IMG_2869, originally uploaded by shrieking.
Simon and Sina have left now, leaving me all alone in Sydney. I’m just starting to get my head around the fact that this place is my home now, for maybe 3 months, maybe 6, maybe 12, depending on how well it all goes. I’ve been sorting out things like a permanent mailing address and a tax file number and it’s all starting to seem very real indeed.
Big post on Australia to follow sometime, but Sina and Simon are here visiting at the moment so I’ve been staying off the net a bit to hang out with them. I’m good, Australia is amazing, and I’ve moved to an Australian phone so my mobile will be off from now on: if you’d like my Aussie number drop me an email at puresock at hotmail dot com, y’all know.
We left Taupo on day 6, again without skydiving thanks to the rain, and headed to River Valley. We stayed in a tiny little lodge miles from anything, where the dorms where made up of one giant bunk bed which slept 8 above and 8 below. We killed an evening there drinking and playing chess and cards, and awoke in the morning on day 7 hoping to go rafting, but surprise surprise, the rain stopped play again and we spent the whole morning playing more cards. The game of choice was knockout whist. We rolled on to Wellington disappointed.
Ok, so, as I mentioned, I took the Kiwi Experience bus right the way through New Zealand, stopping in all the good bits along the way. I took 24 days to do the whole country, which isn’t much time at all, so I spent most of my time on a bus and I woke up in a new place pretty much every day. It all started in Auckland, which is probably quite a nice city if you get to know it, but as a tourist with just a few days to see it, I couldn’t find much of interest, it reminded me of Southampton, and I just wanted to leave. I did, however, get out to Minus 5, an ice bar, where everything, from the bar to the seats to the glasses you drink out of, is made of ice. I thought it was awesome.
Right, so, 3 days of contemplation in Auckland (2nd most boring city in the world) later, I ended up on the Kiwi Experience bus which will take me through New Zealand in 18 days. At the moment I’m changing city every day and I spend my days on a bus full of travelers running between awesome stuff. I’ll write it all up when I get a chance in Australia. So far, though, I’ve been to a beach where hot water bubbles up from the sand, and I’ve seen rabbit shearing. Awesome.