Ketch'up

(ok. efficient. i will do this efficiently...)

My last blog was pre Napier so I'll start there. Napier is a lovely town on the east coast (but not the East Cape) of NZ. Hawk's Bay. In 1931 there was a massive earthquake that destroyed most of the city so they rebuilt it (of course). The 30'2 were the Art Deco era so of course all the buildings are still maintained in that fashion. I particulalry like Art Deco style so I was quite keen to see it. Napier was also the place I chose for my imaginary massage/yoga studio that I had to make a business plan for in my final year of massage therapy (I just did it for NZ so I could stay interested in doing my homework really). I enjoyed my stay there. It was peaceful. I do have pictures but I'm having difficulties uploading them here.

I was only in Napier for one night then went back to Taupo for a night, then the following day I headed north to the Bay of Plenty to work the Home Show in Taurunga. Now this was doing the same sales job I did in Hamilton and Palmerston North back in march. I really only did it so that I could see my boss again because we really had a lot of fun in Palmy. Plus, the extra cash definitely helps - I even sold enough this time to make some commision! I stayed a couple extra days on my own just to hang out and climb Mt. Maunganui. I have pictures of that too, stay tuned. The beach was only a 10 minute walk from where I was. I just like sitting there listening to waves. Again very peaceful and I was quite content. Oh Yeah! I almost forgot - my wallet was turned in to the police in Gisborne so I asked them to send it to Taurunga where I could pick it up. So now I have it again! Yay for humanity! My credit card can't be turned back on but I've only got a few weeks left so I should be ok without it (knock on wood).

Next I returned to Taupo to hop back on the Stay bus (you may remember it from earlier adventures such as "Pahia and the Bay of Islands" or "Stray Southbound: Auckland to Rotorua"). Once back on the bus I headed to Tongariro National park to do the Tongariro Crossing which is a 7-8 hr hike that goes over a volcano/mountain range (small), past some Emerald lakes, hot springs, and through rainforest. I was SPECTACULAR!!!! I wanted to do it and I really did not want to do it. But on the day of, we had perfect weather. Not a single cloud in the sky! The air was nice and crisp (remember it is autumn here now, so it has been quite brisk the last few days). There was actually frost on the ground that morning even! But what makes the Tongariro Crossing extra exciting for me is that it is where part of Lord of the Rings was filmed - do you recall Mt. Doom? Well, I've been there. Yep. I could climbed it, some people did, but I was sure I'd have a stroke (you'll understand when you see the pictures ). It is soooooo steap, and it's all just loose rock. It was a 3 hour climb just to do Mt. Doom and you still had to finish the rest of the crossing after. So I settled for just getting my picture taken in front of it multiple times. I'll get those pictures up as soon as I can because they really are quite amazing. The best part was, I didn't have to do the crossing alone. I met a girl from the UK at the beginning who was going the same pace as me and through the course of the day we got to know eachother quite well. I have no doubt we'll keep in touch. She's so lovely and we have a lot in common. That night we stayed at a lodge in the national park where a friend from Kerikeri is now working. I met him when I was doing fruit picking, he lived at the same hostel as me. So after the hike we met up. I was so exhausted though I really wasn't much company to him unfortunately. But it was still nice to meet up again. He's from Portland, Oregon so we'll probably keep in touch to and meet up some time again in North American (and no, mom, it's not romantical. Just friends).

The next day we headed to Wellington. I love Wellington. If I were to live in NZ, it would be there. It's just a good-feeling kinda city. Really cool and arty. I met up with one of the girls I lived and worked with at the motel in Franz Josef while I was there and that was so great! (See, some really wonderful things came out of my time in Franz Josef). After we had our own sit-down-catch-up-with-wine thing we went to the bar at the hostel I was staying at so she could meet my friend from the crossing. We all had a wonderful time that night dancing up a storm! Ahhhhhh! It felt so good to get on the floor and dance!!!

The next morning came very quickly when I dragged myself out of bed at 5:30am to catch the ferry to the south island. I didn't have to get up that early but after a few drinks the night before, mixed with some anxiety, it seemed like a really good plan... Not as such. But I survived of course. Caught the ferry, then got back on the bus on the other side. Now I'm at Old MacDonald's Farm in Abel Tasman (the top west point of the south island). I could do a walk today but I think I'll just chill out and wander around the farm. I saw some llamas down the road, and I do love those crazy long-neck beasts...

Tomorrow we'll head to Barrytown which is nothing but a hostel/bar. Where we'll all dress in costumes and get completely shitfaced. Then I'll be back in FRANZ JOSEF. I'm a little nervous and a little excited to see what that'll be like. Fun, I'm sure, as I still have friends there. I'll hop of the bus for a few nights then catch up with it again in Queenstown. My plan might change after that depending on my bus driver who I think is crazy and a little bit spiteful. We didn't hit it off so well back in Tongariro... long story. I'll get my pictures up ASAP! Especially since I'm running out of space on my memory cards.

Less than three weeks to go now! I'm looking forward to being home and catching up on the last 7 months with you all. I love you so much! See you soon!