North Island

There is seriously too much to type on here with a $1 for every 15 minutes internet cafe.  It would probably be $50 after I finished so I'll try to skim through the most of it.  


After leaving Auckland, Peter and I arrived in the Bay of Islands.  This place was amazing.  It obviously had some islands.  That night we met two other backpackers, Brooke and Stiina.  They invited us to go kayaking the next day.  The next day we all went kayaking on this barren island and picked up mussels from the shore.  That night we cooked them in a 5 star dinner...especially compared to most backpackers meals that consisted of a can of beans.  That night everyone got drunk and jumped in the ice cold ocean.  It was pretty cinematic.  The next day we drove to the west coast and saw these Avatar-like huge trees while listening to the soundtrack to Avatar.  It was comical.  Brooke left that night as Peter and I gathered clams in the shallow waters off the coast.  Suddenly, this seems like we're back in the caveman days...gathering food and wandering deserted islands.  That night Peter, Stiina and I had steamed clams.  There's something amazing about finding your own food and cooking it.


We said goodbye to Stiina the next day and left Bay of Islands.  Our roommate Shay came with us.  Shay was from the UK and had the work visa just like us.  We all drove to Mercury Bay in Coromandel.  This place was very low key.  At this point all we were drinking was New Zealand wine since it was so good and cheap.  The next day we got free kayaks and paddled out along the limestone coast.  It was amazing seeing these cliffs reach out into the sky while under turquoise waters.  In the afternoon we saw the awesome Cathedral Cove, which might be the best beach I've ever been to.  Shortly after we went to Hot Water Beach where we dug holes in the sand to dig out the sometimes boiling thermal waters that hid under the sand.

Shay, Peter and I left the next morning and made it to the sulfur smelling Rotorua.  We walked around this park next to our hostel that had a shitload of mud pools.  It was annoying that there was so much trash in them though.  Whats the point of chucking a bottle in mud?  That night we drank way too much and blacked out from all the wine.  The next day we tried to sober up before going on some class 5 rapids.  We whitewater rafted off a 7 meter water fall (21 feet).

The next day we left Rotorua, leaving Shay behind.  We tried to make plans to meet up in Wellington later in the week.  Peter and I arrived in Taupo a few hours later.  Yesterday we hiked 25 km's/12ish miles up a mountain that had 5 different ecosystems.  Today I am still feeling that hike.  Now we head to Waitomo Caves to see some Glow Worms before heading to Wellington for the weekend.

New Zealand

So these last 4 days I've been staying in Auckland.  It's a pretty ordinary city but if you take a ferry to one of the surrounding islands it's pretty amazing.  I felt like I'm in a modern day shire when we arrived at Waiheki.  Waiheki is a great day trip if anyone is ever in Auckland.  The beachs are in these little nice protected coves with odd looking water with spots of purple that look like wine.  They've actually found a way to turn water into wine here I guess.  Peter and I grabbed a beer and chilled on the beach.  I actually fell asleep for a few minutes before waking up to a chilly breeze.  The weather is still a little bit cold here.  It's in the 60's in the day and 50's at night.  I'm hoping it warms up a little more in the next few weeks.

Today we got a car, which was a huge relief.  It's a gold Honda Accord that we are calling the Gold Nugget.  We will head up to Bay of Islands in a few and really start the journey.  It's not fun being stuck in a city when you know that the surrounding area is middle earth so the Gold Nugget is our ticket out.

The odd thing about New Zealand so far is that I haven't met a lot of locals.  Auckland is saturated with backpackers and I might as well be in England because Brits are ubiqitous here.  Australia had a lot more locals but then again Australia has a population of 20 million opposed to 4 million here.  3 million of that might be sheep...  Anyways off to Bay of Islands.

Goodbye Australia

So my last day in Australia consisted of watching the Redskins lose 59 to who cares and saving an abandoned dog.  When I went to the beach before the game I found this dog who was alone just sitting in the shade.  He quickly came over to me and layed down.  It was pretty much the saddest sight I'd seen in a long time.  The dog was all ratty looking with dried out fur from the ocean salt.  I sat with the dog for 20 minutes hoping his owner would return but nothing.  There was no way I was going to ditch this dog or it would follow to me for the rest of my life.  I walked with it on the beach looking for it's owner but still nothing.  Finally, some people with a car said they'd drive it to the shelter, which is better than being all alone on a beach in the sun.  I hope they don't gas their animals here.  I also hope that the owners get the dog back and treat it well.

After the game I walked to Coolangatta and ate thai.  The people made me wait 3 minutes for their happy hour.  Is it really that big of a deal?  3 minutes?  Assholes.  I would have gone somewhere else but there wasn't anywhere to go.  I walked back to the hostel on the beach and went into deep thought.  The trip wasn't even halfway through but the thoughts of what I was going to do with my life returned.  Still clueless on the other side of the world. 

Today I'll fly to New Zealand and meet Peter in Auckland.  I'm excited to have a constant friend to hang out with again and also a car.  I've been stranded here for over a week and am ready for a change.  Still need to decide if I want to extend my flight.  Need to figure that out fast.

Purchased!

It's been a long time coming but today it went down. I purchased my ticket to New Zealand. Actually, I'm arriving in Melbourne, Australia and from there will loiter that country for a few weeks. I went to Melbourne, Sydney and Gold Coast last November/December and loved it. What I'm eying is Cairns or Tasmania for this stint. From there I will catch a flight to Auckland, New Zealand where I will meet Peter and continue on this wild ride.

What can I say about this experience? It's been so draining. I feel like I've climbed a mountain with this decision. So many negative forces telling me not to go and instead be practical and give up on dreams. At times I believed them and others I was angry. Just because you're afraid doesn't mean you have to fill my world with black clouds. "Life is a state of mind." I love this. It's on Peter Seller's grave and was featured in his masterpiece "Being There". I believe this saying even more now.

Never give up on your dreams. Never let naysayers alter your vision. It won't be easy..because if it was then everybody would be doing it.

2 decisions, 1 cup

In one of those indecisive modes again. Is it night? Check. Read my earlier blog about Day and Night to understand more about how the time of day can affect our mindsets.

I keep going back in forth about my priorities. I've always wanted to be a filmmaker/musician all my life. It's only recently that I've become obsessed with travel. So, when I see a super awesome movie or hear a super rad band it only pushes me back into that direction. When I watch the travel channel or research New Zealand, it pushes me back in the travel direction. I had been working out in Los Angeles for nearly 4 years in the film industry before my movie deal fell through. At that time I was certainly burnt out and discouraged. Traveling made sense at the time. Now that I am refreshed, I have that drive, that burning desire to make films and music again. But would it be a mistake to go back to LA so soon and start all over? Should I choose New Zealand because film will always be there? After all, living abroad is the more delicate dream. That's what I keep telling myself at least.

There will always be doubts but I feel that we have to make a decision. I can't keep floundering around about this. It is time to move forward and get on with it. I miss Los Angeles terribly but as much doubt I can get about New Zealand, deep down I know that it's as close to a once in a lifetime opportunity as you can get. Going to outer space might be in the same ballpark. I have taken a step forward by obtaining my New Zealand work visa. Every decision feels great and hurts at the same time because obviously I'm still heading in two directions.

Going to Alaska tomorrow. Random, I know. Alaska should be massively epic and maybe it will help point me in the right direction. I'll be shooting the next installment of Gap Year there with nice friends who are letting my sister and I stay up there. If you haven't seen the first episode of Gap Year it is here. Stay positive.

"Then What?"

"Then What?"

It's what I've been hearing since I've started telling people that I was going to move to New Zealand. It's almost comical now. Their responses might as well be in a robot voice...it's all the same.

Me - "I'm going to New Zealand."
Them - "Why?"
Me - "Why not?"
Them - "What are you going to do there?"
Me- "Travel around the country, work odd jobs and have a good time."
Them - "Then what? Then what are you going to do?"

I'm sure a lot of you have had this conversation before. I've had people tell me that I shouldn't go over there because I'd be "spinning my wheels". Spinning my wheels? What the hell are we doing at a job we hate for years and years? Making money for the future? Saving towards retirement? What we'd be saving for is something we can do right now. The problem is that our society wants us to rush into a career so fast that we never get the chance to figure out what we really want to do. There is a common fear for not having a plan. Ask anyone who's older and they'll say that things didn't go according to plan. I say embrace the fear and take your time. You can always make money...you might not always be free and have no commitments.

I try to remind myself that one day I'm going to die. It motivates me to do things that I might not do in my comfort zone. When people forget that they are mortal it makes it easier to settle in mediocrity and forget about dreams and passions. Think of dreams like you would another life. There are some dreams that can die pretty quickly. How about one like living in a foreign country? New Zealand's working holiday visa age limit is 30 years old. There are probably ways to get around this but what if you have a family, debt, job or a lease? It's pretty easy to kill that dream.

The next time someone says "then what?" just reply with the same question about their "plan". Then when they respond with their usual banter send them to this blog.

What are your dreams and are they living or dying?