Auckland

Sheep, sheep and more sheep! So many sheep in this country! Every five minutes we pass a sheep farm. Theres a joke between the rest of the world and New Zealanders...well not really a joke but New Zealanders are knick named "sheep shaggers" because there are so many sheep...instead of being angry New Zealanders totally embrace this myth (or fact?!?) and they have postcards and magnets and other souvenirs with a person shagging a sheep. Crazy New Zealanders.

Oh. And a note about cows (which we've also seen a million of). They're so funny. They stand really close to the fence at the side of the road and then as soon as a car comes they run away (even though there's a fence). Then they come back to the fence and five seconds later when the next car comes they run away again. All day they do this, kinda funny.

Anyways made it to Auckland! Our bus driver said it's the most spread out/biggest city in the world, then said "at least in my world" (he's never left NZ) so I'm not sure if that's true or not. But there are only 2 million people who live in NZ and 1.5 live in Auckland so who knows. They wanted to make Auckland the capital but the south island said it was too far away and was afraid the north island would break away as its own country so they made it Wellington instead.

Oh. Our bus driver's name is Dippy by the way. He's kiwi and he's alrite. A little clueless sometimes but hey that's ok. Seems like we are with him this whole trip so we are getting to know him. He's pretty funny and has a lot of good stories! He just can't remember names.

Ok so Auckland. Great city! The main strip is called Queen street and there are loads of shops and restaurants. The waterfront is nice...a few restaurants and a museum. All the big companies (Deloitte, PWC, RBS...) have their offices here along the water. We walked around the waterfront and soaked up some precious sun, we really appreciate feeling warm now! Beautiful Harbour and bridge area.

We were there on Good Friday so all the shops and bars were closed :-/ We ate dinner with holland at a Chinese restaurant...smallest portions I have ever seen! A side dish of rice was the size of the bottom of a soda can and about one inch thick. And the sushi pieces were the size of a quarter!

We hung out at our hostel for the evening and played cards until midnite when the bars opened again. Then we wandered down to the waterfront with Dippy and our group and explored Auckland nightlife!

Next stop: Bay of Islands!

Rotorua

After our night in Kaikoura, we headed out early to catch a ferry from Picton to Wellington to start our north island trek. Our plan was to do the south island first but the buses were all booked for a week so we decided to go north instead. Supposedly the south island is more scenic, we'll see!

We took a four hour ferry across to the north island and landed in Wellington. Unfortunately karina had a little run in with a pole in the ground while waiting for the ferry and managed to escape with only a bruised foot (not very common- have you ever seen a bruised foot?! Only I could manage that...). Her Toms shoes however were not so lucky...looks like more sewing for me! We stayed at Nomads hostel in Wellington and were greeted with free shots of something tropical and a free BBQ in honor of their beach party (except theres no beach in wellington?!), always a great way to start a trip! We had a nice four person dorm with one queen sized bed that yours truly got to sleep in :)

Unfortunately we got there late and left early so we did not get to see much of Wellington during the day but we're stopping back here next week and will check the city out then!

To start our night in Wellington, we hung out with some people on our bus at the Nomads bar and then wandered around to a few different bars in the city with Finland, Holland and England. Unfortunately Wellington is not a very happening place on a Wednesday before easter night so we called it quits pretty early. But on the bright side England was a huge patriots fan!! He joined in on our pain with the superbowl ("it ruined my Monday!!") and has tickets to go see them when they play in London this summer, pretty sweet!

The next morning we were up early and drove up to a town called Rotorua, which is known for its hot springs and naturally occurring mud baths. On the way we stopped in a town called Bulls...were slowly learning that when people tell us oh its a great city check it out! They really mean its a small town with a bakery, McD's, post office and bank and has about 2,000 permanent residents.

We also stopped at a river/gorge (what's the difference btwn a gorge and a waterfall? Being around all these Europeans who learn British English has really made me question the definition of a lot of English words!) on the Waikano River called Spa Park. So cool! At the mouth of the gorge, boiling hot water flowed down and at the bottom it mixed with cooler water. Something about hot plates under the earth in certain spots makes it hot and bubble. If you stand in certain spots half of you is swimming in hot water and the other half is in cold water. Or you can sit in the waterfall and make it a jacuzzi. Pretty sweet. We enjoyed some proper NZ beer called Speights while we soaked in the hot springs. Not bad for a Thursday :)

Note about beer: in new Zealand the only license they accept is a NZ one or a passport. So as Alexa and I waited in line to buy beer they asked for a passport. Mine was with me but Alexa's was safely in her backpack so I thought ok I'll just buy it. But I couldn't buy it since she was with me! So we secretly found a friend from the bus who had his passport on him and had him buy us our beer while we waited outside. Keep in mind drinking age here is 18. So we felt like 17 year old rebels breaking the law!! Oh to be young again...

We also drove by Lake Taupo on the way...it's huge! I thought it was the ocean but that didn't make sense...biggest lake I've ever seen. A lot of people go skydiving here...supposedly it's the best/most scenic place in the world to dive.

When we finally reached Rotorua several hours later, we were greeted by a pungent smell of sulphur...aka rotten eggs. The whole town reeks from the sulphur that spews from the volcanoes that surround the town. Oh yeah, there are volcanoes all over this country!

Unfortunately we got there too late to see the bubbling mud, maybe on our road trip next week!

We stayed at Base hostel and hung out at Lava Bar, which was attached to Base. This country is funny, they're very free spirited and carefree, but when it comes to religious holidays, everything shuts down. We were in Rotorua on a Thursday and we had to stock up on food and supplies because nearly everything in the whole country shuts down on Good Friday. Lava Bar usually closes at 2am or whatever but because it was good Friday at midnight they had to close early. The bars closed at midnight and wouldn't open till 1201 am the next day so it's officially sat!

But hey no problems...just means we got to go to bed earlier, these 7am bus departures are killing us!

Another note about beer: it's great to be surrounded by all these Europeans. When they get tired/ drunk they tend to revert to their original languages. So we fell asleep to a Finnish talking to a German who responded in German (neither could understand each other) throw in some Dutch, Danish and our English and it was a great fun convo in which nobody was really understanding each other but it didn't really matter!

Kaikoura

Kia Ora! That's hello in Maori :)

Grrr I am very sad to report that I wrote a fabulous blog about our New Zealand adventures and it somehow got deleted. So I was boycotting blogger for a while.

But now were back!! First official post from NZ!!

New Zealand is gorrrrgeous. Just like everyone pictures. Well actually maybe people don't think about NZ but they should because its so pretty!

We flew into Christchurch and spent a night there before beginning our bus tour around the country. We didn't see much of Christchurch because we were only there to pick up the bus but it was the main area that was destroyed by an earthquake in 2009. A lot of the city has been rebuilt but many hostels and hotels and restaurants are still damaged. They are still working on rebuilding the roads and putting new water pipes and power lines in. They've come a long way but there is still much to be rebuilt. Christchurch also gets an average of 1,000 mini earthquakes a year or something ridiculous like that! A lot of the tour buses no longer go through Christchurch because the roads aren't suitable for buses but eventually it will be a thriving city again!

So, we met our bus tour by the airport and joined 30 other backpackers and headed to our first stop, Kaikoura. The bus company is called Stray and it's a hop on hop off bus where we can travel around and stop wherever we want for as long as we want. Our bus driver's name was Dippy...not exactly the brightest bulb in the shed as his name might suggest!

Kaikoura is a small town know for its marine life. There isn't much to do in town itself but there are loads of whale watching, dolphin swimming and fishing tours. Apparently it's one of the best places in the world to whale watch and they guarantee you see a whale every time or else your money back! They also supposedly have the best fish and chips in the world but I forgot to get them :-/

It was our first day and we wanted time to relax so we opted to walk around the town and see some seals instead. It's crazy, you drive down the street and there are dolphins playing and seals basking in the sun. The whole coast is like this, huge mountains going into ocean and animals frolicking in the bright blue water! Gorgeous!

That afternoon we wanted to sit in the common room and guess what was playing on tv...yup you guessed it, LOTR! Of course I fell asleep five minutes in so I have yet to watch it. Some day!

Not much to do in Kaikoura for nightlife so we played trivia at the pub in our hostel with our new Dutch and Finnish friends. Here's some trivia: What sport uses a piece of equipment that's 8ft x 13ft?!? Answer to come in a few days!!

Also. Funny phrase from Finlandia. Apparently in Finland, when you say "I'm angry," the literal translation is (excuse my language) "I have a penis on my forehead." Awkward!

New Zealand!!

Happy Easter!!!

Helloooo New Zealand!!!

After spending an entire day at the airport running around to different terminals, we had a nice flight to NZ and arrived in Christchurch shortly after midnight. Poor Karina got stuck chatting to an older NZ man who went on and on about how much he loved NZ while I read my book. Finally finished the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series!!! So good!!

Anyways just a quick post saying we made it safely to NZ and begin our bus journey around the country tomorrow!

Tentative itinerary:

We start in Christchurch on the South island, then head up to Kaikoura, (lots of whales and seals), cross over to the north island to Wellington, Rotorua for some hot bubbling springs and natural geysers and volcanoes, Auckland tmrw, bay of islands for the wknd, then hopefully get a car mon-fri and do the coromandel harbor, lake Taupo, Matamata (Hobbiton...LOTR!), back to Rotorua, Waitomo Caves (blackwater rafting), tongariro crossing (hiking across volcanoes), Napier, back to Wellington, then cross the ocean back to the south island to pick up the bus again and go to Abel Tasman (kayaking a national park), Franz Josef (hike a glacier), Milford Sound, Stewart island, then end up in Queenstown for some end of trip partying and activities! We fly back to Auckland on the 28 and fly out on the 29...Exciting!

Last stop: Byron bay!!

We hopped the bus to Byron bay after a nice afternoon on the beach. Unfortunately we had to share the bus with some giants fans... But anyway due to a random time zone change when you go to new south wales our 2 hour bus ride was actually one hour! Sweet!

Side note from Alexa: I have never experienced so many time changes in my life! First Boston to Phoenix, then LA, then our plane to Fiji was an hour early due to daylight savings in Fiji, then we had to fly there, then nearly every city in Australia had a different time zone (including a half hour difference in Alice springs...how does that work?!) Then there was daylight savings back home, then the bus, now new Zealand...I officially give up trying to figure out what day or time it is and I'm going back to Fiji time where it doesn't actually matter what time it is!! So my apologies for emails and messages that come in the middle of the night :-)

Ok back to Karina!! We arrived in Byron bay and in search of our hostel had a very nice introduction to the area. Multiple groups of People playing music on the sidewalks, other people dancing to that music on the sidewalks, free BBQ in the park, dreadlocks and hippie attire everywhere (shoes scarce). We realized we were going to like this place.

The area is very small, just like 3 main streets but a lot of shops and bars/pubs. For such a laid back hippie place the food was sadly still very upscale and expensive. So back to a diet of noodles and bread.

We stayed at nomads which is another big hostel chain in Australia, very nice! When we arrived our room was empty but it had a balcony! Yes!!! So we went out to find dinner and explore the town for a bit. When we returned the room was still empty so i thought it was going to be pretty dull in there. We left to shower and change and returned to the party in our room! Woohoo! We had already bought a box of goon and a group of 3 Australians arrived with their "eskie" and when we asked if we could out our goon in it they were very impressed with our assimilation to the lingo! Our new family also consisted of a nice girl from Montana who had never seen the ocean before and 2 crazy/hilarious Irish doctors! (who we later realized werent actually stayinh in our room...took Alexa 24 hours to realize this and she kept thinking the Australians were Irish and just met today. It was a very confusing night!!) This is why I love traveling! After some drinking on the balcony, trying and failing to teach the group a few different card games we decided to hit the town. We suddenly went from a group of 2 to 8! I almost forgot how much Aussie and Irish like to drink and share and was the victim to a few too many Jäger bombs (will help explain what's next)! The music was great tho and we danced it up till closing! Then someone (still not sure who) had the great idea of hitting the beach! It was still pretty warm out and the water was calling us so Alexa and I ran into the water to get our toes wet which was great fun. The Aussies took it one step further by stripping down to undies and running in... So, when in Rome right?! We had the best swim which wasn't too easy between the big waves and strong current but it is definitely a night and experience I will never forget :)

Alexa here -- don't worry parents, no jellyfish! Or sharks! Well maybe there were but we survived. Also, they aren't kidding about the rip and current...solo strong! Not necessarily a rip that pulls you down but you have to swim really hard to stay in one spot.

Anyways, we then brought most of the beach back to our room via sandy clothing (still finding sand everywhere a week later!) and had a well deserved nights rest.

Sat: the night before we discussed with our newly acquired Aussie friends a day trip to Nimbin and they wanted to go too, and, even better, had a car to take us in!! Felt like real people (vs backpackers) for a change :)

Ok family...to the dismay of our friends, this blog has thus far been pretty PG. So, to give the people what they want, we're about to spice things up a little here. We figure were old enough to share these stories with our parents without getting in trouble and you all lived through the '70's so why not. Stop here if you don't want to hear!

To be honest, the whole point of Nimbin is that it's this little hippie village lost in time in the middle of these hills and you can buy cannabis cookies there. (alexa here...weed!!) We thought it was legal (Amsterdam style) but turns out its not, they just don't care! When police do enter the area everyone yells out "bicycle" and the illegal activity is paused. So we got there after a long winding drive, had some lunch, and wandered. It's basically one street, not very long. We passed a sweet older woman knitting who said "cookies! Cookies!" when you walk past. We showed interest and she said "come to my office it's behind this tree!!" and we each got ourselves a $5 cookie. The town had all kinds of marijuana paraphernalia and decorations, pretty cool! Bringing out our inner hippie!!

After our adventures in Nimbin, we headed back and took a much needed nap. For our last night in Australia (it's bringing a tear to my eye just thinking about it!!) we went out with our new friends to a place called Cheeky Monkeys and danced the night away on a dance floor made out of picnic tables!! We finished the night back on the beach finishing the last of our goon. Unfortunately it was too cold to swim that night so we huddled on the beach instead and retold our stories of our Australian adventures.

The next day we checked out nice and early and wandered around the town some more. We finished the last of our food and headed to the beach to test out our cookies. They weren't as strong as everyone said they were but nonetheless Karina and I enjoyed some life discussions and went for a swim in the ocean. We realized just how strong the current was...guess we hadn't noticed the night before! I learned how to blow water out my nose instead of having to hold it every time I dunk, thanks Kar! In Byron there is a lighthouse that is the most eastern point of Australia and the first to see the sun each day. We were too lazy to walk to it but we could see it from where we were, pretty cool! We've now been to the most western, southern and eastern points of Australia. Sweet as!

Our bus back to the Sydney airport didn't leave until 11pm so we spent the rest of the day showering, packing and running last minute errands. It rained on and off all evening of course...why should our last day be any different!

Our bus was fine, slept on and off most of the way and had some strange drug-induced dreams but we made it to the airport safely and killed a day there before boarding our flight to New Zealand!!!

We had an amazing time in Oz...met some incredible people and saw some amazing places...hopefully we'll get back there someday! Thank you to everyone who helped make our journey unforgettable!!

Next stop: Christchurch, NZ!!!

Surfer's Paradise

Ahh so behind again!!

So, after Brisbane we took an hour bus ride down to Surfer's Paradise, aka Sin City!

Surfer's reminded me of Miami. Well I've never actually been to Miami but it's what I imagine Miami would look like. High rise buildings on the beach and glamorous shops on the street...only thing missing was our boyfriend Pitbull and Cubans!!

We stayed at a hostel called Surf and Sun and were upgraded to a private apartment with a queen size bed, kitchen, living room, bathtub, tv and a freezer! First freezer we've seen in three months!!

Apparently Surfer's is the second biggest city in Queensland (to Brisbane) but it didn't look that big. They're also known for their four big amusement parks but we couldn't be bothered, we preferred laying on the beach and shopping!

Everyone who goes to Surfer's does a hostel-sponsored pub crawl so naturally we had to join in on the fun. Wednesday night we joined 200 other backpackers and hopped around to four different bars with inviting names including Sin City, Vanity and Shooters. Good times!

The next day we tried to lay on the beach and soak up some rays but of course it rained as soon as we got comfy. Luckily it rained after we had our picnic! So instead we spent the day wandering around and eating the delicious food we prepared in our very own fridge! And we finally booked the rest of our lodging in Australia (only one more stop :( )

Thursday night is ladies night in Surfers so naturally we had to have a night on the town! Free entry and free drinks all night...didn't spend a single dollar all night, great success!

Surfer's paradise is the first place we have really met other Americans and other Australian backpackers! They were everywhere. Unfortunately the American accents are so ugly after months of not hearing them, especially one belonging to a girl from Florida- terrible!! When we meet other east coasters we don't mind the accent as much so that's good. At ladies night we certainly mingled with some local Australians. Again, all under the age of 20 which is pretty awkward. One Aussie was going to la soon and wanted to know of he could drink there if he scratched out his birthday on his
ID from 94 to 91. Then when we told him that still wasn't old enough he asked if he could marry Karina to get citizenship. As tempting as the offer was, she declined...

After our night out, Karina went to bed and I stayed up to message some of you lovely people at home (seriously...who's idea was it to go to a place with such a crazy time difference?!?! I've had enough 5am bedtimes to last me a lifetime!) and ended up meeting an Irish guy, an English guy, an African Norwegian, and an African French guy...talk about international love! I guess smoking cigarettes brings people together...those Europeans and their smoking. Oh, and our Canadian friend (and by friend I mean not friend at all- more like barnacle) who we hung out with two nights in a row wandered her way home at 4am and plopped herself down next to MY new friends and pretended she didn't know me. How nice of her.

Anyways. Good times were had in Surfers Paradise...it truly was paradise! Beautiful. And great nightlife and cheap food. Hopefully we'll get back there someday!

Brisbane

Back to the city!

After two weeks of roughing it in tents and on a boat, we're here in Brisbane enjoying city life!

We're staying at Brisbane City Backpackers and have free wifi finally! There are 14 girls in our room. Yikes.

This city is great! Not too big but lots of shopping and restaurants. Our first day we went grocery shopping and bought real (and delicious) food to cook. Mexican one night, Indian the next and (veggie) chicken and rice for our last nite. Finally a place with affordable prices! We had been practicing the conversions on how to order meat and cheese from the deli and were so proud of ourselves for ordering 1 gram of cheese from the butcher. We weren't sure why he was laughing at us until he handed us one crumb of cheese and said here's your gram...oops!

On Sundays in Australia they have a thing called "Sunday Sesh" where all the bars play music or have a band all day and people hang out and consume alcoholic beverages. Karina and I hung out at our hostel bar and then went out to explore the city. Unfortunately not much happens on Sunday nights after Sunday sesh so we just sat at an outside bar and watched soccer like true Aussies!

Monday we walked around the city some more. We were going to take a free walking tour but were on Armenian time so we didn't make it. Actually, we've been on Karina time lately not Alexa time so it wasn't my fault! Instead we walked around some pretty botanical gardens, lounged by tge river and did some shopping (we actually bought stuff this time unlike all the other times we've gone shopping!).

At night we made some Irish friends and played trivia at our bar. Some how we came in second to last even though we got most of the questions right...not sure how that happened! Then we went to another hostel for some dancing with our Irish friends. Apparently two of our new male friends had a bet going that we were more than just friends...maybe we should stop hanging out so much! They were also amazed we haven't fought since we've been here!

Tuesday we went for a stroll and sunbathed in the lagoon. No beach in Brisbane but they have a huge swimming pool area with sand that they call the lagoon, so nice! It's in an area called south bank and there are lots of shops and cafes. We met up with our friend Minty and hung out with her for the night. We cooked dinner and snuck up to the rooftop balcony to eat it, so romantic! After dinner we hung out in "The Valley" with our Canadian friends which is an area with bars, clubs, restaurants, etc. It was supposed to be a happening place every night but it was a little slow on a Tuesday. We couldnt dance with our shoes off which was annoying and doesnt make sense since nobody in australia wears shoes! Oh well, still had fun! Except the Canadians were very obnoxious when drunk. And one was related to George Bush. Enough said.

Wednesday we had to up and out of our hostel early so we met up with minty for a final goodbye and some last minute sight seeing. We walked around in the sun and found a farmers market!! Free samples for lunch :) and we bought real bagels which were amazing! Again we were on karina time and almost missed the bus but we made it! (Karina here- for my credit I am always way early to flights so don't worry mom!)

Sad to leave Brissy! Next stop: Surfer's Paradise...aka Sin City!