Jan 21: Trains, road trips, hikes, and Ze Germans.

I'd first like to apologize for any upset stomachs and sleepless nights I might have caused by not posting recently. Suffice to say, a lot has happened. 

Leaving Wellington:

After parting ways with Ryan, the buddy I made on the train ride from Auckland to Wellington, I stuck around in Wellington for a few days, getting sicker and getting over my burn--not attending the Police concert, much to Dad's disappointment. I booked a ferry from Wellington to Picton the next day at seven. 

Since check-out at the YHA hostel was at eleven, I had some time to burn. Lucky me, I was able to check my bags early at the ferry station while i founds something to do. Imagine how extra lucky I felt when I looked across the street and saw New Zealand's government buildings. There they were, towering before me: The Beehive, New Zealand's seat of executive and representative power, the house of commons, and the parliamentary library. Tours were an hour long, so I figured that was a good way to burn some time and prime myself for the two political studies classes I'll be taking in the semester:

Highlights of the Parliamentary Tour:

1. New Zealand wants to make laws and put them into practice efficiently. Nothing shall get in the way of this, not even it's own government, which was why the high form of the representative body (the equivalent of the British House of Lords) was abolished in the 1950's. "They just didn't need it anymore," according to the tour guide.

2. the Maori themed conference room is where most negotiating between parties takes place. It's decorated with traditional and contemporary maori artist carvings, and is quiet stately. A lot of maori and english gets spoken in the room, again, according to the tour guide, which is why there are special booths for interpreters in the room.

3. Natural disasters seem to burden it's government. Both the parliamentary library and the house burned down in separate fires, and had to be rebuilt. New Zealand's founding documents were lost and suffered considerable water damage in a lock box for years, and the originals are all but completely destroyed.

Ferry Ride:

...Was gorgeous. Cold and windy, but gorgeous. First you go out among the islands and the leave the North island, and you start to wonder whether or not the south island is really prettier than the north, because it's been so nice. What if it's just feel of hippies? What if the mountains aren't as nice as everyone says?

It's even more amazing, though. It was dusk, and colder and windier than before, but floating in at night made the sounds look like a Scandinavian dream town. 

I got to the hostel at night, and when I woke up, Picton had changed. It's kind of an ugly industrial town, contrasting horribly with the incredible beautiful islands surrounding it. The sounds are beautiful; the next day I took a four hour hike on the snout track. That was killer beautiful. Walked all the way back and fell asleep. Met up with a guy name Matt from San Francisco who was going to drive to Christchurch the next day, the same day I was going to take a train, which was leaving early the next day.

Would up being good for me, as I unwittingly missed my train, and he was willing to drive me down there. Which also wound up being better than the train ride. The road to Christchurch hugs the coast line: black sand beaches and seals. Lots and lots of seals. We got out of the car and took a lot of pictures of them. 

We made it down to Christchurch and had the best food we've eaten in New Zealand. I've decided that New Zealand has probably the worst food of anywhere I've been. It's pastey, floury, blob-esque and gross. Wierd considering it's organics-ville. I had seafood stew a few days ago and felt like I was eating sweaty seafood in bread dough. Maybe we just hadn't eaten in a long time and it tasted amazing. Either way, it tasted amazing. 

I love you guys, and I'll write more tomorrow. I am sleepy now though, and will try to write sooner. And I don't know how to help you out with the phone calls. That's my number. I'll swing by a Vodaphone outlet and see what the deal is. 

Good night, sweet dreams. Love, Emily.