Does that make me a duck?

I'm currently sitting in the airport in Auckland, NZ waiting for my flight back to the states. It's hard to believe that 2 months has flown by. What great experiences I had! I spent this last week hanging out at Linda's house. It was a great end to a wonderful trip. I'm so glad that I met Linda and can call her my friend. I hope that she comes back to Isabella Friedman. I'll have to work on convincing them that she needs to come back. So, how am I suppose to end my blog for my trip. What can I say, it was amazing. Looking forward to sharing all my adventures with friends and family back home. I guess I'll have to begin working on my scrapbook. When we were in Taupo, a question was asked to the group that I was hanging out with about your favorite animal. One of the girls said a duck because it can fly, walk, and swim. I got to thinking, I flew from the sky while skydiving (well maybe I fell, but it sure felt like flying), I walked on many hiking trails around the country (even to the tops of mountains and volcanoes), and swam in oceans, rivers, and streams (while scuba diving at Poor Knights Island, swimming with dolphins in Kaikoura, exploring the caves in Waitomo, braving the cold water on the south island, and many more)....
......does that make me a duck?

'til next time New Zealand

My Nose and Taste Buds are on Vacation!

I want to describe the breakfast that I had this morning but before I do this, I’ll start from waking up. The past few days I’ve been staying with Linda in Kohukohu up on the northern part of the north island. As I woke up this morning the blinds in the room that I’m staying in were open. I watched as the sun came over the estuary and hills in front of Linda’s home. I watched as you could see the first glimpses of the orangy-firy glow of the sun until it was well up over the hills. I got up and began cutting up feijoas (it’s a new very yummy fruit that I discovered at Linda’s. They’re green, round, and about 2inches long. She warned me that it’s hard to eat just one and she’s right. Yesterday I was climbing all up in the bushes collecting them. I came away with many worthwhile scars from the adventure.). I was cutting them to make feijoa jelly and dry some of them to bring home. For breakfast I had sourdough bread that Linda made the day before with organic cream cheese from a dairy not too far from here and feijoa jelly that was made the day before from feijoas that I collected from Linda’s trees. Yummy…..my belly was happy. There have also been such wonderful smells with all of the cooking. Every night the meal is packed with locally grown food and baked fruit that leaves the whole house smelling fresh and yummy.

If you think this sounds great, it hasn’t been all fun and games here. I’ve also been working hard (Linda doesn’t work me too hard…I’m actually enjoying it). I’m wwoofing (it’s something that’s international that connects people to organic farms where you exchange work for food and a place to sleep). I collected fruit, moved rocks to create a new garden, shoveled dirt, watered plants, helped organize things inside, and more. My two favorite jobs have been cutting down a banana tree to collect the fruit and babysitting the chickens. Babysitting the chickens is tough. I usually sit up by their pen and read while they’re out. One of them likes to roam down by the house where she’s not allowed to go. I then have to chase her back up to the pen. I’ve also had the task the past few night to put them to bed. The first night it was challenging. I had to chase them around to get them in. I think they know my voice now because I got all seven of them in on the first try…success! I also collected three eggs from their nests.

I’ve really enjoyed spending my last few days in New Zealand with Linda. She taught me to make pickles and jelly (and she’s also fun to be around). I can’t wait to go home and try for myself. She puts me to work but she also feeds me well. I also get time to relax and read. It’s a great end to a wonderful trip!

Back up North

I had plans to do some fruit picking while in New Zealand. If you've been reading the posts, you can see that it didn't happen. Traveling us just too much fun and I wasn't ready to be settled and work. Instead, I decided to go back up north to visit Linda and help her in her garden and orchard. I'm going to do some wwoofing for her. She's going to teach me to make jam. I'm looking forward to spending time with her again before coming home.

Definitely NOT a city girl

Sara and I both woke and early.  We slept in our car in a car park right next to the beach.  We walked onto the beach and sat while we watched the sun rise.  It feels good to be able to just walk out and watch the sun rise.  Another testament to loving the traveling life!  We headed to explore the Coromandel Peninsula. We stopped at the Karangahake Gorge to do a little hike and to see some waterfalls. We thought that we'd stay the night in Thames but when we got there we weren't impressed so we kept on diving. Before we left Thames we stopped at an organic cheese making place for some samples. The lady there gave us a liter of yogurt for free because it would be going back in a week. We couldn't believe it. As soon as we left Thames the scenery completely changed. It was beautiful. The roads were very scary to drive on and I had to be careful not to drive off as I looked at the view. We arrived in Coromandel Town and booked at a lovely place. It was so relaxing there. We even stayed most of the next day just hanging out and reading. I went on an incredible run to the top of a hill. When I got to the top you could see 360 degrees all the way around. Our next destination was Auckland. As soon as we arrived in the city I was ready to leave. I'm not a city girl. I was already having withdrawal from trees. Sara and I spent our last night in Auckland together eating Mexican, going to a movie, and getting bubble tea. I took Sara to the airport and she headed off to Australia. It'll be weird being in New Zealand without her. The next day I went to the synagogue in Auckland and met with the Rabbi about being an outdoor environmental farming program to New Zealand. I stayed around and played with the kids at Sunday school. It was fun to work with them to create Pesach murals and play in the synagogue's garden. I met a friend of my friend Josh named Claudia. She took me around the suburbs of Auckland. It was fun spending an afternoon with her. We spent some time eating ice cream on a beach and talking.

When you're open to it, good things can happen!

My kiwi is better than you're kiwi......

I have to preface this blog with something that I already wrote about. When we were sitting around at the Taupo campsite with Melody, Flo, and Matan, we had arguments about who had met nicer Kiwis. Matan told stories of hitchhiking, then the person inviting then to stay with them and being given lots of beer. Sara and I told them about staying with Heather and Allister. In other countries I've sat around telling stories about being robbed and taken advantage of. It's nice to be able to sit around and talk about how amazing and generous people can be. It's only gotten better...

The night of my skydive, Sara and I went back to the same campsite from the night before. We made a big sushi meal with Melody. Sushi on a backpacking trip...who would have thought! In the middle of our dinner, we were greeted by 2 guys that just came back from a juggling festival and they showed us some tricks. The next day we went to the Taupo Bungy and watched people jump. It was such a beautiful place. You can even choose to go into the water. We convinced this older woman to do it. I decided that 1 crazy adventurous thing a trip was my limit for now. Watching her do it, made it a lot of fun. We headed to Rotorua. Melody told us of a free hot spring and a place to sleep so we headed there. Our site for the night was right on a lake. The next morning we woke up and met this older man, Hughie, that was working in the area. We had conversation and before even asking our names, he invited us over to stay at his place. Sara was just excited for the free shower. We stopped at Kerosene Creek and enjoyed soaking ourselves in the hot springs. It was so deliciously hot. What a treat. My body was loving it. We walked around Rotorua before going to Hughie's. That night Hughie took us out on this boat on this beautiful lake. We stopped at a hot spring that you could only get to by a boat. On the ride back, you could see tons and tons of stars. It lit up the might sky. He taught me how to find south. If I ever get lost in the southern hemisphere on a stary night, I'll be able to find my way. He was so nice and generous to us....kiwis are great! The next day we headed to the Coromandal region. We stayed the night on a beach. While we were cooking dinner on the beach, we began talking to a lady. It only took her 5minutes to invite us to sleep at her house for the night. We decided in the end to just stay on the beach. I think that Sara and I could definetely beat Matan's stories now.

Time to FULLY experience Taupo!

From Napier we traveled about 2 hours to Taupo. Thanks to Sara who drove while took a needed nap! We arrived in Taupo and were immediately greeted by Lake Taupo. We pulled over to enjoy the view and what an incredible view (and little did I know, I would see a very different view of it soon). We hung out by the lake before heading to our sleeping spot for the night. Someone told us about this place by the water called Reid's Farm where there are toilets and you can camp for free (which is always a plus!). We pulled into the place. There were many people there. We drove around a little. There was a guy sitting by this tent that was directing us to an open spot. After a couple of seconds I said, "We know that guy!" It was the Israeli guy Matan and the French guy Flo that we picked up hitchhiking outside of Christchurch on the south island. What a small world...so fun to see people again. We also met Melody from Colorado and 2 Israeli girls. We all cooked a big meal together and sat around and talked. Matan led us in some icebreakers so it was fun getting to know people. One of the questions that was asked was what are 3 things that you want to do in the next year. He said that in saying them, we have to try our hardest to fulfill what we say. I'm also writing mine here so I work hard on fulfilling them. I want to learn spanish and travel in South America, have traveled in all states except Oregon, Hawaii, and Alaska (there are a few I need to visit in the northeast), and learn to play the mandolin.

The next day, I did this: I went skydiving?!?!?!?

Today I went skydiving....I still don't believe that I actually did it! I said that I'd never do it, but I did. I was convinced to do it by our Israeli friends on the Kepler Track. When I get something I want to do in my head, I must do it. I couldn't back out now. I've been thinking about it ever since and getting myself soooo scared (but there was nothing to fear). I arrived at Tandem Taupo Skydive at 10:30 and was greeted by the people there. I had to decide what I wanted to do. I could pick from 12,000 or 15,000 feet and with or without a DVD. I was most scared about the falling so I decided to go with the 12,000 feet and the DVD. Everyone there tried to convince me to go for the 15,000 feet. They said I would regret it if i didn't. I was going with 4 other girls and they all decided to do 15,000. I couldn't be the only one at 12,000 so I decided to go for the 15,000. One of the girls was from Malaysia and her name was Mei See (now I have a friend in visit in Malaysia). I met my tandem partner Alan and he suited me up for the jump. The process happened so fast. As I was getting ready, they took photos. Soon we were off into the plane. The plane was very small and filled with 15 of us. It took about 25minutes to reach 15,000 feet. During that time Alan strapped me in. I asked him how many times had gone down...he replied, that's a personal question. It made me feel even more nervous. I corrected myself and asked how many time he had skydived. He said over 3,000times so I felt very confident in him. We strapped me put and made sure everything was in place. I looked out the window and could see a great distance. The higher I got, the less nervous that I became. The green light went off and it was time to FALL! I was the second one to go. I looked over at the exit camera and Alan flipped us out of the plane. We literally just flip on out. It took a couple of seconds to realize what happened and begin to look around. The day was beautiful with blue skies all around. From the height that I fell, you could see four coast of the island. The scenery was incredible. You could see Lake Taupo with mountains all around it! There was also guy flighting around me taking pictures and a video. I was told that I fell for over 60 seconds before the parachute opened. It didn't even feel like we were falling. It felt more like I was flying. AMAZING...AWESOME...EXCITING...INCREDIBLE...what was I ever scared of. I loved it! So trilling! When the parachute opened, we shot up. I had a good amount of time on the way down to look at the views and talk with Alan. The scariest part of the trip was when Alan had to spin us down in order to get down faster. He did it about 4 times and it made my stomach drop but not to bad. We had a safe landing. I had a hard time standing up at the end. When all 5 of us landed, we were so excited! They had us jump around and act excited to add to the video. We all got to watch to video. I was fun to relive the experience! I can't wait to watch it with everyone when I get home.

Pictures will be posted soon...

Let's Go Hurricanes!

On Friday we took the boat over from Picton to Wellington. We watched 2 movies on the boat ride over. We saw Disney's Cars and a stupid Hillary Diff movie. Cars was sooo cute! You should watch it if you haven't seen it. Straight from the boat we pulled into a car park and tailgated before the Hurricanes rugby game. You might be wondering why we decided to go to a rugby game. We've never seen one and thought it would be fun. We've also heard that if you want to know Kiwis, you have to see them during a rugby game. To tailgate, we got out our stove and cooked pasta while we chatted with the parking attendant. We arrived at the game and found our seats. We felt like we were practically on the field. Luckily, I sat next to this guy named Richard. He's Eniglish and knows all about rugby. I asked him questions about rugby throughout the entire game. I'm practically a rugby expert now. It was a fun game but unfortunately the Hurricanes lost to the Bulls, a team from South Africa. From Wellington, we drove up the east coast towards Napier in the Hawks Bay region. Many of the buildings in Napier are designed in the art deco style of the 20s. I felt like I was transported into a 20s movie. It was a fun town to walk around in. We were both pooped out and found a place with hot pools. We spent a few hours pampering ourselves in the pools. Our lodging (our car) was beach side for the night. We had a wonderful ocean view. The sunset was incredible. The sky was firy pink. On our way out of Napier, we stopped at a wine tasting...what a way to spend a day!

Circle Time!

When Sara and I remember, we each take turns asking a thought provoking question over dinner. This keeps us thinking and reflecting on life. Way back when we did the Tongariro Hike a question was asked about what we hope to bring into the next week and our lives. Sara said that she wants to engage people to do fun and silly things with her. I said that I want to really appreciate the views and scenery that we're seeing. I came up with circle time. When one of us yells circle time, we both have to stop where we are and turn slowly in a cirlce taking in the view. At one point we decided to combine our 2 goals and get others to participate in circle time with us. One of the people that we asked to do cirlce time with us asked if it was a joke and if they were being filmed. This made us laugh! It's not a joke...we just want to enjoy the scenery with people! It's great....you should try it!

you mean we don't have to carry our own packs...WHAT?!?!

Before I talk about our next hike, I must reinterate what great friends we met on our wine tour. We stayed with Allister and Heather for 2nights! We got a nice bed and wonderful hospitality. After we left them, we headed for Picton to catch a ferry to hike the Queen Charlotte Track. The track is 71km, 4days, and you need a boat to get to the start. We found out that the boat company will transport your luggage for you from place to place. We couldn't believe this! We could do a hike and not even carry our packs. This is such a foreign concept for me but of course we took them up on the offer. On the way there, we were followed by a pod of bottle nose dolphin. We started our trek. On this hike we overlooked the Marlborough Sounds as we hiked. There are great views all around. I need to take a moment here to talk a little about the lighting in New Zealand. There's something special about watching the light rays dancing on the water below us. Here and all over New Zealand, the light plays perfectly with the landscape. You can see every shade of green at one time...magnificent! The first night we stayed at a luxury resort but believe me, we weren't staying in luxury accommodation. We stayed in the backpackers accommodation called the Croft. The luxury part would be a great place to come on a honeymoon. In describing the place Sara said, "People like me don't stay in places as nice as this." I agreed. That night we met a group of ladies. One of them will turn 75 next week and is walking the entire thing. When I'm that age, I hope I'm in that good of shape. I'll start working on it now. The second night we stayed at Noeline's house in Punga Cove. We were greeted by a cute puppy named Tuppence. Noeline's an older lady that had scones and tea waiting for us as we arrived. It was a short hiking day s owe had plenty of time for a swim and rest. It was also St. Patrick's day so we headed to a pub that was literally on the water for a drink. The third day was the longest hiking day of 24km. We stayed at a family's home in Portage Cove. The bottom part of their home was converted into an apartment. There were also 5 other ladies staying there. They were all impressed with the food that Sara and I cooked. We had fresh vegetables and couscous. The last day we had a 21 km walk. For lunch that day, we sat at a place that overlooked the sounds. You could see lots of coves and boats racing around the water. I sat soaking in the grand views of the region. By the end of the hike, Sara and I were ready to be done. We both had sore feet after 4day wonderful days of hiking!

Drinking Wine shows us how GREAT New Zealanders really are

Today we went on a wine tour in the Marlborough region around Blenheim. We booked our tour with Grape Lander (we highly recommend them!) and were taken around by Allister and Heather. They picked us up from the train station and we found out that we were the only ones on the tour. We began the morning at a place called the Village so that Sara could get her coffee. While there I had olive oil, liquor, and my first wine tasting. They were all great. I especially loved the liquor. The lady mixed all kinds of yummy flavors. Next we went on to the hills outside of Blenheim and learned about the forestry industry in the region. Afterwards, we went to the St. Clair Winery for lunch. We had a tasting and I got mussels for lunch. Sauvignon Blanc is the signature wine in the region. We also went to the Wither Hills Winery. We got to visit the Yealands Estate Winery. It's the world's most sustainable winery. By the end, I was feeling a little toasty. The couple that took us on the tour invited us to stay at their home for the night. They gave a free bed to sleep in and cooked us dinner (this is so luxurious for us). We keep saying that New Zealander aren't just nice but go out of their way to make everyone feel at home. We feel that we have thousands of grandmothers all over the country looking after us.

Bet you didn't know that a tiger can turn into ice cream

It feels as though Tigers are invading my life. If this sounds strange, then I'll explain. I began this trip reading Life of Pi which has a tiger in it. When we bought our car, we were trying to decide what to name it. Just as we were discussing it, I opened up the thing that shields the sun and out fell a little stuffed tiger so of course the car was telling us to call it tiger. We began to refer to our car as tiger to ourselves and others. When he began having problems, we would pet him to give him encouragement. When Tiger died, we decided that the money we got from selling him can only be used to buy ice cream and not just any ice cream. It has to be a yummy ice cream that comes in a cone. After Tiger died, we began to see Tiger everywhere. The night that he died we stayed in a hostel that's above a restaurant called Tiger. I also began to read another book called The White Tiger. We found another bead store called the Tiger Eye. They had tiger eye beads. We read a sign that says tiger eyes support emotional wellbeing. It all began to make sense. Sara and I have both been feeling great on this trip. We hope to bring this balance back to the states with us.

I love having friends from all over the world!

We ran into our German friends Malte and Florian again! This is the third time that we've randomly ran into them (we told them that they must be stalking us). It's so fun seeing people again. We hung out with them in Kaikoura at a bar and listened to this crazy American guy play music. We've met lots of people from all over the world here and some of our favorite people that we meet, we even get to see again. We met a British couple and joined them in celebrating pancake day (definitely not American pancakes, they were thin with sugar and lemon). We'll hike with people and then see them days or weeks later and hang out. It's such a fun traveling culture here. You never know who you'll meet or see. We've met lots of Israelis on hikes and at Purim. One guy at Purim asked if we would give him and his mate a ride. We said sure but didn't make any plans. The next day when we were heading out, we picked them up on the side of the road trying to hitchhike. They had been standing there for an hour. I guess we were ment to pick them up. It's so great. Now I can travel to lots of places and have friends there!

Who knows who we might meet next....

Swimming in Circles with Dolphins is Tiring

After Christchurch we headed to Kaikoura. It's located north on the coast and known for its marine mammal viewing and place to eat fish. We decided to do the swim with the dolphins. When we arrived it was cold and windy so we spent the afternoon in a cafe. I got Seafood Chowder with lots of fish and shellfish...yummy! It's worth a visit here just for the chowder. The swim with the dolphins was all booked but they told us to go to the place at 8 to see if there are any spots. We found a great place to park our car and sleep for the night. It was right on the beach with great views...nothing like a room with a view! There was snow on top of the mountains. We ended up getting on board of the dolphin swim (and boy were we in for a treat!). We got into thick wet suits for the swim. We learned about the dolphins and how to interact with them. They are Dusky Dolphins. We visited them in their natural habitat. They don't do anything like feeding them to entice them into the area. There are also strict laws about how the tour can interact with the dolphins. Only a certain amount of people are allowed. We got into the boat and took a 30minute ride out to the dolphins. We were given snorkels and masks. The best ways to get them to interact with you are to dive down, make noise, or make eye contact then swim in circles. There is a horn on the boat and when it sounds, were to get into the water. All of a sudden I look and there are tons of dolphins coming straight for us. The horn sounds and into the water I go. There are dolphins everywhere(we were told later that we swam with around 250)! They were swimming all around. I made eye contact with one. It began swimming around me as I turned in circles and continued making eye contact. I ended up doing with about 20 different dolphins. When I got tired of swimming around with them, I would look up and see them do flips in the air. It was hard to decide whether to watch them do flips or play with them in the water. I did lots of both. I could just see what the dolphins where thinking...if I go in circles those stupid humans will do it too! It was just a game they were playing with us. It was such great fun! I can't believe I got to swim with 250 dolphins in the wild. When we got back, Sara and I both bought Trees for Travelers to help offset our co2 emissions from our travels. There's now a tree planted in Kaikoura for the Price Family. Now everyone must come to see the tree and while you're at it explore New Zealand. In the afternoon, we went on a hike around the peninsula. We stopped at the Seal Colony and saw the seals. Beautiful views all around! On our way out of Kaikoura. I stopped and bought a Crayfish. This thing was huge. The size of a medium size lobster (mom, you and Nettie would love it). I'll let you know how it tastes.

View Pictures

Some people have said they are having problems seeing the pictures. You can also see them at picasaweb.google.com/amymp33. I think you might also be able to see them bigger there.

Goodbye Tiger...tear....tear

We drove to Christchurch to celebrate Purim. When we got here we went to a grocery store. Tiger, our car was acting up so we decided to shop while he rested. When we came back, he wouldn't start. We tried to talk nice to him and give him some love, but nothing would work. We found a mechanic (he was sooooo nice and helpful....we LOVE New Zealanders!). It was confirmed that Tiger was dead. We ended up selling him for parts (the money we got is now our ice cream fund!). We rented a car for the next 20days. It's Purim so we can't be too sad. Everything worked out well in the end. I've learned that keeping a positive attitude can help make any situation better. I knew what needed to happen and made it work. Now we have a new car...the Den. We went to Chabad for Purim. Because of where we are, we were at the first megillah reading of the year. That was cool to learn. There were tons of Israelis there. Evertime we heard Hamen, the noise went on for like 20minutes. It was crazy! The second night of Purim we went back for dinner. We had a pretty joyous time. It was fun meeting and hanging out with people! Proof that a potentially rough situation can turn into joy and fun!

Penguins...Penguins...Penguins!!!!!!

After we drove for a long way. We had two options, relax a day or start driving. We knew we had a long drive ahead of us so we opted for a day of rest and then a long drive. We don't mind the driving too much. The scenery is amazing wherever you go. We arrived in a rainy Dunedin. I really wanted to see the penguins on the Otago Peninsula but it was such a long drive. We decided instead to drive some more (we already drove for like 6hrs.) to Omaru. We heard there was another penguin colony there of Blue Penguins. The arrived at the viewing place and bought tickets for the night time viewing. We got there at 8:15. We sat in stadium seats and had a whole commentary as the penguins came back from the sea to their nesting boxes. As they came up they were greeted by a fur seal. There were also about 8 rabbits hopping around by there homes. Blue Penguins are the smallest penguins in the world...about the height of a ruler at most. Some were in the process of molting (loosing all their feathers to get new ones). They have to get really fat for this process because they can't go back into the water for weeks. We saw some that were so big that they could hardly move...but soooo cute. They are also the most fierce of all penguins. They reminded me of grandma's dog Emmy! They had a loud high pitch noise. During the viewing we couldn't take pictures and had to stay still. It was there natural environment. It was cool to see them so close but not in a zoo or park. We were talking to a guy that worked there and a lady came up to him and said a penguin was stuck under her car. We came to watch him get it out. We tried to make loud noise to move it and finally he had to pick it up to move it. We got to see it so close up!

Yay for penguins!

I think there's something wrong with my eyes

After Te Anau we drove to Milford Sound. On the drive in there were huge waterfalls EVERYWHERE. They were also coming out of hugs mountains. At first I thought there was something wrong with my eyes. They felt like they were popping out of my head trying to see all the scenery. Have you ever seen the cartoons were their eyes of popping out? That's how I felt. What a great drive! The New Zealand scenery never seems to disappoint. We took a boat ride on the sound. What a fun and beautiful trip. It was pouring rain but we didn't let it ruin the trip. We seem to turn every experience into an adventure! We were the only ones at the front of the boat as it went under 2 waterfalls. We got soaked but it was great. When we got off the bus, everyone clapped for us. The boat went by one of the largest rock faces in the world. I was at the front of the boat. I had my back to the railing and looked up with my head back. What an interesting view!

Kepler Track and the Attack of the Killer Sandflies

We started the Kepler Track on Tuesday. It's one of New Zealand's great walks. We hiked for 4days and 3nights for a total of 70km. The first day we hiked in the bush up a very steep incline. For the last 45minutes the hike was on top of the ridge. One could see for miles and miles. There were huge mountains, steep valleys, and beautiful lakes. I keep saying that the lighting is different in New Zealand. It has a way of playing with everything that it touches in such a magnificent way. We reached our hut for the first night. We hung out with a bunch of Israelis and continued hanging out with them at each of the huts. The hut warden told us that the sun rise was at 6:20 so I got up early to watch it rise. It was sooo cold but worth it. I've never seen a sun rise quite like it. I got up about 1 hr before it rose and saw the progression of the colors. I was on top of the ridge with a huge lake in front. The lake and valley was created by glaciers. I saw the colors go from the dark night sky with lots of clouds to seeing every color of the rainbow in the sky. That day we hiked on top of the ridge and it was a clear day so we could see a great distance. The wind was sooo strong. We almost got blown away a couple of times. I hiked to the to of Mt. Luxmore and could see even more of the view. I had to brace myself so I wouldn't blow away. There was one point where I got a little ahead of Sara and just stopped and sat. Wow...amazing...incredible. It's hard to describe. What a great feeling of being so small but also on top of the world! There was one point where we had to stop and put all our weight in our feet because the wind was so strong. The second night we stayed in another hut. This one was by a great waterfall. The also began the attack of the killer sandflies. They were everywhere. Our third days hike took us through the land of the firns. Sara said they are the hairs of forest gnomes and that they were all at a rock concert. I saw lots of rocks so of course of believed her. It was an easy flat hiking day. The hut the third night was my favorite of the 3. It was a lot smaller and on a beach(this was a great thing except for the killer sandflies). We had a fire on the beach. There were people from all over the world sitting around a campfire talking as the sun was setting over the mountains. The last day was torture on Sara and my feet. It was a great hike. We ordered 2 large pizzas to celebrate a great hike.

....in the end the sandflies won...both our feet and legs look like connect the dots

It happened...again

After Wanaka, we headed to Queenstown (which claims to be the adventure capital of the world). On the way we parked our car in an abandoned for the season ski resort to sleep the night. It was a great drive in. It was a Sunday when we arrived and it began to rain. We didn't want to do any of the adventure activities and tried to find something else. We tried the library but being Sunday, it was closed. We went through plan A and B. Finally plan C was a success. We spent the whole day in a bead store. I made jewelry out of the native paua shells. They look great and it was a fun way to spend the day. We were planning on leaving Queenstown but there were other things in store for us. Our car stopped...again. Luckily we were close to a place where they could fix it...so we were spending a night and another day in Queenstown. We had the cutest kiwi fixing our car (in the little brother kind of way). We stayed at a camp ground which was right on a beautiful lake. The next day we walked the 6km to Queenstown. We got the best ice cream and Sara found her yarn store! Another thing to check off of the list. Our car got fixed and we headed to Te Anau to start our trek on the Kepler the next day. We arrived late in Te Anau and everywhere we went there were signs that said no sleeping here in your car so we found a street with houses on it and slept in someones front yard. Oh the crazy things you do when you travel!

Thanks Zack!

Thanks Zack Albrecht for suggesting canyoning...it was CRAZY AWESOME! The pictures can probably speak better than I can. We repelled, went down slides, and jumped into water. I did a 14ft. jump into the water...scary but fun. There was also one where I went head first into the water. It ended with a zipline. It was a great adventure we had in Wanaka!

Ode to the New Zealand Public Toilet

This might be a strange blog but I feel the need to write an ode to the New Zealand public toilet. You might think to yourself that there's nothing special about a public toilet...but oh you are wrong. You haven't seen the New Zealand public toilet especially the ones on the south island on the west coast. I know what you're thinking, you just need to toilet to do your business but this toilet cleans itself, checks up on you, flushes itself, and even sings to you. In order to enter you must push a button. When you get in it tells you that you have 10 minutes to use it and then precedes to sing classical music to you. In order for you to flush, you must wash your hands. You get soap by put your hand under it and water but just putting your hands in the sink. If you stay too long in the toilet, the music will stop. It will ask you if you're still in there to move. When you leave, it completely washes itself. Everyone must come to New Zealand just to experience the toilet. You're so GREAT New Zealand public toilet!

On a different note, we hiked on a glacier today. We had crampons on and explored the ice. At one point there were huge walls of ice on both sides of me. What a cool experience! Great pictures from the trip.

A Great American Feeling

Warning to all...I'm about to get political in this one. It's been so great traveling now that Obama is president. This is the first time that I've traveled and people have positive things to say about the American gov't. From the guy we bought our car from to political leaders to street vendors, everyone has a renewed feeling about America. When we were at the Waitangi Day festivities at the beginning of our trip, the leader of the Maori Party was wearing an Obama shirt (at an important event!). The leader of the Labor Party (he's the second highest political figure right now) said that at least they can agree on one thing...America has the right president! It's great to hear this attitude.

It's so New Zealand

After Abel Tasman, we drove back to Nelson to take part in creating our own bone carving necklaces. On the way we stopped and picked raspberries. I think I ate more than I actually picked! That night we drove to a beach and cooked our dinner on the beach. We decided to sleep in the parking lot of the beach. There were signs that said no overnight camping but there were at least 20 other vehicles parked there to sleep. We even talked to someone that had been sleeping there for 2 weeks. We said that every once few days they get kicked out but always come back. It was raining so we weren't worried. At about 10:30 that night I woke up because there was lots of car noise. A couple of seconds later there was a knock on the car door. There was a security officer there. In the nicest and most apologetic voice he said "will you please move but you can go on the next street to sleep." It was so typical of the people from New Zealand there always nice even if they have to kick you out. The next morning we went to this guy, Stephen house. He's a bone carver and we took a workshop with him. Bone carvings are very sacred in Maori culture. Each one tells a story. They are made to be give to someone (I wonder who I'll give mine to...). Check out the picture of mine. I can't believe how well it turn out...I love it! Sara's is also great. The workshop was awesome with great results! Today we had a long drive. In Lonely Planet it was listed as one of the 10 most scenic drives in the world. All the drives have been gorgous but this one was spectacular. We stopped on the way at a place called Pancake Rocks. The rocks look like stacks of pancakes. At high tide, water shoots up through the holes. Sara and I enjoyed finding faces and pictures in the rocks. We arrived a Franz Joseph Glacier. We booked a hike on the glacier for tomorrow and took a hike today to view the glacier.

I think I'm in a postcard!

We ended up in Marahau and decided to stay at Old MacDonald's Farm. They had llamas and alpacas on the farm (on like any farm I'm used to). The place we stayed had naval orange trees (for those of you who know my love of oranges will understand) and I ate sooo many of them. They were delicious. The morning we left for a 2day and 1night hike in the Abel Tasman National Park. We took a water taxi to the start. On the way we stopped on an island with seals on it. All of a sudden I saw a dolphin jump out of the water. It followed us for a while and gave us a show. The hike was great. We pretty must hiked from beach to beach. Great views!

Shout out to all my friends and family that are reading

Thanks to everyone who has replied, send emails, or messages on facebook. It's been great hearing from so many people! I misss everyone soooooo much. I'm sorry that I'm not able to send personal emails. Internet is expensive here and I'm just finding the time to update the blog.

Love to all!!!

Every story must begin with a story...

So here's a story that Sara told me after this situation happened. I have been asking Sara to share one of her stories with me and she always relies, when the time is right. The story goes like this...There was once a Chasidic Rabbi back in the day that was walking to synagogue and was stopped by the king. Now this king thought highly of this Rabbi and even consulted him on important matters. The king asked the Rabbi where he was traveling to this morning. The Rabbi replied that he's not sure. The king asked again and got the same answer. The king thought that the Rabbi was lying to him so he took him off to jail. When they got to the jail the king asked the Rabbi why he wouldn't tell him the truth. Well the Rabbi replied, I was on my way to synagogue and headed up in jail. You never know where your journeys might take you.

Now this story being told, this is our story. We took the ferry from the north island to the south island. The view was gorgous. We drove our car off of the ferry and were heading toward Nelson. We were just about to leave the city of Picton (where the ferry gets let off) and our car breaks down. Sara stays with the car and I run to a gas station close by to get some help. The man says that he can't leave for 45min but will come when he gets off work. I go back to the car and we get our stove out and cook a big feast on the side of the road while we wait. The man goes and pulls us (literally with a rope) back to the gas station. He tells us to come back in the morning. He was incredibly nice and helpful. We find a hostel and it has a hot tub! I go back in the morning and the car is all fixed. We leave for our second time to head to Nelson.

Check this Out!

http://www.youtube.com/purenzhaveyoursay?v=szBCIp0Rcgs

In Wellington, they had this thing to made a video about your trip for FREE!!! Check it out!

Life in New Zealand

So, tonight will be the first night since my first night here that I will be sleeping in a bed. I have either been sleeping my tent or in Tiger (our car). We've been eating real well. We've only eaten at a restaurant once. We cook every meal and they have been delicious. We had omelets for dinner. I don't think that Sara and I could survive without avocados. We eat them at about every meal. For me it takes ice cream, beer, and avocados to keep me happy. For Sara just exchange the beer for coffee and chocolate for ice cream. We're getting along real well. She's a great traveling companion. Every night at dinner we have a question of the day. It's keeps us thinking and a great way to examine my own ideas. It's been great here. Lots of adventure, meeting great people, and seeing beautiful sights. Even with all the travels, my neck, back, and jaw are not hurting...yay! I love the way people think about and respect environmental issues. Recycling is everywhere and used! The DOC has preserved lots of land. You rarely see trash around. Also the people are extremely nice. It always takes Sara 15min to get coffee just because they ask her lots of questions to make it just as she likes. In the grocery store today the cashier and I were talking because he was interested in what I did today.

Loving traveling and life right now!

Mom and Dad don't worry...I'll be coming home.

Officially like a Kiwi

I feel officially like a Kiwi! Sara and I opened up New Zealand bank accounts and applied for IRD numbers (number for tax purposes). We're getting everything in line to work when we get to the south Island. We booked a ferry ride in 2 days to get us to the south island. The lady at the bank was extremely helpful. She took 1.5 hrs helping us and explaining everything (at least 10x). Everyone here has been extremely nice. We can't get over how genuine everyone is. Last night we arrived in Wellington (the capital). Today we spent the day being tourists here. We went to the Te Papa museum. It's one of the coolest museums that I've ever been to. It's very interactive and informative. Their prize exhibit is having the only giant squid on display. They had this awesome exhibit teaching kids why they should be thinking about the environment. They had a trash relay game just like at Teva! Afterward we took the cable car to the botanical garden. My nose was in heaven. The smells of the flowers made my nose have a party!

I'm excited to head to the south island tomorrow! Farewell...

Pictures Are Up!!!!

I finally got pictures up from our adventures...but of course they don't do the scenery justice! Enjoy!

Time to strap on our packs

Up until now we have been doing LOTS of driving so that we can see lots of the sights. We decided it was time to do a 4 day hike. We chose Tongariro National Park. It was New Zealand's first established national park. We began our hike on Friday afternoon. On the first day we had to cross many streams. On of the funny things about hiking in New Zealand is that they rarely give you distances but give you the time the hike will take. The first day was an estimated 3hrs. We met 2 German guys that we became friends with and hung out with throughout our 4day hike. On Friday night we set up our tent and had a quite Shabbat dinner as we watched the sun set over the mountains. At one point our tent blew away and Sara had to run after it...it was a funny sight to watch. At one point during our dinner, all I could do was jump up in excitement for the amazing place that I was able to spend Shabbat in. We even had grape juice and did motzi over crackers. We got up early on Saturday for our hike. Little did I know how intense the day would be (mom, I'm not sure if you want to read this). There was lots of steep uphills. We were doing the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, which is one of the most popular hikes in New Zealand. After some time, we got to Mt. Ngauruhoe. For those Lord of the Rings fans, it's Mt. Doom. It's a volcano. It was rocking and sandy also very hard to climb. I went up with our 2 German friends. It felt that for every 3steps up I went 2 steps back. It was soooo exhausting but worth the view once I got to the top. We walked around the top of the volcano. There was steam coming out and snow on the top. We had a snow ball fight. Going down was very scary. Probably one of the scariest times in my life. I had to walk straight down the mountain. I was skiing down on my boots. At one point I heard the people above me yell rock. I look behind me and saw a softball size rock going flying past. About 15 minutes later, they started yelling again. I looked back and saw a rock about 5x the size of a football coming at me. I was on my toes and my body was going back and forth deciding which way I needed to go. Luckly it just missed me and I began to yell to the people below. My heart was still racing for most of the way down. At the bottom I met up with my German friends and we were all thankful that we didn't get hit. After a short break we continued walking. The scenery was amazing. We pasted Red Crater and the Emerald Lakes. It was a constant up and down hill walk. By the end of the day, I was pooped and my feet hurt. The next day had us doing more walking past breath taking scenery. We went through about every terrain on the hike. One of the best parts of the hike was staying at huts and meeting lots of people. I even got a German grammar and geography lesson from Malte.  There are sooo many Germans here so maybe it'll come in handy.  We met a guy who hiked with a basil plant.  It was a tough hike but I think the plant suffered the most.  By the time I saw it, it needed water.  In the huts it felt great to sit around and relax after a long and great hike.

We had a great 4 day hike and were sad to leave our German friends, Malte and Florian but we have more adventures ahead. We're both looking forward to going on more multiday hikes to see different parts of New Zealand. It's a great way to really see the country.

Farewell for now...

Maggots lighting their poop on fire!

We visited the Waitomo caves on Thursday, Fed. 12th. There many "glowworm" caves throughout New Zealand and these happen to be popular for not only seeing "glowworms" but also for adventure sports inside the caves. We took a tour from Rap, Raft 'n' Rock. It started with an 27m adseil (repelling for us Americans) into a cave. The desent was beautiful. We went down slow enough to be able to have a great view and fast enough for a little adventure. When we landed we got in black tubes and floated through the caves. As we entered the caves we began to see things glowing on the ceilings of the caves. We learned that they're called glowworms but really they're maggots. They glow by adding natural chemicals and oxygen to burn off their poop. Even being maggots, they were AMAZING to see! The ceilings looked like the night sky and the glow was stars. Once we floated for a little while we stopped and began caving. We crawled through small opening in the caves. I even got stuck trying to get through one of the holes. At the end we rocked climbed out of the cave. It was such a great day of advenure and seeing the glowworms! One of the best parts was at the end we got a free hot shower! It had been awhile since we had one (please don't ask how many days!).

On to the next adventure...farewell for now

It's Tapo...but a GREAT place to dive!

We had a hard time deciding where to go next. I really wanted to dive. I heard of a place that's a marine reserve and rated one of the world's top 10 places to dive so we headed to Tutukaka. From Tutukaka we took an hour boat ride to the Poor Knight Island. A Maori chief put a tapo (made the Island forbidden) on the Island and it's been declared a reserve so only the Dept. of Conservation is allowed on the Island. People aren't allowed to fish around the island so there's a large array of fish. The Islands were made from volcanic rock and you could take a boat right through some of them. What amazing sights above and below the water. I had 2 dives there. I saw sting rays swimming and large moray eels. One of the most famous diving pictures was taken in the place that I had the chance to dive at. The water was sooo cold so I had to wear a thick wet suit. Not bad for my second time ever diving!

Farewell for now...must investigate my next adventure!

Hug a tree it's Tu'Bishvat

We drove into the Waipoua Kauri Forest to check out the old Kauri trees. We took a hike by a water fall and into the forest. All of a sudden we saw the big trees...you really can't miss them. Sara and I hugged a few and our arms didn't even come close to going around it. I think you need about 10 people to make it. After our hike we drove to see the oldest and biggest kauri tree. It's believed to see 2,ooo years old! It was a baby when Jesus was around was what the sign read. I believe a perfect way to spend Tu'Bishvat!

A BIG sneeze...Happy Birthday to Amy?!?!?

We got up early on Sunday morning and headed north to take a tour of the far north of New Zealand. We headed to Cape Reinga. This is the northern most part and is where the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean collide. Sara and I thought it was so cool that less than a week before we say the Pacific Ocean in a very different place. On the tour, the guide taught us about Maori culture and even sang to us. It's custom to sing before and ending a trip to thank everyone for allowing the journey. We also learned about the Kauri trees. They are huge and some have been found in swamps that are over 45,000 years old! We went to a place where they make furniture and other things about of it. Our stop for lunch was at a pictureque beach. There were only a few people there and we could see the whole coast. We reached Cape Reinga and had a little time to explore. We saw the waves from the Pacific and Tasman crashing into each other. We climbed a little hit and could see for miles. I wish my camera could capture the beauty. While we were riding on the bus, I sneezed really loudly (for those of you who have heard know what I'm talking about). Everyone on the bus reacted to my sneezing. After a little while the bus driver asked who was the person who sneezed so loud. I told him my name and then he had the whole bus singing Happy B-day to me in Maori....Hari Hurito Ki a Koe Amy. He kept have the bus sing it louder and louder. We also went sledding down sand dunes at the 90Miles Beach. I went pretty fast and got sand all in my face. I went for a swim in the water to cool off.

What a great day...Farewell for now

Shabbat at Linda's

As I was preparing for this trip, I was asking everyone about things to do in New Zealand and if they had any contacts for people there. I received the contact for Linda from Abby at Isabella Friedman. Linda used to work for Elat Chayyim. We met Linda at the ferry in Rawene and took the car ferry over to Kohukohu where Linda lives. The view from the ferry was beautiful (I'm sure that I'll be writing about the amazingly beautiful scenery ALOT...it's pretty incredible). We soon arrived at her house. It was up on a little hill and overlooked the water. She has a great garden, orchard, and chickens that she gave us a tour of and she gets all her water from rain water. Sara and I picked grapes for her. There was something so satisfying about lying on my back and picking grapes off the vine. I was excited to hear from Sara and it's a Jewish law to allow your workers to eat some of what they harvest. We didn't eat too much though. It was sooooo great spending Shabbat with Linda. It gave us a great perspective about life in New Zealand. She made the most amazing food! Most everything was either grown in her garden or grown local. Even the fish that we had for Friday night dinner was caught the day before off of the waters in front of her house. Saturday was a lazy day. We relaxed and walked around Kohukohu. We were very sad to leave Linda. Her hospitality was amazing. She was great and we had such a lovely time!

If you're ever in New Zealand, Linda takes volunteers to help her in her garden and orchard. I highly recommend it!

'Til the next advenutre...Farewell for now....

Off to an AMAZING start!

We arrived in New Zealand at 5 am on Tuesday, February 3rd after spending 13 hours on the flight. It was an easy flight and went by really fast. Sara and I looked at each other with big smiles on our faces as we landed at the airport in Auckland. We didn't waste anytime. We went quickly through customs and headed for a bus into the main part of the city. We met a guy named JohnO at the airport and he joined us on the ride into the city. The 3 of us went to a hostel and then headed for the ferry. JohnO had the idea to go for a hike on Rangitoto Island. We hopped on the 9:15 ferry and headed over. Rangitoto was created by a volcano so it's made out of volcanic rock. The view from the top of the volcano was breath taking and we could see 360 degrees around it. Sara said, "I think this is seriously the most beautiful place that I have ever seen." We spent all day hiking up, around, and down the volcano. We were pooped after the flight and the amazing day of hiking. We headed to our hostel for a needed rest. We woke up the next day and decided to head north. We wanted to meet up with a lady I was in contact with who used to work at Isabella Friedman, Linda. We began the day looking for buses up there and by 2pm we bought a car! We found an ad, made the call, and then bought the car. It's a cute little old Mazda. Driving on the other side of the road has been interesting. Sara and I call out big or small turn just so we don't end up on the wrong side. We headed north and made a stop in Whangarei to hike by a water fall. The falls was amazing and not even the best part. The backdrop was full of flowers and butterflies. We stayed the night at a camp sight that's in a town that claims to have the longest foot bridge in the southern hemisphere. I forgot to mention that being in the southern hemisphere, it's summer! It's very hot and the sun burns easily. Sara didn't believe it and is now paying the price. On Thursday we headed to Paihia and Waitangi. There was a festival there. February 6th is Waitangi Day. It's like July 4th in the US. Waitangi Day is when New Zealand became a country. The Europeans and the Maori signed a treaty in 1840. We heard major political leaders in New Zealand speak, watched traditional warrior chants, and saw the Maori row their war canoes. We heard a great reggae band 1814. Friday brought us to Linda's house for Shabbat.

There's sooo much more I want to write about but the library that I'm in is about to close. I can't wait to share all the details and feelings. I'm already overwhelmed by the amazingness of the trip.

Farewell for now...

First time to Cali

I spent 3 days in California before the big trip. I took about every mode of transportation possible to see the city including riding on a trolley and taking a ferry ride past Alcatraz and the Golden Gate bridge. I got to spend some time with Teva people which was so special. I stayed with my cousin Leah and relatives Ed and Deb. I spent some time in Muir Woods and Muir Beach. The view from Ed and Deb's house was spectacular! You could see miles of the California coast. I even saw and touched the Pacific Ocean for the first time. I got to see some BIG trees in Muir Woods. I have been talking about wanting to see big trees for a long time and finally did...I was trying to be a tree hunger when I saw them but they were just to big. The fun has begun!

Next time I post, I'll be in New Zealand!!!! Farewell for now!

The Journey Begins!!!!

The adventure is about to begin! I leave tomorrow morning for my flight to San Francisco...I can't believe that it's finally here. I keep getting asked by everyone, "What are you going to be doing in New Zealand." The answer...I'm just not sure...and I like it that way. We'll see where the wind takes us. I just know that I want 2 months of adventure, exploration, and reflection. I'm hoping to update this blog regularly to keep family and friends updated on my travels. I'd love to hear comments also. I enjoy writing postcards so if you leave a comment with your address, I'll be sure to send you one.

Farewell for now....