The last page

I'm way way behind on my posts, but I couldn't be bothered to sit down and write during the last month. But now I've got time to kill, some things to say, and some photos and videos to share.

Tonight I leave Auckland and effectively New Zealand. It's bittersweet for sure. I've had nothing but a good time while I've been in NZ and I'm not entirely certain I won't return. But it's time to get back and start on the things I've lined up and get on with it really.

Here's what I've been up to for the last month:

I last left you all after my last day at GVW. We finished it all up with a trip together over to Moeraki on the east coast of the S. Island. Why Moeraki? Well, to see the boulders of course and to eat at Fleur's Place. Also because it's pretty close to Central and people had schedules to keep. We had a fantastic time as you'll be able to see from some of the photos. The boulders are quite strange. There's a scientific explanation as to why the boulders are shaped the way they are but I don't know what it is. As you can probably imagine it is/was a spiritual place for the Maori. It was kinda hard to comprehend their existence really.

I left Cromwell on June 3rd to drive to Auckland. Why was I driving to Auckland? A couple of reasons. 1) As some of you know already, I bought a ticket to the Kingdom of Tonga. My flight left from Auckland so I needed to get there to fly out; 2) My flight back to the States originated in Christchurch with a connection in Auckland, so I had to come through here anyway; 3) I was told I might get more money for my car while if I sold it in Auckland; and 4) to see some of the country. I only care about the third reason as I'm about to enter another period of no work, and I put some money into the LB to keep it legally on the road. In the end, I didn't make that much extra.

My drive up went from Cromwell to the west coast of the S. Island; up the west coast to Punakaiki then over through Blenheim to Picton; ferry over to Wellington; detour to Martinborough then back to the west coast of the N. Island. up to Palmerston North; to Taupo; then to Auckland.

My favorite parts of this drive were the west coast of the S. Island, Martinborough, and Taupo. I don't know of too many places on the planet where one can drive from glaciers to subtropics in the matter of about 2h. The west coast is seriously stunning and I'm glad I was able to see it. I ventured over to Martinborough to see the winery that I almost worked at and to pick up some gifts. It's only about 45-60m from Wellington to Martinborough and it was a welcome change to get there. Wellington felt very very foreign since it's the capital and a decent sized city, especially after spending so much time in a sparsely populated and beautiful area like the S. Island. The drive from Palmerston North to Taupo was pretty great in that I saw the sun setting on my left while the full moon was rising on my right. Unfortunately, I got to the desert road after the sun had gone down so I missed seeing some more desert in NZ. Taupo is pretty great too. Home of my friend Chanelle and some pretty nice views when it's clear. Reminds me of Queenstown without all the tourists. Chanelle hooked me up with another bungy jump as you've seen from the previous post. Awesome! She also hooked me with a game of net ball. It's not the most respected sport in the world, but when you see it played it can be pretty majestic.

I got to Auckland the night before my flight to Tonga. Traffic and highways. Guess 1.4-1.8million people in the greater Auckland area will do that.

Then to Tonga. Tonga was rad. So good. Some of the stuff I'd read prior to departure claimed June-November iss whale watching at its best. One of the island groups called Vava'u is where humpback whales come to breed and give birth. It's also a place where swimming with the whales is possible. I was hoping that I'd be able to do this as well as lay on some warm beaches, swim and snorkel. Kinda thaw out after harvest in Central Otago.

When I got there, I went straight to the Ha'api group of islands which is where the best beaches in Tonga are located. I intended to stay there a couple of days and then get up to Vava'u to see about some whales. I was told that the whales weren't around yet so I decided to hang out in Ha'api for as long as possible. I went to an island called Uoleva where there are only 2 guesthouses and a bit of a resort. Besides the locals running these places, I think I was 1 of maybe 6 people on the island. I did exactly what I wanted to do by swimming, snorkeling, and sunning myself. I had to cut my time short because of flight availability back to the main island group of Tongatapu because of a church conference (something like 99% of the Tongan population is Christian). But it was all fine since I'd recharged myself pretty well by then. I decided to go back to Auckland early to try to get my car sold before some of my friends from the S. Island came up to visit.

Auckland has been pretty great. It's definitely a city, about a quarter of the NZ population lives here. It reminds me a bit of San Francisco but with a Kiwi flair of course. It's a livable city. Last night there was a thunderstorm! So cool.

So enjoy the photos. I'll be in Phoenix tonight 2h before I leave NZ–time difference and all; the longest day of my life.

Peace fam. Stay frosty.

Shizuka and her bigass flounder at Fleur's Place

Pete and Matt

Christopher and Sascha

Discussing the boulders

The harvest twerps. Me, Shizuka, Pete, and Logan

Shenanigans

Christopher

Moeraki Boulders

Inside

Bruce Bay on the west coast of the S. Island. Where I slept in my car

Bruce Bay

Leading to Fox Glacier

Fox Glacier

Fox Glacier

Franz Josef Glacier

Franz Josef

Franz Josef

Pukaiki Pancake Rocks

On the road toward Blenheim

First ferry of the day to Wellington

Ice Plant on the N. Island near Otaki

Volcanoes Tongariro, Ngauruhoe, and Ruapehu with Lake Taupo in the foreground.

Huka Falls. The force of the water is pretty fierce because the Waikato River gets forced from about 100m wide through a canyon about 15m across.

Huka Falls

Sitting shotgun. Couldn't fly, but I held the clipboard!

My seatmate

Take off

Landing

Lifuka

Banana flowers

My hut at Capt. Cook's Hideway on Uoleva. It rained the night before hardcore and dropped a lot of flowers off the tree.

From Uoleva

Uoleva beach on the west side

East side

Fale at Patty's Resort. Run by a woman from the States and her Tongan partner. High dollar for backpackers. Better to bring over 3 of your US friends who can afford to stay with you

Sunset on Uoleva

Auckland

Auckland in first light from the Ponsonby neighborhood