The South Island is all that I had hoped. This area kinda reminds me of Washington State. I flew over the Cook Straight yesterday (22 mins at 2500 ft.) I was amazed at how low we flew because, as some of you know, I jumped out of a plane 3 days ago at 12,000 ft. Let's just take a moment to recap my final days on the North Island.
Left Hastings on Thursday morning. It took catching 4 rides before I got all the way to Taupo, but it was worth it. The day was perfect for a skydiving trip. I wish I had a picture to show, but the DVD and picture gallery of my dive would have cost an extra $179. You will just have to believe me that I did it. The next day I got to Wellington and enjoyed the laid back cafe culture. Wellington reminded me of Chicago (just the nicer bits and only 10% the population).
The guy that gave me a ride from Picton to my current location was something! He hunts wild pigs--with 3 dogs and a knife. Yeah. He just stabs them in the chest while the dogs hold them down. That's pretty hardcore, eh?
So now I am here WWOOFing in Motueka until the 4th. Actually, I will be taking a 3-4 day break to hike and camp the Abel Tasman National Park. I like this family, and this morning I milked the goat. We then ran the milk through a sive and then enjoyed it fresh and warm! There will be a neat building project before I leave, and until then, I will love the pets.
Last night they took me to a neighbor's birthday party. Nice food and nice folks. What a way to be introduced to the South Island! I don't have a great computer here, so expect a rush of pictures on the 4th. I will likely have about 400 from the beautiful Coastal Track. For now I need to plan some camping meals.
