Odds and ends

After much agonizing about how I will travel through New Zealand, I opted for a bus pass. Given the fact that I wanted to spend less than two months here, and am interested in pure travel, it seemed the best deal. Lots of people come through for longer stays and get "working holiday visas" for those under 30. They do odd jobs working a vineyards, backbreaking work as fruit pickers, or under-employ themselves as hostel housekeepers, among other common jobs. Then they split up their time between working and traveling, renting cars, or buying them in some cases. It's an interesting prospect, and can be potentially cheaper than a bus pass on a budget...or potentially much more expensive. Anyway, after examining the possibility for multiple viewpoints, I went for a promotion bus pass that (not coincidentally) expired today. I get unlimited travel for a year (perhaps I'll come back), and can go through the north and south island for a tidy sum of $499 NZ. It's a lot of money, and it will bite into my daily budget quite a bit. But thus far I've been under budget by about $10-15 a day (yes, early still), so we'll see. And so, I leave tomorrow at about 6 a.m. to catch my first bus up north. I'm headed to Paihia, the beautiful Bay of Islands area. A Couchsurfer lady there named Kate (who is a local reporter) said I could stay at her place, so hopefully we can meet up. She was even so kind as to say she'd leave the key out for me b/c she won't be back til after 6 p.m. Wow. Anyway, finding a way over there will be another matter entirely, so we shall see.

Oof, this hostel cold is kicking my butt. Gonna try and call it an early night. Beautiful days here right now. I'm not sure what the connectivity will be like once I get out of Auckland. Internet here is not that great, quite expensive, and always an add-on fee (for example at a hostel). Some areas supposedly offer free wifi, but it's very very limited if it actually exists. Lots of people head to the local libraries, which allow a session or two of free Internet (15 minutes) to individuals, but it's allegedly very very slow. The country seems to take its time adopting technology, from what little I have seen, and people tell me that Kiwis generally like that fact. I suppose it goes hand-in-hand with being into all things environment and the outdoors.

Adios for now. Hope to write again soon.