G'day from New Zealand!

Kia Ora! I am currently (this was written on Monday but this is the first time I have internet since) sitting on my laptop in the cozy lounge room of Tasman Bay Backpackers in Nelson, which is on the North coast of the South Island. So far, my time in New Zealand has, I think, been well spent. I left Brisbane with a broken heart but was soon uplifted by a very kind and funny old man sitting next to me on the plane to Auckland. He lives on the gold coast and is spending some time on the North Island for business. Lets just say after three bottles of airplane wine, this guy was funny. What else could I expect from someone on the Gold Coast but a relaxed and entertaining personality. We left Brisbane early, which meant we got into Auckland earlier than expected. Going through customs I claimed my food items just in case; when I sheepishly muttered that they were Tim Tams, my customs officer just chuckled, said, “Enjoy those, I’m jealous,” and stamped me through.

My first couple nights in NZ I was pampered in a hotel thanks to my parents and their parental-ness of having their only daughter traveling alone in a foreign country. I couldn’t complain. I got in, checked out my room, turned on the tele (yes!!), made a cup of hot drinking chocolate (mmm…), and sat on the bed catching up on the news. I could get used to that :P The next morning grabbed the airbus from the airport into town to check out the grand city of Auckland. I started at the Sky Tower, which is in the center of the city and went to check on how much tickets were. I walked down and I saw a movie on the history of Auckland to my left…with two very familiar faces watching intently. I couldn’t believe that I got to run into Butler kids while there!! Joe and Laura were still in Auckland and had a 5 o’clock flight out to Christchurch. They were just as excited to see me, so I tagged along with them for the rest of the afternoon going to lunch, walking through gardens and then alongside the harbour. They left me around 330, and I went exploring some more, but I had seen all I wanted to of Auckland and headed back to the hotel after another couple hours of wandering. I spent the evening in the hotel and watched Heroes and Mythbusters before going to bed pretty early. The next morning I woke up with the sun and headed down to the airport to catch my flight to Nelson.

I checked in and saw that I was sitting at 8B. Middle seat. But atleast it was near the front. I make my way down to the “gate” aka the runway where this little propellor plane stood. Row 8 was 8 out of 12. I got quite a kick out of this; I have never been on a plane that small before! I sat next to this really nice Kiwi named Chris, who was from Nelson and we chatted it up for the 1 ½ hour flight over tea. It’s always nice to have a good seat mate. I grabbed my luggage after landing (the baggage claim was the airport hanger) then was picked up by a guy named Stu, my paragliding instructor! We drove through the beautiful grassy mountains up to the top and then just went higher still in the glider. It was amazing. The chute went up in the air, Stu said, “keep walking, keep walking” (towards a cliff, mind you) and then before I even reached the end, I was in the air. I wriggled into my harness, which when standing, makes you look like you have a turtle shell, and then grabbed the straps as if in a swing. We swirled higher and higher catching the hot air as it rose, and we were soon soaring with the birds above Nelson. I felt like I was one of them! I could see all the way to the gold sand beaches of Abel Tasman Park and down below the other girls were waving and snapping photos. “Welcome to the South Island, Kelly!” Stu yells in my ear. I’d say that’s a pretty good welcome, hey?

Well, we landed, and I lay in the grass on top of this beautiful mountain as the other two girls went up in the air. Stu dropped me off at my hostel around 2 and I dropped my stuff off before heading to town. Nelson slightly reminds me of a mix between Asheville and Black Mountain. I’d say that’s pretty darn awesome. Surrounded by mountains of 4 National Parks and then to the North, the ocean, all the while being a crafty town (they had a whole brochure just on Nelson pottery). I was in love. I explored the galleries of various artisans and trekked around the entire town. After that, I returned to the hostel to ask the owner, Georgie, where a good hike was. She gave me directions to the centre of New Zealand, so of course I couldn’t pass up the chance to be right in the middle of the country! The first half of the hike was really steep inclines, but it flattened out at the sheep fields. These lucky sheep had a kick ass view…if only they knew it. Their grazing area looked over all of Nelson and the Tasman Bay. Yes, I was jealous of sheep. At the end of the hike there was a 360 lookout and a monument for the centre of New Zealand. Needless to say, it was quite beautiful. If I had left an hour later, I would’ve been able to watch the sunset, but I was quite happy with the result I got.

I climbed back down just in time for….free homemade pudding and icecream at the hostel!! Yummmm. That was the perfect way to watch the sun go down, a bowl of pudding in hand and all fulfilled from my hike. I spent the night inside reading and chatting with this nice guy from France who had been traveling around New Zealand for the past month. Then his French friends came in and started speaking French, so I took my cue and went up to bed. I’m about to leave for Greymouth in the next 30 minutes or so. I’m excited to be moving on down the West coast, and this was the perfect way to start off the trip. It was beautiful and cozy and friendly and exciting. I can only imagine the rest of the week will be the same. Love to you all!!