'MIND THE STEP'

That's good advice. This sign has greeted us several times since we have been here. The first time getting off our plane in Auckland and the second time getting off a ferry boat. Those steps we navigated without any mishaps. But walking around through traffic is a bit more challenging. Clay has nearly walked into oncoming traffic twice now. That whole driving on the opposite side of the street makes crossing the road a bit more precarious. You don't know which way traffic is coming from. Since arriving in Auckland on the 6th we have become proficient hitchhikers. Neither one of us have ever hitchhiked. So it was a whole new adventure for us. And so far it has went pretty well. In two days we have managed to hitch rides from Auckland (north island) to the south end of the South Island. A distance of about 1200 kilometers. We now only have about 300 kilometers to go to Te Anau which is where we start our first hike. We have met some pretty interesting folks though while hitching. Dean the dairy farmer has been the best so far. We rode with him for nearly six hours and then stayed with him that night. It was pretty sweet since we had no idea where we would have stayed otherwise. Then there was Collen the one-legged meat deliveryman. We rode with him for a while and went around on all his stops and helped him deliver his meat. Our packs rode in the freezer. But as we got to know Collen we found out he was a convicted criminal for threatening to kill someone. Neat. He was also trapped in an auger for 7 hours, hence the missing leg. Random. He was a nice guy, but we were glad when he dropped us off at the ferry terminal and we could retrieve our very chilled packs. There have been countless others but those were the most interesting. So we haven't done any hikes yet but we have already walked heaps. With no car getting around can be a bit tricky. The other night after taking the ferry, (which was sweet, if you have ever taken the one at the Outer Banks, this was nothing like that..pics to follow) from the North Island to the South Island, we had to walk an hour out of town to get to a campground. We didn't get there until 10:30pm. Then the next morning we had to turn around and walk back into town. It is sweet just takes us a bit longer to get places. Well we gotta go put our thumbs to the sky and try and find a ride. But don't worry we will be 'minding our steps.'

Getting ready while staying at Carol's home for wayward children. If she would start a home here she could make a killing.

Although there are a lot of unfamiliarities here there is one universal truth, all the cool kids get around on two wheels.