Jun 2009

Its never good to find yourself in an internet cafe too often while on the road, but honestly, there is not much more to do in this weather. We have a front moving in from the Tasman Sea today with locally heavy rains and gale force winds for the next 24-48 hours. Its not all bad as I am in full research mode trying to find the best rental car deal to get myself moving out of Auckland. You'll be happy to know that I decided against buying a car....a bit too much of gamble for only 8 weeks in the country.

Yesterday was actually quite pleasant. It was overcast but warm and I walked through Victoria Park to the posh outer neighborhood of Ponsby. The best analogy for this area would probably be the Brookline neighborhood in Boston. Very gentrified with nice cafes, lots of restaurants and fine food shops. Its a bit too quiet for any NYC neighborhood comparisons. Anyways it was a very nice walking area and I'll probably go back up there with a few people from the hostel for my last meal in Auckland tonight. The rest of Auckland has grown on me a bit. Its much hillier than Boston or NYC, perhaps a bit more like Montreal. The parks are extremely well kept and in general the city is very clean.

Now is probably too early to make over all assessments of the Kiwis and this country but my first impressions based on Auckland are the following. The locals are incredibly friendly. I have spoken to bus drivers, cafe baristas, bartenders, and just locals on the street and each time I am made to feel that the conversation is not a burden on the local. In theory, if your country is as far away from western civilization as New Zealand and relies so heavily on tourism, it makes sense that the locals' disposition is so friendly, it certainly makes travelling more pleasant.

Standard of living seems extremely nice, if not high. The locals are well dressed and drive relatively new cars. Homes seem modern, clean, and in general you do not see much poverty or signs of drugs. I have a feeling this might change outside of Auckland.

American influence is strong here, most obviously in the movie and music worlds. I have heard Eminem's new single more than I would like and the cinemas have all of Hollywood's latest releases.

I guess one of the bigger surprises is the ethnic makeup of Auckland. Rough numbers would be 65% caucasian, 20% Asian, and the rest a combination of indigenous Maori and very few african americans. I was caught off guard by the asian population, guess it makes sense, as we are relatively close to southeast asia, but they really do constitute the only minority in Auckland and the amount of asian food here is stunning. For what its worth I am told that outside of Auckland its basically 95% caucasian, and in the South Island the relative lack of people 1,000,000 in an area the size of ohio should be interesting.

The weather is ridiculous. When the sun comes out it warms up to the mid 60s, but when the clouds return it gets chilly in a matter of minutes. Fog rolls in off the bay without much notice, and the rain itself is almost always very light, but nevertheless cold.

Things that do not exist here - vitamin water or any type of offshoot, sliced turkey, and cabs.

People stay to the left on the sidewalk as opposed to the right.....its hard to reverse my NYC pedestrian tendencies.

Escalators go down on the left and up on the right....I mean cmon thats just not right.

Apart from those observations, the only other thing is the insanity that is traffic lights. I laugh at how New Yorkers would freak out at the system down here. To legally cross the street you have to hit a button on the light stand and wait until the lights work there way to a four way stop. At that point all four corners of pedestrians walk across or diagonally through the street.

In more important news, I connected with this American backpacker who is living on the South Island. We found each other on a new zealand backpackers forum for travelers looking for hiking buddies. Turns out he is a bit younger, graduated college in the states recently and is living in New Zealand for a few months. We are set to meet up on July 17th in Christchurch, rent a car, and travel the relatively uninhabited, but supposedly beautiful southern coast of the south island. It will be cold...highs in the 40s lows around freezing, but its a bonus to find someone to split the cost of the car and to have with you on the hiking trails.

So really my plans have become much clearer. Tomorrow or Tuesday I'll rent a car and drive to The Coromandel Peninsula for 3 days. From there its south to Wellington with stops in Tongiraro National Park and other areas depending on time and weather conditions. I'd like to get to Wellington by the July 14th so I can have 3 nights there before taking the ferry to the south island and bussing it to Christchurch to meet Ryan. Everything I have heard about Wellington makes me think I'll regret not having a long stretch of time there. We than plan on devoting about 18 days to get through Caitlins National Park, Steward Island, Invercargill, and finally to Fjordland to attempt some winter hiking in the world famous Kepler and Milford Tracks before arriving in Queenstown/Wanaka area (which is the area I had initially thought I'd be spending most of my time in).

Once in Queenstown it will be the heart of winter (early August), and I'll try to ski and explore the area for about 20 days. Then, in theory, its off to Australia.

Still here in Auckland, getting a bit more settled. Its been rather dreary the last three days with occassional rain and temperatures in the low 60s. I am staying in central Auckland, which, although clean and nice is generally unimpressive. They have a sky tower here that dominates the skyline, similar to the one in Toronto or Seattle. The city itself is somewhat disjointed, with several yuppier neighborhoods about a twenty minute walk from downtown. The parks are extremely well kept and large so I have been doing day walks the last two days.

Hostel life is as I left it - dominated by U.K. nationalities the majority of which are young (20-24) and drunk. Most people I meet are taking advantage of New Zealand's extremely lenient work visa requirements which allow people to work down here for a year. As the economic lifeline of the country, Auckland is logically the place where many backpackers come to settle for a few months and find work. Although I have the work visa, I am not inclined to make use of it here. The city is at best average, and with so much more to see I am spending the next 48-72 hours making some big decisions on how to best move on from here.

I have determined where I'll be going next. East of Auckland on the Northeast peninsula of the northern island is an area called The Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty. In part this decision is based on my desire to avoid cold weather. Yes, I know its winter here, but the immediate change from sunny Los Angeles to Auckland has left me wanting a bit more warmth. I do not expect balmy temps., but it will be warmer than heading south and the reviews of this area from other backpackers are very high. After Coromandel, it will be off toward Wellington with stops at Rotorua (a tourist trap, that I'll briefly subject myself too), Taupo, and obviously some hiking in Tongariro National Park.

All in all, I expect to be arriving in Wellington around July 10-14th for a few nights in what I have been told is a much nicer town than Auckland. The big question is how will I do this. If I want to sit back, and pay a tour bus to haul me through these areas with 50 other backpackers, I have about 5 different tour bus options. Ultimately, these buses limit flexibiilty and steer you toward spending money. The backpacker buses are the obviously easy choice. Filled with younger people, the buses travel a circuit similar to where I want to go and offer jump on jump off flexibility. This means I can buy a pass and use it when I want to get from place to place. The problems are twofold. One, the buses only run 4 times a week, and two they are filled with drunk idiots. Again, generalizations, but when I have come this far alone, it seems somewhat disingenous to myself to think that I need a bus full of backpackers to help me travel. Additionally, places like Coromandel and Tongariro reward those travellers who get off the beaten path. The buses promote themselves as good options for getting people to these areas, but implicit within that statement is the oxymoron that the places buses do go can hardly be deemed 'off the beaten track'.

I will instead be renting or buying a car. I know what you are all thinking buying a car....what is this kid doing. Its a gamble, but buying a car would be the cheapest way of traveling if the car doesnt fall apart and I am are able to resell it after my travels in late august. Insurance is done differently here and basic coverage comes with the purchase of the car. The market is a buyers market because most backpackers are leaving the country in the winter and when I'll be leaving it will be a seller's market as more people will be coming for the warmer season. Up front cost is about $1000NZ. Otherwise I could just go rent a car, Im seeing rates for about $15 a day.

Not much else to say, I should be on route to Coromandel on Monday or Tuesday, so I will have made my vehicle decisions by then.

So in the last 96 hours I have gone from the fields of Wisconsin, to a motel in Chicago, to my friend's apartment in L.A., and now to a the Base Central Hostel in Auckland, New Zealand. I dont really know what day it is. The flight over was actually quite relaxing. I got some sleep and was once again impressed by international airline service as compared to the rather terrible service we have come to expect in America.

A bit of humor for everyone -- I arrived in Auckland airport with a few items I knew were banned - namely a banana and a turkey sandwich. Although I was prepared to toss them both before going through customs, the biosecurity team and their trusty beagle got me first. This would not be that funny if not for the fact that the whole thing was filmed for New Zealand TV Ch. 1. I guess they are working on a show about dogs that work for a living, and I will be appearing, unshaven, and quite disheveled on the national tv down here. I wont lie, Im kinda psyched about that.

This hostel is nice and all, but it conveys what I was somewhat concerned about having not backpacked in four years....the computerization of the backpacking world. I mean, everyone here is on the internet or on the iphone. Perhaps its just this place, but its a far cry from a decade ago when in europe I recall a more social atmosphere. Also, I am quite off-put by the amount of packages and tours being thrown at my face. It is true that like myself, many people come down here with little more than a bag and a rough sketch of what they want to do. I have never liked the structure of tours or guided trips so I plan on staying away and trying my best to navigate the country on my own.

For today its a few basic things that I want to accomplish, buy a cell phone, get an electronic converter, and maybe start planning what Im going to do in this city the next few days.

That's all for now.