Happy new year, everyone. My family and I rang in 2007 in the baggage claim at Norfolk airport, after an exhausting 42-hour New Year’s Eve that took us from Turangi to Auckland to LA to Dallas to the EST. So, yes, after much travel, I’m now back in the USA, and will be returning to Gotham in a matter of days (after springing Berk from the local Big House on the 2nd.) Until then, I hope to be catching up on at least some of the recent movies I’ve missed while overseas…which reminds me, due to the recent travels, I’ve given myself an extra week to post the usual end-of-year film list…so, sorry for the hold-up, y’all, and happy 2007 once again.
Tag: New Zealand
No Rules, It’s Agrodome.
Hey all…checking in from the Turangi/Taupo/Rotorua district, where we’ve recently zorbed down a large hill a couple of times, taken in a sheep shearing show at the (world-famous?) Agrodome, kicked around the Tongariro National Trout Centre, wandered through a (Wai-O-Tapu) thermal wonderland, and ventured into the very fires of Mt. Doom, a.k.a. Mt. Ruapehu. All in all, not a bad couple of days to close out our few weeks of New Zealand exploring…
Christmas in Dunedin.
Hello again, and a belated Merry Christmas to you and yours. We’ve spent the past few days hiking the lovely and scenic Milford Track, followed by Christmas in Dunedin (no, not Dunedain, although I kept thinking it too) and then a drive back up the South Island through Christchurch to Blenheim (our current location.) Tomorrow, we head back to the North Island for our last extended stop, along the shores of Lake Taupo, for a few more days rest and relaxation. I expect trout fishing, and I’m thinking I might try the Zorbing…
Milford Bound.
Hey y’all. I must say, Queenstown/Glenorchy is a really fun area…I was going to regale y’all with pics of various “extreme” events partaken of over the past few days — canyon swinging, jet boating, and the like (along with some not-so-extreme, like mountain luging and a Simpsonsesque mini-putt) — but the Internet situation here in Te Anau, our current location, is a mite sketchy (I’m in a photomat at the moment), and I’m very soon off to hike the Milford Track for the next four days. So, the photos will have to wait — until then, I hope everyone out there is enjoying the last week before Christmas… Update: Obviously, pics are now up.
Glenorchy Glen Ross.
Hello again. We’ve ventured from Mount Cook towards the South, and have now established a new base of operations at Glenorchy, northwest of Queenstown. (For those of you keeping score, we passed the Pelennor Fields, the Misty Mountains and the site of the Argonath on the way here, and Amon Hen, Ithilien, Isengard, and the entrance to Lothlorien are all nearby.) For this leg of the journey, we’ll hopefully be getting in some jet-boating, canyon-swinging and/or bungee-jumping to go along with the hiking and trout-fishing, before we head off for the Milford Track later in the week. Hope all goes well in your respective corners of the world.
Full Nelson | Splendid Cook.
Hello all from the South Island…Just checking in from an egregiously expensive Internet cafe at our current location, the Hermitage (a.k.a. New Zealand’s answer to the Overlook), nestled by the base of the spectacularly scenic Aoraki/Mt. Cook (the tallest mountain in New Zealand. and the one featured in the opening moments of The Two Towers.) Before here, we spent a few days in the very pleasant backpacker village of Nelson, where we briefly checked out the area around Abel Tasman National Park, and then drove down the western coast and through Arthur’s Pass, taking in many breathtaking vistas along the way. (Also caught Children of Men late the other night — a full review will have to wait until a cheaper connection, I’m afraid, but in brief: I liked it quite a bit and it’s worth seeing, although the film jumps off a cliff in the last twenty minutes.)
The Road Goes Ever On (and On and On…)
Hey y’all — A quick update: After a full day of flying (VA to Dallas to LAX to Auckland, most of which I spent engrossed in George Packer’s The Assassins’ Gate) and a full day of driving across the North Island (Auckland to Wellington), we’ve made it here safely, and our New Zealand trip has begun in earnest. Tomorrow, we take the ferry to the South Island, where we’ll be spending most of our time here. (Also, I noticed while exploring downtown Wellington that Children of Men is already out here, so, should a slow day present itself, perhaps I’ll be able to post one of those movie reviews after all.) Hope all goes well Stateside and elsewhere.
There and Back Again.
“I want to see mountains again, mountains, Gandalf! And then find somewhere quiet where I can finish my book…I need a holiday — a very long holiday — and I don’t expect I shall return. In fact, I mean not to!” Or at least for a couple of weeks. Yes y’all, Christmas is arriving early this year in these parts: Later today I and several other members of the Clan Murphy are headed off to Middle Earth, a.k.a, the World of (18 hours in) the Future, a.k.a. New Zealand, so as to enjoy a few holiday weeks of traveling, hiking, trout-fishing, and general exploring. So, as you might expect, updates here at GitM will undoubtedly be more intermittent (and the comment-spam more pronounced) than usual, although I’ll try to check in every now and again should the Internet present itself. (Also, reviews of the season’s big films — Children of Men, Pan’s Labyrinth, Inland Empire, The Good German/Shepherd — will likely be posted late, upon my return.) Until then, be safe, stay warm, and happy holidays…I’ll see you when I’ll see you.
December Spawns a Monster.
Quint, one of the AICN crew, recently enjoyed a month-long visit to PJ’s King Kong set in New Zealand, and now he’s telling us about it. Kind of spoilerish at times, but if you want the Cliff Notes: “Peter Jackson is making a modern day two hundred million dollar Ray Harryhausen film.” Update: Part 2 here. Update 2: And Part 3.