new years eve day... early

beautiful weather, went running.... ahh summer. i have settled in to christchurch rather well--i met some cool people on the u of canterbury ultimate club team and am going to go with them to the national cricket game tomorrow (not quite as exciting as the year i went to the rose bowl, but hey, its a sporting event) ... i am going to live ina house (with a family that my family knows, kind of) and i *might* have a job... i kind of told a couple restaurants that i have work experience from applebee's--heck, i figure i have been to enough of them that i can fake it, right? and they won't check... i just hope that i know how to pour enough drinks and can actually carry the three plates at a time i said i could... but we'll see, won't we?

i figure i'll stay here for a bit (told the restaurants 3 months... but i meet hugh on march 12th in cairns, so thats stretching it too... but a month or so here... plus i don't want ot inconvinice the eccersalls, so i'll just stay in their house for a really short time...)

anyway, happy new years... next note will be in 2003!

day after christmas ... and i'm slightly hungover, slightly cold (the gods haven't totally gotten the memo that its summer here and there is snow on the mountains and i'm wearing my new jumper that my mom got for me..) and i'm slightly not in the mood to do laundry, which is todays big "boxing day" project. leave queenstown tomorrow to check out hte wild world of christchurch, which should be interesting and different--proabbly. finially, since i'm leaving, i kind of feel like i shoudl stay, cause i like the people and the place... but i was aching for a change... and why hold back. so ill pack the pack and board the little green bus to new places... and if thats not cool... its super easy to return, right? and be a polyester check-out chick, right? cheers.

so... i'm stuck in te anau... its dec. 24th. i really want to be in queenstown where i can pick up the christmas package that my parents sent me... but alas. i can't get out of this crappy town till 5 pm (which of course, is after business hours.) i will be back before the debauchery that is christmas, but i don't know if i'll have time ot do my laundry and everything before the drinking begins. we shall see though.

just finished the humpridge track, which was hella hard, but had good views, etc. befroe that i was in the asshole of the world (invercargill). i have run into this rather attractive guy twice, thus far on this leg, which is probably hte only thing of note for the past couple of weeks. i, hopefully, will have a drink with his this evening... but i own't hold my breath.

hoW To foLlOw iN KrIStiN's fOotSTePs (size 7.5 US)

OnE

realize that the american economy is still not where it should be and in order for situations to "work themselves out" you don't have to be involved and ditch anythings that even remotely look like obligations. this could be jobs, school, or even job searching... it will be there when you return--you, more worldly and "experienced" and everything... i have met people from 19-59 on the NZ circuit so far... and the only thing that we have common is the desire to see the beautiful country....

tWo

acquire decent amounts of greenbacks. (or a larger credit line) the exchange rate is decent ($2NZ/$1US) and as long as you like ramen noodles and meat pies you should be fine.

tHrEe

get a working MD, cd, or mp3 player... bus rides are long, and the people who sit next to you, may or may not be interesting (or even speak english). also, realize that NZ is WAY behind the technology times, and make sure you know how to fix your item if it should stop working...

sidenote: buses are super easy ways to meet fellow backpackers and NZ has plenty different "young people" oriented ways to get around... magic, kiwi, and stray all go to as may or as few places that you would like... and they book stuff for you too. (prices are from 200-600 US and valid 1 year).. you can buy cars for that much, adn have "freedom" but then you don't have large european blokes sharing seats with you...

FouR

learn your produce... so you can be a "check out chick" or if you like to pick fruit, clean, etc... you can supplement your "cash flow" (ie beer money) lots of hostels will keep you around if you make beds (or chop firewood?) and there are shit-jobs galolore if you look...

fiVe

buy a padlock... hostels are safe... and the kiwis are superb... the towns are small, but it never hurts to be careful... i met soemone who had their car broken into... but its a rarity... i can safely walk around towns a night (more than i can say for stL, but hey... just be smart)

siX

have a decent size backpack, 4-5 shirts, 2 pairs of trousers, a raincoat and a fleece. definitely the fleece. its damn cold here now... much colder than they thought... you WILL get sick of your close no matter how many you have, so you might as well leave room to buy some. the warehouse (think Walmart but with worse styles) can provide entertainment and clothes when desparate.

sEveN

learn to say "sweet as" and "good on ya" as responses to just about anything...

yeah, thats about it.

new post. no witty headline

so... freedom is fleeting and you are only young once, right? so when i last described my "settling in one locale" as it were, i didn't really give the impression that i would tire of that lifestlye in 4.5 weeks right? well... it happens. i have since packed up my backpack--(stuff just expands on its own, you know that?) and have hopped back on the big green bus to check out the lowest part of N-Zed till christmas...(which i will spend it queenstown, partying hard with my friends).

a couple weeks ago due to my strange desire to make life difficult for myself a ran a half marathon. it was the inaugural queenstown marathon and hlf amrathon.. it was pretty sweet, but cause i, of course, didn't train or anything and it was the hottest day of the whole summer (20 degrees. F conversion... you figure tht out. you are all smart... well, most of you.) and it was hilly. like really hilly. but i made it (around 2:30 ehh). and even went to 8 hours of work afterward. sweet as.

last saturday i began the milford track-- (pictures!) for those of you who dont' know... this is the "holy grail of tracks". another 3 day journey through new zealand bush, over mountain passes and past millions upon millions of sandflies. it was BRILLIANT! it was honsetly amazing, and i don't even think the pics will do it justice.

i had fabulous weather for the first 3 days. (this is unprecedented byt he way... it rains 2/3 days in the fiordland area. they get like 1800 mls of rain a year or something...) could see so far at the top of the mikinnan pass, it was beautiful. ahh... well, since we had such beauty, hell broke loose the 3rd evening and i was awoken by the roughest rain i've ever heard all night. the DOC hut warden came into our hut at about 540 am and woke us up to tell us not to wake up cause the river was rising so much and he didn't knwo if he would eb able to see the path enough to walk out. he woke us up again at 7 and said that the water was still really high, but eh would guide us the first 3.5 miles tot eh "boatshed" wehre we would see if we could continue. (if teh water was above a certain point we would have to be helicoptered out.) this didn't see like so bad of an option, but after 2 ours of waiting for the water to recede we were able to keep walking. darn. no heli-flight out. oh well... i did get to hike through 50 meter long stretches that were cold water around knee to mid-thigh in height. right on. but i wouldn't trade it for the world and i made it back dirty, smelly, and in need of a few beers.

anyway, thats about it for me...

sidenote to the english boys: ran into pumbaa on my way to dunedin. his second trip wasn't nearly as good as with us... (may be they smelled like ass, not sure?) he said they you all had a pretty crazy time in taupo and is trying to hook me up with a job with conor (ahh, crazy kiwis).

sidenote for you wash u kids: do you know throop drive? (near millbrook?) well... hiking on the milford i was wearing a wash U tee and some guy said that he went to med school there (20 odd years ago)... we chatted for a bit and he then said that his uncle actually taught there and his family has been involved with the school for a while. he then informed me that there is actually a street named after him... throop drive. random.

quick sidenote to the sidenote: he was on the guided track. i was on the independant tramping trip. this meant that i carried all my stuff, food (pasta and oatmeal), pots, etc. and he got meals cooked for him(rack of lamb and wine, etc.) and carried bupkis-- maybe when i have a street named after me i could afford that luxury,... till then i'll just eat my muesli bars in silence and anyway... my way is probably more fun.

sidenote to april: pictures of queenstown can be found online!
queenstown