Some Highlights

Because I only started this blog at the end of my travels in Australia, I figured that now that I have some time, and access to my flatmate's computer, I will add some details about my travels around the South Island of NZ and the rest of the East Coast of Australia. For amazing photos to correlate with these stories, click the link I have posted below to see my picassa pictures.

Less than 3 weeks after walking the stage at Richmond, I boarded a plane to take me to Auckland, NZ with no plan of what to do when I got there. I had a work-holiday visa and a hostel booked for two nights, but that was it. I was looking forward to this opportunity to live without a plan, because I needed that change. More excited than nervous, I was looking forward to simply figuring out what to do basically on a whim. I did know that I wanted to go to the South Island first because I was interested in working at or around a ski mountain, so after two days in Auckland I flew down to Queenstown. While the ski season was not under way, the town was already filled with similar minded people all looking for a winter job, and housing in a place that was not really hiring and had ridiculously high rent. In addition to the skiing, Queenstown is known for its extreme sports...it is the adventure capital of the world, so of course being the adrenaline junkie that I am, I immediately signed up for bungee jumping and canyon swinging. After spending some time in Queenstown, I realized it was not the place I wanted to spend an extended period of time. Too touristy, and not a great place for employment (the skiing actually is highly overrated, but I guess that's because there's really not much else in the S. Hemisphere). I decided that instead of looking for a job straight away, I would travel and booked a place on a bus tour called "Kiwi Experience." It was perfect for me because not only did I get to see practically the entire South Island and learn and do an incredible amount, but I also met some amazing and fun people.

Some highlights from my trip around the South Island include: seeing penguins in the Caitlins, Milford Sound cruise, glacier hiking on Franz Josef, kayaking and hiking in Abel Tasman, taking in the most stunning scenery driving down the west coast, and the experience of skiing in the middle of a snow storm in June!

...more to come...