T&A

We got in late to Picton (on the South Island) after taking the rediculously expensive ferry. The next day, we drove South along the Eastern coastline to Kaikoura which is known for the many marine activities you can do (swimming with dolphins, seals, etc.). We stayed at a hostel called the “Lazy Shag” (named after a bird…you pervs). We spent the day on a hike along the coast where we came within 10 m of fur seals. This was also a breeding ground for tons of seagulls, and it smelled like you would think.

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It too us over 30 hours of travelling to get from Toronto to Auckland. Our flights took us from Toronto and through Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Singapore. We got to our first hostel at 1:30am in Aukland on the 13th. Auckland is a big city with not much to do, but plan journeys elsewhere. To our surprise, we found Brad in one piece when we arrived, but he decided to go back to Canada after only two weeks.

New Zealand is very environmentally concious. We haven’t seen any incandescent lightbulbs, and every single toilet is dual flush.

We immediately rented a car and took the scenic route to Waitomo, a small country town. The route took us along the coast and gave us a chance to stop at a waterfall. In New Zealand, people drive on the left hand side of the road, and so we had to quickly adjust, but it wasn’t too difficult. People rarely speed, and if they do it’s only about 5 km over. This also might be due to the fact that the roads here are too curvy to go much faster than the recommended speed. The winding, mountain roads also turn short distances into incredibly long travel times.
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