Sad days

Im actually typing this up a week after I wrote it: journal entry from the day we left the frenchies: I'm having a hard time holding back the tears and the giant lump that is stuck in my throat. What is it about goodbyes that creates such strong reactions? Piers, Stefan, and I are headed to Clinton-our first wwoofing adventure-it's exciting, but right now all I feel is loss. Even though it had a bit of a rocky start, the ultimate road trip ended up being a huge success. Two islands in one month, friends I will never forget, and a lifetime of memories. Crazy to think that back in welly I was ready to leave everyone. Just goes to show how a bit of perseverance goes a long way. Oh my. It may not have been the adventure I imagined or expected, but it sure was one hell of a month I will never forget. :end journal entry: Now is my last night with piers and Stefan! It's weird to think I may never see these people again-these people who Ive spent nearly every waking minute with for the past 3 months. Seems impossible that they'd ever really be out of my life. And I don't think they will be-we've all made lasting impressions on one another. But I'm off on my own again, though this time I'm meeting up with a whole heap of friends in Christchurch-it's gunna be tiiight!

WO-AH

Sitting in Queenstown right now, and it just hit me how little time I have left in New Zealand!! Just one week ago I was so homesick I wanted to get on a plane and go home immediately, but now it's completely different!

Thinking back on my journey I realize how crazy of an adventure it truly was. Strangely, while it was happening I often felt underwhelmed by the journey, as if I wasn't doing enough to fullfill my expectations. But that's the way it always goes I guess. Now there are tears in my eyes and a giant smile on my face as I look at the pictures from the past crazy month. Jack and his crew have gone throughout nearly all of NZ in 4 short weeks and although there were some trying times, overall it has been incredible. I've seen amazing things and done some pretty heart stopping activities. My favorite of which was the tongariro alpine crossing, which took us high into the mountains and gave the most breathtaking views.

I jumped out of a plane, 12000 ft in the air and I explored the abundant forests at ground level. I rejoiced with my friends over free pudding at 8:00 pm, which barely satisfied our infinite cravings for chocolate. We've driven through the southern alps and stopped many times along the way to take in the sights and just "be." Even on low key days like yesterday where I spent the majority of my time on the internet organizing things, new experiences were abundant. Stefan and I ventured out in search of pavlova, a traditional kiwi dessert, and after a bit of a wild goose chase, found the scrumptious delicacy in a resteraunt called lone star, which had a roaring fire in the center and a very kind and humorous Maori waiter who made me feel like much much more than a poor dirty backpacker, especially when he brought me my glass of pinot gris wine on it's own platter and bent down for me to take it "madame,"

I know I still have 3 weeks left and I shouldn't yet be reminescing, however, the end of this part of my journey is nearly over. On Saturday the frenchies will drop stefan, piers, and I off in Invercargill and from there we'll find a way to get to our first wwoofing host. The jack clan will be split and the super fast crazy "see NZ!" will be over. A couple weeks of wwoofing, a show in Auckland, and some partying with friends, and then home. I simply can't believe it.

At least I had some time to relax and think of the future whilst in fox glacier. After the trek on the ice during the day, we came back to the hostel and jumped into the hot tub located on the back deck amidst a forrest at the base of a mountain. Pure Awesome.

I don't wanna leave. But you can bet I'll be thoroughly enjoying these last few weeks.

Much love!

Recently:

I've got no excuse for the lack of updates. Absolutely none as I've had 3 days of free Internet and nothing to do except sit around in the hostel. So I apologize for neglecting this. However, it's late and I'm exhausted (I actually went on a hike today) so no big posts today. Just a short update-I'm now in the south island and it is absolutely magnificent. Does not disappoint! I have a flight back to Auckland on the 28th of June, markingbasically the end of my trip. :-( But, good news! My mother's results came back and the tumor has decreased 50-60%! Still 2 more months of chemo to go until the next step. But I'll be home soon to help my mom fight. Here's the bad news-I go home soon. Here's the good news-I go home soon! So many conflicting feelings about that! Until next time when I'll give a proper update, Te anui

Indulging desires in Wellington

It began with an egg. But not just one egg, I wanted heaps. A plate filled with a mountain of eggs! The cravings began two days ago and slowly built up until the crushing weight of my yearnings were too strong-I became weak under its pressure and when I saw eggs Benedict on the menu of a strange cafe located in a home and garden store, I cracked-just like the eggs that were shortly thereafter released into the frying pan. The circle of life. Price? $16 Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), it didn't end there. After a nudge from the fates (a German girl I'd met previously asking me if I had plans that night), I cracked again. But what a delightful break it was! $4 for the best cappuccino to have graced my lips, complimented perfectly by the live jazz playing in front of me whilst I sat in cafe lido trying to make sense of the broken English my new friend was using. Pure brilliance. Pure bliss. Leaving the smooth sounds that breathe fire in my soul was a sombre task, however, my friend was tired (and probably straight up didn't like jazz). But we battled the Wellington wind home to our hotel hostel where I was rewarded with a huddle of friends and a good movie. ...whoever said money can't buy happiness was a liar...

Journal excerpts

Sitting on the deck of our lodge in the coromandel: 9:00 am -why does such natural beauty evoke such strong emotions? Is that the evidence that our soul is tied in with this world, with mother nature? Perhaps deep down we humans are even aware of how rare these sights are; How the chances of this magnificent world existing are so minuscule that everytime we're looking at a miricale-an explosion of life? Last night after finishing the Tongariro crossing: We made it back to the emerald lakes, but this time using a much more treacherous path. Climbing up ice-covered rocks made for a slow ascent, but a fun one none-the-less! This time I did not feel as though I was about the keel over from exhaustion, making the entire journey much more enjoyable (the last time we went up I began to hyperventilate b/c I was too focused on how tires I was during the incline, but it was fine and the pain was definitely worth it!) I even did a side track up the Tongariro summit which I had to end before I actually reached the top due to the Ivey mountainside and my having improper equipment. I knew it was time to turn back once I started sliding down the mt.twas an incredible journey even still. At the top of one mt., volcano, tall thing, there was a shaft of heat that fanny, Melanie, and I sat in for lunch. The heat came from the ground so if you sat in one place for too long your bum would burn. I decided to attempt my own sort of hangi and duga hole, put my ham and cheese sandwich in it, covered it up. Sure enough, 20 mins later, the edges were toasty and the cheese was warm and melty! Innovation. I toasted my sandwhich in earth's oven! It was another amazing day with unbelievable sights and heaps of adventure. And my body feels well-excercised. All in all, with both days, we hiked/climbed 35+ km. that's roughly 22 mi. Bitch-ass!

My walk above the clouds

I walked above the clouds, where the air smelled of sulphur, and the ground was painted white. -Tongariro pass Although it nearly killed me (the first 6.4 km were steep), I made it to the top of the pass. They always say the hardest things have the greatest rewards and this was no exception. I've only seen pictures of these types of places, and to know that I've now been there is... Well, amazing. The hike took all day, but it was probay my favorite day in new Zealand so far, even with me seriously thinking that I couldn't continue walking. You started in the jungle, entered the mostly barren hillside, and then ascended the snowy peaks at about 16 km up. I'm addicted to mountain hiking now. There is truly nothing more rewarding that I have yet experienced. You round a corner and the snowy landscape took hold of me and became so overwhelmed that I cried, because of its magnificence, because of its rarity, and because I felt like I had really accomplished something. I pushed myself harder than I've ever pushed myself before and I learned the true gift of never giving up-eating your lunch on top on a mountain, with mt. Doom staring down at you' My god, what a day. And tomorrow we climb the other side. Utter brilliance.

Driving south in the north: mussels, sulphur, and flying

I am writing this with my iPhone, now that shows dedication... Not that it would be any faster if I used the French or German laptops, considering their keyboards are all funky. I apologize for my 10 days of silence, but it's quite difficult updating this thing with no computer, and although all my travel companions have computers, I can't borrow any for more than 10 mins due to our greed when it comes to Internet. I've been thinking foundations a lot, if that counts for anything! In my last post I was leaving kerikeri to pursue some day to day adventures, and boy has that come true. We left kerikeri and headed to Auckland for some business stuff-flight info, taxes-and along the way stopped at some gorgeous beaches. That's one of the many things I love about new Zealand, around every turn there's a new beautiful site, and you're never more than 100 km away from the sea (100 km-1 hr). That night in Auckland ky and I met up with some of his friends and we watched in your skin, an Erie spanish thriller with Antonio benderez. Best movie I've seen in awhile, though it did put me on edge a bit. The coromandel was next on our list with a stop at cathedral cove. So far I think the coromandel peninsula is the prettiest place I've been in NZ, which is saying a lot! We chilled out in our own little lodge flat for a couple of days. I woke at sunrise and went for a short kayak paddle around the bay outside our flat-a perfect way to spend a morning! And the previous evening Stefan and I walked through some bush and onto a tree hanging over the bay to watch the sunset-perfect way to spend an evening! After an extremely relaxing couple of days we arrived in Hamilton. There's not much in Hamilton, but we did manage to see the gardens which were pretty cool. Their interpretation of an American garden was spot on! Haha-concrete with a pool, bright yellow lawn chairs, and a giant picture of Marilyn Monroe! My favorite was the Japanese garden, twas quite peaceful. that night ky and Amy hacker took me out for some beer, some chatting, and some mussels! My first mussel was delicious, never thought I would've loved seafood this much. I had to say bye to ky for good this time since he's moving to Australia for a yr or so. It was actually quite sad for me, he's a really cool guy and one of my first friends in new Zealand. I have a feeling our paths will cross again someday though. After unsuccessfully attempting to leave the hostel without paying (not my idea), we visited Hobbiton. 'nuff said. From there we went to mt. Manganui (tauranga) and climbed to the top at sunset, which was beautiful, but I was honestly more intrigued with the view of the city. It was like looking down from a plane. After our descent, Stefan and I decided to walk home along the beach, and I told him of how when I was youngeri used to believe I could control the waves and of my fear of the ocean at night. We both agreed that we missed our friends heaps, but that ultimately this time is about ourselves as individuals and that hopefully within the next couple of weeks all of us traveling together will become much closer. Onto Rotorua and with that, the best hostel in new Zealand and a very rotten eggy smell! The hostel was called funky green backpackers and if you ever come to NZ, stay there!! The owners are wonderful and it truly feels like a home rather than a hostel. They had funny, intriguing, quirky, and beautiful pictures and posters up everywhere, including a picture of bush saying "miss me yet?" ;-). A roaring fire coupled with a beautiful sun room meant it was hard actually leaving the hostel to go do touristy things! Oh yeah, and it smelled exactly like the racer-rice's place. But we went out there and saw the geothermal volcanic areas. I saw my 1st geyser, lady Knox, and then went to the moon! At least it seemed that way. There was a giant cloud over the entire park which kind of sucked but it helped you forget you were on this planet. The colors formed by the chemicals were amazing-bright green, yellow, orange. And as I was walking along, inside the cloud, on top of an active volcanic area, it truly was like being on a totally diff. Planet. I loved it-being alone. Later, we went to the night market which had heaps of fantastic looking food, but our hostel owner recommended "the best brownies in the world," and he's travelled, so I had to take him up on it and boy do I agree! Delicious!! There were live bands playing, most of which were just cute older people playing ukulele, but that added to the fun. I taught fanny and Melanie the joe dance, which they found very amusing. It was a good night, topped off with piers, Stefan and I going to the hot springs spa which are outdoor pools that look out over the star-dabbled lake rotorua. A sad farewell to our funky green hostel led to an exciting 200 km free fall for piers and I. Yup! I did it! Skydive=pwned. Unfortunately they did have to weigh me beforehand, therefore I'm now aware of exactly how much weight I've gained. I'm 58 kilos, so I've gained about 24 lbs in this country. I blame my poor status. It's the backpackers way to eat everything in sight since you never know if you'll have enough food later (even though you always do). It sucks... I resent my new figure and am honestly mildly worried about coming home and seeing all my friends because of it. My self image is absolutely shit right now, but I try to push my thoughts about that away and focus on my daily activities and just know that once I get home I'll have plenty of time to get somewhat back in shape. But still, it's hard to get used to. I'm extremely angry with my body just all of a sudden slowing it's metabolism! Grr.. Anyway... The skydive was EPIC! I recommend everyone do one before they cease to exist. Although the filming was annoying to me... I'm glad I've got the footage, but it was too invasive for me-wasn't candid at all and made me feel like I had to perform in some way... Which is why I look so retarded in the video, but hey, forgive me-it's a little awkward being strapped to another person for so long while you're quickly becoming motion sick and he's going: smile, look at the camera! Erg. Didn't take too much away though. There's nothing like flying. I'm ending this post now so that you don't get TOO bogged down. Next up: some serious thoughts on the backpacking life.