Rotorua and Taupo

Greetings friends and family,

I can't believe that I have been here only six days!! I am already half way down the North island and Devon and I have realized that we need to plan our time wisely as we have a lot to see and do in the next two weeks before we head for Australia.

We went to Rotorua from the 18th to the 20th. The ride there was intersting since we had a Mr. Bean twin at the wheel and he would put on crazy music sing to it and made us Canadians sit at the front to talk to him. We went to the top of Mount Eden and then later we stopped off in Hobbiton (the place where they filmed the Shire in the Lord of the Rings) however it cost a decent chunk of cash and time to actually tour it so instead we fed baby sheep...

Once we arrived in Rotorua we went to a traditional Maori dinner and celebration. I enjoyed seeing the cutural traditions carried out when the Maori people meet visitors the most as the food and celebration thought good were similar to the Hawaiian celebrations for tourists that I have been to. The next day we bussed ourselves out to OGO which is a activity that they do around here where you lock yourself in a plastic ball with water in it and roll it down a steep hill. Though this might sound absolutely ridiculous I found it absolutely exhilarating and completely amazing. In this ball you have the options of sitting in it and taking in the experience, crawling, or walking/running to make the ball go faster. Devon and I raced to the bottom. I tried to run in the ball and she tried to crawl it was hilarious. I quickly fell down trying to run and then spun around a few times. Somehow we tied and got some great photos too! In Rotorua we didn't go outside at night because many people told us that it was dangerous to do this. There were many gangs and things that occurred after sunset (which isn't until 830pm anyway) so we tucked ourselves away in the hostel. WE have found that we are kind of old here, perhaps because of the jet leg or the busy life style we have but we tend to go to bed by 930 or 10 while we used to be up until 1130 or midnight back home. There are many sulfur springs here which stinks of rotting eggs and causes silver that is left out in the air to tarnish. Rotorua was particularly fragrent and make Devon and I feel ill for a while until we got used to the smell.

We caught the Magic bus to Taupo on the 20th. This ride was great, we got to see a guiser, some people bungie jump (which lead me to have a constant urge to try it later on in this trip), the

(Picture of the guiser)

Huka falls and a mud pool. Our hostels have all been different, our first was like an appartment complex, our second was a cottage, our third was like a motel and this one is like a hawaiian motel where all the hallways are outdoors and there is a ping pong table at the centre of everything. This kitchen is well equiped unlike some that we have happened accross and we have decided to stock up on the basics for food like oil and so on to help with our cooking.

The day after we arrived in Taupo we got up at 5 in the morning to hike Mount Doom (also known by it's real name Mount Ngauruhoe), a 19.6 kilimeter trek.


(Picture of the top of the mountain)

This was supposed to be a 8 hour hike but we managed it in 5 hours and ten minutes. However in the process we climbed about 3 clicks of stairs (about 400-500 stairs) to get to the nearly 2000 meter tall mountain. The views were amazing from the top! We climbed it with our new Italian friend Giovanni who is off to Australia soon.

(Picture of the sign at the bottom)

Today we are taking it easy as our legs are sore and we are a bit tired from being so busy and travelling quickly. We are using the day wisely though and getting out laundry done! Tomorrow we head off to National Park and then off to Wellington where we will fly to Queenstown on the south island. We are having lots of fun and starting to look a little more brown and a little less white and red. So until next time, Kia Ora!!!!

Auckland and Te Aroha New Zealand

We had a blast in Auckland New Zealand. We were able to explore the city by foot and by bus. My legs have walked about 24 hours during the last four days. It has been exhausting but fun. Some fun facts about New Zealand that I have noticed thus far; the traffic is the opposite to us, so are the light switches, the toilets gush water and have two settings for them and using a card in the grocery store is almost more complicated than back home. The trees and birds are wildly different than back home and keep catching my eye.
On Sunday we hiked a volcano island called Ranitoto. We got quite burnt and i got stung by something unknown to me but I will recover. We both have been slapping on the aloe vera and trying to stay out of the sun to recover but it has been absolutely gorgeous for the last while. We enjoyed our hostel. It housed up to 176 people, had it's own kitchen you could use, a shower per floor (7), a deck, two activity rooms, and lots of amazing people from all over the world. We had five different roommates during the three nights we slept there, on from the Netherlands, one from Tipae, two from France, and one from Japan. We are thinking of visiting one of our roommates when we get to France. She was very sweet and made many friends along her year of travelling.
We left Auckland this morning and have holed up in another YHA hostel, however this one is a three bedroom cottage. So very cute with everything you could need and a sweet hostess as well. We explored the small town of Te Aroha and it's museum which was your basic small town museum. We are planning on making some delicious cookies while we are here and walking the domain here. A domain seems to be the local park/forested area that is protected and usually has the museum on or close by to it. We are also going to go to the local spa area to cool down and enjoy the natural springs.
Tomorrow we will move on to Rotorua where we will be staying for several days. I have loved meeting so many people on this trip from all over the world. I can't wait to meet more people and see the local sights. In Rotorua we are planning on participating in a Zorb activity and possible a mud spa thing. I am hoping I have the stomach for the Zorb and will report to you all about my success or failure to remain composed next time I post.
Every time I come to the computer cafe or library to use the internet I forget to bring my camera cord. I will upload photos soon (some cheesier than others) so that you can see what I have been up to in the last while.
All the best to you all!!
Love Jess

The breath taking city of Auckland welcomed us

Hello all,
I have landed in New Zealand. We left early due to the slight snow storm that hit our coast. We dashed off Tuesday night and stayed the night with friends then booked it to the YVR in the morning. I never realized how very nice our airport truly is until I landed in LAX (Los Angeles). This air port is not just confusing but it is lacking customer service, and it claims to have restaurants past the customs check point. This blatant lie was discovered when we found the only two places that served food (ie not prepackaged goods) sold pre-made salads for $14 and pre-made sandwiches for $10, both choices were dismal. After a five hour boredom marathon we boarded our ten and half hour flight to Nadi Fiji. This flight was alright we got dinner at 10pm, breakfast at 330 am, and struggled to sleep in between. If we failed to sleep there was no lack of entertainment provided. Fiji's airport was only sightly better with actual food prepared and shops to walk through. The best part of all this journey was meeting some really neat people from all over the world.
We are settling in in Auckland now and hope to explore the city fully tomorrow. When we flew in to the country my breath was taken away by the beauty of this place. I can't believe how amazing the north island looks from above and how amazing the education system is supposed to be here too. If I don't' watch it I may loose part of my heart to this country! We plan on spending a whirlwind 2 or 3 days here in Auckland before moving on to our next destination, which is still to be determined. It is such a pleasure not plan every moment but to enjoy it. I will blog again in a while this internet cafe is not far from our hostel and if I don't blog before we leave then I am sure another internet cafe or library will be found along the way.
Love and miss you all!

It feels like Christmas

I am not sure how much sleep I am going to get tonight. It feels like I am a kid on christmas eve. The snow is falling out side my window, my bag is packed full of fun. When I wake up tomorrow morning I will start out on an adventure that I have given myself with my late father's help. I have made my bag as light as possible so that I can live free and easy for a while and pick up things on a whim.

There has been a change of plans because of this wonderful snow. We have decided to catch the 9 ferry to Vancouver tonight stay at a hotel close to the airport then jet off into the sky tomorrow. Our flight including two lay-overs is 28 hours long. I know that it is not going to be a pleasant trip, but all I can think is that most of you will be here in the winter wonderland,

while I soak up the rays in the south pacific.

I have said my good byes to almost everyone, my class, my mom, my grandparents, my friends and my family. I feel better than ever about leaving tomorrow. Being open to the possibilities that lay ahead of me feels good. By being more 'positive' as my mother puts it, I am becoming more energetic and engaged in every moment that I am in. I encourage all of you to put that open positive energy out there however corny it sounds because it WORKS. I am a yes-woman now who is ready to eat and love her way through the next seven months of travel and beyond. Bring on the challenges I am ready to take them on!

Vancouver

I feel like I am waiting for my life to begin. This early January has been teasing experience. Thankfully I got to have a mini adventure in Vancouver before my foreign adventure begins that eased my impatience.The west coast stayed true to it's nature and became the wet coast for the last two days of my trip. Despite this I was able to fully explore the downtown area and stanley park before the down pour began on Wednesday. My stroll on Granville Island, however, was a soppy one. I loved the Children's Market that is there, where every single store in the market is for kids. I am extremely glad that I was restricted by my lack of storage space in my car, so I was unable to make any purchases though I intend to return before long. I also explored the down town public library whichtook me a few hours and was thoroughly enjoyable. In addition to great company I had some great food at a vegetarian place called Naam, and sadly I also experienced the horrendous thing called Vancouver paid parking where I paid $24 for one day (it was 3.75 a half hour)!

All in all I had a wonderfully good (and extremely expensive) time. Though I am glad to be back in the city of cheeper/free parking I still feel that sensation of

waiting washing over me.

Though this entry is short I find myself wanting to reflect on the process of beginning my journey and how precious people and life is to me. I am so very thankful for my friends and family members who have housed me and will house me. I look

forward to more good times in good company.