trying to attract cars with a flower. a trucker picked me up. seriously.

hitchin' out of glacier country.

a wee penguin.

not bad. not bad at all.

the abel-tasman coast track. my first multi day track in new zealand.

wellington poetry with a wonderful message.

mountains near turangi. otherwise known as mt. doom from lord of the rings. it's a preview of what's to come as i head south where there are more and more mountains.

i hitched from turangi to wellington and am now

getting ready to cross to the south island.

my perch of a campsite for a few days.

i need to get me a fly fishin' rod.

and now for the real fishin'.

hooked 'em.

five seconds later masha realizes she has locked the keys in her car and can't exactly 'drop me off' yet.

ready to wander on from lake taupo.

piha. a neighboring beach.

a bethells beach montage.

a view from the rocks at bethells.

i LOVE this beach. big waves. bordering cliffs. white sand. score.

the old skinny dippin' hole near aio wira.

the waitakere ranges - my jungle backyard at aio wira.

just chillin' with a deity at the center.

at this point taree is calling me an american c.i.a. agent for trying to take his and rea's photo.

this is taree taree. and yes, he lives up to the name.

my new zealand family: lullagy, di, myself and masha.

after a few days of lonely wandering in auckland i headed out to the aio wira centre in swanson, half an hour from the city. nestled into the waitakere ranges (a gorgeous rain forest reserve) and very near the coast, aio wira is a little slice of heaven. formerly a yoga retreat it is now open to groups of all shapes and colors and is often rented out for multi day retreats. over the course of my stay retreats included: a shaman workshop, a weekend for cancer survivors, a healing through music program as well as weekly yoga classes and a four day fast in which i took part.

anyway i was a wwofer (willing worker on an organic farm) here and worked a few hours a day (usually gardening or cooking) in exchange for free room and board. my friend jan set me up with the gig, as her friend di is the caretaker at aio wira. di is so awesome and her kindness and warm humor set the tone for my stay.

truly one of the most beautiful and peaceful places i have ever seen let alone lived at.

free burger for a tv appearance anyone? yes please, i shall have the hawaiian with a strawberry milkshake.

touchdown in auckland new zealand! october 8th, 2008. now, what the hell am i doing here?