Kiwi Diana

Dearest friends and family, Hee hee. I lied. I'm not quite done with the stories because Sydney has proven to offer alot in terms of fun and entertainment. Sydney's a really pretty city. Alot of the houses are red tile roof in the Victorian style and the harbor is just amazing. (By the way, did I ever mention how ugly and unimaginative the NZ towns were? Talk about blah!) I'm staying in a hostel smack in the middle of downtown Chinatown which is jam packed with hair, nail and massage salons, internet cafes and Gloria Jean Coffees. The weather is nice, warm and sunny, about 67 degrees F and not a cloud in the sky. Yesterday, as I was feeling a little tight in my back and shoulders, I took a yoga class in a ... read more

The Headaches of Travel Now I'm in Sydney, Australia and the journey to New Zealand has ended. Last night was a nightmare! Because I had a 6am flight this morning, I took the bus to the airport the night before because paying for a few hours in a hostel would have been pointless, right? Besides, that's what I get for jumping at the cheapo-ticket deals. Unfortunately for me, the airport closes at midnight, leaving me in a bad position all loaded down with my bags, in need of a shower and feeling extremely grumpy. I had a feeling that this could have happened but a person can hope, right? Finally one of the guards accosted me by the bathrooms. Apparently they'd been watching me on the cameras the last few hours wandering aimlessly about the ... read more

Kia Ora, You know what's weird about NZ? No native mammals or any poisonous beasts in the wild. I've just had a nice long solitary walk in a eucalyptus forest (minus the koalas) and am sitting in Kerikeri's super happenin' Internet cafe -- McDonalds. Let's talk about McDonald's differences, because everyone likes it. The menu here is different from America. (Sorry, no Le Royales.)Everything comes in the form of a sub sandwich with all the naughty fillings inside. Vege, Italian, Beef 'n' BBQ, or, if the customer's really feeling wild, Chicken Tandoori. What happened to the burgers??? I suspect guess the sandwich bread are really just elongated burger buns. The kitchen is totally laid back. No one wears uniforms or latex gloves. Before coming to civilization, I had a beautiful week running around the Kauri ... read more

Dearest doozies, I just purchased a half dozen "Barn Eggs" at the Four Square corner market. According to the cardboard box, the eggs come from chickens "raised on lNew Zealand ifestyle properties and looked after by caring farmers who allow the chickens to roam and engage in natural expression." Riiiiight. Since my last entry in Auckland, things have been...adventuresome. I met up with a German gal named Isi, who I met a few weeks before in the natural hot springs in Lake Taupo. We're both nuts, so we make great travel partners. We've been clunking around the northernmost tip of the north island in her 1983 Honda, which has given me ample opportunity to practice the disconcerting act of driving on the left side of the road. :-) I don't know why it is, but ... read more

Deep breath. Dearest friends and family, Let me begin by giving a gentle reminder to all who have the luxury of having the Internet at their fingertips with little to no agony. Don't take it for granted! When I have a keyboard underneath my thirsty hands, I feel as though I've hit the lottery (even though it costs an arm and a leg.) New Zealand is not a cheap place, by the way. Everything, especially food, is just as, if not more, expensive here than in the good ole U.S.A.! Back to the juicy stuff. Here I sit, in the cramped upstairs internet room of a coffeeshop in downtown Auckland. It's roasting hot up here, and damn, does this diet coke taste so nice and frosty cold, considering that I haven't had the joy of ... read more

Dear all, It's the best part of your favorite song played really loud. It's when the person you've been drooling over in the bar looks your way and smiles. It's the perfect drug. Alcohol can't touch it. Sex doesn't even come close. It's absolute legend. I'm talking about launching out of a perfectly good airplane at 15,000 feet, meat bombing your way into the earth below and hoping that little napkin opens to cushion your fall a bit. I've always dreamed about skydiving. It seemed an appropriate rite of passage, something a person had to do before becoming a qualified grownup (Yes, yes, flawed logic, but hey...). So when I booked into my hostel at Lake Taupo, I casually asked Paul, the super friendly and laid-back owner, if he'd ever skydived. He smiled at me, ... read more

Dear all, I saw a flea in my bed last night. Still, not a bad tradeoff for learning the best bread recipe ever and how to make Ritz worthy beds. PICTURES But before I launch into my overdue journal, please take a peek back at my last entry for pictures that I posted for real this time. They're about a week or so old, but hey, I'm in the boonies and technology is hard to access. RAINFOREST ROUTINE Yes, the boonies. I'm becoming domesticized. The calm pace of this past week has been a far cry from the frenzy of the start of my journey. My heart almost leaped out of my throat when I noticed the gaping void in my bank account left from recreational indulgences. I realized, ya know what, it's time to ... read more

Dearest woo-foos! Back to Queenstown, though my body has left the seductive deathwish capital where I lept to my demise via Canyon Swing, my heart still beats with its life force. Thus, I'll write in the present tense: This town crackles with energy. It's the 7th most popular vacation destination in the WORLD and it's not hard to see why. It's nestled at the base of the Remarkables mountains, home of Mordor for you Lord of the Rings freakies, and one of the only two mountain chains in the world that run true north and south.(The Andes sharing the honor). They look quite sinister with their jagged peaks looking like giant gray teeth chewing the sky to bits. Lake Wakatipu serves as the waterway that the town wraps itself around. Come nightful, everyone here is ... read more