Goodbye Auckland, hello New Zealand!!!

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kia ora!!!! or hello to y'all.
So today is my last day in Auckland, the city of sails, the largest city in NZ. It's a pretty awesome place, but boy am i ready to leave!!!!
The city has sooooooooo many boats! probably more than i've ever seen in one place. and there's a beautiful sky tower the looks just like the space needle in Seattle. Honestly, i would describe the city as a mix between Seattle, the bay area, and San Diego. but oh so humid and hot!! it's absolutely gorgeous. but then again, i didn't come to New Zealand to be in a city, i want to be out in the country!
so what have i been up to since last time??
well, I went to one of the most beautiful places i've ever seen. Titritiranga island, about an hour off the coast of Auckland. It's a bird sanctuary and no one lives there. it was basically a sub-tropical rainforest. I saw one of the rarest birds on earth!! unfortunately, i can't remember the name of it. we hiked along, checked out birds, and then headed down to the beach. we swam about a 1/2 mile out!!! i can't begin to explain just how amazing of a place it is, but let me just say- it's paradise.
Last night all of the EAP orientation kids, ( there are about 50 of us) went over to Davenport, this beautiful little coastal town on the other side of the bay, to have dinner at this super high scale restraunt. boy the food was delicious!! You could compare the town to say, a ritzy town on the east coast. we rode a double decker bus home and got some great views of the city by night.
i've also just been crusin around Auckland, checking out all the great shops and hitting up clubs, a Gay Bar, and an Irish pub. i spent 20 bucks on ONE drink!! absolutely ridic. i'm already kinda over going out simply for that reason. just so y'all know, clothing is pricey here!!!!! even at thrift stores, or "op-shops" as they call them here, denim shorts are like, 40 dollars!! i'm so glad i brought enough clothing.
so, what's next???
after a whole bunch of stress trying to figure out how to travel down to my school, things have finally come together. A group of 10 of us from orientation bought a giant van and are going to roadtrip around the North Island for the next week before we have to head down to our schools. if we get everything together in time, we'll be leaving tonight. i'm soooooooo STOKED!!!!!!!! finally, i'm going to get out into the REAL NZ, the one that i came here for.

more amazing sights, places, and experiences soon to come!!
until next time,
Lannette

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