Update

Well Ive been home the summer and about to set off again now that the temperatures are once again dropping below beach weather. And I guess before this snowballs any further I should catch you up on the rest of my last adventure!

After pre-celebrating the holidays on the road with Mal, Maria and Dirk, I flew back up to Auckland to spend Christmas and New Year celebrating Kiwi style with both sides of Dan's family. Dan had an extended holiday from work so we flew to Christchurch, picked up my car and made our way up to Momorangi Bay where cousins, Hannah, Isaac and Ana opened their family holiday home to us. The five of us shared a week of jet skiing, wakeboarding, mini golf, cards, and good times! We crossed via a not-so-smooth ferry ride back to the North Island and the others went back to work while Dan and I continued to put his holiday time to good use. We attempted to summit Mt Taranaki but due to bad weather were pushed onward. Instead we lucked out on catching an amazing light festival in New Plymouth and made our way to Dan's hometown, Hamilton. I stayed with Dan's parents for the week while Dan went back to Whangarei for work and met back up with us for another cousins wedding in Tauranga – Congrats Jemma and Jin!

A third wedding later we celebrated in Auckland with Chris and Natalie, then the next morning I was on a small ferry bound for Great Barrier Island – a jem not even many New Zealanders get a chance to see! I was en route to my first (but not last) WWOOFing placement (Willing Workers On Organic Farms) It was an amazing experience and was the perfect balance of hard work, good company, exploration of the area and not to mention the best food I've ever had. This sparked two more placements before my NZ journey ended. All of which, but one in particular has inspired the lifestyle I see myself living one day! My trip ended back in Whangamata with Dan and his family, along with well over 50,000 people and 1000 fully restored classic cars, motorbikes and caravans for the 13^th annual Beach Hop!

April I flew back to Canada joined by Dan in May. We both enjoyed the Okanagan summer and are now about to scratch those itchy feet of ours by hopping on a plane destined for Mexico. There we will begin our travels through Central and South America!

A nice visit from some Aussies

On November 28^th I anxiously waited at the Auckland Airport as hometown friend Mallory flew in from Australia with university friends Maria (Texas/Mexico) and Dirk (Germany). In the first week we conquered the North Island. First stop was surfer’s paradise – Raglan, then through to culture-rich Rotorua where we took part in an educational and entertaining evening with a local Maori tribe. We were given a deeper look at NZ’s native song, dance, art/carving, games and even took part in a traditional‘hangi’where vegetables and meat are cooked for hours underground. We enjoyed it with a buffet offering loads of other staple NZ foods. From Rotorua we continued on to the home of NZ’s biggest Lake – Taupo where we put faith in the hands of some bungy cord.. then off to Tongariro. The recently active NZ volcano had just opened back up for trekkers within the past couple days, however, our hopes to make the hike was shattered by news of 90km/hr winds at the summit. We continued South to Wellington, NZ’s artsy metropolis of a capitol. A day of seeing the sights then it was the 2 a.m. ferry ride to the South Island. After catching up on some sleep in the parking lot, the rest of the day was spent in Blenheim, touring the beautiful vineyards and tasting NZ’s very own selection of wines. A night was spent in a National Park up North and another just outside the trek before we embarked on a two day hike of the Abel Tasman - possibly the best beach views I've seen this trip so far! We shared a feast of fresh caught mussels as well as an evening of stories with fellow trekkers. We continued down the West coast, our next big stop being the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers. After putting on every piece of clothing in my backpack I realized in New Zealand ‘Glacier’ doesn't necessarily mean snow.. Next stop Queenstown where a night on the town led us to a bar made entirely from ice – us Canadians thought we were home! We journeyed from Queenstown to the cute, Victorian feeling town of Arrowtown to watch ‘The Hobbit'- which, being filmed here, has been the talk of the country! We continued South, spent a night in Te Anau, then took the scenic drive to NZ’s legendary Milford Sounds. The tall mountains jutting out of the water was defiantly a sight worth seeing! We travelled East through the night in time to catch a few hours sleep at a carpark in Dunedin before a day of sight-seeing and even some Christmas shopping! (after 3 years it still feels strange in the sun). The roadtrip of a lifetime came to an end in Christchurch where we celebrated an early Christmas by making the meal of Maria’s people – tacos!!

Car hunting, then North bound!

For me big cities like Auckland are slightly unpleasant as it is, but throw car hunting in there and it turns a tad stressful. We had a top three on the list. With one being sold before we had a chance, one on the rising bid, the 1997 Ford Falcon station wagon seemed to be a match as my future car for the next 4 months. The deal was made and after a day to wash her up we were on the road together headed North. Seeking out every DOC (Department of Conservation) campsite, we worked our way up to Cape Rienga (New Zealand’s most Northern point) and back down again. With the rainy weather we had plenty of time to bond on the road. We explored Puketi Forest, Paihaia and the Bay of Islands, Doubtless Bay and many other beautiful bays and beaches including 90 Mile Beach, which is legendary for tourists getting stuck in the sand (it is ever so tempting to drive on even if you don’t have a vehicle that stands a chance..) This solo travel came to the perfect end in Keri Keri where I jumped out of a plane at 16,500ft overlooking all of the Bay of Islands – absolutely incredible.