We arrived back in Queenstown, me as usual, on a very full bladder. As soon as those bus doors open, I shot out of there like a canon in search of the nearest loo, and left Marielle to figure out where we were going to stay. With no options to speak of we stayed at Base - possibly the worst hostel in Queenstown. We went to the internet to catch up on emails and I called Steph. We were tired, I was feeling homesick after talking to my favourite person - just felt like a movie and bed. But then I [View Full Entry]

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So, Tuatapare would rank right up there with B arrytown in my books, except swap the beach for millions of sheep. This town is known for being the sausage capital of NZ and also the flast town in NZ to see the sun set (on the south west corner of the country, opposite of Gisborne, on the north east, where I'll be moving). Luckily we arrived late, and were able to press on to Stewart Island in the morning. Stewart Island lies 40km south of Invercargill and is accessible by a small passenger ferry. Now this is no BC FVerries, these [View Full Entry]

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Fiordland National Park is a bit off the beaten track, but boy is it worth it. My first glimpse into this natural wonder was a day cruise through Milford Sound. The drive in itself was spectacular with mountains so tall and jagged they looked as though they could cut the sky. Milford Sound (actually a fiord) did not disappoinwith the rugged coastline, dolphins, seals and waterfalls. The only downside was the hords of camera snapping tourists, so I just cranked up Enya on the ipod, tuned everyone out, and soaked it in. In an attempt to leave the tourists behind and [View Full Entry]

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Well I left Abel Tasman National Park and headed down the West Coast. We stopped at the pancake rocks and blow holes, a great geological feature for all you rock geeks out there, and spent the night in Barrytown. Which, what can I say, is a bit of a hole. There's not much there but the entrance to a walk, a beautiful beach and a pub/backpackers hostel. We made the most of it though, with a fancy dress party. The theme was anything B or P (our bus drivers name was BP), so I rocked up as the Pink Panty Police. [View Full Entry]

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After 3 hours of sleep, I made my way to the ferry and left Wellington for Picton on the south island. I boarded the Stray bus, which was to be my mode of transportation for the next month and we headed for Abel Tasman National Park. From all accounts, this was supposed to be a tour bus that catered more to the more adventurous crowd, but my first crew appeared to be more from the "lets just get drunk but in another country" crowd. My hopes of catching up with someone to do the hike with were crushed as these passengers [View Full Entry]

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I arrived safe and sound in Wellington to an abundance of welcome and hospitality from Lisa (whom I met while in Italy), John and his parents and Andrea and hers. I took in the local sites, visited the national museum, Te Papa and was treated like royalty with home cooked meals and a comfortable place to lay my head at night. John showed me how to live it up, Wellington style, where we visited the Matterhorn (famous bar for the Lord of the Rings crew), and introduced me to his great friends. Andrea showed me how to live it up Wellington [View Full Entry]

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So the plan was to come to Australia for 3 weeks, visit John and Neet, make some quick cash, and then head to New Zealand, and that was 11 months ago... How does one sum up nearly a year of an entirely new life? How does one describe all the amazing people I've met, experiences I've had and places I've seen? For someone with verbal diarrhea like myself, I could write a series of novels (in fact I have, but you won't have the privilage of reading them ;-). So I'll do my best to give the short form. I rock [View Full Entry]

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From hovering around zero degree weather in Tasmania to 42 degree blazing sun in Melbourne, my body didn't know quite what to think, but where there's sun and a beach, there's Shauna! As our wardrobes consisted of hiking boots, quick dry shirts, and toques, we needed to do some serious shopping so we could fit in with civilization again. We hit the shops in our sleep deprived stupor and managed to find some good sales and New Years duds. We hit up Lygon Street for dinner, which is known for its Italian restaurants with Italian men trying to swoon you into [View Full Entry]

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What better way to spend a Christmas away from home than with 5 other displaced internationals. Back in September, the idea was brought up to hike the 82km (when all was said and done), overland track from Cradle Mountain to Lake Saint Claire through the guts of Tasmania. How could I resist! I wasn't disappointed. We hiked anywhere from 9km to 21km per day from the 22-27th of December. Through the alpine (even getting snow on Christmas eve) and through the lower temperate Beech forests. Mother nature threw everything at us that she had: rain, snow, sleet, wind, sun and hail [View Full Entry]

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Managed to make a 5 day weekend out of a one day music festival, not bad. Andrea, Colette and I flew to Sydney on Friday morning and checked in at the best hostel in Sydney - Colette's parents house! While she did the family thing, Andrea and I headed into the city to see the sites (that consisted of a few pictures of the opera house and the harbour bridge). The weather was not all that great (actually, had a news breaking storm that afternoon), so we opted for a self-guided pub crawl instead. We got back to the house at [View Full Entry]

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