I am in love. We've only been on the road for a few days and we've visited only a few cities, but this place is unlike any other. It has completely surpassed my expectations. There are mountains covered with lush tropical greens everywhere. The 'highways' here consist of curvy roads that travel up, down and alongside the rolling hills. I can look out the window and see that our bus is on the edge of the cliff. It's a little scary ... but the view is worth it. I truly feel as if I've stepped onto the Lost island. I can't even begin to describe how absolutely breathtaking this place is. I keep telling myself it's not a dream.
I wish I had enough time to write down everything that I've been doing. This trip has allowed us to see and do so many wonderful things - and we're only on day three of ten! Hopefully, when I'm not pressed for time, I'll be able to write about it more. But, since leaving Auckland on Friday morning, here is a short rundown of all that I've experienced.
- Sea kayaking through Cathedral Cove in Wittianga
- Hiking through an old gold mine in the mountains
- Traveling to secluded islands and jumping off cliffs
- Experiencing an authentic New Zealand aboriginal dinner and theater
This, paired with the local night life, the never ending GORGEOUS views, the quaint and adorable small towns we get to stop in and all of the people we get to meet, makes this trip an unforgettable one.
We stay in youth hostels every night and we seem to find 'new best friends' in every one of them. In the morning when it's time to part ways, it's somewhat bittersweet. We're leaving behind newly-made friendships, but we know that we'll soon be making more. It's so interesting to hear everyone's stories. Being American, we are the minority. All of the other young men and women that we've met are from England, Sweden, Canada, Holland, Denmark, Brazil, etc. They are fascinating to talk to and I envy their care-free attitudes - and their accents!
Tomorrow we are heading off to Waitomo. There, we'll get the chance to go zorbing. If you don't know what that is, I didn't know either! Much like what you see on Chinese game shows, we are put into a giant plastic ball and rolled down a huge hill. Sound sickening? I'll have to let you know how it turns out. After that, we are booked for a Black Water Rafting trip in the underground caves of Waitomo. We get to repel down a tunnel that takes us into underground caves and then we will raft through the rapids in them. We could have either booked the amateur package or the experienced package. Well, you guessed it. We booked the experienced package. The brochure even said it is "hardcore". I can't wait.Well, that's about all I have time for. We'll be in Taupo in a few days. That's a larger city so I will probably be posting again then. I can't wait to post some of my pictures! Then, maybe you can understand what I mean when I say that .... I just don't know if I could leave this place.
No worries mate.
XOXO, Jennifer
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