Should I stay or should I go now.....

So this has been a post that I have been writing for several months, and I would say that I debate this decision frequently. The number one question I'm asked by my friends here and back home is "Are you staying?" There are pros and cons to both choices. Every time I spend time with my friends and their family I'm reminded that when I return home I will be living in the same city as my parents. I haven't lived near them since I was in Cali (5 years ago), the thought of being able to have Sunday night dinners, not missing birthdays, holidays, or having to travel significant distances for Christmas is very appealing.  But when I was in NC I wasn't very happy, and I would be returning to the same state. I'm hopeful that a bigger, more urban city may have more things to offer me, but I struggle a lot with my personal/religious/political views, because they are vastly different than the majority of those I have met in NC. Australia has been a wonderful place, I have done and seen more in the half a year here, than I did in the past 4 years back home. I have several friends around here, and am finding it easier to meet and make friends than back in NC. I enjoy their way of life, their food, and the majority of people that I've met have similar views on life as me. But my family is very far away, and although I'm having a fantastic time I'm reminded frequently that I am an outsider here, still trying to learn the language and culture, and missing some things and defiantly people from back home. As I still have several months left, there is plenty of time to make this decision, but as of now I'm very torn between the two and unsure what decision I will make.

Bye for now <3

Rotarua-the forgotten post!

Opps! I skipped Rotarua somehow! Rotarua was an interesting town. It was on the north island, between Waitomo (glow worms) and Taupo (volcano crossing). Rotarua smells like rotting eggs, due to the sulfur that is seeping through the ground and has steam coming up out of cracks and holes in the streets. Rotarua is where we went to the Maori cultural evening. The Maori culture is a big part of New Zealand and it was great to learn more about the country. We learned about the villages they lived in, games they played, weapons they used, things that the women would do, and the men would do. The men learned how to do the haka, which is a war dance, it also is now used by the All Black rugby team before games. The scarier the face, the better.


We watched the Maori people do several different dances, songs, and chants for us. And then we were able to see how the Maori cooked their kia (food). Maori call it the hangi, which is when they put meat and vegetables underground to cook it. Due to the hot springs under the ground, it's hot enough to cook the food. After several hours underground, it's time for a feast! We had a great Maori feast to end our evening. It was great to learn about the culture and to find out more about those who first came to inhabit New Zealand.

The next morning we went to the geothermal park to see geysers, boiling mud, hot springs, wood carving, and craft room. The guide took eggs and put them in a basket, submerged them into the hot spring and 10 minutes later we were all eating hard boiled eggs! It was interesting to learn more about the geothermal activity in New Zealand.

Next stop was Taupo.

Bye for now <3

New Zealnd and Kiwi Experience

When I first decided to go to New Zealand it was a no brainier that I would use Kiwi Experience. I had several friends use them over the years and always rave about how great a time they had, and how easy it was to use Kiwi Experience. I would agree. Especially since I was traveling to New Zealand alone, I wanted to use a tour company that I could meet other like minded groups of people or single travelers too. Along the way I met some wonderful people, and enjoyed spending my days on the bus with them, and adventuring different towns with them. Kiwi Experience was great because they take all the hard work out of traveling. They tell you what time the bus leaves, and what hostel they have deals with, and all you have to do is sign up on a clipboard for accommodation and activities. You can be as active or non active as you want. I think I signed up for the majority of the activities.

While in New Zealand I kayaked, swam with dolphins, sand boarded, drove on ninety mile beach, black water rafted, saw glow worms, dug my own hot spring pool (I actually let the men dig), white water rafted, saw several volcanoes, went to a rugby game, walked on a glacier, learned about the Maori culture, saw a geyser, hiked in national parks, went luging, and saw more gorgeous, picturesque places than I can count. The country is known for it's outdoor activities, and I did all of them except the extreme sport ones, such as skydiving and bungee jumping. Kiwi Experience just made it that much easier to travel and see the country and do the activities. They would coordinate it all and help you get to the places you needed to be so that you had to best holiday.

The north and south islands are very different, according to the tour guide, most like the south island better. I however am different, and I enjoyed the north island more because of the vast range of activities that are offered. The north island's landscape reminds me of England's countryside (or at least what I've seen of it on TV and movies), with rolling hills so green and lush with sheep and cows scattered across them. The south island's landscape reminds me of Canada or the Rockies, with huge mountains and lots of trees covering the majority of the landscape. The population of New Zealand is 4.5 million, 3.5 million live on the north island (with 1.5 million of those living in Auckland area), which leaves only 1 million on the south island. So much land is left untouched and keeps the country looking so majestic and picturesque.

The people I met along the way also helped make the trip what it was. I would say that at least 80% of my bus was from the UK. I enjoyed learning more 'English' and comparing American English to the Queen's English. There are heaps of differences, and to make it more confusing more often than not the terms I learned in Australia are not used in England. It was so interesting to listen to all the different accents and hear how many different accents exist in England. I believe that I have made some lifelong friends and I cannot wait to travel over to the UK and see them all again.

As I reflect on my travels I am so happy I chose to use Kiwi Experience, and am so grateful that I was able to come back to this area of the world and see the beautiful country of New Zealand. There were a handful of things that I was unable to do while in New Zealand, which I hope one day to rectify. Until next time New Zealand.

Bye for now <3

Lake Tekepo/Christchirch

I left Queenstown and left the two people I became the closest to on the tour behind me. It was quite weird to not have them on the last few days of my tour. I caught myself several times turning to tell my friend something on the bus, and realizing she wasn't there anymore. However there was 5 others from my bus that continued on their travels on the same day as me, and it was nice to hang out with them.

Lake Tekepo was gorgeous. It's a glacier lake and due to that, the water is a fantastic, unrealistic blue/turquoise color. The town is very small, so we spent our day lounging by the lake, going in if you're brave, since the water is a chilly 14 (57) degrees. That evening the group of 6 that was left had a BBQ and then star gazed. The area surrounding Lake Tekepo has light bans and restrictions for star gazing. It was a calm day, but I think it was needed after the epic few days/nights we had in Queenstown.

Christchurch was my final stop on the tour, and that last night came quicker than I realized. My month in New Zealand was all of a sudden at an end, and I was done with my New Zealand holiday. Christchurch 3 years ago had several sizable earthquakes that destroyed the city. 3 years later the city is still in shambles, it's depressing to wander the city and see the damage and destruction the earthquakes caused. 3 years later and it seems that not much progress has been made. However the city is rebuilding and thriving around the destruction. In the center of town is the Restart mall, which is shipping containers that have been modified into shops, cafes, and restaurants so businesses can continue. Christchurch is slowly rebuilding, but doing it in style. My last evening in New Zealand 6 of us went to dinner together to say good bye to each other, and remember all the fun we had had over the past month together. I enjoyed my time in New Zealand, but the people I met along the way are truly what made it such a fantastic trip.

Bye for now <3
 

Queenstown

Queenstown was the town that everyone I met along the way or met in Australia told me that I would have the most fun in. The adventure activities, the nightlife, the food; everything about Queenstown is amazing. Most of the people I knew were staying close to a week in Queenstown. And those who had already been, usually ended up extending their stay in Queenstown. I only had 4 days to spare in Queenstown, but I'm so glad I was able to stay that many. Queenstown reminds me of Snowmass or Vale. A cute little ski resort town. Most of my friends during the day did a bungee jump or a canyon swing, I myself was not going to hurl myself off or out of anything so I opted for other options. The days were spent wandering the town, sitting by the lake, having a late breakfast with friends overlooking the gorgeous lake and mountains. I also took the gondola up the mountain to get spectacular views of the town and the surrounding areas. The gondola is the steepest in the southern hemisphere and was not a fun ride up or down for me, since I have an epic fear of heights. At the top, there is a luge coarse, which was so fun, to ride around on these bike looking things down a slippery, swervy concrete coarse.

While in Queenstown one must stop by Fergburger and get a legendary burger. Fergburger was rated the best burger in the world by CNN. I and all my friends would attest that it is quite a good burger. I had 4 in 4 days, and several of my friends had the same amount if not more. The line to Fergburger is long, and always long. I had exceptional timing and the longest I had to wait was 20 minutes, I also would get my burgers at around 3:30-4:00 to avoid dinner or lunch rush. They have many options and great variety. I tried the lamb burger, but I think I prefer the beef one. However several of my friends thought the chicken bacon burger was the best. 

Queenstown is also know for it's nightlife, and I would say that it lived up to its expectation in that area too. It was the last town that everyone from the bus would still be together, each leaving to continue our travels on separate days. It was the last time to all go out and have a good night together, before parting ways. My last night in Queenstown was St. Paddy's Day, and the hostel we stayed at did a bar crawl. We all participated and had a fantastic time. I really enjoyed my time in Queenstown and would like to go back at some point during winter and ski there.

Next stop Lake Tekepo

Bye for now <3

Westport/Franz Josef/Wanaka

Westport is a small little surf town on the west side of the south island. We got there late that day, just in time for a few people to go out surfing. I opted to save my money for other things. That night our bus driver took the majority of the bus over to the beach for a bonfire at sunset. Men will be men…..all they could do is talk about making the fire bigger. We sat around drinking and enjoying the bonfire on the beach. We were warned by friends on an earlier bus that quiet little Westport ends up being a crazy wild night. After the bonfire we went out to a bar and had a few drinks. From the stories in the morning it does sound like it was a crazy epic night for several, however I was exhausted and ended up home relatively early that night.

The next day we set off for Franz Josef, where the main attraction is walking across a glacier. The first night in Franz Josef we partook in all you can eat pizza, and caught up with all our friends that were on the bus ahead of us at the bar that night. The next morning, bright and early we got up to walk across a glacier. We got to the shop and find out due to weather they have postponed the walk for an hour. I had flashbacks to Taupo and missing out on the volcano walk. Luckily, an hour later the weather was decent enough to go up. They gave us hats, gloves, water proof outfits, boots and crampons for our boots. The crampons are these spikes you strap on your boots that help you dig into the ice so you don’t slip and slide around. The only way up to the glacier is by helicopter. It was my first time it a helicopter, and it was a frightening and exciting experience. When we got up to the glacier our guide started hacking away at the ice to create footpaths for us to walk on. Stairs made out of ice so we could walk up and down the glacier, and see the caves, crevasses, waves, slopes, and all the other cool features of the glacier. It was a much different experience than what I thought it would be, and the glacier is dirtier than I thought it would be; but it was a lot of fun and I’m glad I was able to see a glacier up close.  At the end of the 4 hour tour we went to have a well-deserved cheeseburger and then headed to the glacier hot water pools to warm up. It was a fantastic but tiring day, with a night in watching movies in our “flashpacker dorm room” (it had a tv and kettle in it).

Wanaka was a sleepy little town, it reminded me of a ski resort town. It was raining that day, so any activities were cancelled, so we all decided to go to the cinema instead. It was a unique experience, because the owners have made it a comfy cinema, with sofas, blankets, and you can take meals or drinks into the theater with you. They also have intermission where you can purchase freshly baked cookies.We all decided on an early night since we knew it would be a bit epic in Queenstown.

Next stop Queenstown!

Bye for now <3

Kairterteri

We left the North Island and took the ferry across the Cook Straight to the South Island, to our first stop of Kaiteriteri, where the Abel Tasman National Park is located. Thankfully my friend and I decided to add an extra night in Kaiteriteri so that we would have time to venture the beautiful National Park. The ferry across the Cook Straight was suppose to take 3 hours, it was THE LONGEST FERRY OF MY LIFE! We were on the boat for 6 hours!!!! Double the amount of time it should have taken. We all slept the first half, and were in this delirious, cabin fever state the second half. We spent several more hours on the bus to get to Kaiterteri, 12 hour day traveling today. The second day we said goodbye to most of our friends that we have made along the way, and will catch back up with them later on the tour; and continued into the national park. My friend and I did a 6.7km walk through the beautiful park overlooking the gorgeous turquoise water. I will try and post pictures of the trip, at least the highlights so everyone can see how gorgeous this country is.

Net stop is Westport, surf spot.....

Bye for now<3