fellow travellers
While I've been enjoying the travelling alone part you do also get to meet some very nice and interesting people while backpacking/hostelling. Just about every night you're sharing with people and they're usually pleasent enough to tolerate for a night or two. Although strangely I've found the snoring a bigger problem with the women than sharing with the men.
NZ also has the mixed dorms and showers in hostels, not all of them, but several which is quite fun. Once you get over the surprise the first time they're pretty much the same, although you might not change in the room with guys, even with your or their back turned.
So far though I've meant to some wonderful people, as well as the just generaly ok. From Wellington to Nelson I ended up travelling with a couple of girls from Detroit, Michigan. We got on really well and went out for a few drinks. They're doing the same working visa that I did for Canada and I have an invite from one of them to go and visit when she moves to New Orleans after she gets back.
A lovely gentleman in Greymouth seemed somewhat lonely at first, but really enjoyed telling me all about his family connections that he was visiting in NZ and even shared his steak dinner with me. We chatted for ages, he's from the Dover area in England and was Edward Fuller.
In Franz Josef I went to see the glowworms with two girls from Korea. We had seen each other at Greymough as well and you can't help but start saying hi when you keep running into each other down the road. I shared 2 dorm rooms with a young woman from Florida as well called Kristen, from Greymough and FJ. There was a lady from England in FJ that I good chat with one evening too, though I didn't get her name.
It's funny how often you don't actually find out the names of the people you can sometimes spend a lot of time talking to. At the Wanaka hostel I talked and shared a dorm with a lady from Manchester and we didn't exchange names either.
Most people who are hostelling around are the kind of people you can likely get on with, at least for a few days. Maybe knowing you will likely never see them again helps with that.
ALso just arrived in Te Anau and it's tipping it down with rain. Also any trip out to the Sounds in Fiordland are over $200, so I'm thinking they may have to wait for another time.
NZ also has the mixed dorms and showers in hostels, not all of them, but several which is quite fun. Once you get over the surprise the first time they're pretty much the same, although you might not change in the room with guys, even with your or their back turned.
So far though I've meant to some wonderful people, as well as the just generaly ok. From Wellington to Nelson I ended up travelling with a couple of girls from Detroit, Michigan. We got on really well and went out for a few drinks. They're doing the same working visa that I did for Canada and I have an invite from one of them to go and visit when she moves to New Orleans after she gets back.
A lovely gentleman in Greymouth seemed somewhat lonely at first, but really enjoyed telling me all about his family connections that he was visiting in NZ and even shared his steak dinner with me. We chatted for ages, he's from the Dover area in England and was Edward Fuller.
In Franz Josef I went to see the glowworms with two girls from Korea. We had seen each other at Greymough as well and you can't help but start saying hi when you keep running into each other down the road. I shared 2 dorm rooms with a young woman from Florida as well called Kristen, from Greymough and FJ. There was a lady from England in FJ that I good chat with one evening too, though I didn't get her name.
It's funny how often you don't actually find out the names of the people you can sometimes spend a lot of time talking to. At the Wanaka hostel I talked and shared a dorm with a lady from Manchester and we didn't exchange names either.
Most people who are hostelling around are the kind of people you can likely get on with, at least for a few days. Maybe knowing you will likely never see them again helps with that.
ALso just arrived in Te Anau and it's tipping it down with rain. Also any trip out to the Sounds in Fiordland are over $200, so I'm thinking they may have to wait for another time.