Russ made it

His luggage did not....

I haven't uploaded photos from my camera to my computer yet, but here are a few from my phone 

Queen Charlotte Track

One of my favorite things about traveling is the people you meet. I don't do well with the young backpackers that want to go on a pub crawl every night, but I love talking to the older crowd. On the track I did a home stay the first night and stayed with a lady named Noeline. Noeline is 82 years old. She has been a widow for the last 19 years and has had her home stay set up for the last 18. At 67 she decided to start traveling because she had never left NZ. In the past 15 years she has been to over 60 countries. She has never been to the US or the UK, other than layovers, and has no desire to go because she says the culture is too much like her own. Instead she has been on trips to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, rural parts of Asia and Africa and so many other cool places. I was so fascinated by her story and the fact that at 82 years old she is traveling to 3rd world countries.

There were 3 of us staying the night with her and I was the first one to reach her place so we spent a few hours talking. We watched 'Millionaire Hot Seat' together and talked about the latest gossip in her celebrity mags. Before I went to bed she told me to make sure I woke her up the next morning if I was ready to go before she was up. She said she must say goodbye and give me a hug and a kiss before I ventured on. She was full of wisdom, knowledge and a great amount of love. People like Noeline inspire me and bring a smile to my face every time I think about that mere few hours we spent chatting and hanging out.

70km/52mi is a long walk and my feet were feeling it at the end, but the views, the company and the peacefulness were all worth it! Had my legs allowed me to run when I saw the sign for 1km I would have been sprinting.

Preview of the view

I went to the Picton Harbor today to have a look at my boss' boat and this was the view. It made me realize how much I miss my Thursday night sailing club!  This is only the harbor, so my views over the next few days of the sounds should be stunning. 

I'm Back! Again...

I know I've said it a million times before. However, I am hoping this time it's for real! I have so much exciting news. I won't go into a lengthy post, but will start with the important updates. Sooo.....

I've finished my first semester of school! It was amazing. I have always thought online classes were a little bogus. After trying them I realized they were perfect for me. I dread going to class unless I know the teacher is really interesting, so this was convenient that I could do all of the work in my own time. For upper level courses this would be really hard, but for some of the basics it's great. It was extremely nice considering that half of each of my classes were freshmen. They would write things in text message lingo and use smiley faces like this : ) which I just found so inappropriate for school. It drove me mad. For one class we had to write a paper about a society that we would create using all of the anthropological terms we'd studied through out the semester. When one girls started off with "My society is Girl World and Beyonce Knowles is the President...." I could not contain my laughter. It's times like those that I am SO thankful I wasn't in a classroom. She proceeded to go on about no boys being allowed. It was so strange, I mean I could barely handle it. So I politely commented that her "world" seemed a bit unrealistic and silly. Luckily, I didn't get points deducted, but that was seriously the nicest thing I could come up with. Anyways, I am DONE!!! Woohoo it's summer time. PS did I mention I have 2 A+'s and one waiting for a grade?

Since I last posted I have done soo much. I have been on tons of great hikes and walks. Be on the lookout for pictures of them all. One of my friends I've had since I was about 4 or 5, Charles McDonald, came to visit. Charles and I are both red heads, or gingers as they call us here. Charles and I were in every class together from Kindergarten through 5th grade at Leinkauf. He remembers every person in each of our classes and just about every event that ever happened. We were hiking one day and I was seriously doubled over in tears because of the random things coming out of his mouth. I can barely remember college, much less elementary school. Despite Charles' cheapness and fear of spending money, we had a great time and I enjoyed catching up and having a visitor. I mean let's get serious, he rekindled my love of a classic PBJ, which I am pretty sure he ate everyday for lunch for the 12 days he was here. At least it wasn't Ramen noodles.

My brother gets here in one week. ONE WEEK! 7 DAYS! I am so excited. I have our trip all planned out with some places I have never been before. It will be my second Christmas in New Zealand, meaning my second Christmas away from home, but my brothers first for both and my parents first Christmas home alone! Remember in July when I was freezing my tail off and everyone was posting beach pictures? Well that will be me in December while you guys are freezing.

I am done working. It's such an amazing feeling to be retired as I like to call it. I have been traveling a bit and am now in Blenheim visiting my friend, Kirsty, that lives here. Kirsty and her husband Patrick own a cherry orchard here, so I am trying to alleviate some stress by helping out around here with their two children, cooking and whatever they need extra hands for. At the moment I don't feel like I have been very successful, but I guess two extra hands is always better than none.

I am off tomorrow for a three day hike through the Marlborough Sounds. 70 Kilometers to be exact. I have a really sore knee from my last 1100 meter downhill hike, but I just can't pass up on the amazing scenery I would miss by not going. So I have promised myself I will go slow, take it easy and enjoy the walk. I couldn't say no when I found out I get an hour boat road through the sounds to the start of the track AND they deliver my luggage to my hut each night for free. I will make sure my pack is nice and heavy with delicious food and clean clothes, unlike my most recent journey on the Milford Track where I went minimal at its finest. I promise to have lots of amazing photos when I return.

Last but not least, I am almost in my last month of being in New Zealand. It wasn't the easiest decision to make, but I have decided the timing was right. Like my mom said, the longer I stay the harder it is to leave. My friend Kendall said she wanted to meet in Bali so I booked a flight. I leave here January 14th for a week in Perth and then will arrive in Bali on the 20th. I have no specific plans, but want to make my way up through Indonesia, Singapore, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. There's so many more places I would like to go, but don't know that they will happen this trip. So once I have finished my travels I plan to be home. For a LOOONGGG time. I have loved every minute of it here and am not quite ready to come home, but I know that when I get there I will be excited. I have done a lot of traveling, but this is the longest I have ever stayed away without a visit. It will be nice to be surrounded by friends and family, the water and my favorite restaurants. I shed quite a few tears when I first made the decision to leave, but now that it's all becoming real I am actually getting excited.

Ok so this post is getting lengthier than I planned. I will go for now, but after my trek I will have some updates.

Love to you all! xo