Why is it that, when separated from something/someone/somewhere, we crave the small things that bring us closer to it? Yet, when we’re suddenly brought closer to said thing, a feeling of wanting distance comes over us?

For example, there have been a few Sundays over the course of my trip in which I’ve wanted nothing more than to head home for a couple of hours, just so I could munch my way through a big home cooked dinner with my family, followed by a nice long nap in my own bed. It’s never even felt like a homesick kind of craving, merely just one of those things I take for granted at home. Yet now, as the prospect of going home looms ever near, I feel like Sunday roasts are worth sacrificing if only I could stay away a few weeks longer.

Not wishing to cause offence of course; I have things incredibly good at home. Great friends, great family, a university placement awaiting me and lots of good times ahead I’m sure…it’s just the ‘travel bug’ hitting me in full force. Being back in Auckland is strange as most people I meet here are just beginning their trips, keen and excited, albeit a little apprehensive…and here I am, ready to fly out. It’s strange to think back to 5 months ago when my trip was first beginning. Yes I was excited…incredibly excited infact, right up until the morning of departure when nerves hit me full force, nearly knocking me off my feet. Yes i did the unthinkable, cried as I bode farewell to my brother, cried when leaving the parents at the airport and only stopped crying when I sat down with a vodka in the airport ‘Spoons (blame the parents I say!)

And now? Well, for starters, now I’ve cried enough for the next 5 years and have no tears left in me. But mainly, my fears aren’t gone…the next trip will petrify me just as much…but at least I know I can do it and more than that, I want to do it. A better way to explain it I suppose is, side stepping a little, if I do another bungy (which I plan to), I’ll still be just as terrified before the jump as I was the first time (a drop is still a drop after all)…but at least next time round, I’ll know I’ve done it before, so can do it again, forgetting all the fear and just enjoying the ride.

Last week I said my goodbyes to one of my good friends out here; a Swedish girl I’ve spent the last 2 and half months with. A chance meet on New Years Eve ended in a great friendship. This is what I’m going to miss about travelling. In two days I’ll be saying two more goodbyes; one to another good friend who has been with myself and the Sweed for a month and a half, and the next to a country I’ve loved every minute of.

I’ve spent my last week taking to the road with a friend in a little red car we as good as destroyed. The little thing wasn’t made for speed, nor was it made for the unsealed, curvy, hilly roads of the NZ coastline. We pushed it to it’s limits however and it survived the trip (although we’re thanking our lucky stars we paid a bit more for extra coverage on insurance!) It was a memorable week, if not for the gorgeous views and vast stretches of beach, then for the shacks we stayed in and the ‘compost toilets’ we were required to use (don’t ask!)

Despite a few mishaps in navigation (for which the blame was cruelly placed on me just because I was the one with the map…pfft!) we had a smooth trip and I was incredibly sad to be leaving the cows, sheep and rickety roads as we headed back into the city. I feel as though I’ve seen all I can see of NZ and yet I’m not quite ready to be saying bye bye. Of course, it’s on the list of places to return to…

I’m heading off to San Francisco next and am looking forward to a different place to explore. Thanks to my brother, I have free accomodation and this is just as well as I’ve blown my budget well out the window. They say money isn’t the key to happiness and yes, I agree. Yet, if it were not for the pennies I wouldn’t have been able to do half the things I’ve done. Yes yes, you can’t put a price on friendship and all that jazz, and yes it’s the people that have made my trip not the material things…but then you need the cash if you want to jump off a bridge or out of a plane (with the intent of surviving anyways…) and these things have made my time as much as anything free. Trust me, the money is more than neccessary. Next time round I’m going to have to actually do a bit of work (if I can remember what ‘work’ is!)

For the minute though, I’ll settle for my final lazy day in New Zealand. Was up with the sun this morning to watch the Ireland vs. Wales rugby in the local Irish pub, which was absolute chaos (unsurprsingly). Managed to start my morning with a pint though, so despite not knowing anything about rugby, I was quite happy cheering at the right moments and otherwise sitting on my bar stool in my own happy bubble. How I’ll miss this place…

Don’t get me wrong, I’m very excited to be going home. I miss my family and friends as much as anyone does out here, but I would love to head back for a week or so, see everybody, and then head off again. Already I have a large list of future destinations which, not surprisingly, I want to visit as soon as possible.

Yes I have my whole life for more exploration, but the world is a pretty big place and I need to get a head start…

It’s a Friday night, I’m in a hostel with an awesome bar, good music and lots of people and yet I find myself sitting on Facebook. Why you ask? Partly because I can no longer afford to go drinking, but mainly because of my lack of sleep last night. When I first came away, I couldn’t sleep for a week or two as I was not used to having a room full of people (many of whom have serious snoring issues), who all come in at different times during the night. However, you soon get used to the noise of people both in and out of your room, noise from the streets and music from the bar. Thanks to this, I can now sleep on buses, trains, coaches, cars, planes and boats, in dorms with 12 people, in  rooms located next door to clubs and in beds which creak and squeak everytime someone moves. One thing, however, which is difficult to ignore, is when two of your roomies decide to have a bit of fun in the night, clearly a bit starved of action. Waking up to questionnable noises and a bed rocking way more than is acceptable is one of the moments you dread. Speak to most travellers and they will have had an experience of a similar kind. But what can you do? Too sleepy to think about climbing out of bed and sitting outside the room, unsure if anyone else is awake so not wanting to turn on the light and have a good old laugh, you merely have to sit it out, ears covered with an ipod and pillow and hoping to God it’s all over as quickly as it begun. In this case, thankfully, it was. Once one of the pair had left the room and the female offender was snoozing (and snoring…loudly) I braved sitting up in my bed hoping I wasn’t alone in my horror. I wasn’t. The eight other people in the dorm all trying to sleep had been roused by the same noises as I and luckily, we were able to have a serious giggle about it at 4am…so much so that by the time offender no.1 returned, we were in hysterics and I was actually crying with laughter. Clearly embarassed, the guy slunk back into bed with Ms. Snores-a-lot, and after making sure there was an appropriate distance between the pair, the rest of us fell back into a restless slumber. Although the pair tried to be quieter in the morning, when one of my roomies went to get up as she had early morning errands to run, she was horrified to find two naked people up to no good. Not surprisingly, she didn’t even bother to change into clean clothes before swiftly departing the room. A walk into town in her PJs was a sacrifice she was more than willing to make…

On a lighter note, yesterday I went swimming with wild Hector dolphins. This was a fantastic experience especially as three of us hired a car for the day in order to see some sights on the way. The friend driving the slightly shoddy veichle had done a lot of driving in NZ already so all was well, no problems with funny roads and traffic lights…However, there was a slight blip when, getting into the car, she remarked, ‘Oh, it’s an automatic.’ Questionning what she meant, she responded, ‘Well, the last time I drove an automatic was in Australia. I hit a kangaroo and wrote off the car.’ Right-o.

Back to safer ground and we found out the dolphins are the smallest and rarest in the world, with only about 7,500 left swimming the oceans. They are found mainly around New Zealand so it seemed an opportunity not to be missed. As with the surfing in Australia when it rained all day, the weather was dreadful and along with the rain came freezing winds and even colder water. Bobbing about in the ice cold ocean for just under an hour was not something I was anticipating on doing, but the dolphins made it all worthwhile. By tapping stones together and making noises under the water, the dolphins are drawn to you and are keen to play. By the end we had masses around us, jumping in the waves and circling us, trying to play games. It really was incredible.

Other than the swim, I’ve had a fairly tame time. After departing Queenstown, I headed to the southern most part of New Zealand, where I visited beaches, waterfalls, pubs and clubs and finally Milford Sound, the fiordland, which was absolutely stunning. After a long coach jouney we arrived at a ferry terminal where we took a two hour long boat cruise through the mountains and falls and were lucky enough to have a beautiful sunny day. Great opportunity to take hundreds of photos which inevitably all end up looking identical.

After this I went back to a town called Wanaka, which again, is a stunning place. A big skiing area, this town is heaving in the winter, but pleasantly calm during the summer months. It gave me a good chance to wind down after travelling non stop on buses and is definitely a place I’ve mentally noted to come back to.

Following this I headed back to Queenstown and then up to Christchurch, where I now find myself. Despite being warned that there was little to do in this city, I’ve had a very pleasant time sitting outside Starbucks in Cathedral Square, doing a good amount of people watching. The weather hasn’t improved over the last few days but thankfully I bought myself a new jumper as wearing the same one day after day resulted in it starting to smell like dog. I’m nothing if not a true lady.

Tomorrow I’m off on the road again, heading back up north to do some wine tours (something which has encouraged more than one friend to say I’m turning into my parents) and then back to the North Island to see what havoc I can wreak there.

Fingers crossed the beds up there will stay firmly still.