Akaroa

Hello friends and family! Thank you all for your e-mails, calls, facebook messages, etc. regarding the earthquake. I am safe in the small beach village of Akaroa, which is about a 90 minute drive from Christchurch. I hitchhiked here from Blenheim, where I was hanging out for the past couple days, drinking wine and waiting to hear from my friends Alisha and Matt about whether they were staying in Christchurch (where they live) or going to stay somewhere else. Alisha told me yesterday that since they had no power and no water in Christchurch, they were going to stay with family in Akaroa, so I decided to come down and meet them.

This morning, my couchsurfing host, Sonya, dropped me off in Blenheim at a good hitchhiking spot, across the street from Montana Winery. I was stoked because I figured this way, if no one picked me up, I could run across the street and go wine-tasting. However, I didn't have time to taste any wine because less then a minute after Sonya dropped me off (seriously, I think it was less than 20 seconds ... I hardly had time to pick up my backpack), a car pulled over and the driver told me she was headed to Christchurch. I was surprised because I didn't think many people would be going there post-quake, but I happily threw my bags into her SUV and got in. I stuck out my hand and said, "Hi! I'm Marie!" She gave me a confused look and then said, "You're Marie? You're kidding. I'm Maree!" Needless to say, we got along great! Maree (two E's but pronounced the same) lives in Auckland and she was driving down to Christchurch, where she grew up, to pick up her elderly parents. She was soooo nice! She stopped along the Kaikoura coast so I could take pictures of the seals, and when we stopped for provisions (milk and batteries, since the stores in Christchurch were reportedly out of those), she picked up a box of chocolate biscuits for us. They were delicious! She also offered to let me stay with her in Auckland, and said I can probably stay with her sister in Perth when I go there next month. 

Maree dropped me off in west Christchurch. We were far from the city center so I didn't see much damage, other than some fences that had fallen down, and silt that had come up out of the cracks on the road. I went to the store and bought some tea and a box of muesli bars. I put the bars in my backpack and ripped apart the box to make a sign that said "AKAROA." I walked a couple blocks up the road and held out my sign. It was my longest hitchhiking attempt yet; I was out on the road for almost ten minutes before someone pulled over. The car was completely full -- five people in a five-seater, and the entire back of the car full of suitcases and backpacks. I wasn't sure if they were pulling over to offer me a ride but the driver yelled to me so I ran up to the car and saw the three people in the back seat squeezing over to make room for me. How nice is that!? The driver, Ken, was a man from England who has lived in Akaroa for the past eight years. In the car with him were two friends visiting from England, and a young couple from England/South Africa -- I'm still not clear whether they knew him already or if he picked them up hitchhiking as well. Either way, everyone was very nice and Ken dropped me off right on the main street of Akaroa, two blocks from the hostel (Chez La Mer) where I ended up getting a bed for the night. I continue to be thankful for all my good hitchhiking luck, and so grateful to all the kind Kiwis who have helped me get where I want to go. =) 

On the day of the earthquake, I was planning to hitchhike from Nelson to Christchurch but I got a late start after deciding to walk into town for a bit (I got lost of course). When I finally left The Customhouse (the awesome hostel where I was staying in Nelson), I had to walk about half a mile to the spot where I could hitch south. While I was walking, I got a text from Alisha, telling me there had been two massive earthquakes. I was standing out on the road for a couple minutes when a car pulled over and the woman in the passenger seat said they were heading towards Havelock. I asked if that was on the way to Christchurch and they said, "You don't want to go to Christchurch! They just had a big earthquake!" I told them I knew about it but I still planned on going there. They said they would take me to Havelock with them and on the way there we listened to the radio and found out that the earthquake situation was actually quite serious. I was beginning to think that maybe Lee and Richard (my hitchhiking angels who, along with their two children are the only family that lives on Maud Island, a bird sanctuary in the Marlborough Sound) were right and I shouldn't go to Christchurch. When they dropped me off in Havelock, it was raining and I needed to get on the internet so I went into the town's only hostel and spent the next three hours using the computer, talking to my parents on the phone, and watching the news reports about the devastating earthquake. =(

Thankfully I knew my friends were okay, but it was so sad to watch the TV footage and see the collapsed buildings and know that they must be waiting to hear news about their own family and friends. As it was starting to get dark, I realized I had to get on the road -- or commit to spending the night at the YHA in the tiny town of Havelock. The rain had let up for the most part so I decided to try to hitch to Blenheim, about 40 minutes away. I had passed through Blenheim a few days earlier when I hitchhiked from Picton to Nelson, and I had seen all the glorious vineyards and thought, "I really hope I get a chance to come back here." After a couple minutes on the road in Havelock, a truck driver named Pete stopped for me and said he was on his way to Picton but he would drop me off at the turn-off to Picton and then I'd only be about 15 minutes away. I wasn't sure exactly where I was going to end up, but it sounded better than staying put so I climbed up (way up! those semi trucks are tall!) and after a few minutes, Pete said he was actually going to take me all the way to Blenheim! =D He dropped me off in the center of Blenheim, and even got out of the truck and lifted my bags down for me. What a nice man! I called one of the hostels in my BBH directory (Copperbeech) and the guy there said they had a bed available -- and even offered to come pick me up! The hostel was nice and clean, and I shared a 4-bed room with two friendly German girls. We had our own bathroom, laundry was free, and the bed was the most comfortable bed I've slept on in weeks! While I was there, I decided to stay in Blenheim another night or two, but I didn't want to spend any more money at the hostel (as great as it was), so I sent out a couchsurfing request to an American couple named Sonya and Sam. 

The morning I checked out, I received a message back from Sonya who said she currently had two other girls (also Americans) staying in the guest room but I was welcome to stay on the couch if I wanted to. Of course I wanted to! I wrote back and told her I would make my way to their house after I did a walking wine tour of Blenheim. Her house was a few miles away in Renwick and I wasn't sure exactly how I would get there, but I was more concerned about getting some wine so I set off -- with all my bags -- in the direction of the closest winery, Wither Hills. It was a long walk with my 18 kg of gear (especially because I took a small detour to the Marlborough Museum and checked out their Wine Exhibition), 

but I finally made it to the winery and I felt like I really deserved that wine. 

After Wither Hills (I loved the sauv blanc and pinot gris), I walked even farther to the next winery, Villa Maria. Their wine was good (but not as good as Wither Hills) and the tasting room was full of Americans. I talked to a couple from New Mexico, and the tasting room attendant who was from Texas. Then I started walking to the third winery, Highfield, but after about ten minutes, I decided I was tired of walking, dropped my smaller bag, and stuck my thumb out. A sweet man whose name I can't remember picked me up and drove me to Highfield. The tasting room attendant was a nice Hawaiian girl; I couldn't believe how many Americans I had met in the past few hours. We were talking about our experiences in New Zealand and she asked me if I was staying at a hostel or with friends in town. I told her I was staying with some couchsurfers. She laughed and said, "Wait, are you Marie??" It was Sonya, my couchsurfing host! I probably should have guessed when she told me she was from Hawaii, but I guess my brain was fried from trudging around town all day. I was happy this nice, wine-pouring girl was my couchsurfing host, and even happier because I didn't have to walk to her house or find a ride! =) I stayed two nights at Sonya's with her other two couchsurfers, Jillian and Winlee. I did some more wine-tasting with the other girls yesterday while Sonya was at work. Sonya let us use her car so we didn't have to walk, and we hit up four wineries (Grove Mill, Serasin, Clos Henri, and Te Whare Ra) and a chocolate factory! Okay, I'm very tired and I feel like I've taken advantage of the hostel's free internet for long enough so I'm going to stop here. I'll write more when I can. Good night!! =)

WARNING: This blog will be much less exciting than the last one ...

HELLO from the South Island of New Zealand!! :D After three glorious days at Pip's farm, it was sadly time to say goodbye. If I had more time in NZ, I would have stayed there for much longer. Everything was so wonderful. The people were sooo nice, the scenery was beautiful, the food was amazing and super healthy, the dogs were adorable, the horses were friendly ... I could go on and on about how great it was. Anyone who goes to New Zealand to WWOOF, you MUST stay with Pip. :) I worked hard but I also had a lot of time to relax and enjoy the farm and the surrounding area. I went to an awesome beach on my last full day there -- Waikawa Beach. Pip suggested I take one of their bikes and ride "30 minutes to the beach." It sounded like a good idea because I momentarily forgot how much I dislike biking, and 30 minutes was a pretty quick trip anyway. Except that it ended up taking me over 90 minutes. This was partly because I'm a slow biker, partly because I stopped several times to pet the horses on the side of the road, and partly because (I later found out) the person who told Pip it was a 30 minute ride was a guy who had spent the past several months biking all around New Zealand. :/ Oh well. It was a beautiful (though painful) ride, and when I got to the gorgeous beach (accessed by a short walk through a forest and then a hike up some massive sand dunes like another place I know), it was totally worth it. On the way back, I hitchhiked! The first car that drove past me stopped and they were able to fit both me and the bike in their van. :D In the morning, Pip drove me into the nearby town of Otaki, where I debated taking a bus (to Wellington, where I was going to get on the ferry to the South Island), but it was going to be $23 so I held off. The bus didn't leave for almost two hours and I'd been having such good luck hitchhiking, I decided to at least try to hitch first. I walked down to the end of the road where cars were heading out of town towards Wellington and stuck my thumb out. About ten cars passed me without stopping, which really isn't much, but I saw a cafe across the road and thought I should stop in there to get a piece of cardboard to write "WELLINGTON" on. I went to the cafe and scored a piece of cardboard -- and a giant chocolate chip cookie and a glass of milk. :) I sat there for about 20 minutes, eating and drinking and making my sign. When I finally walked back out to the road, I held up my sign, and after about a minute, a woman walked up behind me and said "Hey! We're going to Wellington. Do you want a ride?" She (Bev) and her husband (Manu) had a sweet motor home that they've been living in for the last six years, driving all over New Zealand. She told me they had actually seen me when I first walked out to the road but before they had a chance to walk over and ask me where I was headed, I disappeared (into the cafe. oops). I'm so glad they waited! Who knows how long I would have been out on the road if I would have missed out on Bev and Manu. It was really fun driving down with them, and they dropped me right at the ferry terminal! :D 

I took the ferry from Wellington to Picton and stayed one night there, in a hostel called Atlantis that advertised a heated swimming pool and free breakfast. Sweet!! But the pool wasn't heated and the free breakfast was only tea, toast and oatmeal. But hey, it was still free food, and I swam in the pool for almost two hours last night. Since the water wasn't warm, it was mostly empty; in fact the only people who came to the pool that whole time were three Swedes -- who I happened to run into today at the hostel I'm at now in Nelson! Oh, and last night at the Atlantis I slept in a dorm room with 28 beds! I was only able to get a top bunk and there was nowhere to put my stuff so I slept with both of my backpacks and my purse on the bed with me. Ugh. Bad times. But it was a lot warmer than a barn, none of my 27 roommates stole anything from me, and I didn't fall off the bunk (no guard rail), so I consider the night a success. This morning after breakfast, I checked out of the hostel and walked around Picton for a couple hours with all my bags. It wasn't that bad. Surprisingly, my bags are seeming lighter and lighter the more I get used to carrying them. I look back on that first day walking around Melbourne with my packs and I can't believe how painful it was -- I was dying under the weight of all my belongings. Then again I think I had about 10 more books with me then (which I promptly gave away to a used bookstore). But still. I walked around Picton looking for something to do for the day, such as walking the Queen Charlotte Track (ended up being $100 and a multi-day trek so I passed) or kayaking (was $90 for half a day -- 4 hours -- and apparently the law here is that kayakers have to be in pairs, for safety reasons. Hmmm ... I guess I won't be doing much kayaking while I'm here. Bummer!) and finally decided walking around Picton was enough for me and it was time to move on to Nelson. It took me about two minutes of hitchhiking to find an awesome ride -- a sweet 19 year old couple (Ric and Natalia) on their way back to Nelson after buying a car in Picton. Ric was so polite. He asked my permission before smoking a cigarette in his own car, and when I offered him gas money he declined, saying "It doesn't cost me anything to have you here." How nice! I had a lot of fun talking with both of them during the drive and we stopped for lunch about halfway there (along with their two friends who were driving back the other car that they had driven to Picton). When I got to Nelson, I walked from hostel to hostel, looking for a good place to spend the night. Most of the places were full and I thought I wasn't going to have a place to stay (I had already sent out a request on couchsurfing and hadn't heard back) but I finally found a bed available at a place called The Customhouse. There's free internet, free tea, and even free laundry! They also have bikes that you can use for free, but I have to keep reminding myself that I hate biking. After I checked in here (for one night, which I quickly extended to two nights after I saw how nice the place was and found out everything was free), I walked about 25 minutes to the beach, went for a swim, and read my book. A lovely afternoon. Side note: I picked up a silly Sue Grafton book at the hostel in Picton. It's called "'F' is for Fugitive" and it takes place in AVILA!!! (In the book it's called "Floral Beach" haha)

Tomorrow I think I'm going for a long hike in the Abel Tasman National Park. I might go with my Swedish friends from Picton if they decide to hike, too. The next day I'll probably leave my things here at the hostel and go back to the beach, then head to Kaikoura for one night, or maybe just go straight to Christchurch. Sorry if this blog is lame. I'm writing under pressure because there are three people waiting to use the (free) internet. In fact, I should probably sign off now. 

p.s. I hate to mention this guy again but I want to let you all know that I just sent an e-mail to WWOOF about Mr. Rivers. I happened to look for the contact info today and saw that WWOOF New Zealand is actually based in Nelson! I didn't write much in the e-mail, just that his ad was false and there are no horses and no farm, but I gave them my phone number here and asked them to call me tomorrow so I can tell the whole story to someone over the phone, or in person if it's possible. I'll keep ya posted :)

WWOOFin'

This is the WWOOF profile for Paul Rivers, the first WWOOF "host" I stayed with:

I am not organic yet, however I wish to be, The projects involved are, 1/ Developing a comunal [sic] organic garden from scratch. 2/ Planting up around a section of stream in N.Z. natives. 3/ Developing a horse treck and walkway. 4/ Landscaping a terrace into cave like outside rooms with fires in them. 5/ Exercising the horses. I am single and self employed. The accommodation is a private kitchen, dining, and lounge with sky TV, internet and telephone. The sleeping quarters is a good sized caravan in a sheltered spot with heating.

Paul Rivers
Old Gorge Road
Woodville
Manawatu

This was one of the ten or so WWOOF ads I responded to a month ago while I was in Melbourne. Most of the other WWOOFers wrote back and told me they already had enough help lined up for the month of February, however Paul (who turned out to be a big, fat 60 year old alcoholic) was happy to have me come and work on his farm. Or I should say "farm." I showed up on Monday evening (Paul picked me up from the train station in Palmerston North, about 25 minutes from his property in Woodville) and the property consisted of: a tiny shack, about the size of my old Avila studio, which was Paul's living quarters, including the kitchen; a separate shower/toilet/sink room which was partially open-air and housed the mama cat and her five kittens (I'm allergic; cats were never mentioned in the WWOOF profile or subsequent e-mails); a back house that was about two or three times the size of Paul's shack and FILTHY; and a large barn/garage that was filled with tools, an old car, a motorcycle, dozens of empty vodka bottles, spiders and other bugs (live and dead), and a disgusting bunk bed covered in cobwebs and dead spiders and leaves and dirt (where I had to sleep). Terrible times. Did I mention there was nothing growing there? No crops -- not even a garden. And the horses? Noticeably absent but Paul never mentioned them. I was afraid I might upset him if I asked him about the horses, but I did ask about the garden. I asked if one of my projects while I was there (I was planning to stay Monday night to Saturday morning) would be to plant the garden. He said no, he wasn't really interested in having a garden and he'd found that things didn't grow well there. Hmmm ...

So what was my job? Cleaning out the back house, then the garage, then his living quarters and the bathroom if there was time. Possibly painting the outside of the back house too. Oh and while we were discussing all this, Paul brought out an 18-pack of bourbon & cola (cans). He poured one for himself and offered me one, which I sipped on for the next couple hours just to be polite. He proceeded to drink at least ten. (The next day he told me he had stayed up and worked on a project for his drafting business for a couple hours after I went to bed  ... and drank several more bourbon & colas. He was so proud of the fact that he can do passable drafting work while he's "pissed.")

On Monday night, I froze in the barn and hardly slept. I left the light on so I could see if any spiders were getting ready to crawl on me. I saw one spider the size of a crab (I'm not joking) go scuttling across the floor, thankfully AWAY from me, but who knows where it went after I closed my eyes. I was shivering all night with my two small blankets but I was afraid to take any of the extra (cobweb-covered) blankets from the upper bunk. Did I mention there were several dead spiders hanging from the upper bunk? I poked them to make sure they were dead and then just closed my eyes and tried to forget that they were there. It was probably the creepiest night of my life. I must have fallen asleep around 3 or 4 in the morning, and I woke up at 7, cold, hungry, and ready to get to work so I could get my mind off the terrible night I'd just had. However, Paul was still in his shack, asleep (passed out) and the kitchen was in there with him. I didn't know what he wanted me to do in the back house so I thought I'd wait until he woke up so I could ask him. But there wasn't even a place for me to sit and read -- every part of the property was absolutely filthy!! So I took my camera and walked out to the road. I turned right and could only walk about 50 feet before coming to the neighbor's gate. So I turned back and walked toward the state highway where lots of cars were speeding past Old Gorge Road. I realized I could probably hitch out of there quite easily, but I -- stupidly -- thought I shouldn't leave without doing any work, because that would upset Paul and he might leave negative feedback on my WWOOF profile. Even so, I should have fled that morning. Instead, I walked for hours, down the road and back, taking pictures of the neighbors' cows and sheep, and the trees and hillsides around the property. (I also took some pictures of the barn, which I'll post asap.) On one trip back to the barn, I got out my WWOOF book and started scanning it for nearby WWOOFers so I could (hopefully) move to a new farm. I found Phillippa and John Martin, who run a farm in the town of Levin, also in Manawatu. Here is their WWOOF ad:

Organic veg garden, house orchard (with kunekunes and chooks), general gardening/firewood, help with meals, occasional farm work (dairy and sheep -- note farm is not organic). We enjoy meeting anyone interested in a healthy lifestyle and nutrient dense foods eg a la WestonPrice. Wwoofers are welcome to use the swimming pool, grass tennis court, etc ...

Kohutu
Phillippa and John Martin
48 Martins Road
RD 31 Manakau
Levin 5573
http://www.kohutu.co.nz/

Let me skip ahead to where I am right now and tell you it's even more lovely than it sounds. Apparently kunekunes are giant pigs and chooks are chickens. There are also several dogs running around, my favorite being Jack, one of the working dogs who ran up to me as soon as I got out of the car and jumped up on me and licked my face. :) Phillippa ("Pip") and John, and their son David (who picked me up from Palmerston North and brought me to the farm) are angels. Their farm is massive and beautiful, with several gardens and a big orchard where they grow apples, avocados, grapes, celery, beans, carrots, broccoli, cucumbers, and so many more vegetables and fruits I don't even know what they all are. But it's gorgeous here! There really IS a grass tennis court and a swimming pool, and there are no cats! I woke up at 8 this morning and immediately started juicing with Pip -- we fed cucumbers, celery, lemons, apples, carrots, beans, etc. into their amazing juicer and made three jugs full of vegetable juice to drink (we added vitamin C and coconut oil to make it taste better). Then I cooked some eggs (from the chooks outside) and then I started shoveling mulch into a wheelbarrow, wheeling it down into one of the many gardens, and spreading it around the plants. It's a lot harder than it sounds! After about two hours of that, I was dripping with sweat -- and shaking with fear from the GIANT bumblebees that are everywhere. :/ But I felt good. I'm going back out to finish the mulch work as soon as I finish this blog. But first ... the rest of the story.

So I was walking up and down Paul's little street in Woodville but now I was armed with the phone numbers of about ten other WWOOFers in the area. I called a couple people who turned me down (I can't blame them -- I was calling at 9 am on Tuesday morning and asking to come the following day, and only stay until Saturday morning) but then I called Phillippa who said she'd love to have me come! I asked her if it was okay if I only stayed until Saturday (sometimes they like you to stay a week or two so you can get into a routine) and she responded: "That would be brilliant!!" :) She said they would be in Wellington all day Wednesday but if I could get myself to Palmerston North, her son David could pick me up on his way back from University. Perfect. So I knew I was leaving Wednesday morning, but I didn't know how. I figured I would hitch but I thought that might be a little dramatic. I could probably just explain to Paul the next day that it was too cold and I was allergic to the cats so I had to leave, and he would drive me to Palmerston North ... but I wasn't sure. He was pretty creepy and I was afraid to make him angry, especially after he drunkenly told me that one of the things he hates the most is when people "take the control away" from him. I thought this might fall under that heading so I should be prepared to sneak out in the morning. Meanwhile, I was still walking up and down the road and starving. I should have brought some food with me but I had assumed I was heading to a farm where there would be plenty of healthy food to eat. So I was at Paul's mercy. He finally woke up at 11:45!! He made eggs, sausage and spaghettiO's for breakfast ... kind of weird and not at all healthy/organic but I was famished and I knew I was going to work hard cleaning the back house all day (so Paul would have no reason to complain to WWOOF when I split three days before the date we had agreed upon) so I ate every bit of food. He finally told me what he wanted me to do and I spent the next seven hours vacuuming up every bit of dirt, dust, dead leaves, cobwebs, dead insects, live wasps and spiders and moths, etc. from the scary back house, as well as scrubbing the counters, table, walls, stove, and every other surface with water and cleaning solution. I didn't mind the work, but it was not farm work and certainly not the reason I was taking time out of my brief holiday in New Zealand to work. While I worked, I talked to my parents and sister who called, worried, because I had e-mailed about the awful living conditions and said I would be leaving as soon as possible. I didn't want to say anything bad about Paul in case he was listening, but they could tell I was scared (my mom repeatedly offered to call Interpol but I said that wouldn't be necessary) and they knew it wasn't just the cats that had me wanting to get out of there. That night, I got everything ready (which didn't take long because I hadn't unpacked anything -- there was nowhere clean to put it) and mentally prepared myself for another terrible and scary night. I took my first and only shower in the open-air bathroom, acknowledging that it was possible Paul could see me in there but I didn't even care as long as he didn't try to come in. I would be gone first thing in the morning and it would all be like a bad dream, as long as I could get through one more night. After I got dressed (in the same jacket and leggings I'd been wearing since Monday morning), I went to Paul's shack and told him I was going to hit the hay. He wanted me to stay up and watch a movie with him, and even went as far as downloading an illegal copy of Black Swan because I had mentioned I'd enjoyed the movie and planned on seeing it again. I told him the shower had made my cat allergies go away for the moment so I was going to try to fall asleep before they kicked back in. He said okay and then told me if I got cold, I was welcome to come get in bed with him, and patted the dirty twin bed he was laying on. BARF. I felt good knowing I was making the absolute right decision in running away as soon as it was daylight. I thanked him for the offer (DOUBLE BARF) but said I was sure I'd be okay in the barn. Then I walked quickly back to the barn, locked the door, and wrote him a farewell letter. To the best of my memory, this is what I wrote:

"Paul, I'm sorry to leave without saying goodbye but last night was unbearable for me again. With the cold and the cat allergies, I hardly slept, so this morning I called some other WWOOFers and one woman said if I could get myself to Palmerston North, she would be able to pick me up. I didn't want to wake you so I am hitching into town. Thank you for your kindness and the lovely meals you prepared for me. I hope I did a good job cleaning the back house and I wish I could have stayed to do more work. I wish you the best and I am happy to have met you. Cheers, Marie"

Lies, lies, lies. "I am happy to have met you" was probably overkill but I didn't want him to have anything bad to say about me to WWOOF, even though I probably won't WWOOF again after this trip. You never know though. I got into my scary, dirty bed and tried to sleep. I had my phone in my pocket (just in case) and thankfully my friend Alisha in Christchurch started texting me so I told her about my plan to escape in the morning. I felt better knowing someone in New Zealand knew exactly where I was and what I had planned. I finally fell asleep and woke up at 7 am. I casually went to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth, hoping Paul was asleep but knowing I needed to play it cool in case he happened to wake up. Then I walked back to the barn, checked once again to make sure I had everything all packed up, grabbed the note and put it in front of his door with a big rock on top, then sprinted back to the barn, grabbed my backpacks and hit the road. Fortunately, the back house is in between the barn and Paul's shack, so once I had my backpacks, I was able to easily slip out to the road between the barn and the back house ... and then I was gone. :) I was so relieved! I wanted to run (or skip with joy) but my packs were heavy and I knew Paul was probably going to sleep for another 5 hours anyway so I just walked steadily down the road to State Highway 2 and put my thumb out. About 30 or 40 cars passed me without so much as slowing down and I thought I might be out there for a while, but then a car stopped and the driver was a cute 19 year old boy named Dylan. He was headed to work in Palmerston North ("Palmy") so I got in and he drove me right to the center of town and dropped me off there. I had done it!! I called Phillippa and she gave me David's number. I sent him a text and he said he'd be leaving Massey University at 4:30 so I had about 8 hours to kill in Palmy before I had to get myself over to the university. Good times. I walked down the street to the Subway and got myself a well-deserved breakfast sandwich. Then I walked another 30 minutes to a grocery store, laundromat, and Westpac bank. I washed all my clothes, got cash and some muesli bars, and I was set. I made it to Massey University with hours to spare and was able to get online and talk to my parents before David, a 24 year old PhD student who looks like an attractive Shaun White, met up with me and drove me to his parents' amazing farm where I am now. Okay, time to go finish today's farming projects and then go swim! It's been an exciting couple days but now I'm very happy. I'll write more soon. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!!

It's Valentine's Day in New Zealand and I do NOT have a hot date lined up for tonight. Instead I'm taking the train from Wellington to Palmerston North (about two hours north) where my WWOOF host is picking me up. Some of you know what WWOOF is but for those of you who don't, WWOOF stands for Willing Workers on Organic Farms. (If you want to check out the website, it's www.wwoof.org.) The organization puts people with farms in contact with people who want to work on farms, and the workers are given lodging and food in exchange for a few hours' work each day. I sent out several e-mails and most of the people already had enough WWOOFers but I ended up making plans to work for a man named Paul Rivers in Manawatu. Paul sounded nice over the phone when we spoke the other day so I'm hoping for the best. He said it's not a very big farm so I'll just be doing some gardening, painting and cleaning (my fave!) in exchange for my room and three (I hope!) meals a day. I'm not sure what else there is to do up in Palmerston North but I'm sure when I'm not working I'll be able to find some nice hiking/walking trails -- and keep your fingers crossed for me that the property isn't far from a beach! :) Here's a map of where (approximately) I'll be:

I'll be there until Saturday and then I'm taking a train back to Wellington and then a ferry to the South Island! It was pretty expensive ($54) but the ferry is the only way (other than a flight) to get to the South Island so I didn't really have a choice, and according to the website, "The 92km voyage takes 3 hours and has been described as 'one of the most beautiful ferry rides in the world.'" I'm excited! Now here's what I've been up to since leaving Auckland ...

I took a bus to Taupo. I can't remember if I mentioned this in my last post but my masseusse in Auckland told me about a website called nakedbus.com where you can get cheap bus tickets for long-distance trips in NZ. I found a ticket to Taupo (five hours south) for $32! I wasn't sure if that was a great deal so I asked some of Earl's roommates and they said you can't even drive to Taupo for that! So I booked it. I thought the bus would be crowded and terrible, but it was actually pretty good, other than the woman who got on with a baby that screamed for an hour before they finally got off the bus (one of the many times on this trip that I've been thankful for my ipod). We stopped a few times, once in Rotorua for about half an hour. I didn't have time to do much of anything during that quick stop but it was nice to see the town. I know I'll be going back in a few weeks and visiting the Polynesian Spa. When we got to Taupo, I walked around the town a little and decided to check out the Base hostel. I stayed at Base hostels in Brisbane, Sydney and Magnetic Island (Townsville) and they're always clean and comfortable. They're kind of pricey ($25-30/night) but I had a "Base Jumper" card (11 nights for $249) that I purchased in Brisbane at the beginning of my trip. When I bought it they told me I could only use it in Australia but I thought I'd try my luck at the Taupo, NZ hostel ... and it worked! I used my two remaining nights and didn't have to pay anything. Woo hoooo! :) I went up to my room and met all my very sweet roommates -- a Dutch couple, a British couple and some Swedish guys. They were all on the same Kiwi Experience bus, along with at least 20 other people at our hostel. They asked me if I was going to the hostel's bar that night. I had been planning on hitting up the free BBQ and then going back to the hostel but they were fun so I decided to hang with them for a while and ended up staying at the bar until 2 am. The bartender loved me for some reason so she was giving me discounts on drinks -- I think I spent $8 the whole night! Score! :)

The next day I wanted to walk to a "hot stream" up the road that I had heard about. There's a little waterfall that flows into the Waikato River and you can sit in the river near the waterfall and the water is super hot! But you have to move around and find the right temperature because it's always changing, and if you move a little farther away from the waterfall, it gets really cold; if you move too close, it's unbearably hot. It was awesome!

I stayed in for about 45 minutes and then took a walk north along the trail that led to Huka Falls -- a big waterfall that apparently is New Zealand's "most visited natural attraction."

Shortly after starting up the trail, I met a nice guy from Alaska named Theodore and we spent the rest of the day walking and hiking all over the area. We stopped at a spot called the Honey Hive and tasted lots of different types of honey. We went to this spot called Craters of the Moon, a geothermal site where you can walk around and see craters and steam vents. There's a sign that says, "You enter at your own risk to this area. Thermal areas can be dangerous -- no liability is accepted for injuries while visiting this site." Scary! But we didn't even get to go in because they were closing when we got there. We walked back to the road and I climbed up a little hill and we were able to see the steam vents from there!

We walked for about another half hour and then a car stopped and a woman offered us a ride -- it was the woman who had denied us entry to the Craters of the Moon :D Her name was Jill and she drove us back to town, probably saving us two hours of walking. Since we got back to town much earlier than we expected, we decided to walk down to Lake Taupo and go swimming. It was pretty cold but it felt great after a long day of hiking -- and, like everything else in New Zealand, it was totally beautiful!!

That night I went out again with my Base roommates and the rest of their bus and we danced all night. I even met some NBA fans :)

(the "B.S." is for Bill Simmons because we looooove him)

On Thursday afternoon my new friend Ant - one of Earl's roommates - picked me up on his way down to Wellington. The New Zealand countryside was so beautiful on the drive down! We passed through a few small towns and Ant was a great tour guide, telling me about the towns and pointing out interesting things I should see and take pictures of. He dropped me off in Wellington City (which was incredibly nice because he was going to the Hutt Valley, about 25 minutes north of Wellington). I met up with my first Wellington couchsurfing host, Campbell. Campbell had very kindly offered to host me on Thursday night even though he was going camping for the rest of the weekend and had a lot to do to prepare for his trip. As soon as we got to his house he offered to let me do laundry and use the internet, and I was able to Skype my mom -- and Tyra! Some of you may have seen this pic on facebook but for those who haven't, this is the moment that made my week:

:) :) :)

The next morning we walked down the hill and took the bus into town. Campbell had given me a fantastic idea -- go to the museum (Te Papa) and check my backpacks at their bag check and leave them there all day (since I was meeting my next couchsurfing host when he got off work that afternoon). I did exactly that and it worked out great. I went to the museum and then walked around the city all day. I did a little Lakers/Celtics recon and found a bar that would be showing the game at 2:00 so I went back to the museum and got my bags, then trudged back to the bar, only to be told that the guy I'd spoken to earlier was wrong, and they would NOT be showing the game because they didn't have the channel. Sad! But I stayed at the bar and sat outside on the patio until my CS host, James, came and met me. We walked to his house, dropped my bags off, and then went to meet his friends at a bar. I didn't really click with James, but I was happy to have a place to stay for the night and I became friends with his friend Jess. We spent the whole next day together, walking all around Auckland City. We had originally planned to take the train to Featherston and do some wine-tasting, but when we got to the train station at 2:00, we found out that there were only two trains up there: 10:00 am and 7:00 pm. Maybe we should have done a little research. Oh well. We had a great day wandering around, taking pictures, meeting people, riding the cable car and checking out the Botanic Gardens.

I still didn't know where I was going to stay that night and I had thought about getting a hostel but I decided to wait and just leave my things at Jess's until we got back. I'm so glad I did because when I got online that evening, I had a message from another couchsurfer named Craig who had seen my post and wanted to offer me a place to stay. Craig is actually from Christchurch but he was in town for some music gigs (he plays guitar and sings) and was housesitting for a friend. At the end of his message he said "Go The Celtics!" but I was desperate for a place to stay for the next two nights and aside from the Celtics thing he seemed cool so I accepted his kind offer. The place was very close to town but straight up a hill and then up several flights of stairs. It was a tough walk with all my bags but I did it! Craig and I watched a 9/11 DVD that some conspiracy theorist had given him on the street earlier that day. Pretty scary stuff. The next morning I went to the city market where Craig was singing. He sang some songs I knew ("All Along the Watchtower") but he was mainly there to sing his children's song which are so popular here, he's actually turned his songs into books and they're the best selling childrens' books in NZ and Australia! (google: "Wonky Donkey") It was fun to watch him rock out

and I got to try lots of cheeses and breads and juices too. After Craig's show I walked down to Oriental Parade and rented a bike and joined about 150 women (and a handful of men) for the annual Frocks on Bikes Valentine's Day Ride. It was so much fun! It was a beautiful, sunny day and we all wore dresses or skirts and rode along the gorgeous coastline to Island Bay (over 27 kilometers according to google maps!), where the residents were holding the annual Island Bay Festival -- a big Italian festival and blessing of the boats.

I returned my bike in Island Bay and caught a bus back to town and went with Jess to watch Ant's band play at a bar called The Matterhorn in downtown Wellington.

I had such a great time in this city but I'm excited about moving on. You might not hear from me for another week or so since I'm not sure what the internet situation will be on the farm. I promise to post another blog and let you know about my WWOOFing experience as soon as I can. If anyone wants to Skype call me, my New Zealand phone number is 0220974400.

I hope everyone has a lovely and love-filled Valentine's Day!
Daddy and Mommy Sue, please kiss Ty Ty for me <3

NEW ZEALAND!!!

I'm in New Zealand and I'm having so much fun!! I'm staying in the town of Grey Lynn with Earl, who was our first couchsurfer in LA, and his SEVEN flatmates: Steve, Ant, Jaz, Danny, Amber, Gemma and Mike. They're all awesome and it's been a lot of fun staying at this house. I leave tomorrow for Taupo -- I'm taking a bus -- but I definitely plan on coming back here when I return to Auckland in early March. After Earl picked me up from the airport, he drove me to the top of Mt. Eden, where I got a great view of Auckland (and its many volcanos! and a giant crater!)

On Saturday I got an awesome massage in town, a gift from my wonderful sister. :) I also walked around the town a lot. Danny took me to the beach with him and it was really beautiful but I didn't swim in the water because it was so muddy and there were oyster beds under the mud that can cut your feet if you're not careful; I walked in (very slowly) about 50 feet, then turned around and went back.

On Saturday night we had some drinks at the house and then went to a BBQ to watch Earl's band rock out, then to a bar in Auckland.

Sunday I went on the coast-to-coast walk that I was so excited about, from Waitemata Harbour to Manukau Harbour ... and it was terrible!! I was lost pretty much the whole time. The "walkway" was not well marked at all (other than the very first sign, I saw only one other sign marking the path all day), the map was awful and didn't make sense (this is according to several kind Aucklanders who helped me find my way) and I basically just walked the streets of Auckland for about eight hours. Seriously, I think I must have walked 20 miles or more. The walking wasn't even the bad part. I knew it was going to be a long walk and I had plenty of water, sunblock, ipod battery, etc. but it was SO frustrating losing the path and walking in circles. After about two hours I was completely over it but I was determined to make it to the other coast so I just kept on walking. After about five or six hours, I found myself in Mt. Eden Village, which is way off the trail, so I stopped at a bar to ask for directions and refill my water bottle. The bartender and some guys at the bar were laughing at me. They were like, "That map is completely wrong! Why are you doing this walk anyway? It sucks!" I was like "I know!! But I have to get to Manukau Harbour now! It doesn't matter if I have a terrible time doing it." One guy offered to drive me but I told him no, I had to WALK there haha So they gave me new directions that only involved four streets: Mt. Eden Road to Mt. Albert Road to Onehunga Road to Onehunga Mall Road. So simple! It took another couple hours, but the directions were clear and I didn't lose my way. At the end of Onehunga Mall Road, I went under the motorway and over a footbridge and I saw water!! :D I walked into another bar to get a refill on water and the bartenders there were very impressed that I had walked from Waitemata. They told me to walk back to Onehunga and find the train station so I could catch a train back to the city. I did that and when I showed up, I had missed the train by five minutes; the trains leave once every hour.
:( So I had to find a bus stop and I take a bus back to the city and another bus back to Grey Lynn and then walk another 30 minutes or so to the house. Good times. Oh, and one of the nice guys from the bar in Mt. Eden Village showed up when I was about a kilometer or two away from the end. He parked his car in front of me and got out and waved. I went over to say Hi and he asked if I wanted him to drive me to the end and then get a drink or something. I told him he was very kind but I was almost there and I really wanted to finish the walk. Then he said "I'm not a stalker! I live right by here so I just wanted to check on you and make sure you didn't get lost again." haha definitely not a stalker -- just an awkward turtle. But even so, I was very thankful for his new and improved directions. If I would have kept following the map, I probably wouldn't have made it to Manukau Harbour before it got dark. So if any of you are ever in Auckland, skip the coast-to-coast walk. The locals say it sucks and they know what they're talking about. Here are some pics from that memorable walk:

Today we watched the Superbowl! :D

It was really fun watching it with Kiwis (and on a Monday afternoon!), although I felt personally embarrassed by the halftime show. I hope everyone had a fun Superbowl Sunday and won some bets and ate lots of delicious food. :D Okay, I have to go but I just wanted to let you know I made it to New Zealand and I'm having a blast. :) I will post another blog soon, I promise!!