild boar!! I got my first boar, and it was with my knife. Here's the drill:

you let the dogs go

they find a boar and start making alot of noise

you find them and kill the boar with a knife

everyone celebrates

The only downside was that my boar was the biggest of the day but still only weighed about 10 pounds. Not too dangerous, but now I know the drill and hopefully will get another chance to pick on one my own size, literally!!

Next thing is I am meeting a local fly fishing guide to talk a fishing trip, maybe he'll take us out for free....

thanks for reading!

End of Australia

So our time in Austrlaia has ended. All good things must come to and end right? Worng, Heaven doesn't end, so it's just the rest of the good things that end!

So basically we worked two weeks pulling runners off strawberry plants, and I know what you're thinking.... "that doesn't sound very exciting..." and you're wrong.... It's much much much more boreing than that! But we had good people to work for, work with and stay with, so what more could a couple of beggars ask for?

As a whole the last time spent in Australia was quite uneventful. The most exciting thing that didn't happen was me, wrestling a kangaroo. Poker night kinda took that one from me....


Darn


So now it is time to leave yet some more friends. Merv and Marilyn Schiffke were our wonderful bosses! Donna our great supervisor and all our co-workers were cool too! Tracey and John Denman once again exceeded our expectations at hospitality and we really enjoyed spending time with them and their family, so THANK YOU all of you!

One or two or three tidbits of bad news. We couldn't seel our surf boards because it is winter right now and no one wants them, so the Denmans will hold on to them for a few months to sell them for us then. Our car was sold for 100 bucks. Ask Jordo for that story... hmmm... and last of all, on my flight to NZ my camping stove was taken off me because it smelled like kerosene. I was SOOO mad. It's one thing if at the beginning of the trip they say you can't take a stove and you have to leave it at home, but to take away from you halfway through the trip so that there is no way to get it home but to spend more than it is worth in shipping costs.... arrgghh!!! I am getting steamed up again, I might even "lose my rag" (a cool new term I learned today...) So now a stove that cost me 90 bucks back home would cost me 120 to ship home or 200 to buy here..... stupid

Now to NZ

Yeah ye horay he he haa ho! Yipeee!

So the last little bit of our time in Australia has been pretty wonderful!! Here's what went down...

We left the strawberry farm and drove inland to Twonsville and decided that although Cairns is a "have to see" we didn't rely need to drive all the extra way just to turn around again. So we found a nice parking lot to stay in while we were in Townsville. Across the street from us was an info place and it was there that we found diving courses advertised. So we signed up and went to magnetic Island. We were there for four nights (part of the course was accomodation at a youth Hostel), and that was good because we weren't sleeping in the car and we could hang out with some guys from the course, but it was annoying because of the loud dance-crap music all night. Also while I was there someone stole my fishing rod...... so angry..... Who steals a fishing rod?

scum...

Anyways we got to dive lots and saw a bunch stingrays and fish... cool stuff. I think I am addicted to diving now, because it is just a whole other world!!

From townsville we drove to Hervey Bay where we met up with a friend from Melbourne and then went camping at Rainbow Beach. We heard there was good surf at double island point just south of Fraser island. Sounds good we thought. Turns out that you need a four wheel drive to get back there. Mine is in Canada, so it is not much good and the Ford Falcon EA Station wagon just doesn't cut it.

So why not pack it in?

So we did.
It was an eight kilometre hike to the freshwater campground. That is with all of out backpacking stuff PLUS surfboards. It took about 2 hours... Not too bad. Tommorrow we will get to surf and that is awesome. The next morning we start the hike to Double island point. We though about 8 kms, no gear except for surf boards, so that's easy. We were bare foot and by the time we made it to the point my feet felt like someone has smashed the bottom of them with a sledge hammer!!! And it turns out that it was more like 10 kms up the beach.... another 2 hours. So we get to this spot and I am sore but the place is PERFECT! There were 3 other guys surfing and the wave broke nicely from one end to the other.... beautiful. So we got about 3 hours of surfing in and met some famous Wildlife Artists (the other guys that were surfing) and even got to borrow their Long Boards (9'1") and started the long hike back.....

Starving.....

sooo hungry.....I lost thirteen pounds....okay so not 13 but anyway, it took another 2 hours and was sooooo painful and LOOOng oh man... Anyway, while we were surfing that all felt worthwhile but then the next morning we had to hike out with ALL the gear again and I second guessed why we did it, but we did and the surf was awesome.so yeah, work for your surf.

After that little adventure we were glad to sit in the car again for a few hours. So we drove down to Lennox Head and found some surf at Boulders Beach (My favorite spot in all of Australia). And were ready to sleep in the car again when Tommy called and told us to come over. So we did and we spent a week with his family. We had such a good time. I love surfing and I got to surf everyday and sometimes three times a day. It was good aye!? Even better, one of the girls that goes to Tom's church is a Marine biologist and so we went diving with her at Byron Bay and we saw two 7 foot sharks a couple of sea turtles, a moray eel, barracuda, moorish idols, and so many cool fish. I love diving!!

They had a going away party/bonfire for us on thursday night and it was sad to say goodbye to so many good people! Now we are at the Denman house again, ready to work hard and earn some cash for NZ!! We are gong to try selling the car and surfboards (sniff..... soooooo sad.... the board I learned on I have to say good bye to...) this week so pray that God provides someone to buy a dodgey car from a couple of honest guys... We already had one kid that wanted to buy it until we were honest with him.... I don't know how that will go...

Anyway that all the news for now! Thanks for reading this if you did and my blessings to all of you out there!

Before last post..... a post modern post you could say....

So... this might be confusing... I am confused myself, so if you don't feel like putting in the effort of figuring this out, I won't be offended. Meanwhile some of you might not think this is confusing and thus consider me somewhat soft in the head.... that is alright too!

So this story happens the week before last story and takes place in a little town known by some as Ballina and by others as Ballina. We were passing through heading towards Byron bay looking for some surf that was worth the effort (earlier that morning it was not...). We came to a point known as Lennox Head and found that while there was no surf there was a nice little Surfboard Shaper Shop, and so we inquired as to the possibilities of getting some dings fixed on our boards. The friendly Dutch said he would have them ready that afternoon. Perfect thought I.

At five that afternoon the boards were not ready and would not be ready until the next day. At that we made our leave and settled in at the local caravan park for the eve. While we were in the area we thought to attend a church while we could so Jordan sought the wisdom of a local certified petroleum distribution manager (gas pumper)and he recommended a church that his own former minister attended and thus concludied that it must be a fair church.

The morn of Sunday with the aggrevating sqwak of local cockatoos, but the excitement of church loomed above all.

sooooo

Church was cool and we met some cool people our age. Went to High on Thai for lunch with Tarrin and Jess (it's their ritutal), and then hung out with a cool lad of the name Tommy Boy! he became my hero in the next few days by how he could shred a wave like it was cheddah cheese! We then were treated to a coffee shop concert by Tarrin and Jess (thanks so much Girls!) where we induced into awe by the sounds and skills of Mike McArthy and PJ Wolf. Two aussies that can play a tune or two!!!

We stayed with Tom's family (the Tarrents) and had an AWESOME time. They fed us well and we spent a good few days getting trashed by ballina's North shore wave (too big for the likes of us whimps), and watching Tommy shred and other pros like Tim Cohen (I think that's who it was..)

Luckily we get to go back to see all of them again soon! Because with them we had so much Fun!

Trying to keep up!

Man does life move fast!! Sometimes I feel like I am running and losing ground. Everytime I learn something I realize just how much more I don't know. And don't get me started on Wisdom! She is more precious than gold, but I can't afford McDonalds!!

But in all of this, GOD IS GOOD. He is my provider, my healer, my shepard and my only need. On top of that he is my identity! I have really been struggling with the idea of "who am I?" Who am I that God should call me to him, who am I that He should send me into the world to preach the Gospel, the Word of God that I am not fit to speak, that I am not worthy to partake of. But that is the God I serve, He is good, only Him.

Once again we were struggling to find work and once again He provided, beyond expectations! It was difficult at first because all the job agencies won't help foreigners because they don't get paid to help us. They won't even give a phone number for a job. Boy weas I frustrated. We had spent 15 dollars on internet and phoning and made no progess.... So, by Jordan's idea, we went to a town close by that had had ads for work and started asking around all the farms. Second farm we went to told us to start next morning. Alright. So we found a chruch parking lot and slept in the car there on friday night and then started work on Saturday planting strawberries! Now at first though working on a strawberry farm sounds cool until you do it. You end up spending the whole day bent over basically touching you feet. It hurts REAL bad by the end of the day!
When we first showed up I was kind of afraid that we had walked in on a Sweat-Shop type operation because there was about 75-80 Koreans and 10 of everyone else, and in all the surrounding towns I hadn't seen a single Korean. And I still to this day do not know where they all went after work, but the job was ligit!
So then Saturday night we didn't was to sleep at the church that we slept at the other night but we did want to attend there so we slept at the Town Hall. Bad call. It happened to be the senior's dance night!! I heard more polka music in that one night than I have in my entire life up to that point. But it was free!! We went to church a little tired the next morning and were blown away and blessed so much. It was the most interesting church i ever been to. First of all there was a congregation of maybe 50-70 and No Pastor. It was completely run by elders. The first service was from 9-10 and was just a free for all, where people would read scripture or ask for a hymn to be sung and partake of communion, and there was so much wisdom in the what the elders had to say in expositing the scriptures and all. Wonderful! Then there was coffee and snacks from 10-11 (pursuing the fellowship of believers) and then the family service which was more like a regular service but just a different member of the congregation would speak each sunday.
That day there was a a baptism of a couple of young guys so they invited us to that and for lunch. Well, to make it short, the baptism was on a strawberry farm and we stayed there for 2 weeks in the house of the Denmans and on her parent's farm, the Shiffkes. the first week we worked on the first farm (the competition) and then switched alliances to who were feeding us!

I would really appreciate it if everyone could pray for the Denman family: John and Tracey (parents) and their kids Tara 17, Teesh 16, Mitch 9 and Maddy 7. They are a great family but the kids are having a hard time living out in the stick with no Christian friends. So keep them in mind if you can!

As for us in this moment we are booking it up to Cairns via inland track. We are in Biloela for the night! Pray for our car that it lasts the next 3000 odd kilometres, and that we stay safe in the hours of driving!!

Love you guys and thanks for reacding this long story and for all your prayers!
Blessings!