Where in the world is Ashley Churchill?

I can do that all on my own. I went on whats called a 'canyon swing'. Yeah, I just keep looking for ways to nearly kill myself. It was pretty exilerating.

About to jump off...

Jumping off...

Near the bottom...

There was another Canadian girl jumping, Julie from Vancouver.
We're the Official Canadian Canyon Jumping Team.

I saw this, and I was like "Did you have a bad experience with a Canadian or something? But they said its because we can laugh at stuff like that and not take it seriously. Thats why they did it.

In other news, it looks like its starting to clear up here. It was pretty miserable in the morning, but it cleared up for the afternoon. We saw a rainbow today.

Not much else is new. I'm heading off at 7 tomorrow morning for Mount Cook. Then back to Christchurch and then Japan! I bought my ticket to Beijing. But I haven't even had my visa application dropped off yet, so I everyone cross your fingers for me! I'm looking at tickets from Beijing to Toronto (The one in Canada, for those of who are thinking of the one in NSW). Sigh... Its all coming to a close. But that only means I'm closer to my next overseas adventure. Which will be New Zealand in the summer (November).

Oh, and EMAIL ME. I like knowing what the rest of the world is up to.

See ya.

AC

There are a ton of things to do in Queenstown. I've decided on a Canyon Swing. Its similar to bunji jumping, but you swing off a cliff. Looks like fun. I you guys think I'm just a little bit crazy for doing stuff like this. Well; I think smoking is crazy, and I know SEVERAL people who do it many times a day. Anyway, thats what I'm up to tomorrow. I'll post pics once I get them.

I went out drinking with a few people from my hostel last night.

And yes, I'm wearing a scarf. Its pretty cold here, especially at night. But its not too bad. One girl at my hostel is really upset that its not snowing. I explained to her that snow in May is simply unnatural.
In other news, I've booked my beds for Tokyo and Beijing. Holy crap! China is cheap. I booked a private room for 11 dollars a night. Dorms are 4 dollars, but I decided to splurge.

All of my GTA (Greater Toronto Area) concert buddlies, take note. I bought a ticket to see Cary Brothers on July 29. Its been far too long since I last saw him play.

Peace out.

AC

So I just arrived in Queenstown yesterday. Not at all like anywhere in Australia. The accent of the locals is vaguely similar, but the landscape is more reminiscent of British Columbia (minus the extreme abundance of weed, but then again, I only arrived yesterday) or Switzerland (minus the language barrier).

It is their winter here right now. So its a bit chilly. I was waiting for the bus in Christchurch in the early hours of the morning yesterday and I saw something that truly troubled me. I SAW MY OWN BREATH! Something that I'm a little too familiar with.

As some of you know, I have an excess of stuff. Mostly clothes. I have developed a small shopping addiction over the past few years. So in order to bring the things that I do want to bring home, I have to let go of the things I'm only partially attached to. So that meant a clothing liquidation/giveaway in Christchurch.
There may be more in the future. We'll see.

Anyway, now that I'm in Queenstown, I'm starting to look into the different activities they have to offer. I went skydiving last year when I was in Switzerland. So I'm deffinately looking into that. Back at the hostel, some people showed their videos of their Canyon Swings. I'll look into that as well.

Anway, I'm still alive for those that had their doubts.

AC

As some of you know, I don't really travel light. On top of my back pack which weighs about 20 kilos, I also have two suitcases with a combined weight of 47kilios. Anyway, to decrease the cost of bringing them both on the plane with me, I had them sent on standby with Qantas. So I went to the Christchurch Airport to collect them and OH MAN! I first went to Qantas, they told me to go to Air New Zealand Cargo. So I make my way there and it took freaking FOREVER to find it. The directions that the lady at Qantas gave me to get there were total crap. But I get there eventually and it turns out that I was supposed to go to Qantas first, even though they told me that I had to go to Air NZ Cargo. But of course, I couldn't go back to Qantas because their offices had just closed for the weekend. So I have to back to the airport tomorrow (Monday) and deal with them all over again. And lets not forget that little extra drama that just HAS to occur. THERE IS A HOLD ON OF THEM. GRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!! I have a plan to bring all (or most) of my stuff back to Canada. I'm just trying to anticipate any more issues that may arise out of it.

I'm also trying to get my Chinese tourist visa worked out. I have to get my mom to drop off my application to the Chinese consulate and mail it back to either New Zealand or Japan. Depending on how long it all takes.

In other news, I'll be back in Sydney once again! I have a layover in Sydney for a few hours. If anyone wants to meet up for drinks between the hours of 4:30 and 8pm, drop me a line!

See ya.

AC

Hey everyone. I just arrived safe and sound in Christchurch last night. The hostel that I'm currently staying is called 'Jailhouse'. Its a former prison, now converted to a hostel. Some memories of a small SNAFU I expeirienced in Detroit several years back are starting to come back to me.

Yes, that is barbed wire in the toilet seat.



Don't worry mom, this one is fake.

Its kind of chilly here. I spent last weekend in the Northern Territory where it was 30*C everyday. It only reached 18*C today. I bought a tuque. I'm planning the next two weeks right now. I know I'll be heading to Queenstown sometime, but I think I'll save that until later. Any ideas?

Peace and Love

AC