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New Zealand Mass Email Kia Ora (Greetings from New Zealand)! As a precursor, this email is going to many people who I haven't been in touch with for a while (mostly from Australia), and is fairly inclusive. In order to minimize spamming people, I won't send any more emails to people that I haven't seen or heard from in the last couple months. Of course, I would love to hear from all of you, and a short note would be great (e.g. I'm in London, drnuk, life is great. Bye.) That aside, on to my travel stories... I am now in Queenstown, and excited about being on the road again. I've been traveling around New Zealand for about a week and a half so far, and it feels like most of that time has been on airplanes, buses, and in cities, preparing for the fun parts of the trip to begin. After packing till 4am (still forgetting my sunglasses), watching the first half of "Master and Commander" in the theater (which doesn't come out in NZ until January, argh!), and saying goodbye to family and friends, I braved pre- Thanksgiving crowds and flew via Fiji to Auckland. Arriving alone, tired, with no plans, and staying in a decrepit 200 bed hostel with 3 sinks, I was pretty miserable at first. Two days and 22 hours of sleep later, I had met a few other backpackers, was still jetlagged, had made a few plans, and took the Magic Bus to the Bay of Islands, north of Auckland. The highlight of my trip so far has been kayaking in the Bay of Islands. A fellow traveller and I borrowed the free kayaks from our hostel, and set out to sea. As the adage goes, you get what you pay for, and due to questions regarding the seaworthiness of our kayaks we unfortunately didn't feel comfortable bringing our cameras. After paddling for a couple hours and reaching the deserted island of Tore Tore, we hiked to the top and experienced some of the most magnificent views I've ever seen. The Whitsunday Islands off Australia still hold the crown, but Tore Tore certainly gave them a run for their money. (Milford Sound enters the competition next week.) The next day we hopped on a boat with over 100 other tourists, and set out for the Hole in the Rock and swimming with dolphins. We spotted dolphins quickly, were told that the water was 23 degrees Celcius. We jumped in the boomnet, caught our breath, shivered, and wondered if they meant Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, the dolphins started swimming off, so the boat dragged us through the freezing water for 10 minutes of frigid agony before giving up and hauling our numb bodies back on board. After we warmed back up (a considerable amount of time), the boat reached the Hole in the Rock, which was a big rock with a big hole in it. Not very exciting. On the return trip, the boat stopped at Urupakapuka Island, which was absolutely beautiful. Had it been deserted, it would have probably beaten Tore Tore. As it was, the sunny bay views came pretty close. This time we were prepared, and cameras started clicking. (See forthcoming Shutterfly album.) Much of the rest of the trip has been in transit or planning (most people would do more of the planning part ahead of time). Christchurch was a nice city, and the cathedral was pretty, the botanical gardens floral, and Cathedral Square lively. Interesting things included the Wizard of Christchurch ranting about how schoolteachers control reality and how women (except feminists) control the world. Also beat one of the locals at life-sized chess while being harassed by another local for taking too long to move. Other observations: Kiwis (New Zealanders) have a strange accent, almost squeaky. 10 days ago the sun went down at 4:45, now it goes down at 8:45. I haven't made it out to a bar past 11pm or 2 beers yet, as transportation, exploration, planning, and activities during the days are quite tiring. I've met more British than Kiwis - what's so bad about being in England anyway? The Lord of the Rings filmmakers were right - this country really does have amazing natural landscape. Future plans: I will be hiking on the Milford Track for the next 4 days, and am thrilled. This is considered by many to be the best hike in the world! Then I will return to Queenstown, and boogie board down river rapids, go canyoning, luging, and maybe bungy jumping. I will be in Queenstown and traveling up the west coast of NZ for a couple more weeks, be in Wellington for New Years, travel through the North Island for a week, then fly to Thailand on Jan 9, followed by Vietnam, China, and Europe over the next 6 or so months. For those at home and those travelling, I would love to hear from you, and even better meet up at some place on the road. I hope all is well with you, cause things are great here. :)
Cheers, P.S. Feel free to forward to friends whose email addresses I may have lost in the hectic predeparture compiling of emails. Hope to hear from you soon. |