brutalful

we did get to do the 8 hour hike of the tongaria crossing (and managed to do it in only 7 hours!) - it was everything it was built up to be, and more. the scenery was spectacular, the first hour was hiking intermittent with rock climbing through the base of the mountain (volcanoes, actually) which followed the most peaceful babbling brooks with the views of the volcanoes we were about to climb looming in the background. the second hour was by far the most brutal, and was the point where i began to think i had overestimated my fitness level for this kind of hike! basically it was an hour of crudely made stairs cut into the mountain side with no views but the person in front of you and behind you (and in my case, the elderly couple that passed me along the way - when youre getting out-hiked by a 70 year old, you know youre in trouble). After that it all got good again! It was another hour of hiking and rock climbing, this time with the emerald lakes (the halfway point) in the distance, which were crazy stunningly beautiful. The last bit before the lakes was sliding down a few hundred meters of volcanic ash - i was glad i had worn black for the occasion! (see note below on this) We had lunch by the emerald lakes and then continued our journey which for the next hour, mean rock climbing along the ledge of the mountain that was caught in a wind tunnel - then i understood why we couldnt do the hike in poor weather!! that part was a little tough as well, but after that the hike got easy (or maybe my body just gave up being in pain?). for the last couple hours we got to go back Down the mountain on a nice, easy downward slope with stunning views of the surrounding farmland and lakes and finished with half an hour of flat walking through a bit of an unexpected rain forest!

All in all, a spectacular day that prompted me to make up a new work for the hike - brutalful (beautiful and brutal all tied together). in another note (of interest to my fashion girls out there) was the makeshift wardrobe of me and my hiking buddies. we fell into 3 camps, about half had gone out and bought decent hiking apparel (hiking boots, wind/waterproof sporty jacket, polar fleece zip ups and wind pants, all in the bright colors that i can only assume are so popular with hiking apparel so if you get lost they can find you most easily?). another half rented hiking gear from the hostel, and then little old me was in a camp by myself and decided to makeshift my normal clothing into hiking gear (it cant be that tough, right?) so ended up in black pumas instead of hiking boots (which were the one regret), some black yoga pants, and a black top with a grey jersey scarf and topped all off with my black faux leather jacket and big perscription sunglasses. i looked like such a city slicker i knew i had to finish the hike early or would be doubly judged by the 'serious' hiking groups! ridiculous looking or not, everything worked just fine (though we lucked out with no rain), with no damage done except a couple bruises on my feet from the thin soles of the pumas.
the day after everyone was struggling even with just the bus steps, our bodies are so sore!

as of today, im in wellington and GOOD NEWS it just so happens that today in wellington (the countries capital) there is a latin dance festival!! i couldnt have lucked out with any better timing, im so excited... wellington seems like such a great city, cant wait for today! will update later

(post note: one of the mountains in the range that we hiked was 'Mt Doom' from the lord of the rings trilogy!)

national park

im currently at the national park for a few days, i was only planning to stay one night, but we wont be able to hike the tongaria crossing until friday (weather related safety reasons) so im currently bunked down in THE nicest hostel in NZ (which surprisingly is also really inexpensive!) called 'The Park' (looks more like a hotel than a hostel), just reading, doing little hikes, and soaking in the hot tub. ahhh, not a bad life! i may start getting stir crazy by the end but i do really love it here! only problem is the lack of supermarket, so im having to get reeeally creative with my current food supply! more to come :)

hahei, raglan

first stop on our grand tour of NZ was Mt Eden, a volcano in auckland with beautiful views, and then onto Hahei. Hahei was very cool for 2 reasons, 1 - a beautiful hike up to Cathedral Cove, and 2 - Hot Water Beach. hot water beach is a beach sitting on magma, so at certain spots on the beach if you got at low tide, you can dig a hole in the sand (with spades, BYO or rented) which will fill up with tepid, warm, or hot water. in one case, the water was literally boiling. i chose a warm spot and sat myself down in the sand - very cool (well, hot - you know what i mean). then it was onto raglan, surf capital of NZ and home of the longest left hand break in the world (not that i know what that means, but apparently its impressive). the beach was nice (i passed on surfing to get in some good sitting on the beach time) but what was really impressive was the incredible hostel we were at. i wouldnt even call it a hostel, because it was the lodging for the raglan surf school, and there was so much love put into this little eco paradise it just doesnt seem right to call it a hostel. i thought about staying longer but decided it was onto bigger and better things, lest i get stuck in the relaxing world of beach paradise forever.

stray bus

so i just got back from my first jaunt with the stray bus. i really liked the stops we did and free activities - on the way there we did a glass bottom boat tour around goat island, and on the way back we stopped by a really nice waterfall. the atmosphere was quiet as social as i was used to with oz experience, but at least it meant i could catch a few zs on the bus in between staring out the window at the beautiful scenery.

back in auckland now and in the am heading to kakei... not quite sure what awaits me there, but we will find out!

bay of islands

so outside auckland, now i see why people say that new zealand is the most beautiful place in the world. on the bus ride to paihai (in the bay of islands), everywhere i looked was more and more stunningly gorgeous scenery. its definitely colder than australia here but not miserably cold (yet) and today we had a few hours where it was almost hot. brilliant.
tomorrow its back to auckland and then onward on the travels through the rest of NZ!

auckland

the city in the USA that auckland most reminds me of is... detroit. ha, i thought people were being over dramatic with 'theres no reason to go there' and 'theres nothing to do there' because people had said the same thing about brisbane. turns out they were all right, its a cities city, all grey and tall buildings without a hint of green. its on the ocean, yet there is absolutely no development along the ocean and you cant even see the water beyond the construction going on at the water front. the main attraction is the sky tower where you can pay $20 to go up to the top and see even more of the depressingly grey city. still, its a great departure city - im heading to the bay of isles tomorrow and still had to book a couple hostels for my trip and get all of my stuff together for my 7:50am departure to Paihai.

new zealand

surprise! im in new zealand, just got off a plane in Auckland an hour ago, and back to my vagabond life. long story.

looking to the future - tomorrow is all day in auckland before a couple day trip up to the bay of isles, and then back here to start my tour of the north island, followed by a few days in wellington and the world reknown marlbourough wine region before transversing the south island, bungee jumping in queenstown, and ending in christchurch.
for this rapid fire backpacking, i may be touring around with my friend Karina, an american girl who i met in Melbourne and has been living and working in Sydney for the past many many months. she will be here roughly the same timing as me and so we are trying to cordinate schedules! itll be a treat if it works out

getting kicked off the internet cafe now, more updates to come!