Home Sweet Home: Break Wrap-Up

I am back in Wellington and very grateful for it. The Auckland trip was not the most fun. We didn't really like it there. I would not call the trip a failure however. Like Samuel Butler says,

"Exploring is delightful to look forward to and back upon, but it is not comfortable at the time, unless it be such an easy nature as not to deserve the name"

and I am an explorer so that's that. It was definitely an experience, and definitely not comfortable. And I mean, I could try to be optimistic about it, but I think I find more joy in complaining.

We started off on the wrong foot when the Welly wind was so bad it BROKE our plane before take off, so our flight was canceled. It didn't bother me much. It's vacation, I'm in beautiful New Zealand, I'm going with the flow. We rescheduled for noon the next day, already missing out on over 24 hours in Auckland. Little did we know that it was actually a blessing. It was annoying to have to pay for a taxi back and forth to the airport, and back again, though.

Here is a beautiful pic from take-off when we finally did take off.

After just a 45 minute flight we were there, and on a shuttle to our disgusting hostel. The people at the front desk were anything but friendly, the carpets were all worn and dirty in the hallways, the bathrooms were nasty and I immediately came to the conclusion that I wasn't showering during our little trip after seeing the showers. To top it off I had a bottom bunk, tetris-ed between two other sets of bunk beds, so that my head was in between two other people's feet. Also everyone's luggage was pushed up against my bed and I could barely get into it. It was just sketchy. Not a good vibe right off the bat.

We (obviously) got out of the hostel quick and went wandering. We ended up at the Sky Tower which was probably the highlight of our trip. It's the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. We took the elevator up to the 66th floor or something like that, and there was plexi-glass in the floor so you could see yourself getting higher and higher. At the top there is a big 360 degree look-out that was beautiful. You could see everything! There was also more plexi-glass you could stand on and feel like you were floating 66 stories in the air. I think I was more scared to stand on that then I was for bungee jumping.








After riding the elevator back down, we stopped in the casino which was at the bottom floor and did a little gambling. Hahaha. We are now addicted to slots. I could have walked out $2 richer but of course I got greedy and ended up $4 poorer. It was worth it though. Hilarious.







Speaking of hilarious, we have no idea how we got roped into paying $30 to go in the "Ice House" ... but it was probably worth the money due to how hard we were laughing when we got in there. They made it sound like some palace made of ice, and for some reason we didn't even think twice about paying to get in, but when we got in it was about the size of a dorm room and no one was in there. We had to wear weird rental coats, too. Haha. Strange.We just didn't get good vibes from Auckland. We couldn't find anywhere youthful or relatively cheap to go out to, the streets were dirty, the hostel was dirty, just not a good time. We watched most of the royal wedding in the hostel before going up to bed, at which time I discovered a dreaded BED BUG under my pillow before laying down!!! EW! We went down to the desk and they moved us to another room, which had MORE BED BUGS crawling all over the pillow as soon as we got there! Ew ew ew ew!!! It was like 11:00pm and we were supposed to stay until the next day but we got out of there quick. With no real destination or plan, we got out to the street where we passed by a drunken fight and were yelled at by multiple people out of their car windows. We just weren't feelin' like giving Auckland a second chance at that point so we just got a taxi to the airport, changed our flight so we could get home earlier, and spent midnight to 6:40am trying to sleep there.

Finally at like 8:30am this morning I was home and loving life in my own bed.

* * *

After all my travels over the past two weeks covering almost the entire country from bottom to top, I have to say, Queenstown was definitely my favorite. The little city is jam packed and pretty, not to mention the mountains that seriously surround you while you're there. The little harbor is so close and there are tons and tons of places to eat, drink, and shop. It's full of adventurous, adrenaline-junkie, thrill seeking, outdoorsy attractive people, too ;) I must say.

QUEENSTOWN

For anyone traveling to New Zealand, definitely make the South island your priority, maybe even Queenstown in particular. It's so beautiful.

So now I'm sitting here in my room, getting a little paranoid about bed bugs and doing ALL of my laundry. It's Saturday night but I am exausted and have a little adventure trip planned for tomorrow to end this break with a bang, anyway, so I'm just gonna rest up and work on some school work and things. School starts again on Monday. Yikes.

Auckland

I am writing from a FREE INTERNET ACCESS booth in the Auckland airport. It's 1:00am so no one else is in here. I can hog all the free internet I want.

...okay maybe I can't. The police just came over and told me this terminal gets locked up at night and I need to get out. This trip just gets worse and worse haha.

Yum

Spicey Thai Chicken* ... Just like home:

Leaving for Auckland in the morning! Lovin' this break! Not sure if I'm bringing my computer but I won't be gone for long. See ya!

Anzac Day

I'm back in Welly for a few days before I leave for Auckland and complete my two week journey from basically the bottom of the country to the top of it. The first week was awesome. The South Island is PARADISE.

It was a rainy gloomy Easter yesterday and it's a rainy gloomy Anzac day today.
Anzac day is: a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all those who died and served in military operations for their countries. Anzac Day is also observed in the Cook Islands, Niue, and Tonga. -Wikipedia

So everything is closed. Again. It's illegal to be open on Good Friday, Easter, and (until after 1) on Anzac day. I guess it's been a good thing, though: eliminating the temptation of spending money. That being said: There was not much to do in Nelson on Good Friday. I ate breakfast and wandered around. Tim and I took a 45 minute walk to the beach and it was worth it to see a bunch of cute dogs playing. I miss my pup!



Friday night I made friends with a couple guys staying in the same hostel as me and we tried to find places to go out to, but of course everything was either closed or had weird rules about selling drinks. We found somewhere for them to get dinner though and hung out and it was pretty fun.

I took an uncomfortable, packed bus to Picton on Saturday and got on the ferry back to Wellington. The ferry was nothing special. It could have been I guess if I explored it more. It's huge. I just wanted to get home and change into some clean clothes at that point though.

Yesterday was Easter and it was nothing special. I hung out with Alexis and we ate lots of Easter candy that she was sent by her Aunt and Uncle. We couldn't even go out and buy anything to make a nice dinner because everything was closed. Allie, who is a friend of my roommate Emily from home, was in Wellington last night, though! She's studying in Australia and is traveling in New Zealand for her break. Since nothing was open I offered her and her friends to come chill with me and mine at the Stafford house and it was pretty fun :)

In other news: Raggles is now sporting his New Zealand fleece from Queenstown:Lookin' good Rags.

So I have a few hours until anything opens. I'm gonna work on my creative writing portfolio that I have to present on May 6th. See ya!

In Nelson

Kia ora from Nelson.

I was reunited with my camera the other night! Thank baby Jesus! I was so thrilled. Now I have a little picture catch up to do:

This is a picture of that aioli I was talking about:

yumyumyumyumyum

Here are a few pics of Sara and I playing pool at the bar with the cool fire pit that made all of our clothes smell like fire for days:
Here's a picture of Sara and "Rocco" who we made friends with at the hostel and went on a mini-night-road trip/hike with to try and touch the Fox Glacier, but we chickened out last minute because we didn't want to die. It was still awesome though. The moon and stars were so bright and there were crazy tall mountains surrounding us. Rocco kept saying we were in Lord of the Rings and he was Frodo, even though he was like 7 feet tall. His name isn't really Rocco, it's kind of similar but Sara and I could never remember it. Netherlandians. Oh yeah, and we saw a monkey leaping across the road. It was actually a possum but it looked like a monkey and it was pretty much the funniest thing ever when Rocco said it was a monkey with his dutch accent.
I didn't get any pictures of the Franz Josef Glacier which we hiked to the other day because I didn't have my camera then. We decided to take a few of the easier trials instead of the hardcore 8 hour hike, because we weren't really equipped for it. It was pretty cool and I had a nice time, but to be honest it wasn't the most exciting thing ever.

So now, after a 10 hour bus ride which was slightly less comfortable than the first one, I'm in Nelson! The hostel we're in is absolutely amazing. It's called Accents on the Park and it's basically a hotel with the sweetest restaurant/lounge downstairs.

Oh yeah I guess I should update you:
There has been a change of plans on my little adventure trip. The last minute rental car turned out to be too expensive for me so I had to cancel my trip to Abel Tasman National Park. Instead I'm just staying here in Nelson for two nights and then getting a bus to Picton to take the ferry back to Wellington. I'm okay with it. Hopefully I can plan another trip to Abel Tasman where I won't be rushed or paying top dollar, and Nelson seems really cool anyway. I haven't explored it yet, since we arrived kind of late last night, but I have all day today. Tim doesn't seem to share my complacency with the change of plans (and that's putting it nicely), but what can I do about it. He's still going to Abel Tasman tomorrow anyway and staying an extra day in Nelson.

In other news:
Registering for classes for next semester in New Paltz was and still is an absolute nightmare. I had to wake up at 4:30am to do it (since my time assignment was 12:30 at home) and I only got into ONE class I wanted, which was a random elective that I pretty much only chose because it fit in with the rest of my classes. I managed to scrounge up some classes for the moment and I'm still waiting for tons of e-mail replies from professors so they can hopefully make some exceptions for me.

Alright well I am off to explore Nelson!! I leave you with a picture I took on the bus ride here yesterday. New Zealand is a dream land.

Christchurch > Queenstown > Franz Josef

Last night in the hostel, Sara held up a black cord and said "..what is this?" and I was like "ahhh! omg! How did my camera cord get all the way over there! I'd never be able to upload pictures again without that!" and I put it back in my backpack. But the funny thing is, now my camera is in Queenstown and I'm in Franz Josef and I really don't need the cord after all!! I called the hostel right away (I realized I left the camera JUST as soon as the bus left) and they're over-nighting it to me here at my new and better hostel in Franz Josef. It'll be fine.

The 8 hour bus ride here had absolutely amazing views the whole time, but you'll have to take my word for it. I haven't been to many countries at all but I can't imagine how any of them could possibly be any more beautiful than this one.

Let me take it back a few steps, though, and tell you all about Queenstown: the most awesome little city ever.

We got on our first plane to Christchurch on Saturday at 6:50, and after a super short flight we arrived. It felt like I only got to listen to three songs on my iPod. New Zealand is tiny. It was raining when we got to Christchurch, but we had 7 hours to kill so that didn't stop us. We took a bus into downtown, or as close as we could get to whats left of it after the earthquake. It was worse than I thought it was going to be. They really haven't been able to clean any of it up yet. I saw some workers carrying a set of plastic dorm shelves out of some rubble, though. Slowly but surely. All of downtown is blocked off and most of it is ruined. Sara, Tim and I joked about going to the hospital for a cup of coffee because that seemed to be the only place open, but when we asked one of the workers near the makeshift bus terminal where we could get a coffee, he directed us straight to the hospital, so that's where we went. Appropriate I guess.


We eventually caught our next super short flight to Queenstown and were IMMEDIATELY astounded at the beauty. Crazy huge mountains in every direction, and actual fall foliage! The town is small but jam packed with restaurants, bars, stores, and of course tons of opportunities for extreme adrenaline rush activities. I of course chose the highest bungee jump in all of New Zealand; 134 meters of gloriousness. That's 440 feet. In other words: wicked effing far, and wicked effing awesome.

We got checked in at the bungee jump station right down the block from our hostel at about 10:30 and were on a shuttle shortly after. It was about a 45 minute ride to the Nevis. On our way we dropped off some people at a different jumping spot, and the bus driver said "if you look out on the left you can see the bridge that some of you are getting dropped off at... those of you doing the Nevis, your jump is three times taller" ... WOW! I'm nuts. So we got all suited up and we took this little cable car out to the jumping pod. Looking back, on a normal day any of us would have been shitting ourselves just in that little cage riding out to the pod. It was tiny, hanging by a wire, and you could see right through the wire floor to your plummeting death. But it's all relative so it didn't even phase us that day. Sara jumped first. I barely got to watch it happened so quick. Plus they were suiting me up at the same time. It's actually not too climactic to watch your friends jump though, because they just turn into little specs they get so far away. Crazy stuff. It's fun in the pod though. They put plexi glass in as many places as possible so you can see below you and all around, and they bump loud fun music. I went completely LAST out of everyone, not by choice. I loved it. I was more worried about not making a cool looking jump for the video than I was about like... dying. That being said, I was so focused on the actual act of jumping that I didn't really think about how I'd be free falling for the next 8.7 seconds. As soon as I jumped and thought "I did it!" .04 seconds later I was like "WOAH NOW I'M FALLING" ... it's strange to jump off something and not immediately have a landing. I could't get the foot release pin out once I got to the bottom, so I got pulled back up upside down. Haha embarrassing. I gave it 3 good attempts before giving up. Each attempt got scarier though because I pulled harder each time, and it just feels extremely counter-intuitive to be yanking on the ropes that are holding you up a million feet in the air.

I have a DVD of my jump and I considered posting it on here. Obviously it would spruce it up a bit. The thing is I want to see my family's reaction in person, so I'm gonna hold off on that. Sorry guys. Here's a few pics though!!!!!

After bungee Sara and Tim took a boat ride around the lake and I tried to find somewhere to get internet. I planned on writing a blog update here: but even after purchasing something in order to get the wifi password, the internet didn't work. At least I bonded over the bad connection with a fellow bungee-er who was also there. Turns out he had JUST graduated high school and was taking a year off to travel. He had a huge backpack and a cardboard sign that said "DUNEDIN" and planned on hitch-hiking there that night. I found out he moved around and lived in all kinds of crazy countries during his life: Rome, Brazil, Italy, all kinds of stuff. I told him I was jealous and that I'd basically been in Massachusetts my entire life, he said "yeah but you probably have friends."

After Tim and Sara got back we got a few beers at an Irish pub and sat by the fire and it was really relaxing. We found a cool restaurant that was made inside what used to be the courthouse, and I had an absolutely delicious burger with a side of fries and aioli. I love aioli. It's mayo and garlic and lemon and probably a few other things and it goes on burgers and you can dip your fries in it. SO SO delicious. I will definitely miss it when I leave, but the general consensus is: NZ doesn't really know how to do food. It has let us down numerous times. Burgers they got down, though.

The next day, our last day in Queenstown, we got up and there was snow on the mountains! So exciting! We hiked a pretty strenuous but rewarding hike that morning. Tons of pictures were taken. I love Queenstown. Absolutely beautiful. We also went to the under-water observatory where you can go under the lake and see huge 50lb trout and eels! We only spent about 15 minutes in there but it was crazy. The water is so clear. Apparently it's 99.9% pure, too! Drinkable even! I didn't though. Oh and another random fact: There are no native trees in Queenstown. They were all wiped out by the glaciers back in the day a few thousand years ago and all the trees there now have been brought in from the States! Weird.

Monday night we got weird at a few bars and had a really great time. Sara and I shot a few games of pool and talked to a bearded man who said his life didn't start until he was 40 and moved to Queenstown.

Also we asked around and found out why our roommates had their bags packed up and taken away by hostel staff who would only tell us "there was an incident and they had to get out of town fast." Turns out they were "provoked" by a bartender and ended up in a fight with him a few weeks back. They finally got charged the other day and now are in New Zealand jail for a month before being deported back to Norway. Crazy stuff.

Now I'm in Franz Josef and my camera is not. Tonight we just watched some movies in the hostel. There is nothing to do in Franz Josef other than see glaciers. It's a tiny place. Tomorrow we're doing a big big BIG glacier hike. A full day one. It says 8 hour round trip but I'm sure it'll take us longer than that. Wish me luck!!!!!!!!!

Click here to see my facebook album of pictures in Christchurch and Queenstown!

Queenstown Rules!

I'm in Queenstown! It is the most beautiful place on earth! I'm using the free internet in the Bungee check-in center and any minute now I'll hop on the shuttle to JUMP! AHH!!!! So pumped!!

Break has arrived!

I just want to take a minute and reflect on the fact that in eight hours I'm getting on a plane which will begin a two week action packed adventure that I planned myself. Well, Sara and I planned it together, but still.

I'm very proud. I usually consider planning a trip to Boston or Syracuse a great success, but this is on a whole different level. I am exploring another country!

Bon voyage!!! I'll be back with many many stories! (and maybe I'll update along the way)

in closing, here is a random picture I took on my way to creative writing today... just to spice this up:

It's Official

It's official. I just cut seventeen days off of my New Zealand adventure and my flight is now scheduled for Friday June 17th. Yikes.

This is how NOT to hang your clothes on a drying rack

Courtesy of my clueless roommate.

A Walk in the Park

View from up at the Botanic Gardens. I wish I could make it bigger but it gets (even more) blurry.

. . .

Yesterday I got out of class at 5:00 and saw from way way way up there on Kelburn campus that it was incredibly clear out, so I basically ran down to the harbor with my camera and my journal to just chill out and take some pics. When I got there my camera was dead, ugh. But it was still really awesome to just sit with my legs dangling over the wharf and just ... I don't know ... I'd say watch the sun go down, but really the sun sets at your back if you're facing the water. You do see the sun shining on the houses up on the hill, though. The windows all shine golden and then fade as the sun goes down... kind of a reverse sun set. I like it. Too bad I don't have any pictures to go with this story. I don't want to talk about it.

Today was a very good day. I tried to wake up early because I knew the weather was going to be nice, but I still slept until 10:30. I sprung up and got going though and (after buying The Hobbit at the bookstore, I feel it's only appropriate since I haven't seen any Lord of The Rings the movies OR read the books, and I'm living in Wellington, New Zealand where they're currently filming The Hobbit) I took the cable car up to the Botanic Gardens and spent the morning and most of the afternoon there. I sought out my favorite bench, which had a nice big shroom sprouted up behind it, and I read a magazine and just chilled and listened to my iPod. It was so so so nice out. Just last week I was calling home to get my winter coat sent to me, but today I was in shorts and a tank top again, getting my tan on. I can get used to this, though. I like variety. But mostly I like sun.

This is the view from my favorite bench ^^^

To see my entire facebook album of photos from today click here.
(Definitely check out that album because I could barely put any of the good pictures up here because the internet is going so slow tonight)

So after walking around and hanging out in the Botanic Gardens I headed toward campus for class at 4:10, and on my way I stopped over at 39 Salamanca where a bunch of my friends live that I haven't visited in awhile. It was nice to see them. Michelle kindly offered me a PB&J sandwich to make the experience complete, and then we headed to class together.

. . .

Since I've been debating moving my flight up and going home a whole lot earlier so I can work, I've been considering what I need to do to get the most out of these last two months of life in New Zealand. I thought maybe I'd have to do some crazy "once in a lifetime" things like hitch-hike crazy places, or backpack around somewhere with no real destination, scuba dive and ride a whale and hunt down a wild kiwi bird to catch a glimpse of; climb a huge New Zealand mountain or something. Although all those things sound good (and are still up for consideration, especially whale riding) I really think all I need to do to leave here in two months with no regrets is really just soak up Wellington as much as I can, even more than I already have. Spend more time at the harbor after class. Hang out in the Botanic Gardens in-between classes. Get a coffee and people-watch down on Lambton Quay. Get a beer at every single cool bar there is in Wellington. I've had a little lull since I've been buried in school work the past two weeks, but I know that's all I really need to do to make the most of this. It's reassuring to know that what I want to do is cheap since I know my funds are getting low.

It's just that a lot of my fellow study-abroaders have this "you only live once" attitude, which is understandable. I have a little of it, too. That's why I'm here in the first place. You only live once and I know was never going to move to New Zealand for five months after I graduate college... It was an expensive trip but it was worth it a million times over. It's just that it gets hard to know where to draw the line with all the "this is a once in a lifetime opportunity" stuff. It's easy to just blow all your money doing "once in a lifetime" things here. Although I haven't been exactly frugal, I've been pretty conscious of my spending... and my idea is this: even though I'd love to stay here and do a bunch of crazy (and mostly expensive) things since this is my ONE TIME living in NZ, my ONE TIME living in another country, life doesn't end after this. I know this is a unique experience I'll always remember, but I'm going to have crazy, fun, memorable experiences where ever I go, even after this when I'm back in the States. So I'm going to live it up the next two months here in NZ and go home to start work a little earlier with no regrets.

And that's that.

. . .

Tonight, after booking our hostels for our trips next week, Alexis Sara and I had a nail painting party and Sara gave us some of her sweet stick-on nail polish with cool flower designs, so now our nails are lookin' SO fresh.

Now I'm having a little late-night, pre-study snack of Shapes (NZ/Austrailian crackers) and hummus, which tastes like it's just straight up pureed garlic, so everyone should be thankful they live 9000 miles away from me tomorrow :)

Only two months left?!

Hello out there!!

I guess the fact that I haven't been updating too much lately, and when I do it really isn't too exciting, reveals that yes, I am here to actually study abroad and I have been pretty busy with work lately. I've stayed in the past couple weekends to save money and do homework! Ahh! No fun! I only have one more week of class though before my glorious two week adventure break. Booked my bungee jumping today!!

So they finally posted up the Final Exam schedule, and it looks like I'll be heading back to the States earlier than I thought. My last exam is on June 11th, so instead of chillin' out (literally because it's gonna be cold here by then) in Wellington with no money for three weeks after that, I'm probably going to get my flight changed so I can get back to that good old tobacco farm and start makin' some money. It's bittersweet. It's gonna be good to be home but super sad that my big adventure is over. I gonna make the best of these last two months and go home with no regrets and nothing but happiness!

I would write more about my weekend but I've been sitting at this computer for literally days slaving over a New Zealand Literature paper and I'm a little bit sick of typing. I thought I finished it, too, but my kiwi roommate just informed me that if there is a word count, you have to be within 200 words of it or you automatically get points deducted. So even though I got my point across in 1700 words, I need to write some fluff to fill another 100!!! Brilliant!
Ugh.

I haven't been good about keeping my camera with me at all times and I've been kicking myself for it, but I'll leave you with a picture I took last night after dinner with Alexis and Sara by the harbor... when I DID remember it.
Cheers.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Happy NZ birthday to my sweet as Dad, STEVE!!!!!!

Love you and miss you!!!

Itinerary!

Well it is April 5th and strangely enough winter is quickly approaching. Today's weather kind of solidified the fact that shorts season is over... Pretty unfortunate seeing as how just a few weeks ago I ripped my very favorite pair of pants, leaving myself with only two pairs of jeans. I also didn't pack a winter coat...

It only gets down to about 40 here, but that's still pretty chilly, especially with the Welly wind! I've been told winter here is still beautiful though. Plus a huge upside for me is that the leaves stay on the trees! I love a good New England fall, but when winter comes and everything is gray and bare, it gets pretty depressing.

So yeah. I guess the tables are finally turning and I will continue to become increasingly jealous of the warm weather at home. I can't really be that jealous though, come on, I'm in New Zealand for god sakes!

Easter Break approaches! I already booked some flights and buses! I haven't got all the details figured out yet, but here is a little itinerary:

April 16th - Get on a plane for Queenstown on the South Island
-7 hour layover in Christchurch in order to wander around there for awhile
-Make it to Queenstown and stay in a hostel or couch surf
(I'm sending out some requests tonight for couch surfing. It's free and pretty legit. You just look people up on www.couchsurfing.org and a lot of them have open beds, couches and tents they're willing to let you use while you travel! I'm going to be with a couple friends, and New Zealand is a really safe place, so we're hoping we can find some couches. I think we'll get a lot of good stories out of it at least)

April 17th - BUNGEE JUMPING
My mom obviously tried to advise me against doing this.. but I want to do something crazy while I'm here, and I'm going to be in Queenstown, the bungee jumping capital of the world, so I figured I gotta. Ahhhhh!!!! I debated between bungee jumping and sky diving for awhile. It's kind of one of those dumb questions you start out with when you're playing "would you rather" with your friends. Would you rather sky dive or bungee jump? I always answered that question with sky dive, but when it comes down to it, I think bungee jumping would be a lot more challenging and rewarding because you have to get yourself to jump off that ledge. When you go sky diving you're tandem with an instructor, and if you don't jump, the guy you're attached to will! I'm guessing those few moments take a lot more will power when bungee jumping than when sky diving.
I'm doing the tallest bungee jump in New Zealand! Go big or go home! Click here to get info and see a clip of the exact jump I'm gonna do!!!!! (Mimie, you might not want to click that until I'm done and have survived. WHICH I WILL)

April 18th - Wandering around beautiful Queenstown and seeing what it has to offer (for free), and couch surfing again that night.

April 19th - Catching a bus from Queenstown to Franz Josef. Again, couch surfing in Franz Josef.

April 20th - Hiking and seeing some Glaciers!!! Then once again, (hopefully) couch surfing.

April 21st - Taking a bus to the top of the South Island, Nelson, where one of my friends will go her separate way to meet her sister back in Wellington, and Tim and I will catch another bus to absolutely breathtakingly beautiful Abel Tasman National park to hike and camp!!!
We still have not exactly figured out what date we'll be catching the bus back to Picton and hopping on the ferry back to Wellington, but that's what will happen next after a few days in Abel Tasman.

The next week of break (yes I have two) Alexis and I are flying up to Auckland and exploring up there for a few days!! I won't have much money to spend, so I'm just probably going to be wandering around the city for most of the time and checkin' out the scene. Oh yeah, and watching Alexis bungee jump off a bridge. I'm almost as excited to watch her as I am do to it myself!

The Auckland Zoo is only $16 so I think I might splurge on that one activity, but only because we would be guaranteed to see the elusive Kiwi bird! I must see one before I leave!!!


So that is that! Just a few more buses to book and hopefully we'll find a few couches to surf. I can't wait until all this gets under way! Planning (and shellin' out so much cash in the process) is overwhelming! I tried my damnedest to plan the cheapest trip possible, and even though it was all still a pretty penny I did a pretty good job. I can't wait until I'm out there doing these things and realizing how it's all worth it.

Oh, and just for old times sake, here's a picture of what I made for dinner:Zuccini Korma with penne pasta!!! It was delicious.
I wish it didn't look so sloppy in the picture....

I hate to say it, but cooking has been loosing its luster over the past few weeks. I think it's because we only have a stove and no oven, and I feel like frying things up and making stir-fry is getting old. Not enough variety. I need to be challenged!!! If anyone has any suggestions for stove-top-only-and-perhaps-microwave dinners send 'em my way!


edit:
I was just reading some old posts and I can't believe I forgot to post THIS picture back when I posted the pictures from LUSH! I'm so disappointed! Well here it is! Better late than never.

These are the face-masks!! It takes so much self control not to buy them all!!!

Stressed!!!

For the first time in the two months I've been here in New Zealand, I'm stressed.

It's all because a bunch of quickly approaching due dates, and trying to plan my two week easter break adventure. Planning my trip should be something fun to do, but it hasn't been. It's overwhelming to try and pick what you want to spend money on and what you want to see and what you'll have to skip and what's the lowest price you can get for that plane and is renting a car cheaper than taking a bus and should we just hitch-hike because it's legal here or are we not going to get to the destination in time if we try and hitch-hike and should we just sleep in the rental car would that be cheaper than taking buses and staying hostels???!!! Ahhh!!!!
Overloaded!!! I think I might have actually carved out a plan though. I'll post up the itinerary when things are booked and finalized!

Now it's almost 1:00am, we turned the clocks back (yep, it's the time of the year to fall back here), so now I have to get used to the time difference between here and home for the third time in order to keep in touch with family and friends.