Auckland!

From the second I could see the country side from the plane I knew I would love this place.

I haven't really left the city yet, that should happen Sunday morning on my way to my first farm in Clevedon, a city not to far from Auckland assuming I can get this bus/train situation figured out. It shouldn't be to hard because I have a lot of help from my hosts here in Auckland(Sarah and James).

It's kinda funny but the first food I had in New Zealand was Pizza Hut! And it's SOOOOOOO much better than American Pizza Hut, I'm really glad Sarah suggested it. The other food Ive had so far has been pretty regular stuff, I have yet to identify what "New Zealand Food" is.

 It's the perfect weather here. Sunny, breezy, cool... perfect. The apartment I'm staying in right now is close to the harbor so it's cool and just awesome in general. I really like Auckland but really want to get to the country side soon. The city is great but I think I'll like the country even more! Tomorrow I'm hoping to go to a place called One Tree Hill. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Tree_Hill,_New_Zealand A 360 degree view of awesome country side!

I have yet to get my iTouch hooked up to wifi but when that happens a few pictures should pop onto my facebook/instagram.

Everybody I've met has been pretty cool. On the flights over I ran into many different people who all had cool trips to talk about. On the last flight a couple, The Wyatts (http://wyattsinwellington.wordpress.com/) were a couple who were doing a pretty sizeable hike down to Wellington. So pretty much going from the North part of North Island all the way to the South. Scott had me worried for a little bit when he talked about it possibly being hard to get my visa in New Zealand but it all worked out!

I will forever remember the feeling I had when I saw my pack at the baggage claim in the Airport. She was beautiful! Not a scratch on her and everything was there! She's the pack I'll be taking around the world with me and it killed me to be apart from her not knowing how she was. Yes, this sounds a little crazy but that pack is all I have now O.o As I grabbed her off the conveyor belt I remember looking and two strangers standing side by side watching me. One of them obviously a backpacker and he smiled. The other a guy in a suit, he looked at me strangely. The backpacker understood my joy I think :)

I know this post has been a little all over the place, it was written pretty quickly because time on the public library computers is limited. Sorry for the spelling mistakes that I'm sure are in here!

So, I'm in Auckland, I'm safe, Everything is going great! Farms and Backpacking start Sunday! Christchurch by April 15 or I get deported!

Take care and thanks for reading,
Steve