Sam, one of our trio of netjetters who is keeping in touch with thousands of Guardian Unlimited users at www.theguardian.com/netjetters on their trips around the world, has been having a fantastic time in New Zealand. Here is a taste of his description of being in Wanaka:
"That evening I treated myself to a trip to the pictures. The movie was a laughably bad... but the film didn't really matter because Wanaka cinema was such a delight. About the size of a village hall, the seating was a motley assortment of armchairs and sofas with a convertible Morris Minor thrown in for good measure. Half way through, the film stopped and everyone went outside to the adjoining café and got freshly-baked cookies (still warm), home-made ice cream or a beer and then settled back into their armchairs. This is how all cinemas should be."
Then he went to Queenstown and was persuaded to go for a bunjee jump: "You are supposed to perform an elegant swan dive, but standing there on the edge I lost my nerve and basically fell off. I had a brief sensation of hanging in the air. I felt like I was in one of those cartoons where the animated character has run off the cliff and his legs are whirring over nothing. Then I was plummeting down towards the river. Then I was bouncing back up to the bridge. Then I was falling back down again."
Later, the 28-year-old civil servant, went on a two-day kayaking trip in Doubtful Sound, in Fiordland National Park, at the bottom of New Zealand's west coast, and encountered some dolphins: "As they got closer to us, the pod dived. For a moment everything was still. And the next moment the dolphins were playing all around us. They jumped over each other. They raced us. They dived under the kayaks. They swam alongside us. Two leapt out of the water either side of me. It must have only lasted a few short minutes but what an incredible emotional experience. I will never forget it."
Meanwhile Sue, a 51-year-old divorcee, is in Sarawak, Malaysia:
"Mulu park has the largest limestone cave system in the world. There are four show caves. On Wednesday, I set off for the Deer and Lang caves. With what appears to be becoming my usual timing, I picked the day the generator broke down so the caves were not lit. Deer cave is huge, home to millions of bats. The towering walls and rock formations are all covered with a layer of guano.
"You had to be careful not to gape too much at the magnitude of the cave as the smell of ammonia was very powerful, or to not slip on the fine layer of droppings on the walkway..."
To read their full accounts, and catch up with gap-year student Millie in Australia, visit www.theguardian.com/netjetters.
