North Island

Howdy!

We are on the North Island and I am in a little depressive funk missing the South Island :) I didn't realize how much I had gotten used to hardly any people and all sheep!! Jessie and I got caught in traffic the other day and were like "where did all these people come from?!" We have been so spoiled! Atlanta is going to be a rude awakening!!

So mom and dad left on a puddle jumper from Picton and we left on the biggest ferry you've ever laid eyes on!! There were literally 18 wheeler trucks with cattle and horses in the car portion of the ferry - oh, yes Queen Charlotte made the trek across Cook Straight with us, we wouldn't dare leave her behind! It was hard to part with the South Island...I am ashamed to say I shed a tear or two :) Yep, I am that big of a nerd.

Wellington was our first stop on the North. It's the capital so all the govt buildings are there and there is a really awesome museum called "Te Papa." It's 5 stories high! You could spend days in there and not see everything! I learned about volcanoes, earthquakes, Maori culture - all kinds of stuff! Oh, and the have the world's largest squid on display and a skeleton of a whale that takes up the entire ceiling of one room - insane!! We visited the Botanic Gardens, rode the cable car, ate out :), and shopped!

The highlight from Wellington came on the morning we left. Jess and I were eating bfast in the NASTY NASTY kitchen area of our hostel...I am surprised we could eat :) and this girl was on the Internet in the sitting/dining area where we were. And she was belting out this song she was playing on repeat on the computer - I wish I knew what it was so I could include a link to it but it was seriously a rap/hip hop song being sung by The Chimpmunks and she was LOVIN it! Just singing with all her might...at 8 am...and each time the song ended, she just played it again! We were dying! She turns around and has a cigarette hangin off her lip and just a few teeth and introduces herself and starts chatting. She tells us she is having a 21st bday party for herself and invited us to come - it was in 2 days so we were going to be long gone from Wellington - but I tell you what, if that party had been in 30 minutes, Jessie and I wouldn't have missed that party for the world. Man. Lyda - where ever you are, you made my day. Julie Anne, Catherine and EColi - you guys would DIE :)

From Wellington we drove north to Wakapapa Village - where there is NOTHING to do other than the Tongariro Alpine Crossing which is a hike on a volcano! So after walking around the supermarket for fun -we went to sleep hoping to do the hike in the AM. We woke to find out that it snowed and the Crossing was closed to the public :( soo no hike. We are going to try again in a few days - the weather is really unpredictable so we have to keep our eyes peeled for the forecast...

We drove through Taupo - NZ's biggest lake is there, then on to Rotorua to see the geothermal craters and geysers. We saw a pool called "Devil's Bath" that was BRIGHT neon green!! And pools of bubbling, boiling mud and lakes that are yellow from the sulfur...it was really cool. It's like hell on Earth, literally!

From there we drove straight up the North Island to Paihia. Everyone else from NZ did the same thing that day too :) Easter is a HUGE traveling holiday for the Kiwis so the drive from Auckland to Paihia - in the Bay of Islands - was like the drive from NYC to the Hamptons! CRAZY crowded! Now that we are here, I can see why! It's beautiful here - lots of beaches and there are islands scattered throughout the bay.

Today, we did the "Cape Brett Track" - a ferry dropped us off at an old lighthouse and we hiked back to the mainland. The hike was lots of hills - up and down again and again - so some of the views from the top were incredible!!

We are pooped tonight so we are hitting the hay early and tomorrow is Easter!! We are going to a church service in the morning in the OLDEST church in NZ! Pretty cool, huh?! Afterwards, we are heading to the northernmost point of NZ - Cape Regina. It's where the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean. And the Maori's believe it is where their spirits go to leap into the afterlife and return to their homeland - neat, huh?! Will be sure to tell you how it goes!

Hope you all have a VERY Happy Easter!

Love you, alley