New Zealand Index

Auckland
Northland
Heading South
Wellington
Traveling again
West Coast
Picking Apples
Road to Qtown
Kinloch
Southland
Queenstown
Heading North
Queen Charlette Wilderness Park
to Taranaki
Central Plateau
The End

So, back to civilization. I have a day in Picton before returning to the North Island. I spend it walking around, going for a wee bike ride and sitting in the spa. A nice greeting back to people as well. The following day is the trip back to Wellington, and was uneventful.
And then I was back in Welli. It was good to be back, and it did feel like I was coming home. So after a nice little walk around, I went in search of my old flatmates. They had moved recently, and it was a new adventure. So nice to see them again. One of my flatmates, josif, had just moved to Japan two day earlier, but then as luck would have it, just after I had arrived he called to say he’d arrived, and I got to talk to him too. The next few days I spent just enjoying be back in welli. I saw a few of my old work mates, and did a couple of things I didn’t do when I had lived there (the cable car and botanical gardens.) but as much as I liked being in Wellington, I wanted to get on the road again, and travel somewhere new. This was accomplished by driving north that day and heading to Teranaki. A nice drive, and it was nice to get out on the road, though I had driven the first half of the trip countless times. As I arrived in Taranaki I started to get views of the mountain. Quite nice except that the top was covered by clouds. I then found a hostel in New Plymouth. I stayed here for two days, and didn’t do much, as when I got to the city, it started to pour, and didn’t let up that day or the next. I met a couple of interesting people there, but I just never felt that this was the place I needed to be. So after those first couple of days I decided to leave and wonder around the area. I drove the surf highway, and then went to the south side of Egmont national park. I the made my way back, almost in a complete circle, to this place in Egmont village, just outside the park. This was a great place. I think it might be my favorite backpacker that I found in new Zealand, or at least what I thought one should be. It was a little strange though, when I arrived there was no one around, and just a sign saying to find a bed, make myself at home, and I’d see the hostel owners at some other time. Then after a little while, all the other people who were at staying at the hostel showed up. We had a great night, just hanging out and such, and I made tentative plans to go on a walk. So I had emailed a hostel while in Wellington about working for a week of so, and hadn’t heard back, and so I was trying to figure out what to do if it didn’t come through. The next day the weather cleared, and I got a nice view of the mountain. I went up to the visitors center and found that all the paths were covered 3-4 inches of snow. But I decided to go for a walk anyway, and the views were wonderful, I think the snow made it just a little nicer. Quite cool. Then later that afternoon, I went a nearby lake that had the best views of the mountain. A nice day all around. Then that evening was quite and I just read by the fire, as all the people I had met previously had left.