208 hrs in 15 days

Wow, I was looking at my last post on the 31st of August and that seems like it was months ago. Things have been running pretty much flat out since my arrival, and we arent out of the woods yet, I have been given the morning off to recuperate some lost sleep and I wanted to write something to keep everyone in the loop.
I can remeber the last thing that I wanted to write before life became a routine of grapes, wine, day, and night. Of all of our everyday things that we take for granted, one of them has to be getting gas for our cars. In fact, depending on what state you are in you may or may not be allowed to do it yourself. Here in Portugal the closest gas station is twenty minutes away in Regua. My days start at 8 in the morning and I needed a few things from the grocery store. Much to my displeasure the store was closed (no yogurt!), so I decided to get some petrol and head back to the Quinta. Well, I pulled in to a busy station and got out for some diesel. And who would pull in right behind me? It was Nuno the other harvest hand I had been working with for a few days now, along with his rediculously loud techno. I asked him where you pay, thinking you had to pay first then pump. Just like it is anywhere in the US. I handed the man my money and told him which pump. Nuno had come in with me, and the man behind the counter asked me something in Portugese which was too fast for me to understand. I looked at Nuno who translated. Come to find out you pump first, then pay, then get your reciept. So I pump and come back in for my reciept. Nuno is still inside and askes me if I want a coffee real quick. Sure why not? So he makes me an espresso at this really nice self serve espresso bar. We put an entire packet of sugar in it and slam it down. Nuno pays and I leave, telling him I will see him at work. I cross the bridge out of town and make the right turn onto the road out to the Quinta. The road follows the river twisting and turning with no shoulders. I am behind a black Mercedes and we are both following a large truck. I look in my rearview mirror and see that Nuno has caught up with me. Then I look ahead a little closer and realize that we are both following Hugo, the assistant winemaker. I realize that this is going to be a race to the Quinta. Now, for your understanding know that I am driving the owner´s wife´s minivan. It is a six speed and corners ok, but its not the small VW that Nuno is driving or the Mercedes that Hugo has. But with the espresso and the sugar running up the RPMs it was hard not to have some fun. Nuno passed me pretty easily on a small straight away and we all overtook the truck on the next one. I was able to close the gap on some of the straightaways but they usually pulled away again in the corners. Nuno was smiling when I walked into the winery, but he had to give my some credit in that I did pretty good for driving a minivan. For a moment I thought of Jim´s Impreza and only thought about what could have been. Jim you would love it here, the roads and the terrain are perfect for your car and the way you drive. Some day.

Impromptu Tour of the Duaro

Today kicked off at 8 and we had a lot to do despite the fact that no fruit will be coming in for a week or so. The first of the lagars was almost ready to empty and the other needed to be cooled a bit. Fermentation and maceration are only given four days start to stop. The juice is a really dark black color and the lagars are almost overflowing with the cap pushed up. While waiting for the sugar to get down to the right level, which was only a matter of hours, Jorge decided to drive out to the vineyards to take some samples. As we pulled out of the winery he asked me if I had my camera, at which point my stomach dropped because I had left it in my backpack. Let me tell you if there was ever a day to not forget my camera today was that day. The drive out took the better part of an hour past valley after valley of terraced vineyards. The hills look barren from the bottom because they are so steep you cant see the terraces from that angle. From the top they look like a topographical map with the lines getting farther apart towards the top instead of getting closer. There will often only be 1 to 4 rows of grapes per terrace because the hill is so thick. What it must take to farm these locations I have no idea. Because of the heat, lack of moisture, and warm breezes no spraying is needed, but all of the work still has to be done by hand. One of the most impressive things was the amount of acreage under cultivation and all of it on some of the most impossively steep slopes. Everywhere are drystacked stone walls and tiled roof houses built the same way. Even the wire posts down the rows are split panels of schist. Truly incredible to think of the amount of labor that must be poured into this area. And every once and awhile we would turn a corner or I would happen to look up hill and there would be these little mountain communities clinging to whatever someone decided was far enough from vertical to build on. I would suddenly find us winding through cobbled streets with two story walls on either side as we labored in low gear through another village. Or pop out on a ridge top with views of the Duaro and beyond right in front of me. Other times Jorge would be passing someone next to a cliff around a blind corner. This area reminds me something of Cuzco, Peru. And if anyone has seen the terraced gardens of Macchu Picchu then they will get some sense of how steep things are. But even the old houses, the rock work, the tiled roofs, it reminds me of colonial South America at times. By the time we arrived back at the winery it was 2 in the afternoon, I was starving and we still had a lagar to move, press, blend, and clean. Needless to say it was another 11 hour day and tomorrow should shape up the same way.

Winery Moment: This morning as we were chilling the brandy "Killing me Softly" came on the small radio we have in the corner. It is mostly pop music but most of it is pretty good actually. It was just me and Nuno in the place at the time and suddenly I hear him singing along. Now, Nuno speaks a few words of English and Spanish so we get along fine, but I would never expect him to know an American pop song. Sure enough he knew every moment. I was struck by the absurdity of it for a second and then decided to make it a duet. We both got a good laugh out of it.

Portugal 2009

well, for those of you who didnt know I am in Portugal working the harvest for a port winery called Quinta do Tedo. I arrived yesterday after many sleepless flights and was surprised to find out that the harvest has already started! It seems the grapes ripened early this year and the crew had already started processing fruit. I was shown my room which is in a house just up the hill from the winery and told to be at work at 9 am the next morning. I awoke in the dark to Jorge, our winemaker, banging on the door downstairs telling me that it was time for lunch! It seems I had slept through my alarm and since the windows here are shuttered I had slept 15 hours. No one seemed to care though and I was grateful because I was very tired. Today however, went till 10 pm and I can only imagine how tired I would be had I been at work at 9. I cant wait to post pictures of the winery and the views becuase this place is gorgeous. It is nestled at the meeting of the Duaro river and the Tedo river. Everything here is extremely steep and the vinyards are terraced on the steepest slopes I have ever seen farmed. Today was all Tempranillo, but I am told that the Duaro is a very diverse valley with over 60 different genetic varieties. So far everything is in lagars, and they still do maceration by foot, eight men at a time for four hour shifts, very traditional. Tomorrow will be a little bit more relaxed I just hope I can wake up on time.

Back in the U.S.

I left Christchurch at seven am on Wednesday morning for a three hour flight to Sydney (which only took an hour and a half) and then after a five hour layover I departed Sydney on a thirteen hour flight across the Pacific to back to San Fransisco. Remarkably, I arrived at eleven am on the same morning that I left Christchurch(weird), I wish the trip only felt like four hours, but I have been through worse (Morocco to Switzerland by train was a thirty two hour slightly conscious nightmare).
However, yet another harvest is over, we finished having processed just over 270 tons of grapes over a six week period. My time spent in New Zealand has proved to be invaluable for me. Working at Rockburn was very informative and I took advantage of every opportunity and have made contacts and learned skills that will no doubt serve me in the future. I also had the chance to make wines that I haven't made before and although Malcolm was patient with my never ending questions I am sure that he will miss me when he has to dig out the last fermentors without me.
It is good to be back into some California sunshine. When I left New Zealand it was about thirty four degrees and I almost didn't make to Christchurch because of snow in the passes. The snow capped peaks all around Cromwell did make for some dramatic scenery and what I could see of Lindis pass was beautiful. However, the ninety seven degree weather here in Monterey Bay over the weekend was just as wonderful. So far I have managed to dodge the worst parts of two winters!
Right now the summer seems to stretch out in front of me for a long time, but I know that the Oregon Crush will be here before I know it. For now there is plenty of time to ride my bike, cook, watch my nephew's baseball games, and read. I do look forward to some good backpacking in the Sierra and more on my way back up to Oregon, but that will still be a month away or more. Thank you to everyone who followed along on my travels and if you think it is worth the effort check in every once an awhile. Come the new year there will be more travels and stories, possibly from a winery in Australia...

Vintage 2009 Central Otago

Since leaving Queenstown more than a month has passed and yes I am still in New Zealand. A big apology to anyone who kept checking back in over the past weeks to see if I had managed to find the motivation to write a new post. Well, finally I have. I am currently in the small Otago town of Cromwell. It is, however, the unofficial epicenter of New Zealand Pinot Noir and home to many of the top wineries in the country. I have been spending the largest portion of my days working at Rockburn Winery for over four weeks now and countless hours of processing.
When I tell people I work at a winery, most ask what that means. Do I tramp grapes with my bare feet? Not unless I am trying to force an extra 800lbs of grapes into a press with a capacity of two tons and I always wear my rubber boots. In fact, I usually reply that most winery work is cleaning. Not an entirely inaccurate statement, but hard to quantify. The last weeks here have certainly included lots of cleaning: presses, destemmers, elevators, fermentors, tanks, hoses, pumps, bins, and drains. Most of the heavy work is done with a forklift and that sure helps. But all of the above mentioned equipment was first used to process several different types and clones of grapes which are, as I write this, being transformed from simple sugary grape juice into fantastic wines. Winemaking is a fairly simple process, largely the same the world over, however, at the same time, it is never simple.
Currently, we are just about done, meaning we only have about 40 tons to go. We have already processed about 23o tons and the end is in sight. However, the fun doesnt stop there, after that there are punchdowns, racking, barreling, pressing, and yes, lots more cleaning. In fact 270 tns is a relatively small number and as the area goes we are a midsized winery. Compared to Oregon we are huge, compared to California we're tiny. I won't bore you with all the many processes of making wine, just know that during harvest we work 8 to 12 hours a day, seven days a week. And other wineries work more. It is fun work,( sugar covered, cracked hands, caustic burned, wet feet sort of work). But come on, you're making wine, whats not to like about it? Anyway, I still have a few more weeks in this fantastic country working at a great winery, and then I will be home to tell everyone about it. And if your lucky I will still have a bottle or two of Central Otago Pinot Noir to open.

Franz Josef Glacier

Yesterday it felt like I have been travelling for nearly a month just to see some snow capped mountains. In fact, I have. And yesterday I got what I have come for. Having left Lake Mahinapua and headed for Franz Josef the Southern Alps finally came into view. They aren't the highest range in the world with the vast majority under 12000 feet, but they are saw toothed like Alaskan Peaks and the vertical rise is impressive, just like the Swiss alps.

Franz Josef is a small town at the base of the glacier by that name and a short drive from the Fox glacier. Most of the activities in town revolve around these two glaciers and some of the nearby mirror lakes. I opted not to do any of the glacier hikes having already been on a glacier a few times and Jason was kind enough to take me ice climbing last summer in Alaska. But there was some great day hiking to be done. I took a shuttle out of town and was dropped off at the start of a trail called Alex's Knob. It is a ridge line that tops out at about 3500 feet with great views of the glacier and the surrounding Alps. The climb up took about two and half hours, not bad considering I gained about 2000 feet. The top of the ridge was above the clouds which would come and go below and the views were great. Facing east you could see the glacier and the mountains, facing west you could see the Tasman sea breaking on the beach not far away. I ate lunch on top and had a quick cup of tea then headed back to the bottom. From there I headed off to see how close I could get to the terminal face of the glacier. I got within about a quarter mile when the river turned sharply around a granite spire and cut me off. Oh well, close enough I guess.

The forests that my morning trail climbed through had this prehistoric quality to it. It was full of fern trees, climbing vines, and podocarps. I expected to see some dinosaur lift its head above the vegetation any minute wondering whether or not I was food. It was really amazing, the rock was striated in numerous small layers and moss was thick everywhere. It was unlike the beech forests around Nelson Lakes, and different from the jungle like forests of the north island. The conifer plantations are strangely absent in this area, and the jungle is aptly described as a rain forest. I saw two New Zealand Kea's in flight over me at one point, a native alpine parrot known to eat the weather stripping around car windows. I was also pestered by a bird of some sorts who kept dropping bark on me when I stopped for a quick snack under "his" tree.

Tomorrow it is on to Wanaka with more good scenery and a few stops at mirror lakes to take those postcard photos that will make you all wish you had come with me. Cheers.

Nelson Lakes National Park

Post Tongariro I continued to travel south through to Wellington, across the straight and on to Nelson. I really liked Nelson it suits me very well. By south island standards it is a city, but it still retains that small town feel to it. The largest building in the area is still the church on the hill. It also has a great arts scene with numerous potters. Unfortunately, many of these artists have their studios outside of town, and I wasn't able to get to many of them. The few i saw in town were fairly uninteresting. In fact, it made me feel better about the stuff that I make.

For the most part Nelson was just a staging point for me. Not far from the city were two awesome national parks. The most famous being, of course, the Abel Tasman National Park. However, I really wanted to beat the crowds and get away from the mob into the back country. Second, Abel Tasman is known mainly for its coastal scenery and I really wanted to get back up into the Alpine. So I grabbed six days of food and had the bus drop me off at the DOC office on the shores of Lake Rotoiti in Nelson Lakes National Park. I was set to do the Travers-Sabine Circuit. This track follows the Travers river up the valley from Lake Rotoiti and crosses Travers Saddle over the range and down to the Sabine river valley. From there I climbed back into the Alpine and headed along a ridge to Lake Angeles. From there down Mt. Roberts Ridge back to Lake Rotoiti. Sounds easy right? In fact, it took me all six days, and the climbs up Travers Saddle and Mt. Cedric were actually pretty tough. And don't mistake "river valley" for wide open plane. They were more like ravines.

For the most part the track was through beech forests crossed by numerous small streams. The surrounding forests were really beautiful and a pleasant change from the conifer forests of the North West. The lakes were also equally stunning, although they did mean more sand flies. A word about Sand flies: they are much better than mosquitoes. DEET actually works in keeping them away. They tend not to hang out around your ears, and go mainly for the arms and legs. However, they are the size of a small fly and if you have any body hair at all it pretty much keeps them away. Some people hate them some people don't. Personally I would take them over mosquitoes any day.

The only day that was really eventful was my climb up Mt Cedric and along the ridge from Sabine hut to Lake Angeles Hut. The day started wonderfully. Sunny skies and scattered clouds after the rain the day before. It was a hard climb of steep switchbacks up to the tree line, and once you broke treeline it was pretty much straight up to the top of the ridge. Once I gained the top of the ridge the wind picked up a little and I could see more clouds on their way. At this point though I was at about 5000 feet with another 1000 feet in elevation gain still to go. The rest of the track that day was marked only by snow poles, although there wasn't any snow. The track climbed along the top of the ridge which was broken and jagged with numerous small peaks and scree fields. That's when it got interesting. The clouds came in about twenty minutes after I gained the top of the ridge and the wind picked up steadily. The clouds were full of moisture and the wind blew it steadily like a fine driving rain. I put on my gear and kept walking. At times I could barely see the next pole marking the trail, sometimes I would wait at one pole for the clouds to clear a bit and then spotting the next pole I would move on, still other times I would have to head in the general direction of the next pole and be halfway to it before I could spot it. Really it was great fun.

I found out later when I arrived at the hut that the wind was gusting around 55mph and steady at around 50mph. It sure made my day more interesting. All that aside I arrived at the hut perfectly dry and warm. All my gear worked exactly as it was supposed to and I was never worried that it would fail. In fact, I had more fun on that day than the previous four combined. Even the climb over Travers saddle was relatively tame.

Anyway, the next day I walked down Roberts Ridge and had more alpine fun. There was winds at about 35mph and the clouds were still swirling around a bit, but they weren't moisture bearing so it was more fun. They would fly past every fifteen minutes of so and offer some great views of the St. Arnaud range and the lakes below. The alpine meadows and tarns were numerous and the trail was well worn, so you could walk uninterrupted even in the mists.

Nelson Lakes has definitely been a highlight for me so far, I met some great people, stayed at some wonderful huts, and tramped some awesome spots. Unfortunately, uploading pictures to this site takes an extremely long time, so if you want photos, and I took plenty, check out facebook.

Tongariro National Park

New Zealand is home to the second oldest national park in the world, second only to Yellowstone National Park in the United States. Comprised of three volcanoes is has some great alpine scenery and when the clouds part there are excellent views of the Mts. as well. Throughout the park are a number of trails one of them being the Tongariro Crossing, often heralded as one of the most beautiful day hikes in the world, with over 20,000 people making the 18km traverse every year. However, there are a number of other trails as well, one of them being the Tongariro Northern Circuit. This trail takes in the best of the Crossing and then bends around one of the Mts. forming a loop designed to take four days and three nights spent in the hut system maintained by the Department of Conservation.

I started the first day walking up a valley towards the saddle between Mt. Tongariro and Mt. Ngauruhoe. At the top of what has become known as the Devils Staircase there is a flat plain crossing to another short saddle and up another ridge line to the top of Red Crater. From there Its downhill to the emerald lakes and another crater plateau. Finally, it bends around the back side of Mt. Tongariro to Ketetahi Hut at around 6,000ft. I camped the first day there after a good day of pleasant temperatures and great hiking. There were plenty of other people doing the circuit and I met a family of four from Canada and a seasoned old tramper from Australia.

The next day it was up at dawn and off to Waihohonu hut around the backside of Mt. Ngauruhoe. This was probably my favorite day of the tramp simply because of the diverse terrain I crossed. There was volcanic alpine, complete with steam vents and acidic lakes. Then I descended into a moonscape of lava flows and dry stream beds, strewn with small spots of tussock trying to make a living in the thin soil. I stopped for lunch at the edge of a gorge about halfway through the day and ate an apple watching a great little waterfall and the subsequent stream heading off into a vast plain. From there the track turned west and dropped down onto massive gravel bars. Each one gets flooded from above during a heavy rain leaving colorful striations in the surface stretched out over about a mile from the base of the volcano. Then I descended again into beech forests and cooler temperatures with a couple of stream crossings and good views before I finally arrived at Waihohonu hut about six hours after I left Ketetahi.

The next day I woke early and got a quick start onto the trail. I had 18km to cover and I had to be in Whakapa village by 2pm to make my bus connection. It was hard to put the distance under my feet with any speed because of the great views on either side of me. Both Mts. shrugged off their cloud cover about an hour after I left that morning and I walked with clear views of Mt. Ruapehu on my left and Mt. Ngauruhoe on my right. It was really spectacular. I made a slight detour about an hour from Whakapapa to Taranaki Falls and stopped for a quick drink and a bite.

I arrive in the village about two hours before the bus left, so I treated myself to some tea and a hot lunch at the cafe there. Overall, the Tongariro Norther Circuit was a great tramp. The park is known for its fickle weather and I had three days of sunshine and no rain. I'm really grateful for the views and all of the great colors I was privileged to see. The rocks, the dirt, the water, each of them was unique and stunning. Moss, lichen, and fungus of every kind covered the rocks which were all either course lava or sheer faced basalt. There was red, yellow, and orange colored soils and with the tussock to frame it all it the landscape was truly captivating. I look forward to my next adventure on the south Island in Nelson Lakes National Park. Stay tuned more to come

The Legendary Blackwater Rafting Co.

At 8:00 am this morning, I put on a cold wetsuit, harness, and helmet. It was raining hard and visibility was poor, but then again it didn't matter because I wasn't going swimming or climbing, or rafting. I was about to descend into the Waitomo Caverns for a three hour underground tour of the glowworm caverns located roughly 150 feet underground.
It all started by rappelling down through a small (two feet diameter) hole and 100 feet into the ground. We were a group of eight with two guides descending into what the locals had dubbed The Black Abyss. Needless to say THIS was my kind of morning. After a short walk we passed some great limestone formations and what looked like miniature underground coral. Really fascinating. Then it was to the edge of drop off where we clipped in a zipped down into the black until we came to an raised ledge next to an underground river. There, after a quick cup of tea, we grabbed our inner tubes and jumped in! Let me tell you, I quickly became grateful for that wet, cold, smelly wetsuit. Floating down the river for about 20 minutes we turned our lights off and wondered at the thousands of starry points on the ceiling and walls around us. These are the glowworms of NZ that made this cave famous. Honestly, it was surreal, like a starry night at what was now over 200 feet underground. Like nothing I've ever seen.
From there we beached the tubes on another ledge and started walking through the shallows towards the river entrance, slowly making our way back towards the surface. I really enjoyed this part. At times we swam through large caverns and at others we belly crawled through small wormholes barely above the waterline. At the end we climbed up two good sized waterfalls, in narrow passages, stemming off of each wall opposite the waterfall. Really good fun. Thankfully I had a pretty good group and the guides were happy to let me go ahead with them and play around a bit.
W came back out into the sunshine, and yes, the rain. Like Oregon, you can be standing in the sun and heavy rain at the same time in New Zealand. Overall I would say that the morning was legen-wait for it-dary. And well worth the money, in fact, it is probably the last thrill activity I do until I get to Queenstown, where I will be bungy jumping where it all started.

Sailing in the Bay of Islands

At first I was a little worried about sea sickness, but twenty minutes out of the harbour I knew there wouldn't be any trouble. In fact, I was really looking forward to spending a day on the water and on a sail boat no less. I had chartered a spot the Paihia based boat called "She's a Lady", skippered by a man who introduced himself as Glenn. I was a little worried at first when I saw the other passengers that day: three couples two of them retired and well into their sixties. The ladies looked a little out of their element and not entirely fit for the day. The other couple were in their early thirties and had the look of seasoned travellers. At first I thought this was a recipe for a boring day spent rolling over waves in the harbour. Glenn, however, had nothing of the sort in mind.
We had a good 15 knot wind blowing from the south east when we headed out and immediately after setting and trimming the sails the prow dipped down and the boat heeled over sharply to the left. I crawled up to the starboard rail with the boat at a good 30 degree angle underneath me and felt pure exhilaration pass over me. It was by far the most fun I have had so far. I wanted to go sailing in Auckland harbour, but I thought it was too expensive. However, those trips were on America's cup catamarans with sleek hulls and a full crew. I didn't want to be a spectator, I wanted to get wet!
We had a great run out to one of the islands with a little harbour on the lee side where we anchored for some exploration and lunch. After a cup of tea on board I paddle a kayak to shore and did some hiking up to a great view point. From there I could see out into the Pacific and the other Islands that stood in the way. There were some great tidal pools around the beach and the water was cool. There were intermittent showers all afternoon, so we ate lunch on the boat where we could duck into the cabin if we wanted to.
On the way back Glenn asked if I wanted to take the helm for a little while and I wasn't about to turn him down. We didn't much wind on the way back which made for some lazy sailing, but that was just because we were still on the leeward side of the island. Shortly after rounding the end and pointing the bow back towards Paihia, a small squally passed over us and thats when I really started having fun. I had put on my rain coat which was being blown sideways and the wheel needed constant movement up and over each wave. It was fun trying to chase the wind and see how fast you could push our little boat.
All in all it was great day of sailing for my first time and I am really looking forward to trying it again, sometime when there is some real wind!

Father Teds

Feeling very hungry last night and wanting fish and chips I wandered into an Irish pub just up the street from where I am staying. I sat down at the bar and what did I see(gasp!)? Nothing more and nothing less then a tap labeled Kilkenny Irish Red. It was everything that I remembered and it definitely lived up to my expectations. It was a wonderful night. Don't worry, the first toast went to Lon Fendall. I sat down to watch the rugby match and then had my fish and chips. In the middle of the second rugby match a couple came in and sat accross from me. They were Irish who had been travelling for almost a year now. Soon after that two men started playing Irish folk tunes and cover songs. One guy played a guitar and the other a drum, or penny whistle. Hands down, these guys were really good, and entertaining too. For some reason there seemed to be a large crowd of Irish in the bar that night, so before long everyone was clapping, shouting, and singing along. The couple that sat down with me were a lot of fun, and we switched from Kilkenny to Magners which was great because I hadnt had either of those since I was last in Ireland. While the band took breaks other pub goers would grab one of their guitars and play a Flight of the Concords song, an original tune, or just jam for a bit. It was the most fun I have had so far, and I hope there are more nights like it throughout the country.

Rangitoto Island

A small Volcanic Island in Auckland harbor, Rangitoto was a nice little morning trip for me to do a little bit of hiking. It only took about an hour to get up to the summit and check out the views of the city. The rim trail was pretty cool. Tomorrow I leave for the Bay of Islands. Expect some great pictures after that trip

Arrived Auckland

Well, the fourteen hour layover in Tahiti was supposed to be an exciting little side adventure. Instead it turned into one of the longest airport experiences I have ever had. Unfortunately Air Tahiti Nui didn't check through my bags onto my New Zealand flight. I wanted to take a cab into the city for a quick bite and maybe some views of the beaches. Not so. I ended up finishing my book and sleeping on a bench. There was no exchange banks at the airport so I couldn't get some francs, but its probably a good thing because things were freakin expensive! Then again its tourism does cater to the high rollers.
Today was spent walking around the city and I went to the Maritime Museum. I haven't spent so much time by myself in awhile, which sucks, but then again I meet people too. I share a room with a great couple from Denmark who speak English. There are a ton of travellers in the city, but surprisingly enough I don't hear much English around. When I do get kinda down, being by myself, it doesn't last long because, I mean, come on, I'm in New Zealand!
Tomorrow, it will be a quick breakfast and then a thirty minute ferry ride to Rangitoto Island in the Auckland harbor for an hour walk up a small volcano. Then back to the city for a bus tour, the national museum, and the national art gallery.
Auckland is NZ too, but really I can't wait to get outside the city and into the countryside. I came here for the landscape, and honestly Auckland doesn't have that much to offer, not for me anyway. When I arrived last night it was Valentines day so the streets and clubs were packed. I am hoping for a quiet dinner (fish and chips) and a few beers tonight at a small pub away from the city center. There are some perks to staying at a hostel in the thick of it, but if I'm here again I will probably stay in Ponsonby, a quiet inner city suburb.
I think the next stop will be an overnight at the Bay of Islands and then south to Taupo where I can do day trips to the Waitomo caves and then on to Tongariro and Waikaremoana for some serious backpacking.

Side note: I am listening to a Portland radio station online right now. It's kinda weirding me out. Josh did you know that New Zealand per capita has more TOOL fans than any country in the world? The guy I met in Tahiti was a big fan and apparently TOOL did regular tours here for awhile. This place feels more and more like home....

Almost Gone

I am truly thankful for everyone who expressed so much interest in keeping up with me while I am away, and this seemed like a really stress free way to stay connected with a large group of people. So for all you from Pint night, Tuesday night dinner, family, REI, and the winery what will commence are updates on my trip and job abroad in New Zealand. I hope you enjoy, please comment freely, and I hope to see all of you when I return.