Since I’ve been in NZ, I’ve had about 8 days on the kiwi island (May 27-June 3) and 12 days of travel. Don’t get me wrong, work – which I’ll share more about later – is fun. Radio telemetry is like hide and seek by using radio frequencies. Enough about that for right now, though.

I should not have come to the South Island on my first time off. Being here was not my original plan. I had been planning on going to Auckland for a few days to get things in order before taking the train south to Wellington and the surrounding areas. Then I was going to bus, hitchhike, fly, or catch a ride north from Sarah. The train runs on a limited schedule in winter, so I realized I would have only had a 1/2 day in Auckland before jumping on the train. I didn’t like that plan, so I just caught a ride to Sarah’s base in Palmerston North before jumping on a bus to Wellington the next morning.

The drive south was lovely! I can say I’ve traveled through the Shire (Matamata region), so I obviously need to make a stop there and look around next time. Sadly, the “wow” and “ooh, aah, eeh” region of Tongariro was all clouds, rain, and fog. (Sarah filled me in on when those moments would have been if the weather had been fine.) I can tell driving around NZ will be awesome because it is full of the curvy, winding roads that I love and wish Alaska had!

I was a bit apprehensive about jumping on a bus and heading off to the great unknown on my own, but I really didn’t have anything to lose. Time for independence! The 2 hour ride was pretty uneventful and ended in Wellington. Downtown Backpackers is right across the street from the train/bus station, so I decided to use its convenience as a base. First hostel ever! Inside I found friendly desk staff, a Vancouver-Boston hockey game, and a middle-aged Indian man who couldn’t get the hint I wanted to watch the hockey game and have a choppy English conversation after it was over!

Wellington was decent enough as cities go, but I’m not a city person. I spent 4 full days there, and I decided to move on when I realized I was constantly on the go. Everyone else seemed to be walking with purpose, and I think my legs felt lazy and started to do the same. I visited Te Papa (fantastic + free museum of NZ), Museum of City and Sea (interesting + free), Museum of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (different + free), Old St. Paul’s Church (beautiful + free), and the Beehive/Parliament (hey, it was free)! I also visited Shalom (friend from UAF) and her boyfriend Sam. It was nice to see familiar and friendly faces.

When I realized how much time off I had, I decided to jump on the ferry and head South in honor of Teri… and because I knew the South Island would be awesome. Bad idea. Now I don’t want to go back to the North Island!

Know what is always an awesome idea? Rental car + mapbook + camera + open roads + opportunities for hiking/photography whenever and wherever I want. Renting a car to do my own road trip was probably one of the best choices I’ve ever made.

I can tell that this whole experience will make me more confident in being independent. I’ve already rented a car, driven on the wrong side of the road (which really isn’t that bad), had the rental car break down, and gotten it taken care of… all without help from family or friends! Hehe what a day+ that was. Maybe I’ll give some details next time.