New Zealand Extravaganza 2008

Show me the meanin' of beeeeein' lonelyyyy

2008-05-26T14:29:00.002+12:00

Jesse left for Wanaka today, leaving me at the hostel with a total of like, two cool people. I'll be going solo for the next few days before I leave, hopefully hanging with Kev and Ev a bit before I leave. We saw the Crusaders play, which was sick. I had a blast, and came to the realization that, as true as Monteith's is the best beer, rugby is the best sport ever. MAYBE more than hockey. I love it, I bought a 150 dollar jersey because I was so jacked about it. Breakin' the bank, here.

Evan beat Jesse in an EPIC game of mini-putt yesterday. The course was a wild-west themed 18 hole-er, and we had a riot as Evan and Jess teeter-tottered until Evan came out the victor. Need to see more of that action.

Home soon, I am actually lookin' forward to it. I need to write a feature for Official Xbox Magazine when I get back (a re-write of one I did to accomodate some changes) on top of prepping to move to The Bay AND writing my regular OXMOnline.com feature. Whew, it's gonna be a busy-ass landing.

Speaking of ''busy-ass'', as a note to the parents: ''Sweet-As'' is a phrase that was IMMEDIATELY picked up down here by us. It's a local thing, and adding ''as'' to phrases like ''hard-as'' and ''soft-as'' will likely annoy the hell out of you. Sweet as what, you ask?

Doesn't matter.

Sweet as.

Talk to ya soon.

Mitchell Dyer

Parting

2008-05-23T12:52:00.002+12:00

Well, it's the final Friday. We plan on getting hammered drunk before hitting town. It's mine, Gamble's and Shelby's (cool lady we met from Alberta) final Friday in Christchurch. I'm leaving next Wednesday, and Jesse's found a home in Wanaka with Paul the Englishman, a nice chap we traveled with in our van expedition.

We saw Indiana Jones, which by now, you all better have done. God damn, that was some good stuff. Ending kind of felt weak to me, Jesse was all but high fiving everyone, so you know it was a gooder. Nothing really exciting comes to mind for the last few days... I'm in to my final hundred, going to have to hit the bank account. Weak. Oh well. I will also need to find a travel agency/ print out a ticket to fly to Auckland next Wed.

Until then, we're living the boring life, I guess.

Mitchell Dyer

Brew-ha-ha

2008-05-20T11:18:00.003+12:00

We're currently in a grocery store in Greymouth, where we are due to hit a Montieth's brewery tour. Montieth's, might you not know, is the greatest fucking beer on the planet. Pardon ma francais.

Nothing really exciting since we left. The only highlight was watching Holy Grail and The Last Starfighter on my iPod with the guys.

In a bottom bunk.

Together.

Sure, it was a gay little commune, Jesse and I leaning on Kent, but who are you to judge us?! Those movies are great! Do what you gotta do, I suppose. We ditched that hostel yesterday (it was in Wanaka, a scenic little town with not much to do) and Kent took us to the Blue Pools (famous for its pools, which are blue) and a big ass glacier that Jesse and I surely trespassed by touching. We later found that the ENTIRE thing was fenced off and we somehow eluded it. Oh well.

Got some photos for some later uploading.

Also, Jesse jumped off a cliff.

Videos to come.

Mitchell Dyer

Law

2008-05-16T11:23:00.003+12:00

We're back from a riotous evening at the Buffalo Club, where beer is four-odd dollars, and we're planning on going out again tonight. Yesterday was full of fun, as we hit up some jet boat ride and followed it up with watching Iron Man (for the THIRD time in two weeks) and wrapped it off with drunk.

Before heading out, however, Kent and I had to chat with a police officer who had been called to deal with us -- what we were doing, though, was nothing. Earlier in the day we had walked in to some private place and been caught, kicked out, and dealt with. No biggie. Later in the evening, a staffer came out with a flashlight and a walkie-talkie and immediately tried getting us to drive (drunkenly) away. Kent humbly refused to drive his van with 5 beers in his belly, and when the security fellow was informed by reception that having a van parked in front of a campground was legal, he called the police. Classy fellow.

Turns out he told the police we'd been caught breaking in the night before, and that I had been dragged to reception. This information is false, but there's nothing we could do about it. At least the officer was courteous enough to understand how retarded the situation was, but he still gave us a formal warning that we'd be in court if we broke in "again". I'm less than impressed with the campground (which has a 5 star rating, clearly only if you're shoveling dollars in to their register. Assholes.) and will likely be writing a formal letter to them, regardless of any outcome, the day we take off.

We wanted adventure, and I guess we're getting it. Ha. Anywho, I'm going back to cruising the Intertron before we take off and try and find something to do to kill time before heading out to drink tonight.

Sans police, I hope.

Mitchell Dyer

Road Trippin'

2008-05-14T13:12:00.002+12:00

I am currently in an internet cafe beside Kent Miller, driver, owner, operator of our new mobile home. His van is our new sleeping area, and it is simultaneously our method of traversing the South Island. We left Christchurch some time yesterday, slept when Kent could no longer see the road through his haze of sleepiness, and then headed out on to the road to Queenstown.

The scenic drive here was gorgeous. Lots of great mountains/water/plains to see. Reminded me of home, almost. Jesse quoted Queenstown as "Banff without snow", which is about as good a description as any. It's a nice place, warm day today, too, so we're in the clear for some rockin' good times. There's really no agenda, except "I need to go home on the 28th", so we're doing what we can before then. I think we're coming back to Christchurch before I leave, I think I'm flying back to the north. I may or may not stop in Rotorua, we'll see how the funds are. I'd love to go Zorbing, and see what that place has to offer.

We saw Kevin and Evan play hockey against each other the other night, which was followed by a rockin' good time of a party at a hostel with a couple girls Kent knew. Pictures are on my Facebook if you haven't seen them yet (as are 60 others from our travels). I found myself quite in to the hockey game, and found myself missing it. I think there's a pair of skates I'll be purchasing this winter for public skating and shinny.

I'll talk you y'all before then, though.

Peace.

Mitchell Dyer

Fast Times

2008-05-12T09:28:00.002+12:00

For the uninformed, if you want to chat with us while we're away, you can comment on the blog posts of your choice. Click where it says "0 Comments" (or whatever number it is) and you can leave a comment or whatever that we can respond to.

In other news, New Zealand is pretty cool so far. We've still not done anything extraordinary, but we're working on it. We plan on ditching Christchurch on Tuesday and hitting Queenstown with Kent Miller. I think, from there, the plan is to move north to Auckland and see as much shit as we can before my flight on the 28th. I haven't lost anything yet, which is kind of a new thing for me. Granted, some dude did toss me my passport after I lost it where-ever-the-hell, I don't know. At least it was at the hostel.

Everyone had a riot of a drunken night the other night (I had to call it an early night after a ridiculous headache had me puking, instead) so that was cool. Still nothing outstanding that we haven't done at home --- I have coffee every morning, and Jesse and and I eat out daily.

When we hit the road, I will let you know. Interesting adventures should follow.

- Mitchell Dyer

Cafe

2008-05-09T10:20:00.002+12:00

We're at an internet cafe (and I mean "Kay-F' - not "Ca-fay"!) with little to say right now. Jess is beside me once again and we're just relaxing. We had a doozy of a dance filled night last night at what might be the BEST BAR IN THE WORLD. I say that in the sense that you can bump in to folks on the dance floor and not get fucking stabbed or anything. That, and it was kind of classy. Dress shirts, live band, nice couches. Good stuff.

Gamble has had little to no volume in his voice for the entire trip, and I find it both ammusing and depressing at the same time. I think he's downed an entire pack of throat thingers (they're succrets, with a different name) and each pack has like 20 pieces. Wow.

In other news, patying with Miller is like, the best thing ever. That kid is a monster, and it's impossible to keep up with him. It's also impossible to keep track of his ass. That kid's wild, and it's a riot. Good game, sir.

I'm keeping a journal, as I mentioned a couple posts ago, and it's being updated less and less by the day. It went from every 30 minutes, to an hour, to every other day or so I think. Trying to keep that updated as much as I can, interspersing it with this blog dealie. I'll likely have to type up the journal entries and print 'em off for folks to read.

There's no way anyone is going to be able to read that mess. I can't.

Anywho, talk to y'all soon. Back to exploring Christchurch as we try and find our $18/night hostel.

Thumbs up.

Mitchell Dyer

Straight Shippin'... Out.

2008-05-08T08:07:00.002+12:00

Jesse and I are headed to the airport today. Why? We want to go to Christchurch and see The Miller. We're getting on the next possible flight, probably heading down around 10:00am or so (within the hour. We've got to pack yet...). We're planning on chilling in Christchurch for a few days before trekking our way back to the north island, and back to Auckland where I will hopefully catch a plane going to LAX.

Nothing of interest yet. We've been exploring the city (it only took 100 dollars in cab rides to do so, too...) and we went to the zoo, so that was fun. We also saw Iron Man after a good hike down (and back up) the lengthy Queens st, which was awesome in every way. We've barely done any tourist-y shenanigans, and Gamble and I have each passed out before 8pm two nights in a row. We have a fridge full of beer that will either remain there, or will need to be drunk in the next 45 minutes. There are 20 of them.

I think we'll stick to the cheap food and grocery stores from now on. We saved ourselves from ordering a 40 dollar double pizza meal (!) by purchasing an exorbitant amount of McDonald's sandwiches. I won't say how many, but it cost us 12 dollars to OVERFILL us. It's shameful, but delicious.

Anyway, we'll hit the Internet when we get to Christlandchurchville in the next 12 hours or so -- providing we can actually get on a plane.

Peace.

Mitchell Dyer

Word

2008-05-06T17:51:00.002+12:00

Jesse and I are on two terrible computers with awful keyboards at our Hotel. It's not far from the Airport, hit http://www.maps.google.com and search "KIWI INTERNATIONAL HOTEL, Mackenzie St." if you'd like to see where it is. It's very close from where we landed, so we've not seen much.

What we did see was sleep. It feels like day 5 or 6 but it's been 12 hours. We knocked ourselves out around 11am after some good grub, followed by some "meh" Indian chow. I am keeping up a journal, though less minute-by-minute now, and more nightly stuff. We're trying to take photos, though there's not much but our little hotel and trees. We're hitting the city tomorrow, and by Thursday Jess and I may fly to Christchurch. We think it's a better idea to work our way up from Christchurch after flying there as oppposed to vice-versa. Who knows.

It's an adventure, y'all. We're playing it by ear.

So overall, so far so good. We're relaxing with a case or two of beer and enjoying what food we can, so no fun yet, Mom.

:)

Mitchell Dyer

In Christchurch

2008-05-06T12:10:00.002+12:00

Well after a total of 15 hours on a plane and magically a day of being tired. I arrive in Christchurch. Karen and Evan picked me up but I leave the airport without my hockey sticks. Those bastards forgot them in Vancouver so they get to see a little bit of Austrailia and arrive here tonight around 8pm, hopefully just before practice. Well im going to go walk up town and get one of these mythical meat pies. Ill have a phone set up in the next few days and will post the number.

KSpoons

Leavin' on a jet plane

2008-05-05T06:39:00.003+12:00

Damn am I clever with these blog titles, huh? ;)

Anyway, we leave today. Holy crud. Wow. We're going to New Zealand. I'm out for three weeks while the other two chumps are stickin' around for upwards of five months. They'll be working when I leave, so I'm glad I will get to kick back and relax for a bit with them. Hopefully we can make our way to Christchurch to see Evan and Spooner before I have to leave, which shouldn't be a problem.

Off topic, but things I will miss:

Writing
Tim Horton's
Burger Baron
Enjoy Garden in Crossfield
Making money
Having money
Spending money on things I don't really need.

We're gone today. The flight is in like 5 hours, then we'll have a four hour layover in Vancouver before our epic flight to Kiwiland. See you on the flipside, everyone.

Mitchell Dyer

The Cake is a Lie

2008-05-04T13:45:00.002+12:00

I am going to Castle de Gamble for cake in 15 minutes. Also coffee. There is where the final gathering of the clans will commence, and then 48 hours afterwards, the trio shall be on a plane flying to Auckland.

Holy crap.

- MD

Now Boarding

2008-04-26T04:56:00.002+12:00

We leave soon. Like, hella soon. Like, nine days soon. It's my 20th birthday today, which is beneficial to my friends and I as we are celebrating our departure to New Zealand with a friendly get-together. It is, however, detrimental to my poor liver.

I got my money together today, I don't know about the other stooges in the trio, but I'm waiting on it for the next week or so. 1400 New Zealand bucks SHOULD tide me over if Jesse and I eat the NZ equivalent of ramen for the first couple weeks. Thank god for hostels.

For the uninformed, let me detail to you our itineraries:

Jesse and Kevin leave 30 minutes for Vancouver before I do. We will meet there and hop on the same flight to NZ at 9pm.
We land in New Zealand so far ahead in the future that Obama has won the election.
Kevin packs his things and takes off to play stick-puck in Christchurch.
Jesse and I pack our things and...
Umm...
Oh shit, we didn't plan this out.

We're basically hopping in a cab, asking for a hostel and then going to go rock out in Auckland, where we landed. Spooner might be with us for a day, but I'm quite sure the dude is taking off in a hurry. While he's training to become an elite-mega-hockey-superstar we're going to be dining on sleezy NZ cuisine and drowning our Spoon-free sorrows at the most bangin' beer joint we can find.

That's the extent of our planning, here. We're playing the entire thing by ear. We plan on going zorbing, and that's about it. After that, it's go-with-the-flow time. We're going to traverse to the south island and hit up Spooner (and the long fabled "Evan Miller") where they're playin' hockey, eventually. I leave much sooner than the other two, so I'll be heading to the north island, and back to Auckland in time to catch my flight at the end of May.

I hope.

- Mitch

Posts!

2008-03-17T05:24:00.000+13:00

It's March 16th. It's a Sunday and it's like 10:30am. No, we're not in New Zealand yet, but we - being Jesse Gamble, Mitch Dyer and Kevin Spooner - are going to be there in a couple months. Crashing in to town like a wicked tidal wave combined with a hurricane Tsunami from the distant future sent by the space-ghost of the resurrected zombie Lenin, we're going to be landing in the beginning of May.

From there, wheat ventures await us, we've not the faintest idea. Spoons is planning on playing hockey with long time buddy Evan Miller - who skipped out and went early. Jerk. - while Gamble and I plan on walking out of New Zealand's Auckland airport and telling a Cabbie to "Take us somewhere awesome".

I hope that ends up safer and more alive than I expect it to.

With any luck I'll be able to update this as things happen down there, but I don't know how much time we'll be spending in Intertron cafes. I see us jumping out of planes (am I legally allowed to do that now?) and rolling down hills in plastic balls instead of updating this thing for the six people who read this blog: OUR PARENTS.

Yeah. We're totally cool, guys, we swear.

Anyway, I need to... go do something besides write this stuff.

Peace out readers.

-MD