Picture pages

Back in Wellington. V and I returned last night and she just left for the airport a few hours ago. Just for a quick rundown, we had a great time during our last couple of days in Dunedin. One day involved a lengthy trip to the Otago Peninsula, where we took a tour to see the local yellow eyed penguins, seals and albatross. It was hugely refreshing and wonderful to be in such a natural environment. After that we went to see a movie called Out of the Blue, which was based on a true story from 16 years ago, when a man from a nearby town called Amaroana snapped and went on a killing spree. He killed 13 people from this tiny seaside village in 22 hours. It was a heartbreaking story, but fascinating to see something so local to where we were. I bought the book based on the occurances, and will finish it over the next day or so. The next day involved a train ride through the Taieri Gorge, a scenic ride to a teensy town of 250 called Middlemarch. V was in a constant state of surprise as I kept falling asleep on the train (not my fault, it's a moving vehicle) and spaced out during the conductor's commentary.

These days in Dunedin were punctuated by us whispering in our room at the B&B because we were so uncomfortable being in someone else's home, some nice conversatiuons with our hippie hosts and daily breakfasts at 8:30 a.m. that V quickly began referring to as the "Bed and Breakfast Regime." Our last day involved the Cadbury factory (NZ branch), a mini-plane ride back to Wellington, a hyperactive, possibly drunk shuttle driver, what may turn out to be my world-famous pickle flavored (dill, actually) spaghetti bolognese, and the return of the drunk shuttle driver to bring V back to the airport this afternoon.

It's really kind of sad. We had a great time traveling together, and though we clearly couldn't do that kind of thing forever, it was one of those really exhilerating, eye-opening experiences that makes me feel like a better person overall. I'm hoping to continue incorporating such travel experience in my life in the future. I've really been lacking in the travel department since going to Europe 10 years ago, forgetting that all it takes is a few dollars, a plane ticket and some time on your hands. Hopefully hubby and I can work out some stuff to make travel a pleasurable thing for him, not a source of business-related stress, so that we can make it a part of our lives.

I have loads of pictures, but I don't want them to be overwhelming, so I'll break them up chronologically over a few separate posts. And you, along with me, can relive some of the highlights over the past two weeks. Sadly, I have no photos of the giant carrot, but when V gets back to the States, she can pass hers on to me for posting...

This is a semi-view of Auckland. The pointy thing in the middle is their Sky Tower, which V and I to this day refer to as the Space Needle.

In the Sky Tower is a glass panel. They swear that it's as safe as standing on the regular floor, but it's still panic inducing to stand on. One of their commercials includes a shot of a little girl jumping up and down on it while her father stands there looking anxious:

They have a "sky jump," which I was too chicken to do at the time. Now I wish I could go back and do it.

Remember how I said Mt. Eden was really freaking windy? That's my sweater that's flying up in the air.

After Auckland was Rotorua. More than a week and one washing cycle later, our clothes still have the faint scent of sulphur. These are some of my favorite pictures from Weiotapu, the "geothermal wonderland." I also likened it to the Earth's butt, where all sorts of inside stuff bubbles and bursts out. But that's just me.

Next up is Maori stuff, the ski resort where the only ATM was a 40 minute drive away, and many pretty views...