Two Weeks (or more) In...

It’s been another week! I still cannot believe that I am here. It is hard for me to recall all the things that I have seen and learned, but I will try and tap into my memory bank…

We have still been camping pretty much every night. We went to Raglan, one of the most famous surf beaches here in NZ. The irony was that there were absolutely no waves to be found. Still, the town was very cute and fun to walk around. It definitely had a surfer vibe. It had about 6 or 7 surf shops within a 10 km radius. Seemed like it could be a cool place for me to find a job…but it might be too small and boring after one week of living there.

Then we made out way to Waitomo to see the glowworms! At first I was skeptical of paying money to see glowworms, but it was TOTALLY worth it. These bioluminescent creatures are spectacular! A tour guide took us cave exploring where we got to see the glowworms in full action. The whole time I was in the cave it reminded me of being on Space Mountain at Disneyland. It was nothing but pitch black and little stars. Definitely one of the coolest things that I have seen in a long time.

Then we were off to New Plymoth. Another “big” city, New Plymoth wasn’t really all that exciting. The cool thing about it was that there was a cool campground that was right on the beach. Our campsite overlooked the ocean!

Then from New Plymoth we made our way to Mt. Egmont. We had EVERY intention of climbing the mountain but mother nature had a different plan for us….it rained ALL night and there was 0% visibility and no chance that we could see anything once (if) we reached the top! The whole point of climing that mountain is for the view from the top. So those hiking plans and ideas of becoming fit again were shot.

Our next stop was Wellington. Wellington is NZ’s 3^rd largest city and the capital of NZ. It was a very cool city that had a lot going on. It was our civilized break from camping. We decided that we needed a break and checked ourselves into a hostel. Honestly we didn’t do anything productive while in Wellington. We slept, ate, drank a bit and met some other travelers. It was a good refresher from living in the wild!

Speaking of the wild…camping isn’t exactly the hardest thing to do here in New Zealand. Most of the campsites that we have been staying in are fully equipped with hot showers/toilets/kitchens/laundry facilities and a bar or restaurant. The only really touch part is that we have to sleep on the ground in a tent. We did start finding campgrounds that are free. Those are just grass lots with “Johnny on the spots”. That is CAMPING…we have been staying at those lately trying to save money, only getting showers ever few days (PU!)

Two mornings ago I woke up with a THICK layer of ice on my tent. Luckily my sleeping bag is thick enough to handle the cold temps. Niki’s on the other hand…ugh…he has a summer bag that is only warm enough for summer temps like 17 degrees. So, poor guy has been sleeping in the car for the past couple of nights.

What else? Ah yes. Two days ago Niki and I hiked the Tongariro Pass (20 km). We were under the impression that it was only 12 km and that it was more of a walk than a hike. HA! Nope. It was a HIKE! Not quite as difficult as Half Dome, but none the less exhausting. I am still feeling it today. I will try and put pictures up soon!

So today I am in Rotura, land of the geysers, boiling mud and sulfur hot springs. Downtown smells like rotten eggs. We are staying at a FABULOUS campsite and I am sitting in the café drinking my English Breakfast tea trying to catch up with every email/facebook/blog that I have neglected. Not quite sure where we are going today or what we are doing. I do know that I will be in Auckland for Christmas and have started looking for jobs.

So, I think that I have brought you about up to date. I will get some corresponding pictures up soon!

Until next time mates….SEE YA