I meant to write this up right when I got home from my trip, but I guess I just got distracted with real life. But this should be pretty accurate:
My trip to New Zealand - February 6-April 26. 79 days.
Cities visited: 30
Hostels stayed in: 34
Beds slept in: 41 (+2 nights on the plane)
Homes stayed in: 3
Top bunks (nights): 19
Nights kept up by snorers: 7 (at least!)
My own room (nights): 5 (+5 nights with Ganesh)
Books read: 7
Foreign sleep talkers: 3
Ferries taken: 6
Flights: 8
Buses: 21 (long distance)
Shuttles/City buses: 19
Trax: 1
Train: 1
Cable car: 1
Hitchhike: 5
Taxi: 1
Bike: 1
Fergbaker pies consumed: probably 6
Percentage of German travelers in hostels: about 55%
Beaches visited: 19
Sunburns: 2
Pounds gained: 6
LDS churches attended: 4
LDS temples visited: 1
Weight of backpack: 35 lbs.
Total miles traveled by bus:
Bus hours:
Miles walked:
Number of hikes:
Total dollars spent: (NZD 4000, USD 3500)
Weetbix, Tim-Tams, L&P...
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Saturday, December 7, 2013
From my travel notebook
I had these thoughts written down and thought I should put them here with the rest of my New Zealand expedition:
My observations on New Zealand:
--The roads are a scary thing. Maybe because there are only 2 lane highways, no street lights - only roundabouts, too many tourists who are not accustomed to driving on the left side of the road, speed limits that seem way higher than what they should be, and windy windy roads.
--Possums here are like squirrels in the US. Tons of them dead on the road. They say if you see one whilst driving to try and run it over. But they use the fur in wool goods, because the possum fur is apparently the second warmest animal fur after the polar bear.
--razor scooters
--video rental stores
--theaters showing old movies
--war memorials
--so hard to understand on phone
The good and the bad of traveling with my parents:
--They fight about driving.
--Dad books shared bunk rooms at hostels and then complains when he has to share a room with strangers.
--Mom freaks out about little things long before its necessary.
--Mom can strike up a conversation with Anyone.. I wish I was more like her in that way.
--Dad can be the most stubborn, difficult customer ever, and I get embarrassed.
--They both geek out on this beautiful nature, and I love it.
--Dad will never admit that he's wrong.
--Dad puts up with me and my mom.
--Mom puts up with me and my dad.
--Dad makes things happen. He's not afraid of anything.
Sidenote: I've discovered myself out here in New Zealand. I've realized that my calling in life is to be a stand up comedian. This came to me when I thought up a bit that I'm sure Jerry Seinfeld himself would use. It starts like this: you can tell a lot about a person by the type of shampoo they use.. Ask me to finish the joke when I get home. I should have a whole routine by then. Ha
Sidenote: I finished The Picture of Dorian Gray, and have moved on to The Call of the Wild. #classics #bookworm #somebodystopme
What do I miss back home?
Friends - Kate, beau, bj, Michelle, willi
Denney
Mom and dad
The broadway theatre
Cheap food
My city - slc
Sleeping in, my own bed, my own room
The mountains
Familiarity, consistency, predictability
A kitchen, refrigerator, car, bedroom, bathroom, closet, pillow, alone in my room
Places open late!
The Mormons!
Saving money
Stuff to do at night
Netflix, tv, dvr, movies, wifi, cell phone
What do I think I'll miss about here?
The spontaneity, freedom, independence
Meeting people from other places
No work! All play!
The water, the beauty
The bakeries, Indian/Thai restaurants
The walkability of the cities
The sunshine
The newness of everything
L&P, weetbix, pumpkin soup, timtams, ferg lamb pie, milk and eggs :)
Fresh air
New Zealand!!
What won't I miss?
Expensive everything
Being alone
Not having to book hostels and buses and arrange an itinerary every day or two
Hostel showers, bathrooms, beds
Snorers!! Sleep talkers, creaky bunk beds!
German accents
Feeling lost
Thoughts about John Wallace:
Strange, funny, typical old man. Tan man with long white hairs growing on his nose.gremlin-like.
Wildly inappropriate. Asking to kiss on the lips. Touching Marion's boobs!
Flies everywhere. Not sure if what he cooked was sanitary, but I chose not to think about it.
Never wore a shirt. Wine breath. Close talker. Kissing on cheek. Making me nervous.
Kind and generous, everybody knows him in town. Takes in travelers, keeps a guest book, photos, stories, invites you to stay long and come back again.
Thinks that a German girl named verena sent me to him. I really think her name was yula, and we are thinking of different people, but I just went along with him thinking it was verena. No harm there.
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
April 26 - 2:30 pm
Well, the time is almost here. In fifteen minutes I will walk to the bus stop. From there, I will go to the airport. I wish it was better weather here today. Gloomy, windy, and now rainy! No bueno. I think New Zealand is crying because I'm leaving. I'm sad too NZ..
Today was mellow. Got up and showered and packed. I ate the best kiwi I've ever tasted in my life! No wonder they call the people here Kiwis. Anyway, after breakfast I walked around but got frustrated with the cold and wind so I went to Starbucks. I spent some time watching rugby on tv, reading three months worth of modern Seinfeld tweets, and browsing the Internet.
I love New Zealand! And I'm so sad to go.. Bye bye dream life.
Today was mellow. Got up and showered and packed. I ate the best kiwi I've ever tasted in my life! No wonder they call the people here Kiwis. Anyway, after breakfast I walked around but got frustrated with the cold and wind so I went to Starbucks. I spent some time watching rugby on tv, reading three months worth of modern Seinfeld tweets, and browsing the Internet.
I love New Zealand! And I'm so sad to go.. Bye bye dream life.
Thursday, April 25, 2013
April 25 - 8 pm
Strangest feeling, this being my last night in New Zealand. After all the build up, dreaming about coming here, talking about doing it someday, a few times having plans fall through, and then an opportunity and perfect window of time opening up, and everything falling into place, making all of this possible. I don't know exactly when or why I developed an infatuation with New Zealand, but now that I've traveled almost every inch of the country, it seems even more alluring. And that there is so much more to see here. I hope I can come back again someday.
It's been hard traveling the past 8 weeks on my own. I knew it would be, but it was even harder than I thought. I hoped it might change me into more of an extrovert, but it actually just made me realize that I am an introvert, and that's just me. I have no problem talking to people. I just feel more comfortable in my solitude. That being said, I have missed my friends and family heaps and I can't wait to be back with my people in about 41 hours.
I very much enjoyed my last full day in Queenstown. It is ANZAC Day here - a national holiday in NZ, similar to our Veterans Day. So at 9 am I heard the faint sound of bagpipes getting closer and closer. There was a parade right outside my door! Not exactly a parade, just bagpipes and pretty much the whole town marching along with the bagpipers through town. All the shops were closed until 1 pm. I walked around by the lake and laid in the sun for a long while deciding what I wanted to do today. The weather was perfect. Mostly sunny, warm, fall day. I decided to hike up to the skyline gondola. It was a good climb, close to an hour to the top. Worth it for the view. And it saved me $26 for hiking instead of taking the gondola. It felt good to get one more big walk in before I have to sit on an airplane or in airports for 22 hours.
I had my last spaghetti meal here for dinner. And I've been going through my stuff, getting rid of food and junk that I've been carrying around all this time. I should have room for everything I'm bringing back! Barely!
I can't believe I leave tomorrow! It's not weird packing my stuff. I do that almost every single day, and move on to the next town. But this time I'm packing up for good! Leaving the country. Flying over the ocean, the equator, and the international date line! And I don't know when I'll be back!
When I think like that, it's hard to leave, but I'm ready.
Not sure what I'll do tomorrow morning. I have until 2:50 pm. Maybe I'll go bungy jumping again.
Ha, yeah right.
Time for the Mario kart competition in the tv room.
It's been hard traveling the past 8 weeks on my own. I knew it would be, but it was even harder than I thought. I hoped it might change me into more of an extrovert, but it actually just made me realize that I am an introvert, and that's just me. I have no problem talking to people. I just feel more comfortable in my solitude. That being said, I have missed my friends and family heaps and I can't wait to be back with my people in about 41 hours.
I very much enjoyed my last full day in Queenstown. It is ANZAC Day here - a national holiday in NZ, similar to our Veterans Day. So at 9 am I heard the faint sound of bagpipes getting closer and closer. There was a parade right outside my door! Not exactly a parade, just bagpipes and pretty much the whole town marching along with the bagpipers through town. All the shops were closed until 1 pm. I walked around by the lake and laid in the sun for a long while deciding what I wanted to do today. The weather was perfect. Mostly sunny, warm, fall day. I decided to hike up to the skyline gondola. It was a good climb, close to an hour to the top. Worth it for the view. And it saved me $26 for hiking instead of taking the gondola. It felt good to get one more big walk in before I have to sit on an airplane or in airports for 22 hours.
I had my last spaghetti meal here for dinner. And I've been going through my stuff, getting rid of food and junk that I've been carrying around all this time. I should have room for everything I'm bringing back! Barely!
I can't believe I leave tomorrow! It's not weird packing my stuff. I do that almost every single day, and move on to the next town. But this time I'm packing up for good! Leaving the country. Flying over the ocean, the equator, and the international date line! And I don't know when I'll be back!
When I think like that, it's hard to leave, but I'm ready.
Not sure what I'll do tomorrow morning. I have until 2:50 pm. Maybe I'll go bungy jumping again.
Ha, yeah right.
Time for the Mario kart competition in the tv room.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
April 24 - 9 pm
It was so sunny and lovely in Wanaka today! And that made all the difference in my attitude. I had a fantastic morning walking around Lake Wanaka. So many people out on the beach and in the street. I could live in Wanaka. I kinda wish I would have rented a bike to ride around the town and the lake. They have lots of good cycle tracks. So when I come back someday..
But I had to leave Wanaka today to go back to Queenstown. Just two nights here before I go home. Just two more days! Really? Crazy. I'm staying in a nice hostel called Adventure Queenstown. I've heard there is a snorer in my room though, so I hope I can sleep through whatever happens tonight. I may have to get earplugs tomorrow if it's bad.
But I had to leave Wanaka today to go back to Queenstown. Just two nights here before I go home. Just two more days! Really? Crazy. I'm staying in a nice hostel called Adventure Queenstown. I've heard there is a snorer in my room though, so I hope I can sleep through whatever happens tonight. I may have to get earplugs tomorrow if it's bad.
April 23 - 9:40 pm
The weather was better today. Perfect for my hike. Not a long one - just up Mt. Iron. It was about an hour and a half. Good lookout point at the summit. Gorgeous Lake Wanaka. I repeat, beautiful fall colors. I walked back into town after my hike and sat by the lake and ate my lunch. By then the clouds were filling in, so I was back in my down coat again, but it was still pretty comfortable temperature. It started to rain a bit later, and I hung out inside at the hostel drawing. The paint app on my iPad provides me with endless entertainment.
Mom told me that she'd pay for me to go to a movie here, so I took her up on that. And she had told me that she liked the movie Warm Bodies - a zombie romantic comedy - so I bought a ticket for the 6:30 showing. I thought it might be entertaining.. I mean the trailer featured The Black Keys song, Lonely Boy. I like that song. The movie should be good.. Nope! I thought it was quite possibly the worst movie I've ever seen. Worse than Twilight number one. Same cheesy, so-bad-it's-funny factor. But not as good as Twilight. Ha yeah, sorry Mom. Bad taste in movies. The theatre was really cool though. Small! Only one screen, couches and different old comfy theatre seats, only about 50 seats. It was funky. So that kinda made up for the lame movie.
Back to Queenstown tomorrow afternoon.
Mom told me that she'd pay for me to go to a movie here, so I took her up on that. And she had told me that she liked the movie Warm Bodies - a zombie romantic comedy - so I bought a ticket for the 6:30 showing. I thought it might be entertaining.. I mean the trailer featured The Black Keys song, Lonely Boy. I like that song. The movie should be good.. Nope! I thought it was quite possibly the worst movie I've ever seen. Worse than Twilight number one. Same cheesy, so-bad-it's-funny factor. But not as good as Twilight. Ha yeah, sorry Mom. Bad taste in movies. The theatre was really cool though. Small! Only one screen, couches and different old comfy theatre seats, only about 50 seats. It was funky. So that kinda made up for the lame movie.
Back to Queenstown tomorrow afternoon.
April 22 - 5:30 pm
Hanukkah. Harmonica. Wanaka.
Beautiful beautiful in the fall. All the leaves have changed. The lake is a perfect mirror.
It was nice weather too, until about 3:00 when it started to rain.
I'm staying at a nice hostel, just down the street, along the lake, from the city centre. I walked around a bit today, sat by the lake, went to the market. i want to go on a hike tomorrow if its not raining. I'll probably just hang out at the hostel tonight. There isn't much to do in town after dark. And it's raining.
Pumpkin soup and toast tonight. Giving myself a break from spaghetti.
No good books on the book exchange shelf, so I'm back to the iBooks on my iPad. I think I'll start The Jungle.
Beautiful beautiful in the fall. All the leaves have changed. The lake is a perfect mirror.
It was nice weather too, until about 3:00 when it started to rain.
I'm staying at a nice hostel, just down the street, along the lake, from the city centre. I walked around a bit today, sat by the lake, went to the market. i want to go on a hike tomorrow if its not raining. I'll probably just hang out at the hostel tonight. There isn't much to do in town after dark. And it's raining.
Pumpkin soup and toast tonight. Giving myself a break from spaghetti.
No good books on the book exchange shelf, so I'm back to the iBooks on my iPad. I think I'll start The Jungle.
April 21 - 8:30 pm
Sunday night in Queenstown. Hanging at the hostel with the other lucky ones. We're going to watch a movie called Stolen Lives, I guess. But not for a few minutes. It was better weather today, so I spent some time outside, hiking Queenstown hill and then sitting by the wharf, people watching. And maybe eating another lamb Ferg pie..
My mom and dad got their puppy today. I wish I was home to meet the little golden doodle Wilson. Six days.
My mom and dad got their puppy today. I wish I was home to meet the little golden doodle Wilson. Six days.
Saturday, April 20, 2013
April 20 - 9:20 pm
Cold, windy day. It was hard to want to be outside, freezing, so I spent most of the day indoors. Library, hostel, etc. Finished reading my book. Watched movies with my hostelmates. But I did get out and do some souvenir shopping. I think I've been in every shop in Queenstown now. And purchased the few items that I could afford. Oh, and I got a lamb pie from Fergbaker, and I can confidently say that it is the best pie in New Zealand. I've had a few while I've been here, but none comes close to the Ferg pie. Mmmmm... Might need to go back for one next week! And let me just say that Fergburger is good, but I liked my Burgerfuel burger way better. Done. Glad I got that off my chest. Not sure what I'll do tomorrow. I'm hoping its nice weather!
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