Borneo

Borneo, Malaysia, the jungle... Longhouses.... It's all but a myth for tourists, so it seemed to me but got the chance to meet some dancers or stage performers in what they call traditional costums...
The people I met were absolutely lovely! Managed to get a glimpse of an orang utan in the process and got the chance to dive super expensive but exquisit Sipadan! It's a volcanic island in the Celebes Sea with plenty of marine life. So much that you don't actually know where to look. But more about that later! Our dancers were beautiful, the girls elegant, and the boys really funny! Great performances!

Bali

Sorry for letting you down after all this time. Was kept quite busy and I am not too fond of internet cafes. I do need a personal assistant!
So Bali was great, to say the least. And I was amazed by their traditional Legong dance. Very close to divine! I met my teacher in Ubud. She was very patient with me, as I didn't have a clue was it was all about when I first started. I can tell you it's really hard on the shoulders!!! And the costums are among the most beautiful I have ever seen. Difficult to believe that one can actually dance in a sarong and 10kg of metal on the head!

Franz Josef Glacier

A group of brave ladies only (the men were in the pub) decided to get on a helicopter high up onto the Franz Josef glacier. First time using crampons and ice axe! It was fun, really! And the weather was awesome that day. Wandered in some ice caves, between pinacles and all. Very impressive! And that's only the ice side of things. The helicopter bit was wow! And the wicked pilot find it very funny to do acrobatics in order to make the ladies scream. It works! I almost swallowed my own heart when he peaked onto the ice field...

Maori dancers

Met some Maori dancers in the thermal living village outside Rotorua. Lovely performance, intimidating men, passionate women! Very different to the Cook Island dance although the Maori are descendants of the Cook Islanders that departed the islands of the South Pacific in canoes over 700 year ago. It's interesting because today each culture is quite different and hold onto their heritage really strongly! The village is based on a geothermal spot! Geyser, hot mud pools, sulfuric fragrances... They cook their dinners in the hot springs. Not a bad way of saving energy. But when you feel the earth tremoring and a geyser pops up, I have to admit that I do feel unsafe...

New Zealand next?

My itinerary in NZ was: Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington. Then Christchurch, Tranzalpine train to Greymouth, Franz Josef Glacier, Queenstown, Dunedin, Lake Tekapo, back to Christchurch. Then plane to Wellington, collected my passport at the embassy of China, got my visa to India. And surprisingly went back to Rarotonga.
But here is a taster of the Tranzalpine train journey from rainy misty Christchurch to sunny Greymouth. It was foggy midway but the vistas were still pretty amazing! Grizzly had a great trip!