Salmon Fields Forever strong strong While driving from Lake Tekapo to Mt Cook we came across a salmon farm just 12km off of the road After deciding to turn off the road and explore we managed to pickup 1 2 kilogram of salmon fresh out of the river for just 12 00 NZ 7 20 USD It turned out to be one of the best salmon I have ever tasted in my life and it was entirely cooked in the campervan Photo Gallery Updates Camper Van Animal Encounters a href http www austinsmoke com modules php set_albumName album23 amp op modload amp name gallery amp file index amp include view_album php Christchurch a a href http www austinsmoke com modules php set_albumName album24 amp op modload amp name gallery amp file index amp include view_album php Anglican Cathedral of Christchurch a a href http www austinsmoke com modules php set_albumName album25 amp op modload amp name gallery amp file index amp include view_album php International Antarctic Centre a a href http www austinsmoke com modules php set_albumName album26 amp op modload amp name gallery amp file index amp include view_album php Methven a a href http www austinsmoke com modules php set_albumName album27 amp op modload amp name gallery amp file index amp include view_album php Mt Hutt a a href http www austinsmoke com modules php set_albumName album28 amp op modload amp name gallery amp file index amp include view_album php Lake Tekapo a a href http www austinsmoke com modules php set_albumName album29 amp op modload amp name gallery amp file index amp include view_album php Mt Cook a

Campervan Hire Extended In order to do a little more exploring in the South Island specifically Milford Sound and Queenstown we have hired out the camper van an additional 2 days It is now due back on Friday the 18th instead of tomorrow Wednesday the 16th The original plan was to hire it for another 4 days and drive up the west coast to Greymouth and then drive it across the mountains back to Christchurch where there is a rental office Apparently though there is a 150 00 NZ fee for doing this since our original agreement was to deliver the camper van to Queenstown so we have chosen against that option On another note we were unable to visit Stewart Island as originally hoped There is apparently only one departure per day and it leaves shore at 9 30am from Bluff Had we known we probably would have gotten up extra early to make it there but we did not know Perhaps better left until later anyways we could not have taken the camper van across as there is no ferry and not really any roads to speak of on Stewart Island either It seems it would be more enjoyable as a warm weather weekend trip whenst we could enjoy the waters and thick foliage harbouring the exotic wildlife

Reddit AMA in r Austin div class pageImage a href http www reddit com r Austin comments 23vis1 im_running_for_state_representative_in_district img src http www ludlow2014 com themes Default images Blog reddit_austin_640 jpg alt reddit_austin_640 class alignright size full wp image 293 a div In an effort to begin getting the word of my campaign out on social media I decided to reach out to the Reddit community today Specifically I was only intending to reach the a href http www reddit com r austin r Austin a subreddit but the conversation seems to have spread far beyond what I anticipated I posted a link to my website around 11 45am with the following Reddit title em a href http www reddit com r Austin comments 23vis1 im_running_for_state_representative_in_district I m running for State Representative in District 46 east Austin north of 7th I m pro pot pro gay pro open internet oppose the TSA and oppose the NSA Here s my website a em Soon after posting the link I left my office for lunch A few messages trickled in while I was eating and I quickly answered them Twenty or so minutes past that and something started happening that I would have never expected a full blown AMA organically developed I ve always wanted to participate in an AMA and having now completed one can definitely say I enjoyed the process I had the opportunity to personally converse with more than 600 people Thankfully I am a pretty fast typist a href http www 10fastfingers com 10fastfingers a puts me at 117 WPM because it was the only way I could provide ongoing and thorough answers to all of the questions pouring in When it was all said and done I had answered more than 400 questions had more than 20 people offer to volunteer themselves to the campaign drove almost 5 000 people to the campaign website and even raised several hundred dollars The AMA is currently the a href http www reddit com r Austin top sort top t all count 25 after t3_1lsh2g 29th highest post in r Austin of all time a

Mobility Has Been Achieved Having been searching for the past few weeks I came across a great deal on a 1992 Honda Beat cross between our Honda Spree and Honda Elite Motor Scooter It s only 50cc and has brand new plates registration and warranty of fitness similar to our inspection I am legally able to drive it given that I have a drivers license I also managed to get 2 helmets and riding gloves out of the deal and so I was quite pleased It is nice to finally be mobile in the city On top of this I am also working for the University of Otago I am grading or marking as they say papers for a Calculus Linear Algebra class It is my understanding that it is the highest low level math class The pay is pretty decent and it easily pays my rent here in Dunedin With that Tisa is attempting a job at the Otago Museum but will be starting a job at a cafe called Muffin Break in the local hospital This works out well for her since one of her flatmates is a doctor to be and is frequently at the hospital as well For anyone who is slightly confused Dunedin is the city that we live in but Otago is the region or state that Dunedin lives in

Tisa is a Working Woman Tisa has found a job working in the Dunedin hospital at one of their cafes She had her first day today so we will have to wait and hear more about it in the future once she gets rolling a bit more There are also pictures of my house online and Tisa s house pictures should be online in the next day or so We would also like to get photos of our flatmates to put on the website as well Photo Gallery Updates a href http www austinsmoke com modules php set_albumName album37 amp op modload amp name gallery amp file index amp include view_album php Kevin s House in Dunedin a

The Graham Honeymoon Since I just spent some time off in the Yucutan I thought I d give the Grahams my notes on where they might want to go while on their Honeymoon In case anybody else is headed in that direction here is some information strong Getting to Cozumel strong The ferry leaves from Playa Del Carmen on pretty regular intervals It s incredible easy to get there Go to the east end of Ave Juarez the busiest street that runs through Playa towards the Caribbean The cost of a round trip per person is about 15 00 USD There is plenty of information available once you are in the area and you should not have any problems getting to the island Just make sure that you know when the last ferry leaves from Cozumel back to Playa Del Carmen or you ll be stuck in Cozumel for the night The ferry will drop you off in the main area of Cozumel There you ll be able to do tons of shopping like we discussed mainly silver gold shops T shirts and cigars Cozumel is a wonderful place to go exploring especially if you can get there somewhat early in the morning to explore the island or right around sunset to enjoy the dining and nightlife The taxi services there are pretty regulated so don t worry too much about getting ripped off Obviously be aware that it happens but you should be okay photo 36008 740 0 right photo If you get there early enough it might be fun to rent a car for just a few hours it shouldn t cost more than 20 30 You ll be on the west side of the island when you get off of the ferry There is plenty to do in that area but there are also a few hidden treasures on the east side of the island though no beach I marked off a bar restaurant that you might want to look into over on the south east side of the island During the day it is a beautiful bar that over looks the Caribbean Mexico at its finest Albeit you ll need a car to get to the bar because a taxi ride would be very expensive It s about a 45 minute car ride I ve listed off where the drop off for the ferry is From there you can make your way into the shopping area If you do happen to rent a car the bar where I promise there won t be more than 6 people at is to the south east The black inside of the island boundaries is more or less the road Cozumel is not terribly huge so exploring the area should be a good time If you think to do so look into any snorkeling that might be available Either at Chankanab Reef or Palancar Reef The locals will certainly know what you are talking about But I am not sure exactly where they will let you snorkel strong The Mainland strong This is the mainland I just wanted to point out the major points so that it s in print for you You ll see Cancun to the north which will be to your left when they start driving you out of the airport The driver should take a right onto HWY 307 to head south HWY 307 is the road that runs the entire length of the Yucutan You ll be exiting just a little ways before Playa del Carmen but all the same Tulum and Akumal are also to the south past Playa as you can see on the map The distance from where you ll be staying to Playa del Carmen is just a few minutes I think It will then be about 30 minutes to Cancun to the north about 45 minutes to Akumal to the south and about 75 minutes to Tulum to the south photo 36007 740 0 left photo As I mentioned Combis are available for just a few pesos at most parts of HWY 307 They are little white vans that will pull up and let you hop in Just tell them where you are going On HWY 307 you ll see that there will be bus stops here and there for them otherwise you can just toss out a thumb when you figure out what kind of car you are looking for I know it seems a bit sketchy but they re actually very common and effective Another good way for getting around mainly because its so cheap is to use the bus system There is a huge bus station around the corner of 8th Avenue and Ave Juarez in Playa Del Carmen Any cab driver can get you there Anyway the MAYAB bus service is fantastic and buses are departing regularly to anywhere that you ll want to go Remember that all of the prices will be in pesos so you ll find that 8 pesos is really cheap One more note of interest regarding money all ATMS will dispense your money in pesos This means that when it says withdraw 1000 that is really only about 100 USD So keep that in mind I once made the mistake of taking out just 20 when I really wanted 200 The card worked the second time but I had to pay twice the international fees

New Zealand Spider I would just like to say to anyone who has told me New Zealand does not really have spiders you are wrong or a liar For the past few weeks now I have been watching the so called Black Tunnelweb spiders make funnel like nests in front of my flat Today I came home around 11 00pm and headed into the bathroom only to be staring at one of these monsters stretching perhaps 2 2 5 across This is not my idea of no spiders much less even small spiders It was huge to say the very least I have read that they can be typically found inside of bathrooms as they seek the water when straying inside but I am left to think that spiders aren t smart enough to know where the bathroom is This would leave me to conclude that these things are crawling around in my house and eventually stumble upon the bathroom I am hoping not to come across any others

Continuing North Part 1 Did a ton of driving today While it was still a pretty neat drive it rained for about 8 straight hours more specifically it poured for about 8 straight hours Along the drive were literally hundreds of waterfalls covering the surrounding mountains and hills Every so often we would come across a waterfall that was spilling thousands of liters per minute onto the road We stopped at both the Fox Glacier and the Frans Joseph Glacier but were unable to tour either of them because of the continuing weather One point of interest was a strong glowworm cave strong we came across around 10pm probably 50km or so outside of Greymouth After a short hike in the pouring rain with only a pocket maglite we came across the elusive glowworms They were pretty impressive very similar to bioilluminescents found under tropical waters at night

Revisiting Abel Tasman National Park Today was our day in the strong Abel Tasman National Park strong Needless to say it was wonderful We were happy to have the weather cooperate with us and started the day with a water taxi ride from one end of the park to the other on a jet boat After being dropped off we began a three hour hike back to the other end of the park While some of the uphills were tiring it was quite a nice tramp After our three hour hike we met up with another water taxi and caught it back to the entrance of the park After our trip to Abel Tasman we got back on the road and headed to Kaikoura on the east coast After checking into a nice motel in Kaikoura we took a lengthy drive and found a dark and secluded beach where we lit off two boxes of fireworks we ve had them saved since the Guy Fawks Holiday Nov 5th Needless to say the fireworks were less than spectacular but a fun time was had by all We plan to do either some fishing or whale watching tomorrow afternoon in Kaikoura and then head off to Picton to catch the ferry across the Cook Straight and into Wellington strong Plenty of pictures have been taken and are on the way I just need a place to stay on the internet long enough strong

Helicopter Ride from Kaikoura photo 1910 280 0 right The helicopter sitting on the pad waiting to go photo Today started off a little rough as the whale watching tours were cancelled due to bad weather This is the second time Tisa and I have tried unsuccessfully to go whale watching in Kaikoura only to have the weather turn sour on us Determined to do it anyways strong Sean and I took a helicopter strong first time for both of us and went whale watching We were told that there would only be a 50 chance of actually seeing whales given the conditions so Tisa decided not to go with us While we did infact see a Sperm Whale even with the bad weather the fun part of the trip for both Sean and I was the helicopter ride If you have never ridden in one I would strongly suggest trying it Perhaps in my efforts to conquer the world I will learn to fly a helicopter someday I ll certainly take more rides in them After our Kaikoura experience we headed up to Picton and caught the InterIslander Ferry across The weather was still pretty bad and it was an enjoyably rough Cook Straight Experience Our friend Leah picked us up at the Ferry Depot and she and her family have been kind enough to put us up in the home for the evening