After a few car problems (ha. already.), we got a late start out of Dunedin where I would soon get my mountain fix in Queentown. The drive to Qtwn makes it easy to see how they filmed Lord of the Rings in this country.

It was about 72 and sunny when we arrived...perfect for a road trip with the windows down, 5 girls wearing leis and "I heart NZ" trucker hats.
On Friday, James and I caught up with his buddies from Australia, found ourselves chilling at their house on a great tin roof. On Saturday we headed over to collect our death certificates at the Canyon Swing (read the other entry if ya want more on that.) Sunday was spent hiking up the Ben Lomond - a decent climb right outside of town. It's official that rain gear is essential in NZ, as we got dumped on...literally walking through mini rivers up the track toward the summit.
A cold, rainy afternoon gave way to a sunny, winding drive home through the mountains - watching the sun set as it cast just enough light on the vineyards to make them glow an amazing green. As we pulled out of town, the weekend became complete when we all belted out a Tim McGraw song (ha. I guess we all had a lil' country in us.) Anyways the lyrics are perfect, capturing the mark we want to leave on NZ. (I recommend you track it down).

"I went sky diving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went 2.7 seconds on a bull named FuManchu
and I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter
and I gave forgiveness I'd been denying
and he said someday I hope you get the chance
to live like you were dying.
Like tomorrow was a gift and you got eternity to think about
what'd you do with it what did you do with it
what did I do with it
what would I do with it?"