Dunedin

We rolled into Dunedin around 1pm or so I think it was and we still had lots of time for the Cadbury factory tour, which was the only thing that I had really planned on doing there. The only shitty thing was it was Saturday so the factory wasn't running production but we could still go on a discounted tour. Since we only had one night in Dunedin we could either do it that way, or not at all. Clara, Claire and myself decided to do it anyway and it was a cheap and tasty way to spend a bit of time in Dunedin. It wasn't much of a tour really, we just walked up the hallways of the factory, tasted some liquid chocolate and saw a chocolate waterfall. I didn't even see one friggin Oompa Loompa! I did get some free chocolate and it was okay, but I would have loved to see the factory in full swing!

After that we walked around town, went to the Botanic Gardens and just took it easy. The next day we were leaving but we made a pit stop at the worlds steepest street. It is called Baldwin Street and it is in the world record books as the worlds steepest street. Why they would make a street this steep is beyond me, and why anyone would live on it is another. We got to the base of it and 2 other Canadians, a Swede and myself decided to try to race to the top of it and see how far we could get. I certainly got my ass handed to me in that race! To be fair I was doing it on concrete in bare feet, but I would have lost anyway, it might just have been less of a gap. Baldwin street is just a short street but it really is crazy steep and a real work out to run up. I like visiting those places, I guess the nerd in me finds all that quirky stuff neato! I have been asking around for other interesting attractions like the jandal fence etc. But haven't found any yet. I am sure they are out there.

After our early morning workout on Baldwin street we left Dunedin and headed towards Lake Tekapo. It would be a heavy day on the bus and a long drive. Along the way we did stop at the Moreaki boulders, which were pretty cool. They are spherical boulders on the coast and a nice little stop to get out and stretch the legs. The rocks were very cool and perfectly round! Weird!

We arrived in Lake Tekapo close to 4 in the afternoon and it was just starting to rain. There were a few activities that you could do here, but most of them got the axe once this storm moved in. Then it started to really rain, and I mean pour! So for the whole afternoon I have been stuck inside the smallest hostel in the smallest town playing cards with a French Canadian. I will have to put this on my list of places I would like to come back to because tomorrow we hit the road again for Kaikoura and after that I will be headed back towards the North Island. I can't believe I have been travelling on the Magic bus for almost a month and soon my trip will come to an end. I wish I was independently wealthy so I could just travel around and not have to worry about working ever. Oh well from what I see I will have LOTS of time to explore New Zealand. So there you have it, you are all caught up on blogs. Sorry I haven't been as detailed or regular with the blogs, but it has been for 2 main reasons. First is the lack of free internet while I am travelling, and two is I have been so busy loving this country and haven't felt like blogging much. Thanks for tuning in tho :)

Queenstown and Milford Sound

So after throwing myself off a bridge and collecting my T-shirt for doing so we headed into Queenstown. For those of you who have travelled through New Zealand will know that Queenstown is quite similar to Banff in that it is a ski town in the winter and most definitely a travellers town. It is also the adventure capital of the world so travellers of all sorts flock here to enjoy some of the worlds best adventure activities during the day. Then they all return to town jacked up on adrenaline and party hardy till the wee hours of the morning. Queenstown is littered with hostels, restaurants and bars. I knew that the only real adventure activity that I would be doing was the bungy jump, which was done, and the gondola ride to the top of the mountain and some luging. Queenstown does have so many activities to do, but they will all cost you. Much like Banff it is a very expensive town and will bleed your wallet dry if you let it.

I would be staying 4 nights in Queenstown and one of the days that I was there I would be doing a day trip to Milford Sound. Since it is such a party town and filled with backpackers on budgets the bars all offer a ton of drink specials especially if you are travelling with a company like Magic. My first two nights were pretty tame. We did go out for some drinks, but just a few and went to bed before midnight. The third night I was there my bus driver pulled out with his crew and another magic bus pulled in around noon with a new crew and a few that caught up like my friend Clara. This bus driver, Jack, had arranged a thing for magic passengers that included all you can eat pizza, and 2 for 1 drinks at 3 of the best bars in Queenstown as well as a few free drinks, all for 12 dollars. So Clara called me from the bus and asked if I wanted to sign up for that night, of course I did! So Sahria and I got ready and met up with the new crew at the World Bar at 6:30pm for our all you can eat Fat Badger pizza. The night only went down hill from here really, or up hill depending on how you look at things. We had an alright time at the World Bar and filled our bellies full of pizza and enjoyed dirt cheap drinks. Jack, the bus driver, was talking about a competition they were hosting at the base bar. I had already heard about the competition because Sahria and I were staying at the base for 2 nights when we first got there. I was thinking about checking it out to start with then he said he would be my partner, so it was set! The competition was

a horizontal bungy. Which means he was tied to a bungy cord that was bolted to the wall and had to run as fast as he could across the bar and grab a drink from the bartenders hand. Then he had to race back to me and I had to chug the whole drink and the pair with the fastest time won. We were the first to go, so we had a disadvantage of not seeing anyone else do it, but we did damn good. Despite a great effort we did not win, but it was better that way because the prize was a Nevis Swing and that means I would have to stay another night in Queenstown which I know I couldn't afford. After that we danced and had a ball all night and the atmosphere was great! The only downfall to this was that the next morning I had a bus to Milford Sound to catch.

Queenstown was great and I WILL go back there some time before I leave. I feel like it would be a great town to let off some steam. What more could you ask for really, a place to throw yourself off a bridge, drink, dance, and meet people from all around the world. There are some activities that I wouldn't mind doing out of Queenstown so I think I will head back in the summer for a bit.

So after a night of cheap/free drinks, dancing and a sweet bungy comp I wearly drug my ass onto the bus for Milford Sound the next morning. I did recognize many faces from the bar the night before on the bus so I knew that they all felt the same or worse then I did, and I prayed the boat wouldn't be too rocky. I hopped on the bus and had about an hours nap and after that I actually felt great, so turns out I wasn't as worse for wear as I thought. The rest of the drive out to Milford sound was so beautiful, but I am sure you guys are getting tired of me saying that. It is true that the drives around the South Island are so green and stunning no matter where you go. Each spot is just as gorgeous as the last, it is amazing. The closer we got to Milford Sound the shittier the weather got, but I heard that is a good thing. See Milford Sound is one of the wettest places in New Zealand and they receive about 200 rain days a year, that only leaves 165 of days with no rain! That's not a lot. Our bus driver Cam had said that often it is a lot nicer when it is raining because heavy rains activate the waterfalls in the area. Boy was he right! At one point we drove into an area that was almost completely surrounded with rock faces with beautiful tall waterfalls pouring over the edge. It was AMAZING! Unfortunately the shit weather did make it hard to take pictures, especially on the boat, but then again there is no video or picture in the world that can describe the beauty that I saw out there. We drove past waterfalls and waterfalls and more waterfalls the whole way into Milford Sound. Once we arrived I was boarding a boat that would take us out into the sound and out to the Tasman Sea.

We departed from the dock and headed out to the channel that takes us to the Tasman Sea, the Sound. This is the coolest place I have ever been! You are on a boat in the beautiful blue water and on either side of you are sky scraping cliffs, some up to 700 meters tall! And on this particular day the cliffs were pouring with waterfalls that emptied into the sound where out boat was gliding along. The Milford Sound does have 4 permanent waterfalls but I couldn't even begin to count how many I saw gushing over the cliffs. I am so glad that I went out to the Milford Sound and I am planning on going back and hiking the Routeburn and Milford tracks before I leave New Zealand (if I ever do). The boat cruise was 2 hours long and it was 2 hours of gorgeous amazing unbelievable sights. I took some pictures but it really looks like crap compared to what it looked like in real life. There could never be any substitute for how beautiful it was in real life.

The next day I headed out on Jacks bus for Dunedin. Good-bye Queenstown, we shall meet again!

They Said, “Go Jump Off A Bridge!” So I Did!

So! As many of you have seen already today I did my first ever bungy jump! Let me tell you a little story about the time that I threw myself off a bridge.

As many of you know when I came to New Zealand I said that the only one thing I wouldn't do was a bungy. For a number of reasons I had some of which was I didn't want to be hung by my feet, and I didn't like the idea of being snapped back up once the bungy extended. I planned on, and still do, doing a skydive but was not entertaining the thought of a bungy jump. That all changed yesterday. Our bus driver Cameron is very much into adventure sports and is also training to become a skydive instructor so if you want information hes your guy! While we were driving to Wanaka he started talking about doing the bungy on the way to Queenstown. This is the place of the worlds first ever bungy jump and the bus stops there on the way. A few people had signed up already and Cam had a little talk with the bus while driving about the bungy. I will tell you, he is one damn good salesman because by the time he passed the clipboard around again he had me considering it. A few of the things he said that changed my mind were that it isn't a big snap back up it is actually a soft spring back up and not jolting at all. The other thing he talked about was that it is a true test of yourself. I guess I had not really looked at it from that angle before but it is true that it truly tests yourself to make yourself go against all that your instincts and thoughts tell you is wrong. Your brain is telling you no don't do this because of our natural instinct not to die. By forcing yourself to trust yourself and the people that rigged you up it can be a life changing moment. He also talked about the reel of emotions that you pass through on your way down, when the bungy catches you, and after you have done it. Like I said, after listening to him talk I was actually thinking about it, and then I thought, if you are considering it then you should do it. So the next time the clipboard came around I slapped my name down on it!

Last night we went out for a couple drinks and then I went back to the room to get some sleep. Well that is one thing that didn't happen last night was sleep. I slept for about 3 solid hours and then was awake off and on until it was time to get up. I had also gone to the supermarket the night before and bought a beer to chug right before I got down there to calm my nerves. I just kept thinking and trying to prepare myself for what was to come. I don't get rattled by much but the whole morning I felt like I was going to vomit because I was so nervous. I asked the driver to give me a 5 mins heads up for our ETA at the bridge and I would chug my beer and let it settle in so I would be loose by the time jumping came around. After chugging my beer we arrived and we had to watch a short video on the creators of bungy and even during the video I felt sick at the thought. After the video it was time to go and get weighed and sign your life away before heading up to the bridge.

Once I got up on the bridge there was a girl just about to jump off so I watched her and it was at that moment that the internal freak out commenced. I saw her do it and I thought to myself there is no way I can do this! Why did I agree to this, and I already paid my money! So then I decided that maybe it was a bad idea to watch the others so I stayed back and tried to amp myself up. My driver was most supportive and offered moral support while I was beginning to freak out. At one point I felt good about it and wanted to strap up just then, but of course I had to wait so then I lost that feeling in a hurry. I watched a few people go and they made it look so easy so I didn't know what to expect once I got on to the platform.

Then it was my turn he called me up and started to tie my ankles together. My anxiety level grew larger and larger and I really started to think I couldn't do it. The guy tying me up was great about it though and he tried to chit chat with me to keep my mind off of it until it was time to stand up. Then he told me to stand up and I couldn't! I was terrified and tears started to roll down my cheeks. I said repeatedly that no I couldn't do this, I wasn't going to do this. I didn't care that everyone was watching that was absolutely terrifying. He kept trying to get me to inch towards the end of the platform and I just wanted to run in the other direction. Then of course you are panicking so your breathing goes to shit and you start to feel a bit dizzy. I got out to the edge and he got me to slow my breathing down and keep my eyes on the bridge in the distance. At that very moment a sense of peace came over me and I knew that I would jump when he said bungy. It was a strange feeling but at that moment I knew I could do it! So he said, "1-2- and I jumped!"

I don't think I breathed once on the way down! My face was hurdling toward the river and all I could think was, "Oh god, oh god!" The free fall was the longest few seconds of my life! When the bungy caught me I took a big inhale in and it was then that I realized that I hadn't took a breath the whole time I was falling! Then I started to come back up and I saw the bungy and all that went through my mind was those horror stories of the bungy getting wrapped around your neck. Then in an instant I was headed back towards the river! It was amazing! I was a bit disoriented but grabbed the pole on the boat and they pulled me down into the boat.

It was probably the most scary thing I have ever forced myself to do, but I am soooo glad that I did it! I will never forget that.

Would You Like Ice?

After leaving the whooping town of Greymouth we headed towards Franz Josef where one of the two glaciers in NZ is located. My plan was to go hiking on the Franz but when we were in Nelson they stopped all walking tours on the glacier and were only doing the heli-hikes which were really expensive. They had to stop the walking tours because the bottom half of the glacier was collapsing on its self and it just wasn't safe to have people tromping around up there. I was going to try to get on the Fox glacier which is only a half hour drive from where we were staying but at first that meant me being stuck in the Fox township for 2 nights until the next magic bus came along. Luckily my great bus driver Cameron called a few people and he worked it out so that we could hike the Fox Glacier in the same day so we only had to stay the one night then continue on to Wanaka with him. So I booked it in!

When we arrived in Franz Josef I checked into our hostel then had to meet the shuttle driver that was taking myself and 3 other girls over to Fox for our half day hike. I thought the roads from Taupo to Waitomo were windy, they have nothing on the roads we took to Fox glacier. He dropped us off and told us he would come back around 5:30 to pick us up and take us back to Franz for the night. We went in paid for our walk and in a short time we went into the boot room and got geared up for our hike one of the worlds only temperate glaciers. We had to get special hiking boots and things called crampons that were spikes that dig into the ice so we don't fall on our asses. Then the guide said that if we needed a jacket or pants or anything else to go and get some from the counter, and if you weren't sure about the stuff you had just ask him and he would tell you if it was okay. So I had on a tank top, a long sleeve shirt, a t-shirt and I had the inside of my jacket to take with me. I asked him if my jacket would be fine and he asked if it was wind proof and water resistant (which it is) and then he asked where I was from and I said Canada. He said, “Oh, pfft. You'll be fine, it's not Canada cold up there!” So after getting all geared up we headed out to the bus that would take us to the actual glacier so we could begin our walk.

It was about a 10 min drive to the glacier and then we all piled out of the van to start the walk. The walk up to the glacier took up most of the time, and wasn't easy peasy that's for sure. Of course we stopped along the way and took pictures and lots of stuff like that. Once we got to the spot where we got on the glacier we had to strap on our crampons and follow the guide along the ice paths to the locations around the glacier where we would stop. It was very cool to be walking on an actual glacier and parts of it looked so blue and pure I wanted to fill up my water bottle. At one point our guide did chip off some ice for us to try and it was great! I had a great time tromping around on the glacier and having a look at the ice caves. The inside of the caves were so blue and smooth they were just beautiful! The hike was challenging at times but over all a pretty smooth going and really great! I was going to try and go hiking on both glaciers but I guess one will have to do for now, and it is another check mark on my ever shrinking list!

The list is coming along so well and I have checked off a total of 10 of the 40 things on the list and it is only about a month into my living here. I knew that I would check off a bunch while on this national pass with the Magic Bus, so I am stoked!

When we left in the morning on our way to Wanaka we stopped at Lake Matheson just outside of the Fox glacier township and our driver let us walk around the lake to the reflecting island. This was one of the most beautiful things I have seen while being here. This lake is so still and the water is like glass it reflects everything around it including the majestic views of Mt. Cook in the distance. Unfortunately there was a bit of cloud cover so we couldn't see all of the mountain but still, stunning! I couldn't believe how still and how much detail you saw in the lake it was just remarkable. I am so fortunate to be able to experience all of these stunning views!

The Abel Tasman and Greymouth

I am going to double up my hike through the Abel Tasman and my drive/night in Greymouth because either one doesn't have enough detail to warrant their own entry but together they can make a good sized read.

The Abel Tasman was one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life and the reason it doesn't warrant it's own entry because I don't know how many different ways you can say amazing. I could go on and talk about each beach and view but each was more stunning then the last. We took an hour bus ride to a place called Kaiteriteri where we boarded a boat sitting on a beautiful beach. We then took the boat from Kaiteriteri to Ancorage Bay down the coast. It was a beautiful boat ride with the rocky shoreline and blue water. I was doing this hike with several other Magic passengers and two of which I have become friends with. Isak the Swede, Clara the German and Ivy the Asian was tagging along. We disembarked the boat onto the golden sand beach and I would have gladly stayed there for days! It was so stunning! The water was clear blue the sand was soft and golden and the shores were rocky and beautiful. We stayed a while, took some pictures and then started out on the hike. It said it was a 4 hour hike and we had 6 hours to complete it before the bus picked us up at the end. This left lots of time to hike down to the gorgeous beaches and scramble around the rocks. I would have been perfectly content to sit on the beach all day. Some parts of the hike were steep and taxing but over all the actual walk was quite nice. It was also good to have the company, and to laugh and joke around while we walked. I took a lot of photos but none of them will ever compare with how beautiful that place was. All those memories will be kept in my head until I go crazy! I wish I could write more about the Abel Tasman but really I don't know how else to say how beautiful it was. I guess it is one of those places that leaves you without words.

Hiking the Abel Tasman was my last day in Nelson and I was boarding the bus in the morning headed for Greymouth. I knew we had two stops in between, but I had also heard that it was a very long day on the bus, so I was not looking forward to that. We boarded the bus early in the morning and our bus driver, Cam, seemed so cool I bet he shits ice cubes. Although he seemed way less stuffy then Greg who I had on my way from the ferry to Nelson. So we hopped on and our first short stop was a place called Cape Foulwind. We didn't have a whole lot of time there to look around, and the weather was cloudy and kinda shitty. Cape Foulwind is not named so because of the foul smelling odour or anything. It is actually named because when Captain Cook sailed around the coast of New Zealand he sailed into that cape and there was no wind for 3 days and he got trapped because he couldn't sail out. The wind there was 'foul' so hence the name. Cape Foulwind was a stunning place with a great little walk along the coast to a fur seal colony to have a look at. The large rocky cliffs with the beautiful waves crashing against it was a sight to be seen. I bet that place would have been a beaut in the sunshine! I would have gladly spent a day just there in Cape Foulwind, and who knows maybe I will make my way back there someday without the magic bus so I can stay a little longer. The seals were cool. A whole little colony of them just hangin out on the rocks having a nap. They were cool little guys!

From Cape Foulwind it was on to the Pancake Rocks in Punakaiki. This was another stunning place with lots of palm trees around and beautiful coastline. The pancake rocks are named that because they look like stacks of pancakes. The rocks were formed under the sea thousands of years ago and then they were thrusted up from the sea floor with all the volcanic and plate-tectonic activity. The coastline looks very very beautiful and the blue water crashing against them was so peaceful. We ate lunch there and then jumped back on the bus for our drive to Greymouth.

Greymouth is a very small town on the west coast but it is actually the biggest town on that section on the west coast. When we were driving through the town to our hostels Cam said that there was a bar in the Neptunes backpacker. He said it wasn't like a night club if you were looking for a big night out, but a good chill out bar. I was staying at Noah's Ark backpacker, which besides the fat smelly guy in our room, was great. I was going to do a brewery tour in Greymouth but the brewery was under construction so they stopped the tours for now. So come evening time Clara, myself and an English girl Sahria decided we would go down to to the Neptunes bar and have a beer or two and maybe meet up with some of the other magic passengers. So I got ready, changed my shirt and we headed off. As we were walking through the town, at 8:00pm, it was a ghost town. The streets were empty of cars, people and any other signs of life. We would walk past restaurants and they were completely empty. We didn't quite know where Neptunes was but we figured we couldn't get lost, it was either on this street or the other one. We found it after a bit of looking, and it was down in this industrial looking area that I am sure they have filmed horror movies in before. We could see the lights on in the front but nothing that resembled a bar. We approached the building and it looked like a regular hostel with no signs indicating a bar. So we followed the signs to the side of the building where we found a door to get into the hostel with a sign saying something about a bar. So we went inside and there was no reception or anything so we started walking around trying to find the bar. We walked in to what was their TV room or lounge and turned to come out when Sahria noticed a guy sitting in the corner in what looked like a shed. She stopped and asked him, “Is this the bar?” Sure enough that guy sitting in the shed with the fridge was the “Bar” at Neptunes! Well all three of us could barely speak because we were laughing so hard. We figured what the hell and got a beer from him. He was a nice enough fella from England and was funny to chit chat with. We only had the one beer there though, because I mean common!

After Neptunes we went in search of an actual drinking establishment and were told to head to a place called Franks because it would have live music on a Saturday night. So we found Franks and sure enough there were a couple of hippies with guitars strumming away! We only stayed there for a drink then headed back to the hostel to turn in early for our next days adventures.

Ahoy Captain, Land Ho!

So after hauling my arse out to the street at 6:40am still bleary eyed and not happy about getting up. I have a few lists that I am working through, my To Do List, my personal Bucket List, but getting up was last on my list of things I would rather be doing at that moment! So the shuttle picked us up and we headed to the interislander ferry terminal to take the ferry crossing from the North to the South island. The ferry ride takes about 3.25 hours or so. I was hoping the Cook Strait wasn't too choppy today because given my current condition I didn't think that a rocky boat ride was the most best thing for my stomach. The ferry was huge and had it's own movie theatre, cafeteria, lounges etc. Jolene and I got on and had a backpackers breakfast instead of buying the overpriced food on the boat and the we settled in and I took a nap. When I woke up the land was right in front of us! The majestic rolling hills of the Marlborough Sounds was the first thing I saw and boy was it beautiful! Although we seemed to be 'there' we had to navigate for another hour through the sounds to dock in Picton. It was a very beautiful ferry ride from then on, and seriously that is why people fall in love with New Zealand! A few people think I am going to fall in love down here and get married and never come back. Well I do have strong feelings......for New Zealand. I think we are going to just keep seeing each other and everything continues to go well maybe I will pop the question! I really do love it here tho!

So we arrived in Picton and our Magic Bus was waiting for us in the parking lot. I met the new driver, Greg, and right off the hop I knew he wouldn't be like Kate. He seemed very nice and very helpful, but he seemed like all business all the time. I like someone that is personable and you can joke around with and someone that at least tries to make the long bus rides more enjoyable. After loading up the bus we were off! Our first stop would be a quick lunch stop then our over night stop in Nelson. We drove through the most beautiful green mountains on our way it was just stunning views! Now I know why everyone says the South Island is way better. I plan on actually staying in Picton on the way back up and hopefully doing some hiking around the Marlborough Sounds. What a gorgeous area! Originally I was going to just spend one night in Nelson and keep on trucking with the Magic Bus. Then at the last minute I decided that I was going to hike the Abel Tasman, so that requires you to stay 3 nights in Nelson. So here I am at one of the best hostels I have ever stayed at sitting on the patio off my room typing up this blog. Yesterday I hung out with a German girl named Clara, Jolene and Issac the Swede. We walked around Nelson together and just chit chatted then had supper and drank some Nelson wine by the pool. Yea, the pool! This hostel is 20 bones a night and has a pool, a hot tub, a sauna, free soup every night, free breakfast, and there are only 4 beds in the dorm and we have a patio right off the side. It is great! I love Paradiso! If you come to Nelson, stay here! While walking around Nelson I discovered the best street around! Have a look!

Today I walked all around the town, got some groceries and went to the Centre of NZ. There is this walk and it is supposed to take you to the Centre of NZ. Turns out it is close-ish to the actual centre of NZ but it is the point that all surveyors base their stuff off of. Plus it is on the top of a really tall hill and it has great views! I don't have my pictures on my computer just yet but I got two great panoramic pictures!

Tomorrow I am going the Abel Tasman National Park walk and boat cruise. It is considered one of New Zealands great walks so I am really looking forward to it and I will be sure to let you know how it goes!

Catching Up!

I realized today that you guys are severely behind when it comes to what I write about and where I actually am, so I am going to catch you up! The last thing I wrote about was going to the glow worm caves and spending the night in National Park. That was a few days ago, and I am in Nelson now on the South Island. Here's what happened in between!

After leaving the very uneventful National Park we headed to our last North Island stop Wellington. On the way to Wellington we stopped at a place that I of all people found most interesting. We stopped at the jandal fence! If you are thinking to your self, “What in the hell is a jandal!?” Think Japanese Sandal, jandal is what they call flip flops! This fence has started along the highway and people put their old jandals on the fence. Honestly when Kate told me about this fence I really wanted to put my own jandals on, but seeing as I haven't worn full shoes since I arrived in NZ that would mean I would be walking around barefoot. Although that is socially acceptable around here, I can't imagine it would be the most comfortable thing to do. So I took pictures of it and with it and if I ever pass by it again I will put some jandals on.

So They had told me that Rotorua was a city then when I arrived it wasn't a city at all. It was more of an over grown town. It must have just fit in the city guidelines somehow because it doesn't look city like at all. So they said that Wellington was the capital city I thought to myself, “Ah, you fooled me once with that city business, not this time.” So I hadn't planned on doing much in Wellington but checking off one of my list entries. When we pulled into Wellington I was surprised to see a proper city in front of me. It had office buildings, public transport, stop lights, etc. Although it is smaller then Auckland it is still a real city, so that was a bit of a game changer for me. My plan was to upload photos and update blogs and things because there wouldn't be much to do. Instead I wanted to go out and explore Wellington. So I dumped my bags in the room and Jolene and I took off to explore the city. For the record, Jolene is the girl from Alberta that I met on the bus from Auckland. Her and I befriended each other and hung out until Nelson when I stayed and she left. Our first mission was to check off my list entry from Sue. Number 14: When in Wellington go to Willis street and have a cup of coffee at Johns Lunch. So turns out Willis street wasn't far from Nomads where I was staying so we took a little walk up there. We ended up coming onto Willis street in the middle and I didn't know where Johns Lunch was so we guessed and headed down to the right. We found a street sign and took the photo with me under it and then headed off in search of Johns Lunch. Which I would like to note that if you people want me to do the things on the list they have to be REAL things! We walked to the end of Willis on one side, crossed to the other and started walking back up towards the way we came. I noticed two people on a smoke break on the sidewalk so I thought I would ask them if they knew where Johns was. I approached the two girls (or what I thought was two women but turns out it was a woman and a very fem gay fella) and asked them if they knew where John's Lunch on Willis was. They looked confused a bit then one asked if it was a high end restaurant. Umm with a name like John's Lunch.........probably not. So anyway long story short they were no help what so ever, they basically told me to walk up and down Willis to see if I could find it. Like I already wasn't doing that. So we kept walking and couldn't find it so we decided to stop into a hotel and see if they knew where it was. I went into a hotel lobby and there was not a soul in sight. There was absolutely no one around. So we left there and went to the coffee shop next to there, and again, there

was no one around. It looked like someone walked out in the middle of making a sandwich. There was a sandwich sitting on the cutting board with a knife laying beside it and not a soul around. I even waited a few minutes to see if anyone was in the back but nope, not a single person. Then I thought, geeze maybe they know about something I don't, are we being evacuated?? We kept walking, convinced that if we just walked a little further would find it. We were also trying to make it to Te Papa the national museum before it closed, so we didn't have all day to be tramping around Willis street looking for John's Lunch. We walked almost to the end of them street and I cam across a place called Willis Lunch Cafe. So I went in and asked the woman behind the cash if she knew were John's Lunch was on Willis. She said she had worked on that street for 17 years and she had never ever heard of such a place. So I said, great can I have a Chai Latte? So that is as close as she gets with the Johns lunch! I am going back to Wellington before I go back to Auckland and I will finish the street, but I am not so convinced that it is a for reals spot!

Me, an American Twit, Jolene and Kate.

After hunting around for a non existent coffee shop we went to Te Papa to see as much as we could before it closed. This museum is completely free and huge! I will definitely go back there too because the amount of time we had certainly didn't give it justice. There is so much to see there and we just didn't have enough time. Also for a museum it is really well done and very interactive. I really enjoyed the displays that I did see and I look forward to my time back in Wellington. Part of staying at Nomads is you got a free meal at their partner bar Blend. So Jolene and I as travellers our favourite word is FREE. Someone says, “ Would you be interested in a free..” “Yep!” They also had drink specials on for people staying at Nomads. I appreciate that the hostel bars know we are all on a fixed and small budget so they make really really cheap drinks, but really, I don't need that! All it does is encourage me to drink which equals feeling like a bag of shit the next day. How are you going to say no to $3 champagne and 5 dollar beers? Common! So we ended up staying for a few pops and it was good because we said farewell to our bus driver Kate. The buses don't cross the straight, they just have another diver pick you up on the other side. I will see Kate again because I am going back through the North Island, but Jolene was leaving from Queenstown, so we had one last hurrah with her. Turns out we had a great time and the guy with the guitar was hilarious! He was a pretty good singer too, but he had us in stitches all night. He was so funny, and he picked on everyone around, gawd it was great. We stayed out too late and then I felt like a bag of shit getting up for the ferry at 6:40am but someone once told me, “ You never reminisce about the nights you got a really good sleep.” That is true!