Kim's Travelling Adventures!

Hello Everyone!  Welcome to my Travel Journal.  Please check this space every couple of days as this will be where I update all of my photos and stories.  I have been away from home for over a year now so I should probably start with what I've been doing so far!  I left Canada with my good friend Laura on January 6th 2007 and headed to Fiji for 4 days.  We stayed at a beautiful place called Manta Ray Resort, which was amazing because it had backpacker accommodation and prices, and yet it was more beautiful than any 5 star resort I've stayed at in the Caribbean.  We went snorkelling and saw sharks and manta rays, it was the perfect start to our travelling.  We got to Auckland, New Zealand a few days later and stayed there for about a week.  From there we headed up to the Bay of Islands and went sandboarding, and we even got to see the Big Day Out Concert and my favourite band- The Killers!  We then hopped on the Stray Bus and headed south to Rotorua, Raglan, The National Park, and Wellington.  Some highlights of the North Island were white water rafting down a 7 meter waterfall, Black Water Rafting (going through underground caves on inflatable tubes), watching Laura learn to surf in Raglan and one craaaazy night out in Wellington.  The next day wasn't so pleasant as we had to get on a ferry to go to the south island at 6 in the morning, after 1/2 an hour of sleep.  In the south island we went to the beautiful Abel Tasman, Barrytown (aka Black Tuesday...a very evil little town), Makarora, Wanaka and finally to Queenstown.  Along the way we did a day walk in Abel Tasman, kayaking just outside of Barrytown, and skydiving in Wanaka.  Once we got to Queenstown Laura thought it would be fun to make me do a Bungy Jump, which is something I NEVER wanted to do!  We arrived at the Kawarau Bridge Bungy site and I did the jump (after 5 minuted of crying on the edge!), and it pretty much ended up changing my life.  Once we got into Queenstown I started looking for a job, and of course I applied at AJ Hackett Bungy because I had such an amazing experience with my first jump.  A few days later I got the job, and I've been here ever since!  At first I lived with my friend Shell on Frankton Road, then after about a month I moved into 'The Halfway House' on Hallenstein St.  There are 6 bedrooms and usually about 10-12 people living in the house at a time, and this is where I have met some of my greatest friends.  Since I've been in Queenstown I've been skydiving twice more, hang gliding, river surfing, sailing, jet boating, luging, and of course, bungy jumping.  I've been able to go to Milford Sound 3 times (one of the most beautiful places in the world!), Glenorchy (where they filmed lots of Lord of the Rings scenes), Deer Park Heights, and so many other incredible places right around Queenstown.  I could write forever about all the amazing things that have happened since I've been here!  I leave in 3 days and while I'm really sad, I am also very excited to see what else is out there.  Japan should be amazing since I've never been anywhere that has given me much of a culture shock.  So, check back in a few days and please keep in touch!  After Japan I head to Australia with the beautiful Anne from Canada, and then back home.  Thank you all for being so supportive while I've been travelling so far, I can't wait to see what happens in the next 2 months!   -Kimbo  :)