Moving on up, to the South side

Auckland and me are calling it quits after 40+ days of trying to make it work. We are ending things on good terms though. On Friday, I am leaving here to venture down to the south island in Blenheim. There, I will try to get work at one of the many vineyards for a few weeks. It is supposedly a very easy type of employment to obtain, and many backpackers take advantage of the opportunity. While I am no fan of manual labor, I'm excited to work outside in the fresh New Zealand air alongside my Fijian and Samoan brothers. I'm sure a bottle of wine that I made with my backpacking feet will cleanse the pallet as well. Mmmmm.

Getting there will be the fun part though. I will be taking a Magic Bus: down to Wellington on a route through Waitomo, Rotorua, and Taupo over 3 days. No, it's not actually a magic bus. I know you were picturing me floating away in this crazy bus driven by a gnome...but this one takes roads. Here are a few of the things I will be checking out on the way down...

There are caves in Waitomo:


Hot pools and bubbling mud in Rotorua:


Skydiving in Taupo:

Picture of people skydiving in Taupo not available due to lameness of actually posting a picture of other people skydiving.

I will be arriving in Wellington on Sunday/Monday, and I'm excited to check out New Zealand's second largest city, and one that's known for having a little more personality. While Auckland has been fun, it is a city that does not have an identity. It's as if the city was planned by a group of 4 year olds with glaucoma.



I will miss this city though, and I will miss this hostel. This place is like Never Never Land, except instead of Fairies, there are crazy Maori people who look like they should be the offensive line for the Chargers. You don't feel like time exists, and my biggest concern has been which day of the week to shower on (this week: Sunday...I was ambitious!) It quickly became like a home to me and it'll be bittersweet to leave. If you would've asked me that 5 weeks ago, I wouldn't have believed it. It's time to move on though, so it's on to the next chapter.