Home Sweet home

Well, I have made it home safe and sound, to Toronto at least. I already miss New Zealand, but I am happy to be home. Now I will have to figure out what I want to do next, aside form school, where in the world do I want to next? Scotland and England are up there on the list, but I am also interested in Japan. I have to make some money before I can even think of going elsewhere.

The biggest change that I have encountered so far is the weather, going from winter into the height of summer is a change. Especially a summer in Toronto, the humidity is killing me. The G20/G8 caused quite a stir in Toronto, luckily my flights made it through without much difficulty. Trinette, a friend, came to pick me up with another friend Meaghan, a very welcomed sight. I went home and slept the night away, after having a welcomed dinner of home cooked food.

Thank you everyone for reading the blog, I think this will be my last post. I had a fantastic trip and am so happy that I made the decision to go. Have a good summer everyone, or winter depending on where in the world you are.

At 38,000 Feet and Falling

Well here I am, sitting on Air Alaska flight 703 heading to Vancouver. I have had a comedy of errors as far as flights working together, everything that could go wrong went wrong for my initial departure from Auckland. Weather delays, baggage delays and some more delays just for the hell of it. Our pilot was very appologetic and put his foot down across the pacific, after leaving nearly 5 hours late we arrived into LA 3 hours late, making up nearly 2 hours and traveling at over 1000 km/h for most of the flight. Meaning I missed my flight from LA to Vancouver and was booked onto a later one extending my trip by a further 2 hours. Oh Joy. When traveling just remember two things, coffee and a smile.

Currently I am sitting at 38,000 feet on board the flight using free wireless internet, Joy!!! Here I am, on one of the last legs of my journey, tired and likely quite smelly writing down my whims. I love technology. Well, I have to always look on the bright side, soon I will be in Vancouver and there awaits a shower, fresh food and a big king bed all for me!!!

Until next time!

The First Goodbye

I am getting unsettled, I feel conflicted about the prospect of coming home. I don't feel ready to leave New Zealand, there is so much that I want to so, so much I still want to see, the people and the land have so much to offer. I have enjoyed my stay here, more then I can express in words or any other medium. There are many parts of home that I miss, lots of little pieces which I will gladly welcome, but I feel like I am closing a chapter of my life. I know I will start a new one and begin again, I am trying to console myself.

Moving on to more pleasant topics the picture above is not actually a mountain, but the largest of three volcanoes in the national park just outside of Taupo. The volcano is home to not one but three ski fields, as they are called here, it is a beautiful but humbling sight. In the mid nineties this volcano erupted, I don't believe that anyone was injured but the industry of the surrounding area was greatly disrupted.

Talking of volcanoes, Auckland, where I am right now, is home to 69 dormant or dead volcanoes. I don't think I could live in a city surrounded so completely but it does make for some good walking. Lots of hills.

I am jumping around with this post, my thoughts are running wild. In two days I will be heading to the international airport to begin my journey home, the first leg includes a 12 hour flight to LA. Then a three hour stopover to clear customs and change terminals, let me advise any travels to avoid LA like the plague, while it isn't the worst airport, it is far from the best. A maze of terminals and confused travelers await, I believe there are 9 terminals in total. Then three hours to Vancouver to clear another set of customs, I wonder how much chocolate one is aloud to bring into the country. :D

I will be spending a day and night in Vancouver so I can recover from my 18 hour roller coaster and then the next day fly direct to Toronto to greet the G20 summit as they stream out of my city. Thank you to Trinette who will be picking me up! With coffee no less, it will be a welcome site to see someone I know at the airport.

Well, I will be writing once more in Vancouver I believe, see you all soon!!

Solong South

I am back on the north island after my adventure on the south. I am sad to leave the south but happy to be moving on once again, even if it will eventually lead me home. A few days back I had the experience of skiing in the southern hemisphere, that was interesting. I don't know if I will be doing it again soon, it was fun, but the snow is not what I am used to at all, Eastern Ontario snow is what it was. Hard, icy and on rented gear, I know I shouldn't be complaining, it was a privilege, but I like BC better.

The picture above is of the few from the ski field looking over the Canterbury Plains, like a patchwork quilt covering the plains. It didn't look real, but like a painting of a fantastic world.

Another experience from the south, Hamner Springs, a natural hot pool area where I spent five hours soaking and roasting. My back was so happy with me for that, buses are not the best for you back. I would have never made it out there had it not been for Alicia's family, so a huge thank you to you! I made it skiing and swimming, a great combination.

What else do I have to say, Kiakoura, a fishing town that now relies on dolphins and whale watching for income. While I enjoyed the stay it was an extremely quite day, the town was dead as most people don't want to go swimming with the dolphins in the middle of the winter.

That is a list of my most recent adventures and now I have to head back North through Wellington, Taupo and then finally Auckland. I don't understand how I only have a week left, 7 days in the land, where has the time gone?

Christchurch Chillout

After spending a few days in Queenstown (Tourist town...) I have moved on to Christchurch, the largest city on the South Island, population around 400,000. I am staying with a friend who I met a in Canada about three years ago for all of two weeks, we both attended an international physics school held at Perimeter Institute in Waterloo. I know, I have my moments, Alicia is a fantastic lady currently studying Economics at the University of Canterbury and living with her family. It is nice to be in a home once again, there is something so peaceful about a house that is lived in, a warmth.

Living with a real kiwi family is something I am cherishing, there are small differences, but they make it more fun. There is a constant movement of people through the house, grandparents, friends, me, just walk through the door say hello and sit down and get on with what ever they need to do. It is a hub, a meeting place and I am growing to love it. I am planning on spending just over a weeks, to get back on my feet after moving around so much, resting, relaxing and experiencing a true kiwi life.

There one thing that is very similar to Alicia's family and mine, the love for skiing, I know, skiing in June!! I cannot wait! We are planning on heading up to Mount Hutt early next week to get a day of skiing in. I am all smiles about that.

Enjoy the weather! It looks like the sun is heading your way!

Into the Rabit Hole

Well, I just had one of the more amazing expierences in my life so far, by far one of the best parts of the trip too. I went climbing on a glacier two days ago, it was just stunning. Franz Josef, while being a tourist attraction is totally worth it, espcially when you have a good group of people to do it with. We climbed aroudn for about 9 hours, mostly in light weight sweaters and shorts, the sun was quite hot. The picture above is of me climbing down into a tunnle, taken by a friend, it was wet, hence the full rain gear, but worth the cold. The glacier, deceptive in size, seemed small when we first approach it in the morning, but what looked like a ten minute walk to its base turn into 45 minutes. Ice is cold, no doubt about it, but when you get moving, in the sun, you get toasty quite quickly, stopping for lunch only briefly so we wouldn't freeze, we continued along catching up to several other groups.

I could go on all day about the trip, but I have to move on, I only have so much time on the internet. Yesterday we arrived in Wanaka, a ski town, about 4000 normal residences and expierenced our first taste of winter, snow on the mountain tops surround the village. It really reminds me of BC, Vernon, but shunk in the wash. Fantastic community, and a great group of people, I went for a walk this morning and relaxed through the afternoon.

Well, good bye and good night!!! I will update you soon as to what is happening soon, I am almost all the way south and then I have to start trekking north to Auckland to head home.

Into the Able Tasman

Yesterday, from Nelson, a friend and I went for a tramp into the Able Tasman, in the pouring rain. It was a beautiful walk, but we were cold and wet for most of the day... The Abel Tasman is the smallest of the National Parks in New Zealand, being only 200 square kilometers, but it is easy to see why the park is considered one of the Great Walks. Long, unspoilt golden beaches and lush native bush on the mountains around. I was glad to have a walking companion, otherwise it would have been miserable. Rachel, from London England, made everything better, we were missrable together. At one stage of the walk, you have to cross a lagoon at low tide, but there are still channels full of water you have to wade across.... In the summer it would have been wonderful, but we were already so cold. We chose to take off our boots and walk across barefoot, to save our shoes for the other side (wet shoes are terrible) but we didn't take into account the shells... Lots and lots of sharp shells, I mean everywhere. I think it was worth it, it was stunning, the picture above is just one of the many sights. Afterwards we went and had some fish and chips, local caught fresh fish and real chips I might add. It was a fantastic end to an interesting day.

Today, Rachel and I went for a walk in the downtown of Nelson, the city we are in, at the north tip of the South Island. Nelson is one of the best cities I have been in so far, very relaxed and full of culture. It helps that the hostel, the Green Monkey, is a beautiful place. With only 16 beds it is more of a home then a hostel. Our host, Jamie, also from England, bakes a cake every evening and joins us at the pub every night. It is a lovely place, so lovely that I have extended my stay by another two nights. This afternoon, we decided, because of the weather (RAIN) to bake some muffins, cheese and onion muffins, they are so yummy.

Well, on Sunday I will continue down the west coast of the South Island. I hope you all have some sun shine for me!

So Much Beauty

Right now I am sitting at a friend of a friends family friends house... It is an amazing feeling, meeting someone completely new and let the show me something that they believe is truly New Zealand. Judith took me up the coast of the southern tip of the north island and showed me the rugged beauty of the ever changing coastline. That is what travel is about, the little trips that are out of the way.

Any city is a city, Wellington is like Queen St West and the Annex combined in Toronto. I will be heading back to Wellington tomorrow afternoon on the train. I plan on spending a couple of days there before trekking south. The picture above is me on the coast with the one pink tractor. The fishing boats get pulled out along the beach to protect them from the tide. I had to have a picture with the pink tractor, the rest were all rusted and sad, this one stood out.

Well, I will say good bye for now, it is nearly time for bed, so good night and have a good May 24 where ever you are!!

River Valley

I just spent three days in heaven... A remote "adventure" lodge 45 min from anything, up the end of a valley next to a river. I had to stay three days it was so beautiful, and on my second night I was the only guest as everyone on my bus continued on and there was no bus arriving after them. That was the experience of a lifetime, the staff and I sat back beside the fire and watched three movies on the projector, just chilling out. The lodge offers a variety of activities from class 5 white water rafting to horse trekking. I choose to do the horse trekking, a huge reason being it was through a deer farm, imagine riding through a herd of deer 100 strong... I can't really put it into words. I am thinking about going back and working for room and bored if I have time on my way back north, spending a week or two there would be easy. The picture above is from the horse trek, personally I think it looks like the foot hills in Alberta.

I arrived in Wellington in the early evening, so I missed much of the scenic drive because of the dark, but the city its self does remind me of Toronto or Montreal. The downtown is like Queen Street West, vibrant and colourful. I am going out for an explore! Tomorrow I will be backtracking north a little bit to go to Carterton to visit a friend of a friend. It should be a blast! Hope the weather is warm were every you are!

Hello from Hobbiton

Yes, I know, I am such a tourist sometimes. I couldn't resist this though, I think everyone I knew who has passed though town has taken a similar photo. This is Matamata, the town near where Hobbiton was filmed for the Lord of the Rings. I didn't actually go down to the site as it is just a farmers field, the sets were removed and the land put back to its natural state.

On to other things now, I have found many fantastic walks to go on, and a few fun walking partners. The people who you meet when you travel will amaze you, my friend Germany, I can't pronounce her name so we call each other by country, can live on 30 dollars a day... I don't know how she does it, but we have managed to find some fantastic walks.

This morning, in Taupo, the largest body of fresh water in the southern hemisphere, we set our for a long walk along the lake front with beautiful sunshine. About and hour and a half in, there was an increase in the wind, and suddenly it was pouring rain in all of 15 minuets. We managed to find the main road and hitch a ride back from a lovely local who is a local baker. That is what traveling is about to me, the little things.

Tomorrow I am heading off to a place called River Valley, a lodge in the middle of nowhere between Taupo and Wellington, the countries capital. I plan on spending three days there walking and maybe doing some horseback riding, depending on the weather.

Well, that is all from my end! Have a good week!!

Cathedral Cove to Gold Mines

Sorry, I couldn't come up with a witty name for this post, I am quite exhasted today, we started at 730 so we could go for a sunrise walk to Cathedral Cove. Let me say this, if you ever get the chance to come to New Zealand, you must go to Cathedral Cove. This is just one of the many picutres that I snapped this morning.

New Zealand is known for its beautiful country side and shit weather forcasting system. We had calls for sunshine yesterday and all we got was storm after storm, but today we had calls for showers and had beautiful sun. It was a great day.

That is all I can say.

Sorry the post is so small, I am heading to a hot bath and then bed! Have a good night all!

The Ring of Fire

Arrived safe and sound to Auckland two days back, the flight was uneventful and extremely long as anyone can imagine. Yesterday, I had quite and adventure with a couple of people form the hostel I am staying at, fantastic hostel, but back to the adventure. We decided it would be fun to climb up the local volcanic island Rangitoto, it was wonderful and the weather held for the entire day. The view from the top was stunning, as one can imagine, but the climb up was just as amazing. Auckland is a semi-tropical area, so we climbed through what I would call jungle, bright lush green plant life. A nice change from the airports I had previously been experiencing.

Now, about the hostel, it is amazing. Never have I been in a home with so many languages, French, German and English to name a few. There is a real mixture of people, some who are ending their adventure and others who are just starting. Dinner time is by far the best time, everyone comes together and cooks and then talks about their day. There are many other hostels in Auckland, but the Brown Kiwi is much smaller and intimate then most. I cannot forget to mention our host, Neils, and his love for singing at all hours. It isn't strange to be woken up by Neils voice as he works down stairs.

That is all for now, tomorrow I am planning on doing to the tourist sites, the Museum and Art Gallery. Then after that I am beginning my trek south!

Let it begin...

Well, everything has to start somewhere, that is just a fact. So here I sit, in my parents home wondering what I am going to do with my self. Of course I can't sleep, tomorrow at some ungodly hour I have to be up and on... But New Zealand is in sight, after a couple of airports and way too many line ups. Hurry up and wait, that is all I can say.

The fire in the wood stove is still burning brightly, it will the be the simple things I will miss most I think, a fridge full of food, knowing where I am, friends and family. I know that I will meet so many people and see such amazing sights, but I still find it daunting. Maybe that is why I am going, to do something that deep down, scares me.

My first stop is Vancouver, my plans are simple, WALKING! I am going to do my best to walk all over central Vancouver and see the city from the ground up, in 8 hours. Wish me luck!