Last day....

I'm in Auckland, after taking the night bus from Wellington. 8 pm to 7 am, woohoo! I only slept from about 3 am to 6 am, so I'm a wee bit tired. Also, there is NOTHING open that early in the morning on a Sunday, so I was wandering around for a bit just trying to find a place to have some coffee! I finally had to settle on Starbucks, which I hate going to, but it was the only place open. Luckily I was able to lock up my bags at the bus station, so it's not like I have to cart those around with me. There's several shuttles that run to the airport from downtown Auckland, so it's not hard to get form one to the other. I can't believe my time is up! Two months went by so fast. New Zealand has been great, what I've been able to see anyway, and I know I'll return sometime in the not too distant future. I feel like I only scraped the surface- and I spent the whole time on the South Island! Still so much to see and do. It will be nice to sleep in my own bed for a change though, and not have to share things like the kitchen and a bathroom. Ah the simple luxuries in life.

Picton

I'm in Picton now, the "gateway" to the South Island, since both ferries that cross Cook Straight go to Picton. It's a cuter little town than I gave it credit for when I first got here, but that's probably because I just hopped on a bus and drove right through. I'm staying at a really great place, called Juggler's Rest, except it's full tomorrow night, so I have to leave for a night. I'm in Picton for 5 nights, then Wellington for three, then Auckland for one then home! Crazy. I'm definitely leaning towards coming back next year with a work visa, that way I'll really get to see it all (I hope!). I'm not looking forward to the ferry ride back, today I saw a picture and heard stories about a few years ago when it was so rough the ferry took 10 hours to cross and tipped to 42 degrees (45 and you're in the water). The ride is supposed to take 3 hours. It destroyed the ferry, which carries cars/campervans and freight cargo for the trains, and the Interislander didn't run for something like 5 days. People were literally stranded here on the South Island unless they wanted to fly. Pretty crazy. Anyway that's what I'm up to now, just hanging out on the South Island for as long as I can, before I have to leave this wonderful country!

Last night wwoofing

Tomorrow I leave Windsong Orchard, and start making my way back up to the North Island. I think I'll stay in Picton for a few days, do some day trips into the Marlborough Sounds, and then Wellington and then maybe Raglan and then home! I'm sad to leave such kind and wonderful hosts, but I'm ready to start moving again. Jennie and Bob Crum are about the nicest wwoofing hosts you could ask for, and I feel spoiled. We all had dinner together tonight, Jennie made roast veggies (all from her garden) with feta and couscous, with green beans and a dressing, I'm not sure what was in it. I wasn't all that hungry but it was very good. Elizabeth, my fellow wwoofer left on Sunday, so I've been alone since then. It's been nice to be in the better bedroom and have space, but we got along really well so I was sad to see her go.

It's been almost a week...

On the farm and I'm still really liking it. A little sick of picking blueberries, but still really liking it. What's not to like? Work for 4 hours, eat a yummy home cooked, home grown lunch, chill out/read a book/bike around vineyards/swim at the water hole, eat a home cooked, home grown dinner, repeat. Life is not hard here at Windsong Orchard. Yesterday for my birthday they made me a blueberry crumb cake thing that was super delicious, with blueberries picked by yours truly. I can't believe I will be in VT in just over 2 weeks. It feels like I just got here. I will definitely be back. This place gets under your skin. Also, congrats to Amigos de Pablo for their amazing fundraising efforts!!

WWOOF, take 2

Yesterday I arrived at Windsong Orchard, in Renwick, to try my hand at wwoofing again, after a week of pretty much just vegging out in Nelson (but camping!). Ok I guess we'll cover my lazy week in Nelson first. I didn't really do much, except walk into town and read. I did end up going to the Founders Brewery, but there weren't tours, but I did get to sample their organic beers, which were all really good. It's in a place called Founder's Park, not unlike Shelburne Museum, with old buildings, people dressed in period costumes, etc. It was cute, if aimed at a slightly younger audience. The new wwoofing farm is night and day above the other. First off the wwoofers have their own cottage (blueberry cottage, since it butts up to the blueberry field) and our own kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms and a computer with internet. It's myself and a girl named Elizabeth, from New Jersey. We work from 8:30 to 12:30, have lunch together in Jennie and Bob's house, and then we have the rest of the day free. It really couldn't be more different, and better, than the last place. Tomorrow Elizabeth and I are going to go explore some of the vineyards, since we're absolutely smack dab in the heart of New Zealand wine country. Also, I posted all my pictures from Milford Sound, Franz Josef, etc on Flickr so it's updated again. As of now I've been too lazy to title them all (I uploaded around 250 so I just didn't have the energy) but I will try to get to them soon, so they make a little more sense. That's all that's new for now, but I'll try and be better about updating.

Nelson- again.

I know. I just can't stay away. I got back to Nelson on Monday? I think. So far I've just been hanging out, sleepin in the tent, saving some money. I'm going to go to Abel Tasman National Park this weekend to do some hiking/kayaking, and then on Monday I start WWOOFing again. At a place called Windsong Orchard in Renwick, which is the heart of wine country in New Zealand (but it's not a vineyard, unfortunately). I will stay there for at least a week, possibly two. If I stay for one week, I will spend the other at a vineyard, but the vineyard is in the same town as the last place I tried WWOOFing, which I feel like is a bad omen.

There's a very eccentric book seller here in Nelson, where I've now bought two books, but I just cannot figure out how this man makes any money. It's a used bookstore, and he said that he'd buy back some of my books (I hoard the books I buy, hoping I can sell them back somewhere since the book exchanges at the hostels have all been horrible). Right now I have 6 books to sell back. Ridiculous I know. I counted today, I think I've read 10 books so far since being gone. It's also nice to be back in sunshine finally. I have been rained on in almost every city I've been in, for around 2 weeks straight it rained on and off throughout the day.

Yesterday I hiked to the geographical center of New Zealand. There's just a little plaque and sculpture to denote that someone at some point calculated it out, and that is the exact center of New Zealand. It's a short hike, 45 min round trip, but STEEP. I went at 4 in the afternoon and it was still super hot. Tomorrow I think I might do the extended version of that hike that takes you out to the bay, and my favorite beer so far in New Zealand is brewed here in Nelson so I'm going to go check out the factory. Other than that things are pretty mellow, I can't believe I've been here for over a month now.

Franz Josef Glacier

Firstly, I just discovered today that I've been spelling it wrong this whole time, it's Josef, not Joseph. So anyway, this morning I woke up at 7:30, super super tired, and considering bagging the whole 'climbing a glacier' thing- except I'd already paid for it, and it wasn't cheap. I chose the half day hike, versus the full day hike, and I'm very happy with my choice. There were 50 of us, split into 4 groups, according to fitness. I chose to be in group 3 (1 being the most fit) because I'm tired, and it's not like once you're up there you can just be like, oh you know what, I think I'm going to turn around and go back. So in group 3 (the fast-slow group, as we called our selves) I was very comfortable, and there were several people far slower than I, which I was glad about (you never want to be the one holding everyone up). It was supposed to rain all day, but it ended up being an absolutely gorgeous day. Aaand I didn't get a sunburn! Miracles do happen. My camera died about halfway up the glacier, and I still managed to take around 20 pictures. I have got to get this picture taking thing under control. I took around 200 in Milford Sound (which I have since whittled down to around 100) and I know if my camera battery hadn't died, I would have been somewhere around that again with the glacier. Franz Joseph (and Fox glacier, a bit south of Franz) are one of only two places in the world where a glacier is receeding into a rainforest, the other in Patagonia, Argentina, so it was quite a special thing to see. All in all the hike was around 4 or 5 hours, and about 6 miles (10 km). I chatted with a nice young Irish couple for most of the day, they were on their honeymoon. Tomorrow I leave for Greymouth, which I've heard from A LOT of people sucks, but it's a stop over on the way to I think Takaka, possibly Nelson again but I'm trying to avoid that since I've already spent so much time there. I decided to forgo the train because it just requires too much backtracking, and I can feel the money/time slipping away as it is. I start camping tomorrow too- hopefully the rain will stay away for a few more days. I'm excited to get the tent out and put it to some good use! I'm also trying to line up some couch surfing and another wwoofer placement- I'll keep you updated!

Franz Joseph and Queenstown

Today I took a 9 hour bus ride from Queenstown to Franz Joseph, with the most annoying bus driver ever! Dad you need to come down here and show them what professional driving is all about! I'm so tired, but I wanted to get this in, especially since this internet cafe has a minimum charge so I want to get my money's worth. Tomorrow I am hiking the Franz Joseph glacier, but just the half day hike. I didnt' feel like paying for the full day plus it's supposed to rain, and I'm not gonna lie I'm a little scared of walking on a glacier in the rain. Two guys died a few months ago because they ignored the signs and were caught in some kind of ice fall. It's safe with the groups but still, it's no joke. Yesterday I went to Milford Sound, a day trip that took a total of 13 hours. I would have liked to stay longer in that area, but as I wasn't doing one of the walks it didn't really make sense. It was beautiful though. I have updated the pictures as well, so you can see at least some of what I'm talking about (not Milford Sound yet, where I took waaay too many pictures) and from the Gondola I took up to the top of one of the mountains surrounding Queenstown. I rode in my little gondola alone and nearly had a heart attack. I have unfortunately inherited my mother's immense fear of heights. I had to latch myself on to three older British folk because there was no way I would be able to ride that again by myself. Luckily one of the gentlemen was scared as well, so he and I just chatted with one another to distract ourselves from what was going on. It was beautiful, too bad I wasn't able to enjoy it more. And to add insult to injury, one of the women on their tour paraglided down off the mountain. She's 70. Alright well time for me to go eat dinner, then bed. I'm wiped out and I need my strength for tomorrow!

Marley and Me

Do not watch without tissues! I just watched "Marley and Me" and proceeded to cry (sob is more acturate, but I'm trying to maintain some dignity). I think if you have ever had a dog, or even a pet, it's pretty much a must see. Not that it's some great movie, because it's not, but I think everyone can connect with the message.

Queenstown & Pictures

Today I made it to Queenstown, barely. I overslept and just barely made my bus, I had to run out in pjs and ask them to wait! The bus was supposed to pick me up at my hostel (thank god because I could not do that walk again, especially at 6:30 in the morning!) Then I grabbed my stuff (thank GOD I packed the night before!) and hopped on the bus, still in pjs, all the way to Queenstown, 8 hours. I'm back at a YHA, mainly because I didn't like the looks of any other place in Queenstown, and I knew at least the YHA would be clean and relatively close to town. Now I have showered, put on real clothes, and feel much better. I wanted to post some photos and a video of the whale watch I did in Kaikoura, so I'm just doing it in this post because I'm too lazy to go back and edit an old one.

Christchurch was great, I really liked it. I've found that I really like all the cities in New Zealand, I think partially because none of them are too big. Even the big cities really aren't. I still can't decide if I want to bungy or not... I'm leaning towards no. I just think I'd be able to step off the platform! I couldn't even walk over the glass at the SkyTower in Auckland. Oh well, we'll see. After here, I'm off the Te Anau to see the fiords and Milford Sound, then it's back through Queenstown on the way to Fran Joseph Glacier, then it will be time to find work for a bit, either a hostel or wwoofing. A really great hostel in Picton was hiring but I was headed in the opposite direction. The manager told me to touch base with her again though when I make my way back up so we'll see! Anyway it's great to know you guys are following me and I love the feedback!!

Next couple of days

So I'm still in Christchurch, trying to wait out some of this rain! (There is a literally a rain cloud of the entire south island right now on the weather map) but tomorrow I head for Queenstown. This should be interesting! I need to make up my mind about whether or not to bungy jump. If I do, I'm going to do it on the Kawarau Bridge, because one, it's over water which is less scary to me, and two it's one of the shorter ones! There's one that's 134 meters long or something insane like that. ABSOLUTELY NOT. After Queenstown, I'm going to go to Te Anau to chill out in nature and do a day or two in the fiords. Theennnn up to Franz Joseph, and I think back over to Christchurch and then up. There's a hostel that I might work at too, assuming the timing works out. We'll see.

Kaikoura

Today it's rainy and cold, so I figured why not update the blog! I left Nelson yesterday, to my dismay. I had such a good time there, and met some really great people, including Andrew, who is from Ovid, NY, who's been to Burlington many times! Today I'm in Kaikoura, where I was supposed to do a whale watch but it was called off due to weather, so I'm doing it tomorrow. I'm here for two more nights then it's off to Christchurch for a few nights, followed by Greymouth, which I am getting to via transalpine, one of the 'world's geatest train journeys' so I've heard.

Pictures!

Ok everyone I have uploaded pictures- as of right now they're on flickr but I got tired of captioning, etc. so I stopped about half way through. I'll try and finish that this week, and upload any new pictures. Sorry it took so long!

WWOOFing, take one

OK so my first wwoofing experience started on Saturday, and for anyone not aware, that stands for willing workers on organic farms. It's now Tuesday and I have since left the farm. This place was not the place for me. Aside from being weird, it was out in the boonies and their house was really dirty. It was like a barn/house. And it's supposed to be 4-6 hours of work a day in exchange for work and board, this was like 8-10 hours. Sorry but I am not free manual labor. Also, it was around 90+ degrees every day I was there. And we (me and a very nice Japanese girl) were yelled at when we did something incorrectly. Aand I was supposed to show the very nice, non English speaking Japanese girl, Fukoko, what to do so if she did it wrong it was my fault. So overall, not my kinda place. I got out first chance I got, which was today, to a place called Motueka, where there's not a whole lot more going on but I've got a clean hostel bed, internet (pictures!) and some food that wasn't shot that morning (the poor bunnies never saw it coming...). You can ask my parents/rebecca how I felt about that one. I have taken a vow never to eat rabbit or I will lose a very dear friend. I am going back to Nelson tomorrow, about an hour away. I think I will stay there for a few days (it's a great little place with a really laid back vibe, reminds me of Burlington a bit) and then on to wine country in Blenheim and whale watching inKaikoura. At least that's the plan. Robert, I'm glad to hear you've been following the blog! I think next time I want to go somewhere where they just take their guns for walks, and not actually use them. Do you know of a place like that?

Nelson

So I think I am officially the palest pale girl ever. I have a sunburn. Just on my face, but still, it hurts. Today I took the ferry from Wellington, which was amazing by the way, to Picton, then a bus to Nelson, where I start WWOOFing tomorrow. Right now I'm at a really great hostel, the kind I like. It's very homey, only around 12 rooms, a hammock, etc. It's in the suburbs of Nelson which means the walk to get here was around 1 1/2 miles (and that's with the 4 blocks that I walked out the way factored in) with all my stuff, but at least it was a nice day (hence the sunburn). Hope everyone's well! (You guys know you can leave comments right???)

feed a cold, starve a fever?

Or is it vice versa? I'm going with the second since I feel even crappier after I ate breakfast. Yup, I have a cold. A nasty one. I'm blaming the plane ride. It sucks to because I really want to explore Wellington since I'm only here for last night and today but I have no energy. The whole town is booked because of this huge rugby tournament. That means I'm taking the ferry across to Picton tomorrow morning, which is fine. I think I'm going to go to Marlborough Sounds and crash there for a few days, I figure a quiet, becautiful place can only help. Also, the Wellington YHA (where I'm staying) is right across the street for a (HUGE) supermarket, so I went and stocked up on meds/fruit/etc.

It's weird, I'm only used to backpacking in Central America, where things are never easy- throat losenges you say? nope. A nice neat little prepared fruit bowl in the refridgerated section of the grocery store? surely not. Razor blade replacements for the exact razor I have? You've got. It almost makes me nervous, like why is it so easy to do things here??

I'm in an internet cafe just a few blocks from the hostel. The Wellington City YHA has won best hostel in Oceania- and it's not hard to see why. It's very clean, very well run, and Huge. I'm still getting used to this hostel the size of college dorms thing. I'm used to my little, 30 bed places. I think YHA Welly has several hundred. I'm on the fourth floor, in a 6 bed all girls shared room. This morning, just like in Auckland, everyone who was there last night checked out. One woman there was on business (and staying in the dorms? she needs to get a raise...) but she is Maori, the native people of New Zealand, and so we had a long talk about this big holiday tomorrow, Waitangi Day, that celebrates the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand's founding document, on that date in 1840, except apparently the British man who was translating for the Maori lied about what was in the treaty, and they basically forfeited all rights to their land, etc. It was myself, the Maori woman, a British woman and French woman. It was a good ending to a long day.

Yesterday I took the train from Auckland to Wellington, 12 hours. It was a beautiful ride, and as always when traveling, I met some fun people to hang out with on the train. In the back rows of the back car there was myself, a german girl next to me, and a Kiwi, an Aussie, and a Chinese girl. Also, two boys but they slept most of the time so I didn't find out much about them. There's another train that crosses the north part of the South Island East to West (and vice versa) that I want to take, it's supposed to be really beautiful. The Southern Hemisphere Alps is what they like to call them.

Well that ought to do for now, if the internet at the hostel goes back up today I'll try and post some pictures. Again I have some great pictures to share but I forgot to bring my USB cord to the cafe with me so another time.

The longest day ever

So on Saturday morning, at 7:45 am I officially left VT. 28 hours later, I touched down in Auckland, New Zealand. Everything went very smoothly, and I sat next to a really nice Kiwi girl on the plane who was coming home for 3 weeks for her sister's wedding. She hadn't been home in three years! Rachel gave me her number and contact info in case I need anything while she's here. She now lives in London with her Kiwi boyfriend, as a teacher.

For anyone curious, New Zealand is 18 hours ahead of VT and that has made calling home a little tricky.

The shuttle from the airport dropped me off about 2 blocks from my hostel, but of course I went the wrong way and it was about 12 blocks before I finally found it (partially because I was scared to walk down the steepest street I have ever seen with my heavy pack on and me being so sleep deprived). I'm staying at the Auckland International YHA and it's pretty nice. It's much bigger than the hostels I'm used to (170 beds or so) and so it's a little more impersonal than I'm used to (the one in Tam where I basically lived was about 30 beds). Last night the room was full and this morning they all checked out! There's another girl in there already though, Abby from D.C. She's here for a month, doing a tour.

Tomorrow I take the train to Wellington (12 hours) and then I'm going to try and stay there for the rest of the week. There's this Rugby thing there this weekend, called Sevens, which sounds really cool except the whole town is just about booked up! I have a hostel booked for Wed/Thurs night but after that I'm out!

I have also arranged to start wwoofing at a farm in Nelson next Monday. This is of course assuming I can get accomodation for Sevens.

Yesterday I walked around Auckland, just trying to get my bearings. I went to Sky Tower, all the way up to the 60th floor, which is 220 m high and the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. Mom, I took some lovely pictures of the glass floor just for you! Then I walked up to K Rd and ate at a Little Turkish Cafe, it was really good (or I was really hungry). Then I walked around this really cute little park across the street from my hostel, and ate lunch/walked around the New Zealand New Art Gallery.

Ok I realize this post is totally out of order, which I will fix later (Diana I will teach you how to edit posts) and add pictures too. The computers at the hostel weren't letting me add them and I'm now too tired to fight it anymore.

Hope Lodge

So tonight Mom and I went to Hope Lodge to cook dinner for the people staying there.Hope Lodge is a facility run by the American Cancer Society for people undergoing chemo/radiation and up to two family members or friends. It's sort of like the Ronald McDonald House, only it's 18 and up. There's at least one in 29 states, and they hope to have one in every state in the next 6 years or so. The one here in Burlington has 16 rooms, a big kitchen (with a lovely Meredith backsplash donated by North Country Tile) , living room, tv room, and laundry room (with beautiful new appliances that Whirlpool donated to all Hope Lodges across the country).

Mom made her fabulous lasagna and I made a salad, and the whole thing was a big hit. I had a really nice time talking to everyone there. At dinner there were 11 people, all of whom I believe are from Vermont. It was a very much a typical round-table of native Vermonters- everyone talking about the people they knew in common, the local organizations they belong to, etc. We talked about the inauguration tomorrow, and who knew people that we going. There was also a long discussion about a Butternut Tree, and I'm still not sure what that is, but apparently I've been missing out because apparently butternuts are fabulous.

I sat across from an older woman who was there while receiving treatment. She and I talked about where I was traveling to, and some of her adventures from her younger years. She's a justice of the peace, and we talked about some of the crazy weddings she's officiated, including under a waterfall. Not behind, not in front, under- "We were soaking wet!" seemed to be what she remembered most about it. We sat at the table for over an hour, listening to stories mostly of everyone's travels (aside from the Butternut disertation). Duncan, a man there also receiving treatment, talked about when he lived in California they would go down to a small town on the Baha Pennisula of Mexico to go fishing, staying a place with no electricity or running water, and how much he loved it. Now it has 5 story hotel and chain restaurants. My mom and the couple next to her had a long, loonng talk (with pictures) of their motor home, something my Dad dreams of retiring to. They drive to San Diego every year from Vermont.

I was honestly expecting people to seem a little 'sicker'. I don't really know what I mean by that, but I guess for people to look worse, or act sick, or something. It couldn't have been further from the truth- the vibe was so upbeat. Everyone was so thankful for the dinner, and so willing to share stories, and no one talked about cancer or treatment. I think it was the perfect way to spend Martin Luther King Jr. Day, doing something good for others. Now I'm off to watch more about the inauguration. I can't image feeling any more positive or inspired than I do right now.

Less than two weeks!

So I got my new backpack! Whew. I really like it, it's smaller than my old one, as you can see. Can't wait to get to use it!This time I don't have the luxury of packing whatever I want. I know it doesn't look a whole lot smaller, but it feels a whole lot smaller. I went with the Deuter 45+ SL as opposed to my old one, a Northface Cestone 60 (Women's). I'm already in love with the Deuter. This time I did a little more research than walking into EMS and going "that one's cute!" Can't believe I leave in less than two weeks. Things have slowed down at work a good amount, so at least it's a good time to leave. Tomorrow night Mom and I go to Hope Lodge to cook dinner. It's kinda like Ronald McDonald House, it's a place for people receiving chemo and their families to stay while they are receiving treatment. Paul's the night manager so we said we'd come in a cook dinner. Lasagna and salad. May not sound super exciting, but that's because you've never had my mother's lasagna.

Also, I set up my tent so my sister Kate could see it- I feel like it must be nice if it even got a reaction out of Kate. She even said she'd consider going camping this summer!

Best. Job. Ever.

So I read about this today, and I think I found my dream job. Getting paid to live on the beach and talk about it? OK! Going to sit tomorrow and apply. Even if you just get an interview, you get flown to Australia. Works for me!

Still waiting on my backpack. It's making me a little nervous... it should be here by now!

The high for tomorrow is 5 degrees. That's it, 5. According to the weather channel, that's not going to get much better anytime soon. And more snow. Every day the warm, late summer weather of New Zealand calls to me...

Nancy came over for dinner last night, and I got the Nancy stamp of approval on my tent and my packing list. A leap over last time I took off for a couple of months. Mom made a fabulous lentil and sausage soup (sorry no pictures this time). Mom and I committed to cooking Monday night at Hope Lodge, where Paul is the night manager. Now we just have to plan the menu!

Getting Organzied: T-Minus 20 days!

Tonight I am finally combing through my WOOF New Zealand book, trying to just get a rough list of potential places. I'm even making a google map of my first choices, so I try and cover all the places I want while in New Zealand. I'm so organized I can't stand it!

I also downloaded and figured out Skype today. I'm excited to have a better way to communicate with everyone back home. It was simplier than I thought, just type in someone's email and their skype number/name pops up. Now I just have to teach my family how to use it!

There's still more stuff I have to get, and I'm not quite as organized as I'd like to be in that department. I got my tent though! Can't wait to try it out. So far I've set it up twice the tiny condo living room and my bedroom. It's the REI Half Dome, and it's super easy to set up, even for one (un-cooridinated person like me).

Dinner!

I've been feeling creative lately, so today and the store I bought a whole bunch of seafood (cod, bay scallops, shrimp. I love it when Mom calls me and tells me what's on sale) and decided to make a soup. Something hearty and filling since it's getting so cold again, with of course the best bread ever- Red Hen baguette. I was very pleased with the outcome- I think it looks pretty good too! Anyone want to come over for dinner? :)