atleberg

It's been almost three years since my last journal so about time for a new one Funny how it follows my return from the other side of the planet - again. This time it falls even more true since the trip went to New Zealand and the time difference is nothing less than 12 hours. Combine that with 43 hours of travel, start to end, and you should think jet lag would become a huge problem. Fortunately not

NZ was amazing and although it reminds me of, and looks a lot like, Norway on the west coast - it also is very different. Me and my travel buddy Kenneth rented a car in Auckland and drove from there to Rotorua, Waitomo, Rotorua (oh yes... daytrip), Napier, Wellington - ferry to Picton, Christchurch, Mt. Cook, Queenstown, Milford Sound (day trip) before the last days in Queenstown. My favorites where probably Milford Sound at six in the morning (couldn't get closer to Avatars Pandora) and Waitomo caves with the glow-worms.

I've managed to add a couple of pictures from the trip already, but more will come

So I've been back from Japan almost a week now and I'm slowly starting to feel normal again

Arriving in Tokyo on the first day was kind of crazy, but finding my way to the hotel were not as hard as I had imagined it to be fortunately. All signs you need to find your way are in English and if you stop and look a bit confused people come over to you and try their best to help you find your way even if they don't speak any English at all

The first two weeks traveling with the Intrepid group managed to go by incredibly fast and at the same time feel like it lasted at least twice as long as the actual time it took. We were 8 people, including the guide, and the people I traveled with were great. We all got along really well and that just made the experience so much better. I miss them already! Our guide, Dan, has a real passion for Japan and he managed to get that through to us and I feel like we really got to experience the essence of Japan that way. Thanks a lot Dan

I think one of my favorite moments from the trip was when we stayed at this ryokan in Iya Valley and I had an onsen  (traditional hot spring bath) before breakfast one morning. I was alone in the outdoor onsen with just the birds keeping me company. There was a slow drizzle and blossoming cherry trees all around framing my view of the valley - just magic

The A-bomb museum in Nagasaki also made a huge impression on all of us. One of the people on the group went as far as to say that every major city in the world should have one of these. The museum was very well laid out and presented the material surrounding the bombing in different ways to help us understand the severity of it. They also described what lead up to it as well as the years afterwards with the nuclear armament race and the cold war. Even though I knew much of the history from various documentaries and school; learning it anew in such a historically important place had a kind of sobering effect and gave me pause for thought.

The last week of the trip, in Tokyo I had by myself. Well; I wasn't all alone since I have a friend that studies there this year. She showed me around the different areas and I gout to see some pretty cool places not listed in the guide books There were time for shopping, sightseeing, good eating, clubbing, (ageHa) with dancing to the sunrise at Tokyo bay, as well as galleries and museums. The Ghibli museum (Spirited Away, Howls Moving Castle etc) being one of my definite favorites even though it's primarily for children. It works for both small and big children in that way

I stayed in Shinkuku so the gadget/electronics stores were never far away and getting around the city was really easy using the trains. Coming to shopping Yodabashi Camera is definitely one of my favorites and I was really close to buying a new 1Ds Maybe next time

What else is there to say than book your ticket and go there? You have to experience this country for yourself

I finally booked my trip to Japan last week By finally I mean I've been dreaming of doing this ever since I was in my teens. Why haven't I've done it before? Well, several of my friends wanted to come with me, but we've never managed to get the timing right. Now I was bored of waiting for something that might never happen so I'm going on my own

It's kind of krazy thinking about leaving in just under three weeks when I feel I just about came back from South Africa. Two "big" trips in such a short time is not something I do often I probably could make a habit out of it though

Of course I'm bringing my camera so now I just have to make sure I finish up posting shots from the safari since I for sure will have a ton of new material to post when I get back from this trip. Best not to get to much of a backlog...

I'm leaving on April 4th. and the first two weeks will be spent travelling in a group arranged by Intrepid (JRL) and then the last week I'll spend on my own in Tokyo I'm especially looking forward to spending at least one Sunday in Harajuku

So, if you, for some strange reason, happen to be in Tokyo between April the 19th and 25th give me a shout

On another note. On thursday I attended the premiere of the movie "Long Flat Balls II" (Lange Flate Ballær 2) on which I were visual effects supervisor. It was great to finally see the end of this production, after all we've been at it for just over one and a half year. The best part were seeing the whole movie as it should be; with the final grade and with the sound effects and music. Also; these people know how to throw a party so that's for sure something I didn't want to miss

Getting feedback from people is also great. The job my team did were amazing and it seems like the audience as well as the critics like it too. Although the film has gotten average reviews overall it will probably be a box-office hit like the first one was. A very down-to-earth comedy that has a broad audience always makes a hit

So I'm back from my 3 week trip to South Africa. I joined a trip, arranged by Drifters, called Johannesburg to Cape Town 18 Day Overland Explorer.

This trip has been utterly amazing and with a fully packed schedule it felt like it lasted a lot longer than the 18 days it did. We visited places such as The Krüger National Park, Drakensberg and Karoo and everywhere we went we saw the indigenous animals in their natural environment. We were extremely lucky and managed to see all the "famous" animals of the country except for the Leopard, but I really don't mind since we did get to see two cheetahs which we weren't supposed to see at all.

Towards the end of the trip myselfe and two others from the group bungy-jumped the alleged world highest bungy jump at Bloukrans - kick ass

During this trip I filled 9 GB worth of memory cards in spite of deleting shots underway so I'll be using the next week to sift through them properly. Many of them will probably be posted here so stay tuned!

Not much time for anything except work these days. We're on the final stretch to finish a whole bunch of visual effects for a major Norwegian movie so there's a lot to do not leaving any time for photography or any social life for that matter.

However, the ideas for new photos I want to do doesn't stop popping up so my list keeps getting longer and longer. That's not necessary a bad thing though. Can't wait to finish this project before the holidays and do some personal stuff again