The cross NZ trek!

Tuesday, Jan 22, 2013
“The Cross NZ Trek”
(Photos coming soon)

So, today we started our 1500km journey from Auckland to Queenstown, “The Adventure Capital of the world!  It was a bit of a crazy plan from the beginning, but it did all work out well, here’s how it went.

6:00am- wake up, pack up, roll out!
7:15- depart by bus from Auckland 
11:10- Arrive in Rotorura, meet chuck, repack bags
12:55pm- depart by bus for Wellington
8:00 - arrive in Wellington, make way to hostel

While traveling like this, it’s amazing how many people we got to talk to, and it just reaffirms the fact that everyone has a story. I’ve pretty much given up on remembering all of them, but here are some examples of the various people we met and heard about their unique lives.
A father of 3 who had managed a pro team more than one as they traveld all over Europe
A tipsy elderly mauri man on vacation
A girl who had been abroad for 2 years in 5 different countries and is now back in NZ for school
A 10 year old heading back to his mom’s place after the weekend with his dad.  He loves minecraft and longboarding.
A 31ish year old doctor on her way to visit family while she takes 6 months off of work

The travels are all part of the fun and Travis and I are both super pumped to get to Queenstown and see what adventures await us there!  As we explain our travel pattern to people, their typical response is laughter as it’s fairly…unconventional. Most people would try to work from 1 direction to the other, while we’re bopping everywhere.  Oh well.

Once we actually arrived in Wellington, it only took us 2 separate occasions of people asking us if were lost before we found our hostel.  It was not nearly as nice as Auckland, but our roommates were nice and we all went to sleep at a decent hour.  

Two things I really noticed from this day.

#1. I have a strong desire to keep a “travelers mentality” upon arriving back home. This means things like driving a few hours is not a problem, taking pictures of everything becomes normal, and I want to make an effort to explore my city, province and country all the time!  So, Churchill, here I come!

#2. Traveling requires constantly learning and adapting.  There are just so many things to know like that you need your own lock for the lockers, need to swipe your key for main door after a certain time, and the list goes on!  New things all the time!