so, spent the first night in NZ in jail..

i'm not joking. but fortunately we were sprung the next day. haha, fooled you! but in all honesty, we did spend our first night in a jail, though it stopped functioning as a proper jail in 1999 and was promptly converted to a hostel. a very nice one, i'll add. probably one of the best i've stayed in (tho the best will always be reserved for ginger monkey in zdiar, slovakia). anyway, it was an experience. next day, walked around christchurch for a bit, not a full tour of the city - but we were on a mission - to find hats! the sun is so strong here, that even on a cloudy day we're likely to get burned. after hunting through the dozens, literally, of tramping and outdoor stores that line the streets of chch, we were successful. next up was finding a supermarket, which we also were successful at doing. yay for things going well.

back at the hostel, i really started to realize how lucky we were to have a personal car around. we didn't have to worry about how much we were carrying - just throw it in the trunk or the back seat! it really makes things a lot easier. began our long journey (about 4-5 hrs) south from chch to dunedin, although we made plenty of stops along the way to break up the trip. one of our first was called bushy beach scenic reserve, where we staked out penguins for several hours. both the guide book and a lady at a rest stop told us we should be able to catch them coming ashore, which happens around 2 hrs prior to sunset. so we waited. and waited. and waited.

where the hell were these penguins!

but since we had already waited for so long, i knew (as did theresa & stephanie) that if we were to leave, that is when the penguins would appear. luckily we had a bit of a shelter to cover us from the misty rain and wind. and low and behold, 2 appeared! not as dramatic as i was picturing in my head - this mass exodus of penguins coming out of the ocean. but still. and we caught glimpse of a seal as well. whoopee. somewhat disappointed we made our way back to the car, but stopped off at one more point, and glad we did, because one little penguin managed to climb up all the rock and was just strutting for the visitors. that made my day. so cute, and so close. okay, we are now satisfied.

back in the car, made another stop off at moeraki boulders, which were very otherworldly. out of no where on this remote beach, round rocks (that LP quite accurately describes as marbles scattered about) just appear. so of course we took our obligatory photos standing on top. i found the easiest one to reach, and stephanie definitely found the hardest. but very cool, and very hard to describe!

back on the road, arrived in dunedin somewhat late. however, since it is still light out until like 2200, you forget how late it actually is. and one thing we are quickly discovering is that things close early. even on a saturday night, we tried to make it to a restaurant LP said was open "lunch til late", it closed by 2100. actually they took the sign in as we approached it. tried a few more stops and finally found an indian restaurant that was still open. and i had the most delish lamb korma i've ever had. and had i not filled up so quickly i probably would have ate it all, but at least i had lunch for the next day. finally back to our hostel (called "backpackers on top" - wonder why they say "inappropriate for children" HA!) for a good nights sleep. or at least theresa & i crashed; steph managed to make it out with friends who were in town and only got about 3 hrs or so of rest. she was definitely a trooper the next day!

next AM, walked around dunedin and made our way out to the peninsula. stupid cold weather! we all had shorts on initially, but after making our way to the cafe (steph really needed some coffee) down the street

we soon realized we would have to go back and change into pants. too windy. quick change and then toured around. first headed down to the tunnel beach. got a little lost since we didn't have the most accurate map. actually, we had about 4 maps that were all half good, so combined we got where we needed to go. got our first close up of sheep that we see everywhere. actually we thought one might be dead until at the last minute he wiggled his ear, as if he knew were were concerned. the walkway said 20mins down & 40 up, but it was exaggerating a bit. the vistas were spectacular, farm land on one side and sheer cliffs on the other. so gorgeous.

our next stop was a sandy beach. too sandy, we soon figured out. b/c of the winds, we pretty much got stuck in a sandstorm. and despite our best efforts to just enjoy it, the pain of sand all over wasn't worth it. but our next stop led us to a playground, which was fun. and apparently the only areas you can swim in are right next to a "life rescue station". i guess if you're going to brave the surf, that's the place to do it. funny tho, they put out flags to mark where you can and cannot swim; and the swim flags only allowed you about 20ft. so good luck!

made our way back into town, since we had places to be! the cadbury chocolate factory - cadbury world - does tours, so of course we had to do that. though the main drawing point (besides free chocolate) was the chocolate waterfall. which was somewhat disappointing also. i was literally expecting willy wonka. and instead we got a ton of chocolate dropped at once in a giant silo. ah well, still funny.

walked back into town to check out the octagon, the central area of dunedin, lined with shops and cafes. stopped briefly for coffee for steph (who was still hanging in there despite no sleep) and had probably the strangest encounter we will have on the trip. were invited over to another table by 3 guys who were from ireland and scotland and were already sitting at the table with 2 suspiciously young girls. who knew, though maybe they just looked young like i do. well, actually they were only 16. and the guys were at least in their early 30s. classy. the girls left a bit after we arrived, and then we were left to manage the following awkward conversation. two of the guys seemed relatively normal, asking us where we were from, what we were doing here, etc. talked about the weather. the city of dunedin. normal, small talk. then the third chimed in. and though i will leave out the details (what happens in NZ stays in NZ, or at least this part of the trip does) let's just say that the conversation went along the lines of how well endowed we three were and how good we were at a certain skill set. somewhat entertaining at first, then just incredibly painful and awkward to sit through. luckily that third guy left - either to get another drink for his drunk ass, or to use the facilities - and that was our way out. pleasure meeting you. goodbye. and run!

back to the hostel, b/c we didn't want to run into them again, and ate our leftover indian food. yummy! then headed our for our speights brewery tour, which was by far one of the best i've been on. the guide keithe was a hoot, and though we were stuck on a tour of about 12 other americans, 2 couples from australia, and few other randoms, it was good times. the americans were students that were going to be studying in australia, and i guess were traveling before their studies began. and they weren't too obnoxious, thankfully. the best part of the tour is that the final 1/2 hour they give you free range of the tap. so i tried at least a couple sips of each of the 6 beers offered, and drank a full 2 quarter pints. and it's so funny to think that this is their "cheap" beer, that uni students drink. certainly beats our beast or bud light any day!

headed over to the speights alehouse for some very good chips (french fries, to the rest of you), paired with sweet chili and sour cream. very tasty. and of course, we got a proper pint. i tried their pilsner, since they didn't have it at the tasting earlier. very good. we had a great time in dunedin. what a day. filled with chocolate and beer. what more could we want?

virgin, you may have some competition..

so i've arrived in new zealand. and by the powers that be - my backpack did too! you never know when you have multiple connections and major layovers and crossing time zones/date lines..

that said, i have no idea what day it is. actually i'm pretty sure it's saturday in new zealand. keeping track of this and what time it is at home will be somewhat difficult i feel. thank goodness for ipod. i've had my ipod for about 2 years now, thanks to brother jeff. and i've only just discovered on my 13hr plane ride from LAX to AKL that my ipod has games! although solitare is a pain to try to play. and i also discovered that it has a clock. so the genius that i am - i programed a NYC clock and a Wellington clock, so i'll always know what time it is. however the date feature doesn't quite work. so that's why i'm so confused. oh well.

the trip over was relatively uneventful. thankfully. however, of course something funny has to happen. this occurred during my EWR - LAX flight. i had the pleasure of getting put in an exit row aisle. score! more leg room for the short person who probably doesn't really need it. but i wasn't about to complain. nor was the lady that sat in the aisle seat of my row - who was approximately half my size. and no one in the middle. so we could sprawl as much as we wanted. however, to sit in this exit row, in case of emergency, you cannot be a child. aka you must be over 15. so what happened? wait for it... yep, the flight attendant came by and asked "are you 15?" thinking this was a silly question, i answered, "yes, 15F" as that was the seat i was in. she began to walk away, then stopped and returned with a confused look on her face. "i meant, are you 15 years old?". stunned, i said "yes", however i wish i had been quicker with a "no", since i am not 15, but 26. seriously? i thought i finally graduated to looking like i was at least out of high school and in college. i know this by how my patients treat me. they no longer ask if i'm a HS student, but a college one. i can take that. but really, i think i look at LEAST 18..

had a 4 hr layover in LAX, accompanied by 4 screaming children running around the airport and running into me about every 5 mins. these 4 children also had another sister that was a newborn and also screaming. thankfully i had bought 3 magazines (the atlantic - for my political and scientific side; conde nast traveler - since there was an article about NZ; and finally glamour - needed something that didn't take much concentration) to keep me busy. boarded the plane to NZ, and sat next to a very nice, very pregnant woman who was traveling with her 3 other children (who were very well behaved, mind you, unlike the banshee children that now sat 3 rows up from me). and the plane was nearly empty, so i thought we might get to sprawl a bit more. unfortunately, at the last minute there was an announcement that we were waiting for one more connecting flight to arrive, since there were so many people on that flight that needed to be on ours. and bummer - the empty aisle seat in front of mine was now filled. i just felt bad for the pregnant lady since i knew she felt bad to keep asking me to get up as since needed to use the toilet. though i did notice she tended to wait for when i got up first.

so virgin, you do have competition. quantas was wonderful. the staff was perhaps nicer, as virgin staff, while exuding coolness and being totally hip, can be a bit stuffy. maybe it's all that hairspray and gel in the guys hair. either way, i very much enjoyed flying on quantas, and will fly them again when i have the chance.

finally arrived at AKL, and went through customs. actually they almost didn't let me into the country. i'm not joking. i guess it's NZ regulations that you need to have your return tickets already printed to show proof you do indeed plan on leaving the country at some point. well - quantas, this is the only time you may have screwed up. no one printed those tickets for me. thank god i had my itinerary printed to show the customs official that i did have a return flight at least planned, even if i didn't have tickets to prove it. and after much hubbub and different officials discussing the options, they let me in. but then they gave me the wrong stamp in my passport and then it was another ordeal to correct. ah, finally they let me in! and i thought british immigration officers were bad!

had an 8 hr layover. yes, 8 hrs. i was planning on heading out into the city, since i had so much time. but they way they make you recheck in and recheck your luggage after the international flight, it was a pain. plus i was exhausted and didn't have the energy to try to figure out where i wanted to go and how to get there. oh well. theresa arrived, so at least it was company, apart from wandering the incredibly small terminal about 50 times and sacking out on various benches and seats around, reading my magazines. i was a bit worried about T since i knew her first flight from philly was delayed, i didn't know if she'd make the others. but it turns out they were all delayed, so it worked out. and not to be out done, our final flight to christchurch was also delayed. they were replacing a part, so they said. but every 1/2 hr they kept announcing various excuses about fixing it, replacing it, needing confirmation from sidney to fly. finally they made a gate change announcement - conveniently after another aircraft had landed. so they were switching our planes. guess the new part didn't quite cut it. but hey did serve us meals and hand out headsets for only a 1.5 hr flight. that would never happen in the states. thanks again, quantas.

finally arrived in ChCh, poor stephanie was waiting for hours for us. we were supposed to land around 1630, but didn't get there until 1920. ah well. we are here!

hello new zealand, i look forward to getting to know you better.

here we go again..

seriously, i can't get enough of traveling. it really is, by far, my favorite thing to do. and i've been given loads of advice by people much older and wiser to "take advantage of it while you're young & single, because once you settle down, it's all over".  said like a true doomsday expert. though i'm not quite sure i'll ever settle down, i can at least appreciate what they are trying to say. traveling for me is more than just seeing really cool places (although, that is a great part). for me it opens my eyes even more so to our world and all its joys, troubles, wonderful cultures.. and makes me realize how truly lucky i am.

okay, enough of the serious talk. because china in june wasn't enough - i'm off to new zealand! i absolutely cannot wait. i leave 28 january, and return 25 february. or at least that's the plan. you never know.. i may just wind up liking it so much i decide to stay :)