Hop on the bus, Gus

Avondale market!

Three weeks in Auckland. Tell anyone who has traveled through New Zealand that you spent three weeks in Auckland and they look at you like you're crazy. Ok, so it was a little longer than I really wanted to spend there but it did give me enough time to see several different sides of the expansive city. I saw the life style block aspects of the North Shore, a higher end region of Auckland. I saw the wild West coast, a bohemian haven with scenic beaches, exotic bungaloes and beautiful hiking trails. And I saw the mixed cultures of South Auckland, a concentrated area of Pacific Islanders. I don't regret spending that much time there, but it was definitely time to see other things. 

I bought a 5 trip pass with Naked Bus lines and scooted over to Napier in Hawke's Bay. Napier is a cute little town that was rebuilt in all art deco fashion after the city was destroyed in a huge earthquake in the 30s. It sits on the bay and has a very touristy feel to it. One thing I don't really get about New Zealand is that all the stores close at 5pm, maybe 6 if you're lucky. That includes coffee shops and cafes. Some restaurants of course stay open for dinner, but it gives the towns a ghosty feel after everything has shut down. 

I spent a couple of nights in Napier at fittingly named Andy's Backpackers. A nice quiet and comfortable hostel which is much better than the chaotic ones which are packed to the gills with just-left-the-nest 18 year olds getting geared up for frat parties next year (aka hell).

After getting a heavy dose of art deco I was ready for something else so I got back on the Naked Bus and went down to Wellington, the nation's capital. Wellington is the major art hub in New Zealand and I was lucky enough to catch it in the middle of both the International Arts Festival and the Fringe Festival. They have a great last minute chance to get tickets for all the sold out shows. On the day of the show if you line up at the box office in the middle of town they sell 10 tickets to each show playing that day for only $20. Its a pretty sweet deal. I was able to get a ticket to a play from the UK called the Wild Bride, a Grimms Fairy tale interpretation with blues, bluegrass and puppets; very cool. However the next day when I went back to try to get Bon Iver tickets for 20 bucks I had no such luck. Of course there were enough die hard fans who were camped out all night. Bummer.

Wellington has been a blast, good art, good coffee, beautiful scenery. I have one more night here and then I take the ferry down to South Island!  I'm pretty stoked about South Island, I start off my journey there on a 4 day back country trek called the Heaphy Track. It crosses 78km from Golden Bay on the North side over mountains and beaches to the West coast. Its the longest of New Zealand's "Great Walks". Not too strenuous and not too popular, so it should be a good time.

I've recently received my working holiday visa for Australia! I'm going to have to raise more "funds" to keep things going. New Zealand turned out to be a lot pricier than I had thought. When I left the US, the NZ dollar was worth about 75 cents USD, its already up to about 85! So yeah some work is in my future, I'm thinking a couple months of fruit picking should put me back on track. If anyone knows of good places to find work in Australia I'm all ears! I don't have a definite plan, most likely just going where the work is and taking it from there.