Fun things..

Hey all,
We've been having a great time over here. At least I have, I asked Gay the other day what her favorite thing was that we've done so far and she couldn't remember anything.
Keep in mind I asked her this while we were sitting in a geothermal hotpool. Apparently, you can't please anyone. Granted we have been doing a lot of driving and staying in hostels which in themselves can be a lot of fun. Anyway, here is a short list of some fun things we've done since leaving Cable Bay:
* took a boat tour around Bay of Islands.
* went snorkeling near Goat Island, NZ's "natural aquarium".
* went for a hike on Coromandel Pennisula, got very close to some sheep as you'll see in the pics.
* camped on a "naturally heated" campsite.
* found non-touristy locally-known hot pools and went swimming.
* went on a thermal walk and saw a lot of bubbling water and steam.
like i said, just a short list, but more to come. We're slowly making our way south and pretty soon we'll be in Wellington and ready to cross the border to the south island. I'm looking forward to it, although most people think it's way too cold down there.

Hostel living:
This is my first time experiencing what it's like traveling like a true backpacker and going from hostel to hostel. I have to say, so far I think it's the best way to travel. Not only is it the cheapest way to spend the night, but more often than not the most interesting. For those of you not familiar, a hostel is a cross between a hotel, a b&b and a dorm. Shared bathrooms, shared living spaces and shared kitchen areas. Every hostel has its own personality, its own pluses and its own minuses and everywhere you stay you're going to have a unique experience. Sometimes you're staying in someone's house (with an extension to fit a good number of rooms) and you have to always be on guard not to mess with things as Gay found out. Sometimes your staying in a purpose built hostel where it feels more like a hotel and the bathrooms are usually pretty dirty. The kitchen is usually where all the action is. Since this is budget living at it's best, most people who stay in hostels do their own cooking as oppose to going out. We've been doing our own cooking (thanks to master chef Gay) and cleaning (thanks to me) and we find ourselves in the kitchen quite a bit. This is where we meet all the other characters. For instance, 2 nights ago we were staying in a town near Waitomo and there was only 3 people staying in this hostel. One of those people was a very kind Maori man who decided to not only give us his life story but also give us a Maori 101 class session. A couple nights before that we were in a charming hostel where Gay got in trouble, but there was a French couple, a German couple and an Italian solo traveler there. Before long we were all drinking wine and huddled around the French couple's laptop watching CD-ROM footage of their skydiving trip from the day before, it was a lot fun.

Ok internet time is not exactly cheap in these parts, we're @ Lake Taupo region, so I'll sign off for now..Please enjoy the latest batch of pics..
Jon