Kellee goes Kiwi vol. 1

note:  this is an email I sent to family and friends during my trip to New Zealand and Australia in 2005.
 
Greetings from Tongariro National Park (aka Modor)!  I can't believe I'm already half-way through my trip, but I easily loose track of time down here.  Literally.  My analog watch stopped at one point, causing me to miss a bus.  Thankfully, another bus came an hour later and I can now check the date from my digital watch as I catch every bus. I'm really enjoying summer and have to constantly remind myself it's February, since almost every day has been sunny and hot.  A little drizzle during a train ride has been the only precipitation so far. "Touch wood," we'll have great weather next week when I'm going through the Alps.  It wasn't until my hike that I saw why New Zealand is known as the land of the long white cloud as we hiked above, in, and below the clouds in the course of a day.  Today is actually overcast, so I'm glad my tramp ended yesterday. I chose to do the 3-day Tongariro Northern Circuit, which was amazing and quite humbling.  The company was great, and thanks to the jacuzzi here I'm not too sore, just bruised.  The hike goes up and around Ngauruhoe (Mt. Doom) through a variety of landscapes including desert and forest.  I'm sorry I won't have time to do more hiking, but I'm not sure I'm physically up to it at the moment anyway and there are plenty of great day hikes I can still do.  I've used almost everything I packed, especially Duct tape.  Thanks, dad!

New Zealand has been ridiculously easy to get around, possibly because I'm only going to things on the beaten path and also because they speak English (sort of).  Still don't always understand them on the phone and they use some different expressions than we do.  It's weird to be the one with the accent for a change.

I've actually embraced the fact that most of the people I meet are fellow travellers, and I've met someone from every continent (except Antarctica, but we're pretty close down here).  Being alone has forced me to be more of an extrovert than normal, but everyone's really friendly so how could you not be?  The majority of people I've met are British, but my German is also getting a bit of exercise.  I hadn't met any Dutch until the hike, but they were a majority in the huts we stayed at.  I hardly meet any Japanese because they tend to stay on
their tours, but when you see any you see at least a dozen.  I even met someone from Liechtenstein yesterday!  It's been fun to swap travel tips and learn about what drew them here.  I have managed to meet a few Kiwis, too, with the same resulting friendliness.  It's also now a bit of a game to see who you meet up with later down the road since I'm not with a formal tour.

I keep waiting for the ugly or boring part of the New Zealand landscape so I can fall asleep on the bus, but so far no dice.  Maybe next week on the long South Island bus trips.  I've never seen so much farmland, and so far I've seen about as many cattle as sheep.  I've heard the sheep win on the South Island, but they now only have 35-40 million sheep here (and a little over 4 million people!).  I've already sampled some lamb at a Hangi (Maori feast) which was delicious, but I'm looking forward to treating myself to some more next week.  Of all the native plants, my favorites so far are the tree ferns.  Seeing the black and silver ones towering overhead or peeking out from the bush gives the landscape a forest primeval feel and you keep expecting a dinosaur to pop out.  Most places are fairly small so I'm not sure what you need to be called a town.  I always thought at least a gas station was necessary, but apparently not.  Most homes are small by US standards and have clotheslines in the yards--simple and unpretentious.  I like that about the people, too.  They're down to earth and don't put on airs to impress you.

Driving on the other side of the road affects me even if I'm not driving.  I try to get in the driver's side of the car almost every time, and still don't know how to look both ways properly before crossing the street.  I also borrowed a bike to get around Paihia, which was fantastic but a little crazy going around the traffic circle.  I came out of it alright but on the wrong side of the road. By the time I adjust I'll probably be back in the states.

I'll send more of a write-up once I'm back with free Internet, but believe me it is all fabulous, wonderful, marvelous, etc.  Everywhere I've been I want to stay longer, but I keep hearing reports of what I haven't seen yet and continue on.  Next time I'm here...

Cheers,
Kellee

PS  If you were interested in where I've been so far, here's the list: Auckland (stayed with the Jacobs), Paihia (Bay of Islands), Cape Reinga, Hamilton (saw the temple!), Rotorua, Waitomo, Turani, and Tongariro NP.  Tonight I'll be in Wellington and next week is the South Island.