HAPPINESS

"He was discovering happiness in the present. When he sat reading in the library, or playing Mozart in the music room, he often felt the invasion of a deep spiritual emotion, as if Shangri-LA were indeed a living essence, distilled from the magic of the ages and miraculously preserved against time..."

Lost Horizon, Milton


Thursday, December 31, 2009

Eco-tour of the New Zealand Canyon


Here were more photos from our second time of rappelling. Our neighbor, Tran, was our adventure guide for our family. We had previously planned a two day summit of Mount Taranki with Tran. However, the mountain top was closed to climbers because of snow conditions at the top. After a family conference, we decided to head out with Tran for a back country rappelling adventure. Tran promised an incredible action packed day. It was a great day of our family bonding in New Zealand.

The boys were getting excited for the second day of rappelling. Earlier in the week, we had spent 4 hours descending spider like down into the black abyss at St. Benedict's cavern. On this day trip, Alec was leading the way into the back country. The guys were getting fired up. There was no turning back as we were in the middle nowhere. It was about an 1 1/2 hr drive, north of our home in Oakura.

Al was snaking his way down the mountain stream thru the canyon. This was the only way down as the country side was full of dense bush. There were no other climbers during our day long journey. Usually, Alec climbed down first and he held the ropes at the bottom. Tran was at the upper level where he helped the climbers get into position for the downward climb.


Here was Al living the good life! He worked his way down the canyon and thru the beautiful waterfall. The mountain stream was crystal clear and freezing cold. Our wet suits and all the physical activity kept us warm during the day long climb.

The girls chillin out before the next climb down. It had been a perfect day for our family with lots of adrenaline filled activity and time together. We were having the time of our life together. Just luvin' the adventure as a family in the incredible country of New Zealand.
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