And She's Off!

I am off to Christchurch today!
Per my mother's request I am only spending two nights there before taking the Trans Alpine Train across to Greymouth on the west coast.
I think i am going to have to get a job to continue my travels (which is the complete opposite of what i was thinking a few days ago. i was planning on coming home soon. but now i am anticipating liking to south island too much and have to prolong my visit. We'll see how i feel when i actually get there.)
So this is two things off of my wish list in my last post, booked and going to happen!!
I have spent yesterday and today catching up with Guillaume, Celia and Martin from Taupo as they just came up to Auckland. :)
Happy now.
Though, as per usual, i am sick..
i will keep you posted!

Escape from Taupo

*View from the tree*

*Henry and Tane and the big cave*

*Brinna, Phil, Peter, Sam, Lukas, Martin, Me, Henry, Mollie*

*Henry and I halfway up a hill*

*Pretty sand on the beach*

My 2 day trip to Auckland turned into a fleeing from Taupo.

I realized that i was, in fact miserable there and that it was time to leave.

So i put in my one day's notice at work, packed my bag and hit the road (only after a big night out with all my friends of course.

Spent a few days in Auckland, then took the train to Bethell's beach to stay with the lovely Henry (who had 2 days prior returned from England) and her boyfriend Tane at Tane's Beach house. It was awesome and just what i needed after a thuroughly crippling homesickness breakdown in the Auckland Starbucks a few days before. Happy now though.

We played in caves, walked on the beach barefoot in jeans and a tshirt (in mid winter!), saw a dead seal, climbed a hill and then climbed the tallest tree on top of that hill, went to a lake behind a sand dune in the middle of teh woods, read, napped, watched Fantasia, made pizza and drank milo. It was exactly what i needed. Of course, Henry would probably be able to cheer me up if we were living in a sewer.

Now i am back in Auckland. It is sunny and beautiful. I don't think i will be as lucky when i come home to my northern hemisphere winter....

No solid plans.

Wish list:

-Get to the damn south island!

-Take a train trip.

-Go to a Rugby World Cup game (17 days!!)

-Use my tent at least once before i go home.

The Book list

Being bored has afforded me a lot of time to read.
Though I am a dreadfully slow reader, I have been tearing through the books.
They have passed through as follows:
January:
-The Pearl by John Steinbeck-- A short little gem (or pearl I guess) about the value of what is really important. It is a very short book. I think it only lasted the first leg of my flight. I left it at the Mercure Windsor hotel in Auckland.
February:
-On the Road by Jack Kerouac--Tales of Jack Kerouac and he crazy buddies revolutionizing American literature and bumming across the country. I gave this one to my friend Liz when she and George came to visit me on the barrier. She is Australia now.
March:
-The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna--This is a great story of a man whose life is dramatically altered when he hits a rabbit with his car. After nursing it back to health, he drops out of his previous life and travels around Finnland with the hare getting into all sorts of situations and unusual circumstances. It was a great book but I think there were some deeper meanings in there that I missed. I sent this one back home to Anna, who sent it to me in the first place.
-Thanks for the Memories byCecelia Ahern--This was a dumb book about a woman who recieves someones memories through a blood transfusion. By the author of P.S. I love you. I put this one back in the caravan that I found it in.
-20 Under 40: Short Stories form The New Yorker-- I bought this book before I left for a short story, Here We Aren't, So Quickly by Jonathan Safran Foer who, if you know me, you will know, I am obsessed with (within reason). I really enjoyed this book. It was full of entertaining short stories by many talented authors. I left this one to my friend Henry in Great Barrier Island with instructions for her to pass it on to my friend Grant when she finished it. But i am pretty sure her house ate it.
April:
-The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald--I really like Mr. Fitzgerald's writing. And this book did not disappoint. Though it did get a bit desperate at times I was thoroughly satisfied with it upon completion. I put this one on the book exchange shelf at the Centabay Lodge in Paihia.
May:
-Occupational Hazards by Jonathan Segura--This book was $3 at Whitcols. It was ok. A lazy reporter getting sucked in to a story to the point of danger. A bit raw which was refreshing. Awful ending. I have it to Grant for his bus ride home after his visit to Taupo.
-Maroc by Daniel Easterman-- A mystery through history novel taking place in Morocco. It was entertaining but not life changing. I enjoyed it. I sent this one home to Dad along with his birthday present. I though he would like it.
-The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby--Amazing. I read it in about 4 hours. Very short, which is understandable as it was written but a paralyzed man who wrote the whole book by communicating by blinking his one functional eyelid. I put his one back on the book exchange shelf i found it on. Read it. It is a movie too i think.
June:
-Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer--This was I think my fifth read of this book. I love it. My favorite book in the "whole waarld" ( --;) Anna). Grant bought it for me when he was down here. It is sitting under my bed now. I may lend it to friends but will probably hold on to it.
-A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian by Marina Lewycka-- This was a good book. Not quite as funny as I wanted it to be but entertaining none the less. It touched on WWII which is a favorite of mine when it comes to books. I has great cover art. Grant sent me this one and i will probably send it back to him.

I am getting kicked off the computer now!!

Life on the lake

*Gnome friend in front of the Waikato River*

*Paihia friends out on the town*

*Me and My germans out for Sandra's birthday*

*Huka Falls*

I am going on seven weeks here in Taupo now.

I now:

--have a job waitressing at Portofino Italian Restaurant and possibly another one in the wings.

--Am working for my accommodation (which is a bunk bed in a garage with 5 other people) at a hostel in town.

--am a member of the local pool and get to swim pretty often.

--am the proud owner of a light purple (with pink detail) bicycle.

--am a member of the Taupo Library.

A few weeks ago, the group I worked with in Paihia stayed a night at my hostel on their way down to Wellington. We had a fun night out and won a lot of free beer at the Pub's quiz night. Fun kids.

I miss having friends.

Well, I have a few friends here; the two french kids form work, A couple cohabitants of the garage, some lifeguards from the pool. But it is mostly just Madeline most of the time. Thought i am expecting some visitors her in the next couple of weeks. :)

In other news, I have decided on coming home before Christmas. Mid-December I think. So I am pretty exactly 6 months away from my return....which is still a pretty long time.

I am looking forward to being in the country as New Zealand hosts the Rugby World Cup in September and to experiencing a New Zealand spring.

Taupo

Howdy all!
I finally got up and moving.
After a lovely Easter weekend in Auckland, I adopted two German girls, Sandra and Annika, that I met i Paihia and set off traveling with them.
We went to the Coromandel Peninsula.
We spent Tuesday night in Thames.
Then Wednesday we go up and hit the road.
We stopped and hiked the Kauaeranga Kauri trail. It was very nice but as it was a kind of wet day, there was a pretty constant stream flowing down the trail as well as 4 "flood route" suspension bridges that we had to cross (Yikes!!!).
We then continued north up the west coast of the peninsula to Coromandel town. It was a cute town and our hostel had a hot tub! About a minute down the road from the hostel was a cave and I got to see my first New Zealand glow worms (while standing in six inches of mud).
The next day, Thursday, after the girls did some train ride to a view of something that I opted out of to save $20 on a rainy day view of some mountains, we cut east to Whitianga.
We were detoured a few times due to flooded roads.
We spent two nights in Whitianga.
While there we went to the Hot Water Beach where you can dig a hole in the sand and it fills up with hot water. But because it is a school holiday, the beach was very very full of families and tourists. We got our feet in though, it was very cool.
Then we went to Cathedral Cove. After a 45 minute hike up and down and up and down, we opened out onto this isolated beach with amazing rock formations (I don't have time to add pictures now).
We also had a big night out while in Whitianga. It was a local radio station's "7th birthday" so after watching the royal wedding, the girls and i had a night out. It was fun.
On Saturday we head south and west on out way to Taupo. We had to stop a few times to puke as Sandra was getting car sick and once to get new tires as we realized ours were about to explode. But we made it.
So now I am in Taupo and needing to get a job to finance the rest of my trip and to buy some warm socks as Taupo is chilly chilly.
The search begins tomorrow.
Wish me luck!!

Paihia

I am in Paihia.
Bay of Island area.
Finally got off of the Barrier about a week and a half ago.
I miss it.
It is nice here though.
Kind of touristy, but quite beautiful.
I am meeting lots of super folk.
I'm here till the 22nd then Easter in Auckland and..... then I don't know.
I'll keep you posted.

In no particular order.....

*Bringing in the long line while camping at Haratoanga*

*Looking down the runway in Okiwi from a 9 person plane*

*Henry and her face on our trip to Auckland*

*Nortessa and Wontie in Auckland*

*Harry walking down the isle collecting flowers at his and Bex's wedding*

*The girls dressed up for the wedding. Terere, me, Henry and Farley*

*Flax in front of a beautiful sunset in Tryphena*

*Sali, Penny, Prue, me and Farley at our 2011 staff breakfast*

*Grant coming down the steepest hill ever on the Awana falls hike*

*Farley, Girl Henry, Boy Henry and John at our promo ditch party*

*Me and Evelynol, the slug we found in the dishwasher*

*Sharon (Nortessa's mom), Nortessa and I at a birthday barbque*