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Published: October 19th 2007
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I arrived in Auckland, New Zealand on Saturday September 28. When the planed landed I had such a great feeling. I realized that I actually made it to the place I had on my mind for the last two years. There may have even been a strange salty discharge that came from my eye. Anyways..I quickly found a friendly Kiwi in the shuttle bus to Auckland City. She gave me some tips and suggestions about New Zealand and I was off to find a hostel. That first night at the hostel I was quite tired so I went to sleep early but was awoken multiple times through the night by a rowdy bunch drinking until 7am. Luckily that was the only night like that.
I thought Auckland was a beautiful city despite everyone I met telling me to get out of Auckland as soon as I could. Apparently everyone that lives in New Zealand outside of Auckland does not really like the city or the people. But the real New Zealand does lie outside of Auckland. I found many extremely friendly people working in random stores and banks who seemed to just love their jobs. A little different from New
York. I spent most of my time in Auckland searching for a car and luckily I found someone selling a 1993 Nissan wagon for $1000 NZ. If everything goes to plan I will be picking up the car at the end of October. Driving on the opposite side of the road may take some time getting used to but at least I think I have mastered walking across the street and looking right first. Although it is a little more tricky on the way back from the bars.
After a week in Auckland and much criticism from several people for staying an entire week in Auckland I took a bus up to Whangerei. I spent two nights in a hostel which had a home like environment but Whangerei was just not that exciting. However, I was introduced to hitchhiking here. Two of the people I was staying at the hostel with said that they had done it a few times and had a great experience so when we decided to go kayaking at a place that was a little too far of a walk we went to the road with our thumbs out. Within 10 minutes we had a
ride with a friendly man and his daughter in their van. On the way back to the hostel it only took 5 minutes. The woman who picked us up was so nice that she even went out of her way to drop us off at the grocery store when she overheard me saying that we needed to get something for dinner. I was so impressed with our hitchhiking that I decided to use it to move on to my next destination, Paihia. This time I was alone so it felt a bit more risky but I was trusting of the Kiwi people. I didnt wait long before I was picked by a guy in a truck. I quickly noticed that the truck smelled like freshly smoked weed but for some reason that did not deter me. He was actually a really nice guy and was upset that he didnt wait longer to smoke so he could have shared it. He also offered me some history into the Maori culture in New Zealand. But the mood abruptly shifted when we sped straight through an intersection with a sign that informed me that Paihia was to the right. When I asked him
Volcanoe...
cant remember the name of it at the moment where he was going he said he knew a faster way to Paihia. I instantly began to sweat and pictured myself being tossed into a ditch without my bag and left for dead. But not long after I saw another sign for Paihia and felt much relief. (Dont worry Mom and Dad..I swear I am done hitchiking since I will have a car soon.)
Paihia in the Bay of Islands was a beautiful place and I met some great people. I stayed at a hostel called the Mousetrap and fittingly enough everyone seemed to get trappped there shortly after they arrived. Most of the people I met there were working and staying until January or February despite only planning to stay for a short time. I planned to stay two nights but instead stayed a week. Not as extreme but I had to head to the farm so who knows how long I would have stayed. I felt quite lazy since all the friends I made were working during the day and I pretty much spent my day lounging around but I got over that quickly. Before I left for this trip I was concerned that I may get
Sky Tower
Looking down through the glass from the Sky Tower in Auckland bored if there wasn't much to do but I have been perfectly content hikinh around and doing some reading. I think I am adjusting well to traveling and this immense amount of freedom. I have been enjoying meeting so many people from many different places and hearing their stories about where they have been and where they plan to go. However, it is getting a little tiring to meet so many great people and then saying bye to them not long after, but I guess that is how traveling usually is and I will get used to it.
I miss everyone back home and I hope everyone is doing well. I just do not understand how the Rockies are in the World Series. Can someone please help me understand how that happened?
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