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!! 

one more day in Melbourne ...

Tomorrow is my last day in Melbourne for a while. Tomorrow night I'm taking the train to Sydney. I'm pretty excited because it's been almost a month since I've taken the train. Today I found a really cool bookstore in Brunswick and bought a brand new copy of Exit Ghost by Philip Roth for 5 bucks! I bought two other books the other day at a yard sale in Carlton North so I have to finish this one by the time I get to Sydney, otherwise I'll be carrying a lot of extra weight in my packs. :/ I arrive in Sydney on Thursday morning and I'll be heading straight to my friend Chris's house where I'll drop my stuff and then probably go walking around the city or on another beach walk while he's at work. Hopefully the Lakers/Spurs game will be on one of the cable channels so we can watch it that night. GO LAKERS!!

On Friday afternoon, I'm flying to New Zealand!!! I'm soooo excited! When I arrive in Auckland, I'll be staying with Earl, a couchsurfer I met when he stayed at our house in LA a few months ago. Right now my plan is to stay in Auckland for three days but if I love it there I might stay a little longer. I don't have much time in New Zealand though so I plan on moving around a lot. My friend Joy was in New Zealand recently and did a cool coast-to-coast walk: 16 km from Waitemata Harbour, through Auckland City, to Manukau Harbour -- 32 km or just under 20 miles round trip. Other plans while I'm in NZ include: visiting friends in Christchurch, working on an organic farm in Manawatu and possibly a second farm if I have time, bathing in the mineral pools at the Polynesian Spa in Rotorua, going on lots of hikes, checking out more hot springs, camping, wine-tasting, of course seeing as much of the country as I can possibly see, and this Saturday, getting a massage! THANK YOU SARAH! :) 

I need to go to sleep soon but first I want to fill you in on the past few days. I've been staying with Soo Se and Laura, which has been a lot of fun. On Saturday we went to Sandringham Beach -- of course the locals call it "Sandy." It was only a short train ride away, and it was free for me with the weekly metro pass I'd bought (FYI anyone traveling to Melbourne: if you buy a week pass for Zone 1, you get to travel to Zone 2 for free on weekends. Yay!) The water was pretty warm and we swam around a lot and thankfully we didn't see any jellyfish! That night we watched the women's final of the Australian Open. (I won't comment in case any of you have it tivo'd and haven't had a chance to watch yet. I'm sure everyone who cares knows who won by now, but just in case, I don't want to ruin it for anyone.) On Sunday we went back to the Yarra Valley to do some more wine-tasting and after taking the train to Lilydale train station, we walked out to the road and tried to hitchhike to our first winery. Sadly, before anyone picked us up, the cops spotted us and drove over to scold us. Apparently hitchhiking is illegal here. I believe their exact words were, "If you don't want to get a fine, you should stop doing that." So polite! We were able to catch a bus that was going past some wineries and the driver dropped us off at one winery called Whispering Hills. The winemakers were named Murray and Marie. :) From there we walked up the road and up a long, steep hill to the neighboring winery, Seville Hill. They had a jazz band there and after tasting about 15 delicious wines (for free! so far there haven't been any tasting fees at Aussie wineries), we got a bottle and an antipasto platter and had a picnic outside. It was lovely. Oh and on our way up the hill, we got to pet two sweet horses. On the way down the hill, one of the girls who worked at the winery pulled over and offered us a ride down to the road. Score! Sunday night, we watched the men's final of the Aussie Open. On Monday, Laura and I went to see Black Swan (loved it!) and Monday night we all went to a comedy show in North Melbourne. We got there late so we missed the first half of the show which was stand-up comedy; we caught the second half, which consisted of a dating game and about half a dozen prank calls on audience members' friends. It was pretty funny. After the show, we went on a nice, long walk around the city and finally ended up at a bar called the Worker's Club, where they had $2 beers and 80s music. Today it was over 100 degrees (40 C) so I went to the State Library while Laura and Soo Se went to the zoo. Later, after it cooled down a bit, we walked around Brunswick and I bought my Philip Roth book and got some amazing food at a Lebanese bakery called A1. Tonight Soo Se's friend Indrani (who is from the US and lives in Melbourne) came over and made us a delicious tapas dinner. So that's what's been going on this week. And here are a few pics:

Goodnight everyone!! :)