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January 21 - Day 159

COMING HOME!!

Our last full day in Auckland and our last day of the trip!!! Holy shit! We visited Hobbiton and saw the shire and Sam and Frodo’s houses. We got a cup of amber ale before feasting on a delicious hobbit lunch! (The beer and food was actually really tasty!) The former movie theater used to be a large farm. Peter Jackson was a crazy perfectionist. I won’t get into too many details but he had these art designers create such an elaborate scenery, where most shots were only used for a few short seconds! Afterwards, we headed to Waimoto to the see the glow worms. The cave has been in operation since 1889! It was really really cool to see the dark cavern lit up with what looked like tiny LED lights. It was a great last day for sure! Im definitely excited to come back home but I’m also sad - it has been such an incredible 5 months and 6 days of traveling the world. 4 continents. 16 countries. Countless cities. Delicious (and sometimes not so tasty) dishes. Way too many beers. Traveling this long has opened me upto explore more and be more outgoing to make friends more easily. It has also taught me to trust my instincts and be constantly aware and cautious. Mike and I are excited for our next world adventure (whenever that is) but 2017/2018 has been truly great. I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us next!:)

January 20 - Day 158

We got into Auckland today and toured an area nearby called Britonmart, which had a couple of streets showcasing restaurants and shops. We decided on Hanoi Cafe, which was traditional Vietnamese food focused on northern cusine. It was so yummy! We reminisced with bun cha and other hand foods. We night capped with a shot of green chartreuse (I mean how could we not?!). Tomorrow is our last full day of our trip before we go home (where has the time gone??!!) so we are going to the Waimoto Glow work caves and Hobbitown/Middle earth. It’s about 11 hours to visit both places but we are excited and figured it was the best way to see some awesome sights near Auckland :)

January 19 - Day 157

We had quite a full day!! We got an nice workout in down the street (since the “Gym” at our hotel consists of a broken elliptical and slippery treadmill that skips every step). Afterwards, we decided to try our hand at Mountain Biking. It was NOT as easy as we thought. We asked the guy how long a typical run was (we informed us down the easy trail it was 15 minutes). Mike and I had our hands on the brakes THE ENTIRE TIME so our run was a little over an hour. For people who actually knew what they were doing, yes, 15 minutes was pretty accurate. I’m not joking, my thumb is bruised from holding the breaks so hard. Anywho, after 1 run we decided it was time to check out the animal conservatory nearby. We saw all 4 of the kiwis (I didn’t realize they are nocturnal so we went into this dark room with only 1 dim red light) but we saw them running around after bugs. They are the oddest creatures I’ve ever seen. Around 2:30 we went to grab Fergburger (as recommended by Suze) and the line wrapped outside and around the corner. However, the 45 minute wait was well worth it! The lady at the counter taking my order surprised me with the cheese I should put on the classic (she informed me though that she wouldn’t choose Blue Cheese) and I ended up with Brie and it was spectacular!!!! We took our food back to the hotel and ate out on the patio. The construction workers hit some line so the power and internet has gone out (indefinitely).

January 18 - Day 156

We made the 2 hour drive from Te Anua to Milford Sound early this am and was it worth it! Pictures do not do justice, but hopefully these will suffice! After cruising around the fjord and experiencing the rough waves of the Tasman seas, we drove 4 hours to Queensland, where we will Stay for a few nights before Auckland for a night and then home! I can’t believe it!!

January 17 - Day 155

The only thing I can write about today is that we attempted to hike Mount Aspiring to see the glacier but were met with torrential downpour so we drove back towards Wanaka (which is a 75 minute trek one way). We were going to try and check out Roys Peak right outside Wanaka, but the weather was really cloudy and not looking so we thought the drive out of the area would be better (boy were we wrong)! However, all is good because we get to check out Milford Sound tomorrow!!

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