When most people think of Australia, the first thing they think of is a kangaroo. And if you are like me and most of my friends, you don’t really think about it too much and you just assume that kangaroos are hopping all around. Well, to be very honest, we are not that far from the truth. Not that you have to wait for a bunch of roos when you are crossing the street, don’t imagine it like that :P But what I mean is that they are all over, when one steps outside of the big city. Australia does a very good job in preserving their wildlife in the wild, where you can actually see them in nature, doing their thing. I think that’s pretty cool!
I am saying this because I thought about animals in Bulgaria or the USA and then I realized that you’d be able to see wild animals like that mostly in the zoo.
Being so fascinated by this fact, I keep taking pictures of kangaroos whenever I see them. And it is super exciting to see them hop around, untroubled by anything and anyone.
This one has a little baby peeking out of the pouch and checking us out :) Isn’t that the cutest thing???
And I like taking pictures with them :) I never got tired of it!
Another thing about Australia that always cracks me up are their signs. I have been traveling quite a lot in the wild and visiting nature sights and these signs just keep appearing everywhere (and at some point, you dying just becomes a very normal warning). This one I saw at the Grampians:
I’ll try to find a couple of more, just to illustrate my point.
Snakes at the 12 Apostles:
Shani being happy to know she can DIE at the 12 Apostles:
A full list of warning signs at Great Ocean Road:
Stuff falling on your head at Great Ocean Road:
Stuff can happen to you in the city too (Melbourne):
Some more snakes in Tasmania:
Falling in rainforests:
Running into a cow and killing both you and the cow in Carins, Queensland:
Humans not allowed past this point in Grampians National Park:
So this is a short list of the signs I have seen (and was able to find now). But imagine the feeling of being constantly warned that the worst can happen to you anywhere you go (as long as you’re in Australia) :) They even have a very cute song for it (that also warns you of all the things that can happen to you here) :)
So continuing on, there were breathtaking views:
…which inspired us to sink deeply into thoughts (you know those pictures where someone stares into the nature and “thinks” – that’s what we are doing here):
And then this is the place where humans were not allowed past that sign I showed you:
I did want to take a nice picture on the edge of the cliff but when I was weighing the importance of my life or the nice picture, I picked my life. Kind of more important, you know? :)
We then saw some waterfalls, which was nice but it was raining so we didn’t stay long. This Australian weather really did show me that there can be four seasons in a day. Literally.
On our way home I saw those and I thought it is the coolest thing (although no one else was very intrigued).
So there are rocks. And that’s not the exciting part, I know. But look closer. What fascinated me was the fact that someone actually took the time to put those rocks in order and on top of each other, ordering them by size. I think it is something religious and spiritual. But all the rocks you see were there for a very specific reason. Crazy, right?
I know that the natives are very spiritual and their beliefs are derived from a sense of belonging to their land. In the museum I visited in Sydney, I read the following: “It’s all linked up with people, land, religion, it’s just one big circle.”
Not that it explains the rocks but it makes sense.
Hello, hello :) Today I will tell you about this wonderful, drunky day I spent with my friends in the beautiful Yarra Valley Wineries. It is a gorgeous valley near Melbourne where all the wineries are squished near each other. We visited only four that day :P (only!).
So our day began not with wine tasting at 9am but with chocolate tasting. It would have been weird if we drank at 9am, right? That’s why we pushed it to 10am. Meanwhile, we indulged in the world of chocolate…
The giant bowls with the three different chocolate chips were there to try and we could get as much as we wanted (and of course I did) :) There were also chocolate fountains…
And 1 metre long chocolates…
But I decided to reward myself with ice cream and cover it with some free white chocolate chip awesomeness.
After our very nutritious and delicious breakfast, we headed to our first stop and admired some of the beauty of Yarra Valley.
Our team of enthusiastic drinkers was ready for action :) There was some big cork popping…
Some delicious lunch for our hungry souls (with included wine of course)…
Some more wine tasting where I learned that the best word to describe good wine is the word “balanced”. If you don’t really know what’s wrong with the goon you are drinking (the way Aussies call the cheap, boxed wine, consumed mainly by college students), you can always say that it is just not balanced. Or if you like the wine you are drinking but you have no idea how to sound sophisticated and to impress your company, just say that the flavors and the scent of the wine are balanced. You will sound like an expert! :P (and never mention that you have drank goon, ever!) :P
By the end of our wine tasting day we were drunk and happy and ready to go home. It is the one day when I forgave myself for starting to drink at 10am. After all, it was 5 o’clock somewhere, right?
Hey, guys! I have only five days left in Australia and I can’t believe it. I still haven’t realized I am here and I will probably do so when I go back to the US.
I have had an amazing couple of months here and although I haven’t shared all of them with you, I will try to give you an idea what I have done and the little trips I have undertaken while here. For the limited amount of time I was here I did quite some traveling so I am very proud of myself :) I somehow managed to squeeze in a lot of good times while being a somewhat responsible student. Now, after I am done with all my exams, I can say that I have done a pretty good job in balancing. I will write a single post for each trip/experience because otherwise it is too much traveling and too much info all at once :)
We went on a trip to Wilson’s Promontory very soon after we came back from New Zealand. Now everything that I saw after New Zealand was great but I have had so much natural beauty during my spring break that I think I couldn’t process it adequately any more.
Our first stop was a beach called “Squeaky Beach” because guess what… It squeaks!
It was one of the cutest things on earth and I found the name of it to be especially cute :) Here is how it looked and sounded:
http://youtu.be/ecFLb5AwyRc
The other awesome thing we did in Wilson’s Promontory was climbing a mountain. I am not sure if I have ever done it (although I think I have, in Bulgaria but I was too little and it doesn’t count). So I climbed a mountain for the first time in my conscious life and it was amazing! Now I know why Australians are so fit and healthy – they only hike and climb stuff.
After the exhausting process of climbing this crazy mountain, the view was very rewarding…
(as well as the accompanying wind) :)
It felt as if I worked very hard for the view I got and it was my reward. I was happy :) And exhausted…
The best thing about this national park was (beware! random fact follows) the fact that we had to go to the bathroom in the bushes :P Even the sign was saying so:
So this is how my exploring of Australia and Melbourne’s surroundings began. I realized that there was more typical Australia to see outside of the cities and this is why we constantly undertook mini, one day adventures all around. More about the rest will follow soon :)
So, I finished almost all my assignments (or at least the ones that need to be done in the next two weeks) and I am ready for action! :)
I am also very excited since Shani and I just booked our trip to the Sunshine Coast and the Great Barrier Reef!! :) Wohooo!
And while my friend Nadine is here, we will make a little tour to Tasmania as well.
I feel like I will have visited the key places I wanted to after all. I have packed more in those four months being here than in the past couple of years. Impressive! :) This is what Australia does to me.
So I will definitely keep you updated on my traveling experiences when I have a minute and I will also post more about the previous trips I went to (which are also worth telling you about).
Ughhh, uni work did get to me after all. It kept me sleepless last night and it has turned around my biological clock as well.
Ahhhh, anyway, it is time to feel as if I am on a vacation again :)
Aussie, Aussie, Aussie! :) There might be only one more month left here but I will make sure to make the most of it! Yey!
Hey, guys! I know it has been a LONG time since I last wrote in here and I missed it! I admit.
But lately I have been performing my duty of a student. Yes. I have been catching up with studying.
Great news is that I’ve been doing that so I can have my last week of death (as my roommate Shani calls it) available :) And the reason why I want my free time is because my very close friend is coming from New York City to visit me!!! And I am SOOO EXCITED!!! :))) A little piece of the New York’s craziness is coming to dip in the Aussie waters of laid back, chilled atmosphere. I still can’t believe it but I am so happy!
Until then I will have to finish all my assignments due the end of the trimester.
Something that I realized is that university education is so different here and in the US. I have been taught to think critically and this is the most important virtue to learn in university. Here though no one wants to hear my own personal opinion and critical thinking. It’s all about citing what other people think. And this is when my appreciation for my home uni comes (never thought I’d say this but…) – I just love it! So I have called the system here copy, paste, paraphrase. And I don’t agree with it even a bit but this is how I got a good grade (80). When I was thinking and giving my opinion and critical understandings, I was getting 60’s. So, no thanks!
But it’s funny how different cultures perceive education. For ones, education teaches you personally to think critically and for others, to think through many other people’s perspective, except yours. I prefer the first one.
Nevertheless, I am very happy to be studying here because I have the coolest gang and living on campus is one of the most amazing experiences ever! I think everyone must try it because you haven’t really been to uni if you haven’t immersed yourself completely to the experience :) Late night chats and discussing life before bed – priceless! :)
Sleep for me now sounds priceless as well so hasta la vista, baby! Will keep you updated, I promise! :P
Hey, guys! So I have been away from New York City for over two months now… and I do not miss it at all! The only things I miss are my family and my friends. People always think that New York is so awesome and they wonder … what the hell are you doing in Melbourne, when you can be…in the capital of the world?!
Well, let me tell you. I’ve been taking this poetry class here, which brings me back to my one and only, first poem that I wrote. It is called “Letter to New York”. In the beginning, I thought that it will turn out to be this very negative poem, full of all the reasons why I don’t like NY and I love Bulgaria. But after I wrote it I learned something new about myself…
It’s not that I hate the city. I actually have a great appreciation for it. I think it is great in many ways… just not for me.
Getting my bachelors degree there was probably one of the best decisions I have made in my life but in the same time… It was not easy, or fun. The most fun I ever had was home with my family and at work with my coworkers.
I recently reread the poem and I also found this picture, taken at Time Square, at night, that is the best depiction of the feeling of the poem… So I decided to put them together :) This is a little part of me, here… To you, New York!
So, so… BIG news! :))) I’m so excited to tell you that I did my first ever FLASHMOB!!! :) For those of you who are not quite sure what that is – I know you know what it is, you just don’t know that it’s called flashmob :)
As Wiki explains it, it goes like this: “A flash mob is a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then quickly disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and artistic expression.” Sounds legit :P
I have always seen videos of flashmobs and never really knew much about it but I loved the idea of it! People who have seen the movie “Step Up 4″ probably also know what I am talking about.
Well, my awesome Australian uni – Deakin University – made this possible :) The dance club (which I am a part of) gathered it’s members to create a flashmob which was there to attract people’s attention to an upcoming volunteer fair.
I readily volunteered to be a part of it, and I am extremely happy I did! What’s amazing about it is that when we gathered at first the dance was not created by the teacher- we only had the music. So what we did was to split into pairs and figure out a “cool, gangsta move” for a count of 4. Well, we all came up with our short little moves (mine was the corkscrew, butt slap and when Nicki Minaj sings about “eating cheesecake” we act as if we are stuffing ourselves cheesecake) :) What surprised me was that our teacher was so happy with our ideas that she included each and every one of them in the routine. She was open to what we have to say and what we think, so somehow when we put all the moves together – the flashmob was ready!
I have never seen this happen before! I couldn’t believe that all our moves worked out so well together and with the music AND lyrics :) It was so inspirational to see the process of creation and how everyone’s ideas were included.
By the end of it, I felt so closely connected to the routine since it was OUR flashmob, it was our very own creation. And I loved it!
Thank you, Deakin! :) Sooo, enough talking, let me show you what I mean :)
So ever since I learned about the amazing and simple creation of the Tim Tam Slam, I am always stocked with milk and Tim Tams. And I ask everyone if they know what it is. If they don’t, I treat their ignorance… with my treat :P
But it is more than a treat. It is something to calm us down during hard times. Like today, the boys (Piotr and Steve) passed by so we can all make Shani feel better about her crazy assignments… with a Tim Tam Slam break.
The result?
Happier Shani. Happier Steve. Happier Piotr. And a happy me, ready to go to bed.
So we have those rooms called Study Rooms on each floor of our building. Last night we decided to make a major study session, so 8 people gathered together to study.
Well, we did everything else but studying. I didn’t read a single line of what I was supposed to.
Steve was drawing Piotr but needed some help with drawing his nose, so I did that.
Jessica was coming up with a yoga lesson so I was there helping her with ideas such as tree pose, chair pose or the pigeon. A practical lesson followed. We then had some coffee and chocolates to wake up.
Later on Bogga was teaching us some Icelandic words, while I was teaching the boys some Burlesque moves. That was while I was doing my laundry.
Towards the end we decided to watch snails mating (which was going to take 24 hours) so we just decided to just go to bed instead.
I came to Australia to study and this is what my studying is consisted of. But I will be fine ;) No worries.
Hey, guys! I am finally back to Melbourne, rehabilitated after my crazy New Zealand experience and ready to tell you all about it. You will soon find out what was so crazy about it and why I needed rehabilitation.
Before I begin, I want to say that my decision to go to New Zealand during spring break was one of the best decisions I have made. I remember hesitating if I should leave a big and rich in nature country like Australia to go to another one when I haven’t even explored Australia to begin with. Well, I am very happy I did :) There is nothing like New Zealand I have ever seen so it was worth it. So on 29th March five adventurous souls were packed to go to the Kiwi country. My partners in crime were Shani, Lisa (on my left) and Emily and Steve (on my right).
The master plan was the following: We would jump on the Magic Bus for a Southern Discovery circle starting from Christchurch, then going to Greymouth, Franz Joseph (Glaciers), Wanaka, Queenstown, Lake Tekapo and back to Christchurch. There Shani, Steve and Emily would go back to Melbourne and Lisa and I would continue up to Wellington. From there, Lisa would take a plane back and I would make my way up the North Island with the Magic bus till I reach Auckland and go home from there.
We arrived late at night in Christchurch and headed straight to our accommodation which was reserved by the Magic Bus company. We had it all pre-reserved and pre-planned so we have no unpleasant surprises (anyone remembers Sydney? I do). So we showed up, right address, right hostel and no one at reception. We knocked and yelled and began mental preparations to sleep outside that night. I looked for rocks to break windows but as we walked around the place we found a great guy who was not sleeping and was near the window. First night sleeping in a hostel was successful!
Taking the KiwiRail train through the mountains was a great way of seeing the Southern Alps.
We made fun of signs…
…and had fun on board.
But the most fun I had was eating! It was cozy, comfy, beautiful and sunny! I couldn’t ask for more!
After a lot of NZ beauty and sleeping, we got to Greymouth. This was the highlight of our trip since we got to pet a pony and feed a cat.
Just kidding :) We laughed throughout the whole trip that when we come back we will brag how we went to New Zealand and we saw a pony :) But I liked Greymouth’s pebbled beach where we decided to leave our mark…
Rocks are always fun. And if you have no idea what I am talking about, you should travel with us :)
The next stop we had was in Franz Josef – a literally two street town. And if you don’t believe me, let Google be my witness:
But the next highlight of our trip was there so we loved it! (wasn’t as cool as the pony, but still).. We climbed a glacier! :)
And if you wonder what a glacier is let me tell you – it’s a HUGE piece of ice. And if you think you can imagine it, you should think twice. This is the tip of it here, creeping in between the two hills:
And to get there it takes a serious hike and some 30-40 minutes. I still can’t imagine how big of a piece of ice that was. It looked like a part of the mountain but it was also obviously something completely different.
It was rainy when we started the hike..
But it stopped in the middle and got nice and warm..
Until it got extremely hot (this is me, after hiking and thinking that I am close to the glacier)
And at some point you get bored hiking.. (Little did Steve know my facial expression :P)
And once we got really close to it after all that hiking, and sweating, and raining and changing clothes, we were ready to be equipped. We got to put spikes on our shoes so we stay on the glacier when we walk on it and not slide.
It was difficult in the beginning because you have to really make sure that your spikes stick into the ice every time you make a step but by the end of climbing the glacier, I felt like a pro.
And we were all… Like a boss ;)
This was a different experience for me. I have never even thought I will do an expedition like this. It was always people from the movies, or crazy travelers, or some other adventurers doing this. But this time, it was me :) I was in places I have never even dreamed of being. But I knew one thing – I deserved it! And I made it happen. So I really enjoyed it :)
Continuing south, I witnessed the most beautiful, bluest lake I have ever seen.
As we were driving around it with the bus, I could not stop looking at it. As if my eyes were hungry for an image like this, as if I needed to quench my thirst for colors and pureness like this. This is when I realized that what New Zealand has, is unique. In the course of 7 days I was able to enjoy the South Island, see so much ravishing wildness, all gathered in this little piece of heaven.
You can have your breath taken by things like the mirror lake..
…or just driving around seeing little waterfalls along the road…
Sorry for the blurry picture but we were driving really fast and I tried to take many pictures of these tiny, cute waterfalls and this is the best shot I’ve got. Oh, also this trip made me realize that my silly, little soap-case (as my mom calls point-and-shoot cameras) is totally not the right camera for nature like this. I wish I had a good, pro camera. Aaaanyway :)
Stopping at the Puzzling World made our day! Laughing, getting lost, confused, found, small or sideways, we enjoyed it to the max. It definitely messed up with our brains enough. Video should be very self-explanatory :P
We finished the night in my personal favorite hostel…
There where we had our own kitchen, own bathroom; made a big, rich dinner, inviting our new friend Pam,
had my very first tequila shots (what?) and laughed off Aprils Fools with a few good jokes. Shani believed me saying “Oh, my guys (meaning Oh, my God, guys!) we have service here (meaning in the rainforest)!” and Lisa believed that “gullible” is not in the dictionary :) We also had an extra roommate who we tried to chase away so Pam can sleep in our room before becoming friends with him as well. We also joined the fun, young group from the Magic bus in a club for some dancing, karaoke and games. We chucked our first woodies (cola and bourbon) and called it a night :)
Next morning we headed down to our most southern point – Queenstown. A beautiful town where I will go back one day and do bungee jumping and skydiving with my best friend Veselina :) Awesome view to jump to, don’t you think? :)
That’s also we had FergBurgers – burgers as big as your face! A must stop for everyone passing by :)
We ended the night with some more shots and the ultimate game of my friends in Australia – “Never Have I Ever” which eventually gets into “Don’t Judge Me But..” ;)
The extra day that we had in Queenstown, we decided to spend in Milford Sound – one of the most gorgeous, key sights of New Zealand.
It was extremely beautiful and extremely cold. Here we were with our new Brazilian friend Raphael, who we will go visit in Brazil one day :)
At some point of our cruise, I just sat back and looked. And again, I felt that internal need to satisfy my hunger for nature, for pureness, something I never experience back in New York City.
Steve and I danced away on our way to and from Milford Sound so the 4 hour drive did not seem as long. P.S 4 hours one way, meaning 8 hours for the whole day – sick, right?
After that we visited the famous Ice bar which was my first Ice bar ever! :) They equip you with huge, funny coats, gloves and sometimes fluffy boots before you walk in the -10 degrees ice cage. We were allowed to stay only for 30 minutes (not that we wanted more, we were freezing by the 20th minute) but it was enough to look around and enjoy the cool figures and drinks made into ice cups (so cool!)
I even tried to take one home…
…until I got too cold and got rid of it :P
Next day we headed back up North and stayed at Lake Tekapo for one night. The colors of this lake were unbelievable.
To our disappointment, we couldn’t do any of the activities we wanted that day. The Magic Bus driver burst our bubble twice – first, we couldn’t go horseback riding because the horses ran away (just kidding, they were fully booked :P); and then we couldn’t do star gazing because we weren’t Japanese (wtf?). Anyway, so we had to deal with that and we also had to brace ourselves up to spend the night in the cold, full of spiders and receptionists’ attitude Lakefront Lodge which was deep into the forest (which was probably Yeti’s home as well). But instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, we took the initiative and had one of the best nights in New Zealand. We fed some hundreds of ducks…
We decided to do our own star gazing, where amazing pictures came into being…
Shani was also very creative to suggest the idea of writing in the air with a flashlight, and since I was a talented artist I wrote beautifully, while our new Brazilian friend Raphael was taking the pictures professionally, capturing my handwriting in the air.
Monika…
Show Me Some Love…
In New Zealand…
This is the first night I saw the Milky way so clearly and I felt so connected to the planet I live on. Thank you, guys, for an amazing experience, much better than the star gazing we were going to do.
The next day we headed back to Christchurch to actually have the chance to look around the city a bit. And this was the first time I witnessed a ghost town. I never knew those places actually existed. After a horrific earthquake two years ago, the whole city was under construction, wherever we turned. This panoramic picture shows it.
I saw a hair salon which was just left as it was, as people were working things were just thrown and left. It was a sad and scary picture.
This is where my friends Shani, Steve and Emily took off back to Melbourne. Lisa and I continued our journey up north. Our next stop was Kaikoura.
After a beautiful day walking along the coast, seeing some ducks, cows and seals,
…we had some traditional fish’n’chips as they call it here (fried fish and french fries). We then decided to call it a day and grabbed some woodies from the liqueur store.
Yes, but not everything went so smoothly that night. Lisa got very sick. She was pale, feverish, throwing up everything she had and just couldn’t fall asleep. I, on the other hand, was calling nurses, doctors, ambulances and any emergency number I could find. And in this nearly 4000 people-populated town, there was one doctor with an attitude. He was too busy to come, so no one could actually come and help my friend who was laying on the hostel’s, corridor’s floor, whispering “ambulance” with her white, trembling, exhausted lips. I was praying.
And I think my prayers were heard because towards the morning she felt much better. She was able to walk and hold herself, although we had quite a traveling to do that day. We had to get to the airport in Wellington so she can get back home.
Thankfully, in Wellington my mom has a long standing friendship with a great man, called Garry. I remember knowing about him since I was a baby, hearing about a remote country I’d never thought I’d visit. But here he was, waiting to save us on the ferry entrance – the ferry that connects the two islands.
While Lisa was sleeping on the ferry I was able to snap this photo:
Once we were in Wellington our souls were at ease. We had someone to take care of us. We were not alone in New Zealand! :) Lisa was going to spend a day in Garry’s lovely home and then be taken safely to the airport. Knowing that was soothing enough to make her feel better.
This is the only thing I was able to see from Wellington (on my way to the bus the next morning), so I have told Garry that I have a reason to come back to New Zealand. And yes, I definitely will.
Once I was on my own, I knew all I wanted to do – see the Maori cultural performance in Rotorua. This was basically the only reason I wanted to visit the North island. I was told by many people that it is very worth it. The Maori are the native Polynesian people of New Zealand. Their culture is preserved till today and this performance was a great way to learn about it. I knew I had to go.
So I made my way up to Rotorua. The performance was starting at 5:30pm and I had plenty of time. And I started feeling sick. But I ignored it. I was going to be fine.
So I boarded the bus which was going to take me to the Maori village. And it got worse. By the time I had to get off I was feeling very nauseous and had cold sweat covering my face.
I got off and everything seemed black. I was directed to go into the village but I was asking for a bathroom. The lady impatiently asked:”NOW you need the bathroom?”. I really needed to throw up. I whispered “I need to go NOW”. She offered to drive me back, around the village to go to the bathroom they had. As I was shaking I told her, “Listen, you don’t understand, I need to go NOW”. She showed me the appropriate bushes and I did my thing. I felt better and decided to clean myself and go see the freaking Maori show that I came for.
Well, I couldn’t focus on anything that was happening around me so I just took a video of basically everything so I could see what I have seen while I was there. Needless to say, I didn’t enjoy any of it.
I managed to ask some kind people to snap a photo of me, just so I register myself being there. My face looks kind of haggard.
There was a magnificent dinner following, made by the Maori people, which I was not able to enjoy. People working there came and ask me if I am feeling OK and when they figured that I am not, they found a way to bring me back home. Luckily, their boss was nice enough to drive me back to my hostel.
Once I got back, I was happy and extremely scared at the same time. This is the only hostel from my whole trip where I had not even one roommate. I was alone in the whole room. Usually that would make me happy but in this case I kind of hoped someone was there, just so I have someone, anyone.
I wrote my homework which was due that day on my phone and submitted it (don’t ask me how I managed) and after crying a bit and talking to my mom on the phone I fell asleep.
Here comes the interesting part. In the middle of the night, as I was shaking from the fever, feeling cold and nauseous, I woke up to go to the bathroom. I felt too sick to stay in bed. I got up, walked out of my room and while walking I passed out. I knew I have blacked out for that moment because the way I fell was not smart. I hit my chin right on the cement. The hit woke me up right that second. It was ok, shit happens, I’ll be fine. Let me just get to the freaking bathroom. Once I got there, I saw blood dripping from my face, realizing that the hit was bad. I started crying, bleeding and throwing up at the same time. Not a pretty picture.
What I experienced that night was painful. Not because of the wounds I got. Not because I was sick. But because the only bad thing that can happen to you while you are traveling alone happened. The one day I was alone, the one time I thought I will be alright, and that I can do it all by myself. I was so scared because there was no one I could turn to, no shoulder I could lean on in that moment. I had to pull myself together. Lesson was learned. Alone? Never again.
Next day, I was back on the bus, making my way up to Auckland where my return flight was from. On the way we stopped here and there and regardless the big bandage on my face I still took pictures of the beautiful places I was visiting.
But all I wanted was to get myself to the airport and back home. I slept at the airport like a baby until it was time for my flight. I had no desire to do any sightseeing in Auckland. This is why I am definite that I must come back to New Zealand to see the North Island. And after all, I still haven’t seen a kiwi and that is quite something for NewZealanders who in fact call themselves “kiwis”. Isn’t that cute? :)
So my adventure didn’t finish there. I was unlucky for quite some time afterwards since I had to check-in my carry-on bag for $80, was triple checked for bombs and drugs (I guess I looked suspicious with the bandage on my face) and I also was that random person who passes through quarantine and is smelled by dogs.
And I just wanted to go home! :P But that happened as well, and once I was back, I felt safe, cared for and back to normal. I was going to be ok :)
