Where it all began
Aug 13, 2008
I'll have to make this quick (and probably incoherent). Today will be a long day... a very long day.
Still in Christchurch, I had to give away a lot of stuff I was holding onto but didn't need/want any more. It was unfortunate I bought heaps of paint in Auckland but never not around to making much use of them... so I quickly threw together a painting of a sea lion and gave that away too. At least made me feel like they didn't go to total waste.
Get him!
Those scary Olympics mascots roaming the streets.
Nice to see the sun out for once.
This is what happens when you're in a city and there's not much going on... you take pictures of scenes that look pretty, but have little personal interest to you.
Looks like some weird Zelda type puzzle you have to solve to get to the next level.
How inappropriate.
Mental note... gambling is not a substitute for working. Though it is dangerously tempting to look at it that way when you're on a roll.
Tri-nations cup action continues. Huge screen at the Holy Grail to watch the All Blacks dominate the Wallabies.
The AB have lost their aura of invincibility... even with a seemingly insurmountable lead, the crowd seems weary.
Another shot of the tram, this time at night. Exciting.
A man taking pictures of graffiti. I take a picture of the man. Now he knows how the graffiti feels.
Usually, I only use a panorama crop for beautiful landscapes.
Final dinner in Christchurch. Couldn't wait for the vegetables to cook, so I already started eating the steak.
Waiting for take-off to Wellington. I could've just as well left New Zealand from Christchurch, but couldn't imagine leaving the country without saying goodbye to some people in the North Island, so I headed back up there for a week of farewells. Nobody here needs an introduction, and if they do, you haven't read back far enough in my blog :)
My journal... have kept it since day one.... it's day 365 today.
Rising out the the Canterbury plains, one last farewell to the Southern Alps.
And as soon as we lifted off and reached cruising altitude, we were told to prepare for landing. Not even half an hour in the air.
Back in Wellington, met up with Rich and went to a couple sporting events. A basketball match between the New Zealand Defense Force and Australian Defense Force. The scoreboard shows how much New Zealand needed to work on their defense.
A-League Pre-Season final between Wellington Phoenix and Melbourne. Last season Wellington finished second to last, so them making the finals was a good sign for the team. They dominated the game play, but the result was decided on a shootout which Melbourne won. The stand look pretty sparse, but it was a lot more crowded in the Yellow Fever section we were sitting in.
Rich watching intently. Surprisingly at the game, I ran into Mayank (guy in yellow), whom I worked with at the Dog & Bone. One of my reasons for coming down to Wellington was to catch up with my old workmates there, but since I left, Dog & Bone changed ownership and the place went to shit and pretty much everyone else left.
Another reason for going to Wellington, to pick up my passport. Yes... that is a travel visa for Vietnam. I've decided it's about time I reconnect with my heritage.
In my entire year in New Zealand, I didn't have a single opportunity to see a kiwi in the wild. They're nocturnal, rare, and so bloody elusive. But I couldn't imagine leaving the country without seeing one, so I did what had to be done and went to the zoo to see one. Yup, there it is.
Apes going apeshit at the Wellington Zoo.
A sneak preview of where I'm headed to.
This used to be the Dog & Bone, turned back into the fancy French restaurant it used to be. Obviously that didn't work because there was a foreclosed sign posted on the door... Closed that very day. Shit, I was hoping to at least visit the chef and anyone else who might be left.
New World supermarket finally finished construction.
Wellington had been experiencing the same 2 weeks of shit weather that made Christchurch so dreary, but the skies were perfectly clear the couple days I was there. And as if the skies showed how I felt inside for leaving my favorite city for the last time... it rained. I didn't actually know how I was getting up to Auckland a couple days before, thought I'd hitch hike or take a bus. But Tim, my flatmate from Auckland needed a truck of his mate's driven up from Welly... perfect... One last driving adventure!
I WAS taking the same route that I'd already driven a few times, so there was nothing new to really see. But I did have a chance to take pictures of something I missed previously, like this one of the giant gumboot in Taihape.
40 cent entry fee??? Thought I left all that nonsense behind in Europe.
Just another rainbow. I hate taking picture of the sky now... I can always notice the dark splotchy areas where the dust has settled in the lens.
A little detour to Paeroa, home of L&P, a kiwi favorite. I remember trying this drink for the first time nearly a year ago at a Wendy's in Auckland. I thought it was root beer because of the packaging and me making a weird association with A&W, a root beer brand in the States. But you know when you expect one flavor and you get another.... PBLLLEHHHHH!!!
Back in Auckland, I've been doing what billions of people around the world have been doing... watching the Olympic Games. I must say... as much as I support New Zealand sports, nothing brings out the flag waving American in me like the Olympics. I'll cheer on Mahe Drysdale, as long as there's no American his event :) What I must also say is that NZ coverage of the Olympics sucks! Look at this picture... this is the main news desk for the coverage here! How I long for NBC's epic intros, emotion filled fluff pieces, flashy state-of-the-art news studios, Bob Costas' insightful commentary, John Williams' Olympic themes! This...this is a guy with an LCD screen...weak. But... I guess one advantage of watching the games here is that I get to see things live that are time delayed in the States (like the opening ceremonies "Yeah, I saw that yesterday"), and a variety of sports I wouldn't see at home... like sailing, but you can only put up with so much of that.
Hung out with Kev at his new flat and had way too much wine. He's heading to Australia as well in a few weeks, but forever.
My favorite dog in the world.
Tim assessing the damage from when the lifeguard tower at Muriwai Beach collapsed when three "storm of the decade"s hit in 2 weeks (guess that makes them "storm of the week"s).
Goodbye black sand beaches.
View of Auckland from the ferry to Waiheke Island.
With the limited time I had in the day, I opted to take the 2 hour bus tour because it didn't add much to the cost of the ferry. The experience reinforced why I loathe bus tours. I actually fell asleep the last half hour it was so boring. Drive, stop, take picture, drive stop, take picture..... yawn.
Obligatory macro shot.
Merry Christmas
Will I miss simple scenes of Kiwi life when I go home? I already do.
One last sushi lunch with Kristie, This is definitely going on facebook.
So there is it... my last few hours in New Zealand are ahead of me. I had to throw this update together in a couple hours because my flight departs soon and I still need to figure out how I'm getting to the airport. I feel like there should be some grand conclusion, some statement to summerize the whole trip, some expression of what I'm feeling at the moment. But as I sit here where it all began, playing with Coke and watching the clouds pass by in waves, alternating between downpours and blue skies every hour (as it does in Auckland), it feels like any other day, nothing particularly different. It's like when you ride a rollercoaster so many times, you don't really feel the effect of it anymore. It's not that the thrill is no longer there, every time you reach the crest, you still brace yourself, but you sort of know what to expect. I expect to have an awkward emotional moment in a few hours when I finally leave this country that's welcomed me, amazed me, and surprised me at every turn. It'll take me a long time to put it all into perspective... it's been a very long and fulfilling ride. I might continue posting here regarding my continuing journeys in the land Down Under, but more likely, I'll have to wait until I get home to have a retrospective like I did with my Eurotrip blog. Either way, there will be at least one more update here regarding my departure, and definitely a special treat for anyone who's been following my journeys in New Zealand, though that probably won't be done for a few months, so check back often. But until then... So long from Aotearoa.