greetings from NZ
Well, I made it! After a quick stop to see Bradley (and get a ride in his rustbucket of a car sans brakes and seatbelts!) and Brian, it was off to the airport! But wait! No, the transmission went out on Brian's truck just as we were leaving for SF. So I had to take a taxi (my first taxi ride ever, btw), to the airport. But after that, things went much more smoothly.
I spent my first day in NZ hiking around Rangitoto Island, which is a little dormant volcano right outside of Auckland. Very beautiful. There are pictures here. That night, Audrey took me to her farm near Manakata, which is where I've been ever since. I help walk the dogs, feed the chickens and ducks, plant things and weed the garden, paint in the second hand shop she's trying to reopen in Warkworth, and sleep with her nephew. Oh wait! That wasn't part of the deal, that's just a bonus. So yeah, go me, I'm in the middle of a torrid, secret (at least from people in NZ), love affair with a Kiwi. !!!! I have no idea where this is headed, but I like it, so I'm just going to kinda go with it and see where it takes me.
There aren't a lot of pictures of the farm up there yet, and I haven't gotten any of the awesome people I'm living and working with yet, but I did manage to take a few this morning before heading into Auckland so I could do this. The dog is Frodo, the big, loveable, oaf that he is. The dog lying on the table is Duchess, and the cat is Simba. The house behind Duchess and Simba is where we eat and hang out (read: drink lots of beers and play lots of cards-I have learned THE BEST new drinking game!). The rest are just kind of things around the farm.
Anywho, I have to run! My time is almost up. Grr...that went way to fast. I hope you're all doing well, and I miss you!