Auckland

First of all, I want to re-emphasize that the enter key does not seem to work in New Zealand, so my posts won't actually format into separate paragraphs. I apologize about the seemingly run-on nature of these posts. Secondly, hi from Auckland! I'm in New Zealand's largest city, housing approximately 1.5 million people and a third of the population. Geographically, it's huge---it's land mass is approximately the size of LA and stretches on and on. Physically, it reminds me a bit of Seattle---a harbor city with ferries and the giant Sky Tower that looks suspiciously like the Space Needle. It's nice to be somewhere with things open past 5pm again, although I will say that there is some briskness that comes with the city that isn't present in other parts of NZ.

 Yesterday, I went up said Sky Tower and took my last snaps before my camera officially died on me (in spite of three different battery purchases, it is now saying my batteries are dead). Today, I went to the colonial settlement of Devonport and the art museum. I also went to a place called Kelly Tarlton's Antartic Encounter and Underwater World, which profiles a few of the earliest Antartic adventures and then has a massive aquarium. I loved it because a.) I do want to go to Antartica; b.) there were penguins!; c.) there was this place called Seahorse Kingdom that was blasting melodramatic music (think of the music from Atonement, but happier). It had three small cases of different seahorses bopping around and was truly magical.

Oh! I also walked around Auckland University, and it was wonderful. Their student union is so practical! They had a food court, a bookstore, a pharmacy, the health center, a travel agency, a post office, and the clubs and organizations office next door. If I don't come back, it's because I coerced someone to hire me and am never leaving. I have one last day tomorrow, which I may spend at a museum and around the harbor, and then have to head to the airport. As my lovely plane leaves at 6am and I am now starting the frugal descent where I try to make the $50 I have left last so I don't have to take any more out of the ATM, I will be sleeping at the Auckland airport. Considering the traveler spirit of this country, I hardly doubt I will be alone. I

t has not hit me that the journey is ending---I had the big goodbye with the end of Habitat for Humanity, but this doesn't have the same bit climactic ending. However, I will say that the people here have truly been some of the most hospitable and friendly that I have encountered. I don't think I've ever had the same genuine willingness to help and share their stories, and that's been so great to see. I've also enjoyed that in some ways New Zealand is a bit less "modern"---that you still see video stores and travel agencies and the internet hasn't replaced PEOPLE everywhere down here. It's a traveler's country for sure, with information centers everywhere and great hostels and a spirit of traveling. I'm glad I came here (and glad I came in winter, definitely avoiding the crowds and getting much more individualized service and access!). :)

Hobbiton

Today I went to Hobbiton and it was everything I dreamed it would be. I left the coastal art deco town of Napier and its surrounding vineyards this morning for Rotorua, a sulfur smelling town known for its hot springs and Maori culture. The irony is that I'm not actually doing anything here, as I ended up using this as a launch point for visiting Hobbiton, the Hobbit village created for LOTRs, and some glowworm caves tomorrow. I did a Maori tour in Kaikoura and sulfur pools in Hammer Springs and Franz Josef, so I feel like that is a fair compromise.

Today, first up, was Hobbiton. Now, I am as skeptical as the next person. My LOTR tour around Wellington was kind of a let down, especially since we basically looked at a wooded area near the city and then saw the lackluster Wega Cave (btw, I told someone today that I thought the Wega Cave was basically a glorified shop, and she almost screamed at me. Apparently, it's a pilgrammage site for the movie devotees/special effect gurus. Tread lightly, friends).

 But Hobbiton, even if you don't know anything about LOTR, is awesome. It's all these little houses carved out of a hillside built for Hobbits, so the doors are like 4 feet tall. They are just fascades for the most part (they have a little area before the wall reinforces them...our guide showed us one today and I almost went rogue and set up camp in one. I'd love to live there, and if I'd had more on me than a granola bar, some water, and gloves, I might have tried). But it's arranged in a village and even has a lake and gardens. It has to be one of the coolest movie sets anywhere. Apparently the first version was taken down after LOTR, but they rebuilt it for the Hobbit and then saved it for tourists dollars (people went after they took down the first one, but it was mainly just empty holes).

 Anyway, lovely day! Afterwards we went to go feed lambs and even though I was with the guide the whole time and waiting patiently, these two 18 year olds managed to cut in front of me when I had my back turned for TWO seconds to feed the lambs themselves. Ugh. I had a very upset 5 minutes, especially since they could have at least had the decency to share (and hello, tour guide, what the deuce?), but that's karma, right? And clearly, I had enough good things happen to not sweat the small stuff. That is what I get for trying to video one of the lambs "ba-ing" and thus being distracted to begin with...darn little guys were so cute!