As I sit stuck in the Sydney airport for nearly 8 hours waiting for my connecting flight to SFO, I thought I should write down some of the things I had forgotten to or didn't get a chance to. I was planning on heading into the city on my long layover, but American citizens need a Visa to enter Australia. Ah, well. So yesterday morning I woke up in my snug little cabin in the rainforests of Punakaiki and realized it was raining. At first I was upset since I was planning on doing some more hiking through the tropical paradise, [View Full Entry]

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I have wanted to go white water rafting for a long time, so I figured why not do it in New Zealand? It was so much freakin fun!! I totally loved it and can see why Tim did this for a living for so long. We rafted along the Rangitati river which runs right down the middle of the South Island. Rangitati means "river from the sky" and the name is immediately apparent once you see the water. It is the purest and clearest light blue I have ever seen in water before. The river is formed from the melting glaciers, [View Full Entry]

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And I am not the only one left, but HOLY JEEZ there are a ton of sheep here! Every bus ride I take goes past pasture after pasture FULL of sheep. Last I heard the ratio was 30 sheep to every 1 person in New Zealand! And apparently that is down from previous years! Anyways, moving on. I reluctantly left Kaikoura yesterday (I loved my little beachside, snow-capped mountain town) to head down to Christchurch. My hostel is steps from the beautiful Christchurch Cathedral and right in the center of town. I went out exploring right away since I won't be [View Full Entry]

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I SWAM WITH DOLPHINS! And I don’t mean in a tank with tame dolphins, but in the middle of the ocean with completely wild, unenticed DOLPHINS! They were Dusky dolphins, which are the smallest dolphin in the world (the largest being the Orca) and only live in the Southern Hemisphere. There were about 10 of them and they would come circle around you and you had to try to keep up with them. As our guides told us, we were there for their entertainment, so we swam along with them and they would jump out of the water to show off. [View Full Entry]

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I have completely run out of adjectives to describe the scenery here and how I am feeling, so I resorted to exclamations to show my mood. I think they did a pretty good job :). I officially crossed Middle Earth to get here to Wellington. The bus ride from Auckland was LONG (11 hours), but I was riding on a two story bus (of course I sat on the second story!) and saw the beautiful countryside. You really can see why Peter Jackson decided to film the Lord of the Rings trilogy here, the countryside is so other-worldly. We passed through [View Full Entry]

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And I'm never coming back. Sorry guys! New Zealand is way too much the kind of the place I belong. The people, the lifestyle, the scenery. It is just too perfect a fit :) I have also decided that I should have been English. I love the way they speak! And I don't mean the accent (although I do love that too), but the words they use are so much better than the way Americans speak. Some examples: holiday instead of vacation, pissed instead of drunk, removing the 'a' from around, so it becomes "swap those round", dodgy instead of sketchy, [View Full Entry]

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Davenport is this adorable little town off the coast of Auckland. I took the ferry out there today to hike up the island's two volcanos and explore the town. I loved it!! It was so much more my type of place with small, cottage-like houses, lots of green and a small main strip with cute shops and cafes. The houses reminded me a lot of minituraized versions of Santa Cruz beach houses! I headed over to the Naval Museum which had lots of old weapons, missiles and even an unexploded mine! I then hiked up Mount Victoria which is the taller [View Full Entry]

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So after way too many hours on a plane, not much sleep and crossing the international date line, I have arrived in New Zealand! I got to see some of the amazingly plush green countryside on the bus ride from the airport, but have found that Auckland is very much a city, which was a little disappointing. My hostel is right downtown, walking distance to everything and so far I really like it. I am in a 6-bed mixed dorm with a uni-sex shower/bathroom that is shared with the whole floor. I adore my roommates so far! There is a girl, [View Full Entry]

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So I have begun to panic, begun to wonder what the hell I am doing, and how do I possibly only have three days left before I leave!?! I guess that means it is almost time for a trip! Thankfully I am well aware that these are common side effects of getting ready for an adventure. I am sure all the way to the airport I will be wondering what I am forgetting and continually checking that I have my passport. But more thankfully, the best side effect is that I am so completely and incredibly excited to go! On Monday, [View Full Entry]

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