ilkirk

I bought a house here! My first one!

I made a stop here many years ago. I think I remember something about having really great stamps or something, so I bought some. They are tucked away somewhere… maybe they’re worth a fortune now?

I was a little worn out by the time I visited Fox and I didn’t have a whole lot of time or money to spend on walking around on the glacier or any of the cool stuff. It was interesting, though, to walk up to a glacier, especially since I’d been in the Tazman Glacier’s terminal lake (on the other side of the mountain that Fox is coming down…) just a couple of days beforehand.

Worth the visit.

I went for 2 weeks and loved every bit of it.

I landed in Auckland at 7am, a little late since the flight from the UK was late. My luggage didn’t show up for another couple of days, but it didn’t bother me too much.

I flew to Kaitaia that afternoon, toured Cape Reinga the next day. I rode around the north part of the North Island with a Brit girl that my befriended me, visiting Paihia and Orewa.

I flew from Auckland (grabbing my luggage) to Queenstown, then bussed to Glenorchy. From Glenorchy I hopped onto the Rees-Dart track for a 4 day tramp, which was lovely. Then I grabbed a car in Queenstown and took a tour of the South Island.

I stayed in Mt. Cook, Dunedin, Wanaka, Fox Glacier and Christchurch, visiting a ton of cities and sights along the way. I flew out of Christchurch Saturday night, arriving back in Los Angeles earlier that same day.

I don’t dare describe the places I visited because it would all be the same: amazing, beautiful, clean, calm, friendly.

Traffic in the big cities is a bit of a pain, but thats because when you’re outside of the cities, you hardly see any traffic!

If you have even half a chance to visit, DO IT.

Its a busy town full of places to pick up on extreme sports and such. I didn’t see a ton of it, but it seemed alright. I was happy that I didn’t stay the night there, but in Glenorchy instead.

I love Dunedin. It was love at first sight. Even when I got lost on their twisty streets as I first arrived in town, I was in love. I went up and down their hilly streets on foot and soaked up the atomosphere in the Octagon. I was happy… very happy.

I love you Dunedin – do you love me, too?

Who doesn’t like WDW? I mean, come on – theme parks, theme parks, theme parks. I could understand not liking the crowds or the heat, but who cares – ITS DISNEY WORLD!

Rachel lives here. At least for the time being. It’d be interesting to visit her, but I don’t see that happening… it would probably be wierd.

Ken moved up here from Chattanooga. He keeps saying we need to come visit him, so one day I’ll take him up on the offer.

My friend Miho lives in Tokyo, and I’d like to visit her. Plus Ken’s parents live in Kyoto, so maybe if he were to go visit, I’d tag along behind him… you know, if I had an unlimited budget and no responsibilites at home.