The Job Hunt

It feels like home. I have to say I have been exceptionally lucky with the hospitality I've had since starting my journey 5 months ago. But few things can compare to the comfort of seeing the signature JANardoza at the base of a beautiful watercolor. Joseph Aloysius Nardoza, my Granddad, started painting in his retirement and became quite talented and prolific. He didn't paint to gain social recognition, and never did, but he was good. Growing up Granddad's paintings were all over the house, in the foyer, kitchen, living room, dining room, bedrooms, bathrooms. In fact, I have trouble remembering any other artwork we had hanging in the house. A favorite of mine was one he did for me of my cousin Joe and I swimming at the pond at Hudson Guild Farm when we were toddlers. So here I am in Sydney, half way around the world and I get to run into a piece of home. It means a lot when you've been away for 5 months and don't plan on returning anytime in the foreseeable future. So how, you may ask did I run into this ancestral art. Well there just happens to be close friends of the family living here in Sydney that have been kind enough to take me in while I get settled in the land down under. The Julians are very good friends of my uncle Bob's  and he graciously made the connection for me. They have kept me well entertained and have shown me just how much there is to do in this town.

My first morning we were out on the harbor kayaking the crystal clear green waters. We are right down the street from Manly Beach, one of the surfing capitals of the world. And from here the beaches just keep going, to the north, to the south, beautiful water, perfect waves, and chock full of people doing just about every water sport you can come up with. I'm doing my best not to run over any swimmers in the kayak, but they are bloody everywhere.

Manly Beach

When you need a break from the water there's always mountain biking. The other day Matty and I jumped on the bikes and decided to go check out the bike trail just up around the corner. I was blown away. This was the best mountain bike trail I've ever been on and its right in the middle of the neighborhood. Climbing up and flying off rocks that look like they've been transplanted from Mars, we quickly realized this was not a beginner's trail. It is the perfect trail to practice on. I'm not going to lie, I jumped off more than a couple times, and sometimes intentionally. I will definitely be out there again to tackle some of the bigger drops.

While not getting a physical work out I've been getting the mental work out back at the house. I've been thrilled to find out that the Julians are RISK players! Go ahead laugh, make fun, but if you get into it you will have trouble finding a more competitive game than RISK. I'm not kidding it gets intense.

So yes, I've been having a great time, but I do have a goal and that keeps me pretty busy as well. The job hunt. I've been going at it from a couple different angles, the first and most plentiful resource is the good old inter web. The two major sites I use are SEEK and TAW (travelers at work). SEEK is your basic job listing website, not too different from monster or job finder. It has stuff all over Australia and ranging from  minimum wage to six figure salaries. The TAW site is geared totally for the backpacker. Australia doesn't seem quite as overrun with backpackers as New Zealand did but they have more room to hide here. So my fellow filthy working holiday visa holders get herded through the system and put on every variety of menial tasks. From the glorious fruit picking to the shameful goat milking Australians are ready to throw us into their most unwanted jobs with an eager smile on their face. But don't forget the fierce competition. That man holding the clipboard has already talked to 15 desperate, naive, sweaty 19 year old backpackers with absolutely no skills whatsoever. And they'll sign up for ANYTHING! So being 29 and having been through my fair share of job interviews I find myself holding very few cards. No leverage. They are looking for drones. I feel a bit like Jermaine when he and Bret were interviewing for the sign holding job.

So far I've had three interviews all of which completely different. The first was advertised as "Milkman" and was described as a food delivery service in which I would be taking orders and delivering food. Didn't sound horrible. Who doesn't like the milkman? So I get an email back from them asking me to call in and set up an interview. So I do and it turns out they are having a training that day, and if the interview goes well I can sit in on the training and start that afternoon. So I run out and catch the bus and I'm in downtown Sydney within the hour. The building looks nice and I walk in and wind around the corridor in search of the room. I hear it before I see it. The sound is unmistakable, hostel. Well at least I didn't smell it before I heard it, which is the case with some of the hostels I've been to. But lets not get confused here this was a job interview. I walk into the suite and there's about a dozen 18 to 20 year olds all gathered around a tv and an x-box. The walls are covered in beer posters! The kind of which are the most hilarious form of amusement to the 18 year old binge drinkers. There is a pingpong table in the middle of the room, and to my surprise they had managed to clear the empty beer cans and solo cups off of it. It was training day after all. I look around for the man I spoke with on the phone and he must have been in the office conducting another interview. Behind me strolls in Sam, and proudly introduces himself as a manager. Oh jesus. Between the battle of sweat and crust raging on his forehead, I'd say crust was winning. I asked him if Marty was around, who I had talked to on the phone. Marty was indeed conducting an interview, but there was plenty of time for a game of pingpong with Crusty while I waited. We half-ass-edly tapped the ball back and forth neither of us really wanting to play. Then Crusty honed in on an 18 year old girl waiting idly for the training to start. Its been a few years since I've been to a frat party but this seemed about right. "Where you from," he groaned. And the conversation was off and bubbling. It turns out she knew his ex-girlfriend. It was a charming conversation in which she most often replied "no way!" And he somehow managed to use the word tits about 40 times. Oh Crusty, you lady's man you! Finally Marty came out of the office and I barged in to get this interview over with. I hate interviewing with someone younger than me, but I swallowed my pride and allowed this to play out. He had the sales pitch down pat. He was a genuine bullshitter and it appeared to be paying off for him. This guy was about 25 and had an army of 19 year olds canvasing neighborhoods for him selling grocery packages door to door. The position was commission based and completely unpredictable as far as pay would go. I told him I couldn't commit to it, but if he let me sit in on the training I would give him an answer afterwards. This caught him off guard and didn't sit right with him. He sort of stammered and declined, claiming this would be a waste of time if I decided not to do it. So I shook his hand, thanked him for his time, walked out the door and looked for hand sanitizer.

Darling Harbour

Interview number two. In case you haven't picked up from the first scenario I am staying as flexible as possible to consider my options. So the next position I interviewed for was also well outside my area of expertise. It was for a concierge position in a high end shopping center downtown. For those of you back home, think Tysons II. Yes, concierge position, I know. It doesn't matter I'm going for whatever I can get, and this pay would lead to many adventures. So I was to interview with Larry (names have been changed to protect egos) at the corporate office downtown. This was a slight change of pace from the last... interview? Mixer? So yes I actually prepared, shaved, and suited up. Michael was very generous to let me borrow an Armani suit, shirt, tie, shoes... and yes, socks. Lets not forget my full traveling wardrobe is shoved in a trash bag. Those of you who know me well, might know that my resume contains nothing even close to concierge work, not even retail or waitering experience. This meant it was time to pour on the charisma. Thats it, I'll win him over with my charming smile and hilarious wit! Unfortunately, I was not inspired by the aesthetic of the corporate office, the cold sterile walls and glass terrarium like conference room the interview was held in. I was greeted with a plastic smile and a pudgy limp handshake. If you have ever had a bad job interview, this is it. For being the head of the concierge department Larry was anything but welcoming, but he reassured me during the interview that he was good with people. Right off the bat he knew that I could only work for three months and then I would bail on him. So that was the deal breaker, but for some reason he wanted to see if I could wow him and make my short time worth the training period. And here it is, the type of question everyone who has ever been interviewed loathes. "What is the greatest thing the world has ever produced?" JESUS CHRIST! Looking back on it that should have been my answer, then he couldn't have said anything and I could have just passed for some religious nut. But no, I squirmed, and ahhed and ummed, and then blurted out, "people?" Nope, it turns out the right answer is me. So I'm supposed to sound like a pompous ass in front of this... well, pompous ass. There were a couple more awful philosophical questions and then I was released. He claimed that he would have given me the position if I had been able to stay longer, but as a consolation he would offer me the doorman position. No thank you.      

Interview number three. Hotel all-rounder. Of all the interviews so far, this one was actually the most intriguing. The work would be interesting and I would get free accommodation in the staff cottage. The position is just as it sounds, and the hotel is located in a town called Katoomba in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. A two hour train ride from Sydney, it was a great excuse to go out for the day and see some more of the countryside. When I arrived in Katoomba it was cold and misty. Thick fog rolled over the Blue Mountains and a light misty rain clung to my rain jacket. It made me miss the Pacific Northwest. But I was immediately comfortable in the cosy little day-tripper town. Cafes and coffee shops lined the main drag with outdoor sport store stuck in between. A good vibe indeed! I walked across town to the hotel and introduced myself at reception. The hotel was built about 90 years ago and still retains some of its old-world charm. Some, being the operative word. I was escorted downstairs to the cafe to meet with Jeff the manager. Jeff was dressed like an effeminate Brian Johnson (AC/DC). Much like my first interview it was obvious that Jeff had a plethora of desperate backpackers in his back pocket. And that he wasn't necessary looking for skill or experience but rather someone he could take advantage of. This showed in the hotel. Four of these all-rounders ran the whole place. No experience necessary! Maybe not the best approach when competing with three other hotels on the same block in a small town. The clincher for this job was the free accommodation and the location. Katoomba is very scenic, leads right in to several hiking and biking trails and is one train stop away from rock climbing galore. So if it meant hauling up in the sty of a staff cottage for a few weeks, that would be ok. I would still get a good experience out of it. It wasn't a great pitch on Jeff's behalf and he came across far from trustworthy, but I'm on an adventure and this place was worth a shot. So when he told me to think about it and let him know, I told him I was game. Its obvious he was pretty new at the whole interview thing because he quickly retracted the offer and told me he had some more interviews to conduct and would have to get back to me. He seemed coked up and confused and kept talking himself in circles, a great guy to work for! I'm not holding my breath although I might need to practice with the way the staff house smelled. The search continues....

Sydney Opera House

      

E noho ra Aotearoa

Fiordland

In like a lion out like a... kiwi? My time in NZ has flown by and it's already time to say my goodbyes. My last week has been a whirlwind of activity. Waiting for opportunities to arise has been quite fruitful. Just by hanging out around the cafe I've been able to tag along on three different outings this week. 

The first of these outings was a day trip to Dunedin, the second largest city in south island and home of the university of otago. I had hoped to see the albatross colonies on otago peninsula and maube see some penguins and sealions. But when I got to dunedin I quickly found out that they have been very intricately marketed and commercialized. A huge disappointment, the cheapest shuttles and/or tours out to the colonies ran about $90!  For a cheap vagrant like me that's just a bit out of range, even for albatrosses. So it was on to plan B, chocolate factory! Cadbury World in downtown Dunedin gives tours of the factory every hour. Having grown up on Cadbury eggs and Charlie and the chocolate factory this was a welcomed second choice. With Gene Wilder singing in my head I proudly donned my white hairnet and matching mustache snood and followed behind our purple overall-clad slightly oompa loompa like tour guide. It was not quite as fantastical as I had hoped but there was a chocolate waterfall, a mountain of crunchie bars and plenty of chocolate to eat along the way! After sickening myself on chocolate it made perfect sense to visit another one of Dunedin's famous landmarks, the world's steepest street. Baldwin Street is just a residential street on the northern side of Dunedin which is dauntingly steep, and yes they do get snow there.

pretty steep

My second tag-along outing was an offer to go boating on Lake Dunston with one of my coworkers at the cafe, Bridget. She and her boyfriend own a jet boat and go wake boarding there whenever they get a free weekend. The beauty of getting invited on these trips is that I've gotten a chance to see a part of the country that most tourists don't get a chance to. Lake Dunston is a sparkling gem of a lake; crisp green glass like water with dramatic rock faced mountains shooting up its banks. Having never wake boarded before my new friends were kind enough to give a quick rundown of the basic idea. So I squeezed into a wetsuit and scrunched my feet into the bindings. The preferred method is to sit in the water and bring your knees up as high as they'll go to your shoulders, I call this "frog boy" position. Then the boat goes and you let your instincts tell you how to stand up on this thing. Well, I'm no pro but that's the best advice I can give. It was a blast! The wipe outs are half the fun but for the next two days I was sore in muscles I  didn't know existed.

Water sports!

My third local-to-Lumsden adventure was a day trip to Fiordland. Dave, the Lumsden electrician was heading out to NZ's largest national park and most remote wilderness area for "a hunt and a fish" and asked if I'd like to come along. Fiordland is often referred to as the most scenic part of the country and is home to the infamous Milford and Doubtful Sounds. The Milford Track is the hottest tourist activity in the country, and with good cause. The scenery is spectacular and the 4 day hike has become sort of a cliche tourist adventure. So getting to see a part of Fiordland that most Kiwis haven't even had a chance to see was thrilling! I met Dave at the cafe at 5 am and we took off in the dark. At dawn we were just entering the gates of the park. We drove along a  rugged access road in the white Nissan sedan, which he treated like a ute (pickup truck in Kiwi). Along the way he would stop and use an electronic stag call to try to summon up some deer, with poor results. I don't hunt, and don't have much interest in it but I was eager to catch some fish. At the end of the road was Lake Manapouri where we would drop our lines in hope of some hungry trout. But the highlight of the day was bush whacking our way out to a spot along the river that he and his family have been coming to for 30 years. It's everything you want a secret fishing spot to be, tranquil doesn't do it justice. With high hopes we fished until dusk, but unfortunately never reeled anything in. It's alright though, I left Fiordland with a full sense of gain, and the fish didn't seem to matter.
So it was back to Lumsden for my last couple of days in New Zealand. It's been a wonderful couple of months full of unbelievable scenery, beautiful birds and wildlife, the freshest air, cleanest water and  caring and funny people. I'll miss New Zealand for sure, but I'm definitely amped up for the next chapter...

Lake Manapouri

Leave your stepping stones behind something calls for you
Forget the dead you've left they will not follow you
The vagabond who's rapping at your door
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore 
Strike another match go start anew
And its all over now, Baby Blue.


-Bob Dylan

lovely Lumsden

Its small, and thats being modest. There isn't much to do, the library is open three days a week. There's no nightlife, no movie theater, no traffic lights, no traffic, no fast-food, one gas station, one market,  one, pharmacy, one hardware store, and the restaurants can be counted on one hand. Population 450. Stress is a foreign word here. Where stress seemed to occur once an millisecond in DC it seems to occur once a week in Lumsden. You can walk from one end of town to the other in about 10 minutes and its fantastic! I know most people would go crazy here for lack of things to do, but for me right now its perfect. I love being able to walk to anywhere I need to go. If I want to go further, hitch hike, people actually stop. I have a comfy house and free food, tv, and internet. Well sort of free, I am working for it, but the work is good and so is the company.

I wake up, shower, brush my teeth and eat breakfast. I walk over to the cafe and get a complimentary americano. I sit and read the paper. Start working around 9:30 and put in a good 6 hours of elbow grease. After work I usually hang out around the cafe drinking coffee, chatting with the peeps, and surfing the interweb. Occasionally helping to eat leftover scones and sandwiches. Its rough, I know, but I make do. When I get antsy I can go for a hike down by the river or set up my slack line and try not to break an ankle. There is also some good local entertainment just to keep things spicy. My excellent host, Rob a member of the fire brigade invites me to come to their weekly trainings. This weeks training: a practice burn on an old shed, neat-o gang! So basically pace of life is ideal, I haven't been this relaxed since I can remember, and I haven't had such a centered sense of being since... ever.

In such a peaceful state its a challenge to get excited about leaving. I've just bought my plane ticket to Sydney and will already be leaving New Zealand on the 5th of April. I could have stayed until the 30th, but airfares were increasing and I want to keep the momentum going. Well, thats only half true, I am starting to run out of money and am eager to find a job in Australia. Not that I want to go back to a "regular" job but I have a lot of places I want to go and plane, train, and bus tickets don't appear out of thin air. So work I must, but Sydney seems like a cool place to do it. I'll be hitting the ground running when I arrive and hope to land something in an outdoor sports equipment store. Kathmandu is their version of REI, and I'm thinking its a good place to hear about local adventuring and meet cool folks.

Here, there and everywhere

The Heaphy Track was a success! Four days of peace and solitude in the backcountry of South Island. I'm not gonna lie though, I should have had better hiking boots. To say I had blisters would be an understatement. Here's a nice grodey story for you. I had to pop my blisters, or hiking the next day would have been miserable. So I sanitized my pocket knife and got ready to operate. As soon as I stepped out of my tent I was swarmed by sand flies. Not exaggerating, swarmed. So I had to act fast. I quickly and carefully pulled off my shoe and sock, so basically my only exposed flesh was my swollen blistery foot. The flies were quick to act and covered my foot instantly. A quick slice in the back of my heal and between my big toe and second toe and let the puss flow! This of course brought more flies. So as soon as it was drained I quickly bandaged up the funk foot and slid it back into my sweaty old sock. It felt better already and I swan dived back into my tent. All was good until the itching started. New Zealand sandfly bites are similar to mosquito bites but come on more suddenly and intensely. Its about 5 days later and footsie is all better now!

This is from a music video I shot with Sting

Despite the foot drama the experience was very therapeutic and cleansing. It was refreshing to be completely unplugged for about 6 days in total. I've decided that this needs to be a regular routine. At least for one weekend per month.

The beach I had all to myself for an entire day!

So after getting off the trail I began my journey down the west coast of South Island. I spent the first night in Westport at a nice hostel called the Trip Inn. We hung out and watched Lord of the Rings, it was cool to actually see some places that looked familiar. The next morning I boarded the bus once again for a 6 hour ride down to Fox Glacier. There are two big glacier towns on the west coast, Franz Josef and Fox Glacier. I chose Fox, the less touristy of the two, although it was still quite touristy. The "town" is basically a strip about 200 meters long of glacier guides, helicopter tours, and skydiving companies. I have been on a pretty tight budget lately, so as much as I would have loved to go ice climbing on the glacier, I chose to do a self guided hike up to a view point of the glacier instead. I know, I know, woe is me! So after a quick night in Fox Glacier, and a stay at not my favorite hostel, it was back to the bus. Next stop Queenstown.

Queenstown is the birthplace of bungy jumping, or so they claim. It is a posh little town that caters to the extreme sports enthusiast and the young partiers who choose to both "grip it" and "rip it". I really didn't get much of a chance to explore this extreme village, because my bus got in around 8pm. But to my surprise, the town was still awake at such a late hour. Most everywhere else I have been in NZ seems to close down around 5pm and Queenstown was still alive and bumpin' at the wee hours of 8pm! No partying for me though, it was back to another hostel to chill out after a long bus ride. I shared a room with some cool British kids who have been traveling all over the place for the past 7 months. I picked up some good travel tips, and have an ever growing interest in going to England. Not one of the primary places on my list, but I have met several people now that go on and on about it.

Pancake Rocks 

My next destination was Lumsden, a small rural town in the middle of Southland, about an hours drive to several cool areas in the South. There's a little cafe there called the Route 6 Cafe where I arranged to do a help-x stay. So the only way to get to Lumsden from Queenstown via public transportation is a $20 bus ticket that goes through Dunedin and has a layover, all in all taking about 10 hours. This makes absolutely no sense because Lumsden is only one hour due South of Queenstown. So I did like so many other backpackers do in NZ and stood by the side of the road with my thumb out. Within about 45 mins a camper van with two very lovely ladies from Belgium and Israel pulled over and picked me up! Not only were they nice enough to give me a ride but they also offered me some breakfast. Their only request: pay it forward. Indeed I shall.

So I arrived at the cafe and was greeted with a hot cup of coffee and slice of delicious foccacia. My host here owns the cafe and runs a canvas photo print shop, as well as being the "mayor" and member of the fire brigade! Its a very small town and the people seem to be very warm hearted and down to earth. I really can't complain about being payed in espresso and pastries, looks like it will be a great couple of weeks. My plan is to chill out here for a few weeks to slow things down a bit and save some money and its looking like the perfect place to do that. I'll have some free time too, and plan on hitching some more rides to take some weekend adventures. Life is good.

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.   

New Zealand.....Hideous!

Bethell's Beach

Just as I suspected, New Zealand is gross! Lousy with deserted beaches, pristine forest and rare exotic birds. For those of you who can't tell, I'm being just a tad facetious. The place is spectacular! I've been in Auckland now for a little over 2 weeks, and expected this part of my trip to be a little more urban. Well it is and it isn't. The city limits cover a very large area and then the region of Auckland is even bigger. There are some parts of it that feel like a major city and others that feel like isolated wilderness. Auckland is the city with the world largest pacific islander population, and along with a good mix of Europeans and Asians it makes for a very diverse group. I'm looking forward to going to the Avondale market this weekend which has an extensive amount of everything pacific islander! Despite having over a million people you are always just a short drive away from gorgeous forests, rivers and beaches. Hiking trails or tracks spread throughout the region, making it very easy to get out and explore. The beaches are amazingly clean and anything but crowded. I spent a couple of days a Bethell's beach also known as Te Henga. If it looks familiar it may be that you've seen it in Xena, Warrior Princess or Hercules, the Legendary Journeys! Its also where they filmed The Piano.

Gannet Colony at Muriwai

I've had two amazing birding experiences so far, the first being Tiritiri Matangi, a wildlife sanctuary island that is completely pest free and home to some of NZ's rarer species of birds such as the kokako, little brown kiwi, and little blue penguins. Its also home to tuataras which are an extremely unique order of reptiles. The second amazing birding experience was a trip up to the Muriwai beach gannet colony. Gannets are shore birds that nest in humongous colonies. These dramatic colonies at Muriwai beach are tightly situated upon steep cliffs which drop off to the crashing waves below. Having spent many a day watching David Attenborough study and document New Zealand's birds, finally being here in person is a bit surreal. It is surprising how tame the birds seem here, since they have evolved with no natural predators they historically have had nothing to fear. However, just as people do, they have managed to unintentionally bring in some hungry rodents and weasels. A couple of the major pests here are rats, Australian possums, and stoats. I recently read an article about how to humanely deal with these pests if you catch them on your property. Drowning is not acceptable; bashing them on the head with a hammer seems to quickly do the job! mleh...

Gannets, making out.

I'm now staying with my third hosts here in NZ and everyone has been very welcoming. There is a strong DIY spirit here which I find very admirable. I have already met several people who have designed and built their own houses, all of which have been beautiful. Totally unique and intricate, most have been made from reused materials! Everyone just seems to know how to swing a hammer down here.

 In a cave on a beach in New Zealand

A few quirky differences about NZ:

-Light switches are upside down.
-Every outlet has an on/off switch.
-Just about all toilets are dual flush.
-Bathing suits are called "togs".
-Muesli is the breakfast of choice.

I have so many pictures and not enough time to load them, they'll be here eventually...

Cheers!

From Oakland to Auckland

Where to start... A week in Sausalito and a marathon journey to New Zealand. Sausalito is a very posh vacation town directly across the Golden Gate bridge from San Francisco. After spending 2 months in the funky, hippie, grungy NW this was a dramatic change of atmosphere. Fancy cars, boutiques, and designer dog collars. Different.

Alcatraz

My fellow help-xer Chris, who oddly enough is from Leesburg, VA and I spent our work hours around the house working in the garden, painting, fixing leaky sinks, etc. On our day off Elizabeth, our host, dropped us off at the foot of the Golden Gate bridge and we took off! The walk across the bridge was beautiful, with views of the city skyline, Alcatraz, and Angel Island. It was a bit crowded though, with aggressive cyclists whizzing past every minute or so and tourists snapping pics everywhere along the way. Once we got across the bridge we hopped on a bus to check out Haight-Ashbury. Jerry Garcia plastered everywhere, tie-dye shirts for sale in every window, head shops, and a few very trendy stores sprinkled in between. The air was indeed thick with pachouli. A kid who was obviously indulging in the spirit of the district (drugs) asked me for the coffee I was drinking, "No", I said. He then asked for my Nalgene bottle, he was again denied. Persistent little fellow. We crossed over into Golden Gate Park where the substances were plentiful. We couldn't walk 50 feet without being offered "cush diesel nugs, beasters, or shrooms". It was quite the scene, several people completely strung out, a woman speaking in tongues, dogs running wild, hula hoops! We didn't need to hang around and quickly made our way through the park over to the de Young museum for a view from the observation tower there. After the park we meandered by bus and on foot down town to Union Square. To end out the day we found a great little dive bar/ music venue called the Hotel Utah where we drank a couple local Speakeasy IPAs, delicious!

Hotel Utah

A couple more work days and a nice day trip to Muir Woods to see the redwoods and my time in California was coming to a close. 6am Sunday morning my epic journey began. Chris was kind enough to get up early and drop me off at the amtrak station. My train brought me to Bakersfield, CA where I transferred to a bus that brought me to Union Station in LA. *Travel tip* Amtrak refers to their Union Station in Los Angeles as "LAX". This is not LAX airport! It is in fact about a 45 min drive from the airport, which I found out the night before heading down there. Luckily there is a shuttle that leaves every 30 mins for $7. So the shuttle brings me to LAX airport where I find out when checking in that New Zealand requires proof of an exit ticket from the country before they allow you to enter (no squatters). So I run over to the airport lounge, buy my fully refundable ticket to Sydney, print out the confirmation and bring it back to the check-in desk. Phew! After an intense few moments scrambling to make sure I can get on my plane, I actually breeze through security and get to my gate with way too much time to kill. The flight ends up getting delayed 3 hrs, which unfortunately cut the layover in Fiji down to just a scrabble from gate to gate. So my experience in Fiji was just a muggy rainy schlep from one side of the airport to the other, with plenty of waiting in line. Delightful! Back on another plane and in 4 hrs, as we break through the clouds, I see the literally breath taking view (I actually gasped) of New Zealand's northern islands and shoreline!  
This was the hard part. After seeing such a beautiful sight, you just want to jump off the plane and run into the ocean, but no. Its time for customs! Two more hours of waiting in line! Yay! So finally I get out of the airport and jump on yet another bus to get to Albany, which is on the far Northeast side of Auckland. Oh wait, one more bus transfer at the Ferry building in downtown Auckland. Ahhh finally, I get to my stop. As soon as I walk off the bus I hear my name yelled from across the parking lot. Its my host Liesbeth and her two adorable daughters, Isabelle and Sophie. I threw my bags in the boot, and almost jumped in the drivers seat. I'm still getting used to the opposite side of the road thing.
The house here is on about 5 acres with a couple other cottages that are occupied by renters. The views are great. The birds are beautiful! I cannot wait to get a NZ bird guide book and completely geek out. I'm about 2 days in and still a bit jet-lagged. Cheers!