Jet boats

So, we are finally settling into our house/apartment in Q town. Kate starts her job tomorrow with the Dart River Jet Boat Safari people which she is really looking forward to. She rang them the other day to confirm that she wanted the job and her boss said that she will need to experience some of the trips that they offer and before we knew it they had booked us a day on the jet boats! I came back from my run to find Kate super excited that we were going jet boating, for free! Not bad considering it usually costs $200! So, the bus came and picked us up from the main bus stop on the main road outside our housing block and, after picking up another 35 people form Q town, whisked us off to the tiny town of Glenorchy which is about 45 km from Q town. When we arrived the staff were all waiting for Kate and greeted her as we went in. The trip they had booked us in for was a 4x4 bus tour out to the river then a walk through a forest and then a jet boat ride back to Glenorchy. In all, it would take about 5 hours! The 4x4 bus journey was awesome. It was very off road and across small rivers with commentary from Stu the driver who was a little bald Maori dude. He stopped and told us all about the area and pointed out locations that were used in the Lord of the Rings movies, which he said he found rather dull. When we stopped for our trek through the forest, we were attacked by about a billion frickin sandflies! I had almost forgotten about them as Q town doesn't seem to have any of the little winged bastards.

The forest trek was brief and eerily quiet. Stu, our guide told us that due to the introduction of mammals such as stoats and weasels, the forest had pretty much been cleared of birds. It wasn't until he said this that it suddenly seemed really bizarre and very sad that there were no birds singing. We walked to the river and met Matt who was our jet boat captain. We all climbed aboard and me and Kate sat at the back as apparently you got thrown around more in the back, great! We then whizzed up and down the river in as little as 4 inches of water in places! Jet boats rule! They are so quick and really manoeuvrable. Matt was constantly finding deep areas of water so he could do 360 spins! They were fun but also managed to drench my camera. After a full 90 minutes on the river whizzing about and spinning around i must admit i got a bit cold and bored. I felt that it was all a bit too much and seemed to drag on and on. It didn't help that the weather was rubbish. We luckily avoided most of the rain and i was relieved to get back to the warmth of the jet boat building. Kate picked up her uniform then we got bused back to our apartment. It was an amazing day really. The Dart River safari is different from all the other jet boat experiences they offer here. For a start it's fricking hours long but it is more concerned with the conservation of the area. Other jet boat companies just hare about narrowly missing rocks and scaring the shit out of everybody! It suits Kate and i know she is dead keen to get started.

The rest of the week has been filled with more job hunting and interviews. I had my interview at The Warehouse but i kinda hope they don't offer it to me. It's way more hours than i want to work but i'll take it if they offer it and keep hunting around. Handed in my CV at a local pharmacy who were looking for a part time assistant. I'm much more suited for that and hope it all comes to something plus it's less hours which frees up more time to go skiing when the snow comes!

We also walked the track into Q town along the lake the other day. I dreaded that it was gonna be mileage but before we knew it we were in town. It only took about an hour. We literally stopped for a drink then pretty much headed straight home again. Saw a dog playing in the lake and had never realised that dogs can hold there breath and swim under water! We both were amazed and watched this dog dive under the water and pick up stones from the bottom. It was way cool.

We also walked into Frankton and joined the video store there. After, we stopped for a drink in the pub, waiting patiently for happy hour. When it finally came i ordered 4 beers for us. The lady came over with our drinks and asked if we were meeting friends. Kate said No, the beers are just for us two. The lady just sort of smiled awkwardly and shuffled away. Jeez, can't she spot alcoholics when she sees them? It was a good night and we got the bus home and woke up with pretty heavy heads this morning.

Kate starts work tomorrow and it will be the first day i have had to myself since we left the UK all those months ago. Thank god we have the internet in our place now. Well, we have it at times. I think we must be miles away from the wireless router as it's sometimes like having the internet from 1998! It's super slow and suddenly just disappears every now and then. Will try and upload some pics but not sure if it will let me.

One thing i keep forgetting to mention is that i think everyone should be reading Huglekuir Dagsson cartoons! I read about him on the flight over and they have a few of his cartoons on the wall in Harrys pool bar. Holy crap they are hilarious! Pretty sick but really funny. Kinda like a very crude dumbed down version of Gary Larsson. Go forth and spread the word people!

Anyway guys, chat soon.

Peace

D

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