Happy Thanksgiving!

Just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you are all eating loads and having a great time with your families. To everyone in my family, I miss you, have some turkey for me. It isn't all that prevalent in New Zealand (lamb and venison however...).

I spent my Thanksgiving in a gorgeous alpine town called Wanaka. The scenery was absolutely stunning! Clear blue lake, snow capped peaks, a glacier and waterfalls. Will try and upload a pic next time I am online.

St

Trapped! In Franz Joseph!

Kia Ora once again,

I'll get to the title of this post in a few. Firstly, back to the recap. The wine tour was a lot of fun. New Zealand wineries give 5-9 tastes each (at least the three we went to) which was nice. Everyone else on my bus was from Belgium, so Tom, I got to see how life is like for you every day (not understanding a word of Flemish and all). Later that evening I went out in Picton with some people from the hostel and met some others out. Good times. The next morning I headed to Nelson on the Magic bus once again. Met a few people on the way and booked my day hike in Abel Tasman the following night. Had to leave the hostel at 7 AM (doing New Zealand rapidly doesn't allow for much in the way of sleeping in) and we took a bus to a boat to the drop off for the 20 km hike on the famed Abel Tasman trail from Barks' Bay to the start of the trek. Unfortunately the weather wasn't so great. It was kind of like Portland, grey and drizzly. But it was still a lovely walk. The next morning I was off to Greymouth. We spent the whole rainy day on the bus with a few quick stops to see a seal colony, do a short hike, and see the highly overrated (in my mind) pancake rocks. There isn't much to do in Nelson so most of us opted for the Monteith's brewery tour followed by a bar-b-que and out to see some live jazz. Early the following morning we were off to Franz Joseph where I was looking forward to a half day glacier hike with 2 hours of it actually on the glacier with crampons. The weather gods are not smiling on us however. Heavy rains caused all treks to be canceled so we spent the afternoon in the movie lounge at the hostel. This morning we were geared up for a 7:30 AM departure to Wanaka but the rain has caused the roads to flood so we are still in Franz Joseph in the rain. I know there is a lovely glacier nearby, I just wish I could see it... But I'm optimistic that tomorrow the roads will clear and I'll be off to do more hiking and exploring in beautiful SW South Island!

Random fact about New Zealand- there are 10 times as many sheep as people. And nearly as many deer. We saw a film about how men used to jump out of helicopters and tackle deer back about 20 years ago. And now you can understand why New Zealand is the pioneering country for skydiving and bungee jumping...

Until next post. Keep the comments coming!

St

PS- pics are posted. All unfortunately and editing and captions are needed, but check them out if you wish:

http://picasaweb.google.com/stacyb/FijiNewZealand#

A quick trip through the North Island

Kia Ora!

I guess I'll start with a brief recap of the last two days in Fiji. The meke at Smuggler's was alright but the fire dancing was brilliant! My last day in Fiji I went on a day cruise around the Mamucas. Spent a few hours on an island snorkeling and hanging out and the afternoon on a boat seeing the outer islands. Made me a little sad I didn't spend a few days there, but I am happy that I got to see much more of the main island than most travelers do. After one more evening at Smuggler's with my Fiji friend crew (some of whom I hope to meet up with here on the South Island) I flew out to Auckland.

My first afternoon in Auckland I just wandered around downtown and discovered the Asian food alley (yum!). The second day I did the 16km Coast to Coast trail which inclded climbs of One Tree Hill and Mount Eden (both over 600 ft). That night I went out with my Kiwi roommate for a bit to the Sky Tower area to see all the trndy casino goers. Early the next morning I hopped on the Magic Bus heading South. Magic is great as it is full of travelers going the same direction so it is way easy to meet people. Plus you can hop off and spend a few nights in many different places and catch another bus going through. Our first stop was at Waitomo Caves where we did a cave tour and then took a slow boat ride into a dark cave where there are thousands of glowworms that light up the ceiling. Really cool! We also went to New Zealands only alpaca rabbit shearing center... interesting but sad. That evening we went to Roturua where a bunch of us went to a Maori village and then to a hangi (feast with food cooked all day underground). The village was interesting but kind of cheesy. The feast was good though as was the company. The group of us went out later that night. Rotura is in the midst of a geothermal area and always smells like rotten eggs. Lovely, eh?

The next morning (I can't keep track of days of the week, sorry), we headed down to Taupo. On the way we stopped at a geiser that they make every day at 10:15 AM using soap (random). It is neat though, shoots up 20 feet. Next stop was at a geothermal park. Really stinky but the colors and pools are worth not breathing through your nose for an hour or so. Then we were on to Taupo. Taupo is where most people sky dive and bungy jump. I passed on them both but we watched some bungy jumpers and most of my friends threw themselves out of a plane. I got to hear all the stories that night. I planned to stay in Taupo for a few days to hike the famed Tongariro Crossing which is a 20km hike that goes over Mount Doom from Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately bad weather (winds and snow) caused the pass to be closed when I was there so I went ahead and left Taupo the next morning. After a grey, rainy day on the bus, the sky cleared as we hit "windy Wellington". We got to experience the city's nickname firsthand from the lookout over the city where gusts had people hanging onto the railings. My English buddy Susan and I spent the afternoon wandering around Welly and taking the cable car to the Botanical Gardens (thanks for the tip Liz!). That night Susan, David (Ireland) and I cooked a communal dinner in the hostel. All of the hostels in New Zealand (that I have been to so far) have great kitchens so it is easy to buy food and cook. Later a group of us watched LOTR The Two Towers in the TV lounge. Had to be done while in NZ :).

So I guess now we are at Tuesday which is when I hopped on the ferry and headed down to the South Island. I have 3 weeks here and am trying to sort out my itinerary (but it is a challenge, I am much better at just going and seeing what happens). The ferry drops off in Picton where I have spent the last couple of days. Yesterday I took a boat out to do some of the 71 km Queen Charlotte Track. Holy views!! I am totally blown away by the scenery in New Zealand. My hike started with a steep 50 minute climb to met the track and then I hiked 12 km to Torea Bay. I could have gome further as I was 2 hours early for my boat, but that was the pickup... This afternoon I am going on a winery tour of the Marlborough region famed for its Sauvingnon Blancs. Tomorrow I head to Nelson and the Abel Tasman Track (do I spend 2 nights or 4??).

That's me caught up. Unfortunately this cybercafe doesn't have USB ports so I can't upload pictures but I'll try to add one to this post later and want to post my North Island pictures next time I have some online time. Maybe Queenstown... who knows...

Congratulations to Andy and Meredith on their engagement!! Hope everyone else is doing fabulously and making plans to come meet me.

Til next post...

Circling Viti Levu

Bula all,

My time in Fiji is winding down so today I am taking a chill day to update this and hopefully figure out where to sleep when I get to Auckland (and lay by the ocean or pool of course :)). Here's what I've been up to.

I decided to go to the island of Nananu-i-ra just off the north xoast of Viti Levu as it seemed easier to get to than the other island I was considering. So I hopped on a bus from Latouka and 3 hours later found myself in Rakiraki town. There was a taxi waiting to take me to the ferry and it was a quick 20 minutes to the island. Nananu-i-ra is absolutely idyllic! White sand beaches, turquoise waters, pretty much exactly what you think of when you think of Fiji. There were very few people on the island so I had the 4 bed dorn with a kitchen all to myself. I spent the next day and a half swimming in the ocean, walking the beaches, and reading. It was all very relaxing. Too relaxing actually, I got kind of bored. So after 2 nights, it was time to move on (the roach that landed on my head the last morning was a sure sign I'd made the correct decision).

At this point, I was a little disheartened that I had not yet tried kava, the local drink made from mixing dried and crushed roots with water. It is not alcoholic, but mildly narcotic. I need not have worried. I was in the taxi back to Rakiraki (at 8:30 AM) when the driver pulled up next to a road crew who had a bucket of kava and gave us each a coconut bowl full. Kava looks and tastes like muddy water and I have yet to feel an effect other than a mild numbing of the tongue, but hey, when in Fiji... Oh and I am quite partial to the local beer Fiji Bitter. Much nicer than Fiji Gold, but less popular with the tourists.

Anyway, from Rakiraki I headed through the interior of Viti Levu through loads of little villages until I made it to Suva, the biggest city. I'm not a big city fan so I hopped on another bus to Pacific Harbour. Practically as soon as I got off the bus, it started to rain quite hard (OK, it was when I decided to take a walk to the closed dive shop). It rained sporadically all night and the next day. But that was OK because I met CJ and Rich, a British couple who is at the end of their year long excursion. We met at the tiki bar next to the pool with the big warrior head in it (and a slide that comes out the side) and I spent the next afternoon playing cards and drinking beers with them out of the rain. I had my own dorm room in Pac Harbour as well. And the few tourists meant that we became close with the staff of the hostel. Fijians are so amazingly friendly. Everyone smiles and says "Bula" as you walk by. I planned to spend just one or two nights in Pacific Harbour but CJ convinced me to stay a third. They moved to a posh resort for their last week and I tagged along and spent the afternoon by the pool watching the rich tourists and hanging by the ocean. Yesterday though, I decided to move on.

So now I am outside of Nadi on Wailoaloa Beach. The dorm room here is full but it is definitely more of a travelers scene. Last night I went to the kava ceremony at Smuggler's Cove (really a jam session with a bowl of kava in the middle) and hung out with people from Germany, Australia, Brazil, Sweden, England, Argentina, etc. Tonight they are having a meke with fire and knife dancing. And tomorrow, I am spending the day cruising around the Mamuca islands and snorkeling. No diving unfortunately. It is really pricy here. I tried in Pacific Harbour but at both places I called a child answered the phone and said s/he didn't know if a boat was going out the next day. Add that to the closed place I went to in the rain and I decided I can save scuba for a later destination (or two). Thursday I head to New Zealand!

I hope you are all well. Let me know what is going on. And tell me if this was way too much detail and what you'd like to know more about.

The adventure begins

Bula everyone (yes, I am that cheesy travel blogger who started by saying hello in the native tongue in the country I am in)!

After two weeks of crazy packing, purging and productivity, I am now in Fiji. Getting here took forever as I had a 7 hour layover in LA (thank you for taking me to Islands Briana and Kathleen!) which became a 10 hour layover as there were catering issues with the plane. But we arrived this morning (November 5 here in Fiji) at 7:30 AM. Instead of dealing with the tourist touts at the airport or in downtown Nadi (pronounced Nandi), I hopped on a bus to Latouka, the second largest city in Fiji (totally doesn't feel like it) which is about 30 minutes north of Nadi. Here I am deciding which island backpacker place to make my way to this afternoon. And telling mom I am alive and updating the blog :). Fiji is gorgeous! I haven't seen much of it yet, but what I have is green, hilly, and terrific! I'll definitely have to take some pics.

Nothing else to report since I've only been here for 2 hours. I'm surprisingly awake considering I still am not entirely sure what day it is...

Hope you are all well!
St