From Tongariro to Wellington...

A few days ago I was in Taupo, adventure capital of the North Island. Did I partake in any of the skydiving, bungee jumping, or various other adrenaline inducing activities? No, I did not. I'll go back and maybe jump out of a plane another day! ;) I was only there for 2 daylight hours, got a bit of a sense of the town (small, touristy but cute all the same) but instead I spent the night taking it easy and catching up with Laura before crashing early. Because the next morning I was going to do a big hike.

The Tongariro Crossing is named as one of New Zealand's "Great Walks". The other day 2 people died on it. Of heart attacks. But I digress. Our bus left at 5:40 from Taupo, we arrived around 7 and then started on the long hike. It's really long. Like, 7 hours long. Some people do it quicker but I like to stop and take in the views every now and again. And every once in awhile I'll admit I needed to catch my breath. Because they weren't kidding when they called the second 1/2 hour stretch "The Devil's Staircase"....

(Photos of Tongariro Crossing)

Anyway, that night we stayed in the super swank backpacker's hostel in National Park Village. I would have gladly stayed there for a year if there was something to do around there other than the Tongariro Crossing (and snowboarding/skiing in the wintertime). Definitely enjoyed the hot tub that night!

And now I'm in Wellington, I got a job with an educational temp agency that places people in Early Childcare Centres on a day-to-day basis. Yesterday I got put in the infants room at one place, it's been awhile since I held a little one. It was actually really nice, except for the crying. But the cuddles and snuggles are nice, and they are all really cute in that funny bobble-head-alien kind of a way!!! :) Tomorrow I'm in the toddler's room so at least they will talk to me! I'm still looking for a place to live temporarily, in the meantime I'm in the backpacker's where everyone is on a different schedule and doing their own thing (including the Dutch boy who literally moonwalked into the room last night around 11 all out of breath and continued to dance to his iPod for a solid 5 minutes before moonwalking out again....).

It's really windy here, but things are good. I am kind of looking forward to some semblance of a routine for a bit, and maybe buying groceries for more than the next day at a time, that sort of thing... Anyway, I miss you. Send me mail and hugs, okay?