Sorry it's been so long, but finding Internet access for my laptop in New
Zealand is nearly impossible. In Australia, many of the Internet shops had
phone lines that I could use, but here in New Zealand, phone lines are hard
to come by. I'll do my best to keep writing e-mails, but I just don't know
how often I'll be able to send them out.

The flight over from Sydney was smooth and relaxing. On the flight, I had
some kind of strange salmon quiche for lunch and then watched "Shanghai Noon"
with my oversized and cheaply-made airplane headphones.

Looking out of the window, we broke through the thick, gray clouds and I
caught my first glimpse of New Zealand. Gentle, rolling hills covered with
velvety, green grass.

We landed in Auckland, New Zealand's largest city. After exchanging some
currency in the airport, I hopped on a city shuttle, found a hostel, and
checked in. I don't remember being this relaxed when I first arrived in
Australia.

In the hostel lounge, I watched the Sydney Olympics closing ceremony on TV.
Quite a show. I couldn't believe how many famous Australians they rounded
up. Slim Dusty's "Waltzing Matilda" was touching, and the fireworks were
stunning. Farewell to Australia.

A quick stroll around windy and rainy Auckland revealed that it's a fairly
large, somewhat scenic, multicultural city. The signal to cross the street
sounds like the buzzer on your oven. I was ecstatic to find Wendy's
(American fast food joint). I spent a few days relaxing in Auckland, but
the rain prevented me from any serious sight-seeing. Instead of waiting
around, I hopped onto the Kiwi Experience bus and began my tour of New
Zealand.

Our first day was spent on the Coromandel Peninsula, a region of craggy
green slopes and farmland just east of Auckland. As he drove, our driver
told us a bit about the history and geology of New Zealand. I thought New
Zealand was, like Madagascar, just a broken off chunk of a larger continent,
but it's not. New Zealand is almost entirely volcanic and has a lot more in
common with the other islands of the South Pacific than it does with
Australia.

We began to make our way southward. Our next stop was Rotorua, a small town
filled with steaming volcanic vents and surrounded by geysers. We went to
Te Whakarewarewatangaoteopetauaawahiao Thermal Reserve for an up-close look
at the geysers and to see a Kiwi bird. A nice place, but a dumb place to
put a town. One of these days, Rotorua is going to blow up.

That evening, we went to see a Maori (MAA-ree) cultural show. After being
greeting with a Maori "kia ora!" (kee-OH-duh), we learned about the origins
of the Maori people. The indigenous people of New Zealand, their first
canoes reached New Zealand around 800 CE, and they quickly settled
throughout the warmer North Island. We also learned about their way of
life. Maori wood and bone carvings are very distinctive and have
interesting stories behind them. Aggressive and violent, the Maori tribes
frequently fought for land and women, eating each other when things got
really hairy. After some singing, dancing, and a demonstration of how
ferocious Maori weapons were used to decapitate and disembowel their
opponents, we gathered in the meeting hall to have a traditionally cooked
Maori meal.

Personally, the history and lifestyle of the Australian Aborigines are much
more appealing to me. So far removed from human contact for thousands of
years, the Aborigines are unique. Peace-loving and amicable, they learned
to co-exist. The Maori, on the other hand, are very similar to other
Pacific Islanders, only more violent. I find it amazing that the Maori, who
made their way across the Pacific Ocean to get to New Zealand, didn't sail
further west to Australia and eradicate the Aborigines.

I stopped in Taupo, adventure capital of the North Island, for a few days.
Couldn't skydive with the bad weather, and I'm saving my bungy jump for
Queenstown, so it was a pretty mellow stop for me.

We spent most of the next day on the bus. The highlight of the afternoon
was not going on an unmarked "nature walk" across soaking wet farmland up
to my ankles in mud, stepping over beer can-sized cow turds and sliding
underneath electrical fences to get back to the bus.

Then we rolled into Wellington, the capital of New Zealand on the southern
tip of the North Island. Beautiful city, surrounded by mountains, nice
harbour. But it's built right on a major fault line.

It has been cloudy and cool the whole time I've been in New Zealand, and
there have been surprisingly few photo opportunities on my way down the
North Island. I must say that after all of the New Zealand hype from fellow
backpackers, I am slightly disappointed.

However, I have been enjoying the very favorable exchange rate. I was
enjoying $1.85 Aussie dollars for each of my American dollars a few weeks
ago when I left Australia, but now I'm enjoying $2.44 Kiwi dollars for each
of my American dollars here in New Zealand. For me, everything is dirt
cheap. It's nice paying US$2 for a double rum and Coke or US$2 for a
McDonald's Value Meal. If you'd like to take a cheap vacation, consider New
Zealand.

I have been told that the South Island is the more beautiful, more exciting
island. We'll see. Tomorrow I take a ferry across the Cook Strait to the
South Island. I'll be spending several weeks touring around with Kiwi
Experience before returning to the North Island and making my way back to
Auckland.

No Regrets.

Jeff