Dan and Justy Down Under

January:
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February:
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March:
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Itinerary

March 24, 2005

Dan or Justy

At Margarets suggestion, we took a scenic drive along the coast and took in Sunset across the Tasman Sea. I was working video and a local came over to chat. Ian has a very expensive camera. He is an airshow enthusiast, and wanted to capture the wonders with great fidelity. The problem is he can't edit them digitally. He uses multiple cheap VCRs to produce home movies. Kiwi determination.

The overlook where we took pictures was at the top of a nearly-sheer steep cliff leading down to the railway and then the highway, and then (if you're still tumbling), the sea. Naturally, I dropped something over the side: a pencap for a sharpie I was using to label videotapes. Sigh. I got into the spirit of the south island's adrnealine theme by climbing over and retrieving it. It was easily the most extreme thing I've done in a while.

Te Papa museum...earthquakes, fault lines, volcanoes...just turn yourself around, that's what its all about! NZ has it all. The museum has a room, or a little room-sized house, that simulates the earthqauke. A series of TV screens, a shaking floor, and a female voice screaming for "John, stay ay the door!" are surprisingle effective. We also found out that there have been at least 5 recorded earthquakes in the last four weeks.

The major tectonic plate fault line lies directly beneath this city, and even this building. It's odd to be in the botanical gardens, smelling the real (not metaphorical) roses and looking over to the right you can see into the top floors of office buildings. That is because the fault line has distinct elevation differences on each side.

Itinerary Highlights
January 20: Winery Tour
21-23: Moreton Bay Diving
25: Australia Zoo
26-30: Lady Elliot Island
February 13: Diving the Yongala
15-17: Cape Tribulation + Daintree Rain Forest
17-20: Atherton Tablelands
22-28: Coral Sea Diving Liveaboard
March 11-13: OzTek Dive Conference: Sydney
14: Fly to New Zealand
20: Poor Knights Islands Diving
31: Mt. Cook
April 2-4: Queenstown
TBD: To Be Dreamed

Digital Pix Courtesy of Shimmivision.com
More Digital and Film Pix Coming Soon.