Woof WWOOF

No, not dad's famous mating call. Close enough, and might as well be the reason that I'm doing this though. I'm living with the Jones', and in exchange for about four hours of work a day, I get more food than I've ever been able to deal with. I thought traveling was tough, but I'm a king, it's unbelievable. I'm wwoofing (willing workers on organic farms) in Whangarei, north of Auckland. My man Steve-O is hosting, hes a straight cuzzy bro (what they call a 'gangster' in america) - and we hit it off from the start. It's been "You know how I know how your gay?" jokes from day one. Cheers Mate. Great guy, even better family. Three girls....yay...but the two little ones are freaking firecrackers, I've never ever in my entire life met people with this much energy. They just go and go until they pass out, it's unreal. I'm living with a German fellow who's also wwoofing, good times on the reg. I actually enjoy this whole setup as opposed to doing the whole tourist thing. True, I'm not going to be able to see ALL the crazy stuff, but I'm living with locals, and really seeing what life is like here down under, I'm not just driving through. And I'm sure that I'm going to be back at some point in my life, get a van with some mates (bros) and cruise. But for now, I'm really happy. As long as the sun is shining and my hands are dirty, it's all gravy... Sorry for the lack of photos, I'll put them up later. CHEERS!

Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite. Or something else...

I think I'll start with my first day here, in Auckland. I met wayyy too many people, most notibaly THE Jehovah's Witness (self-proclaimed), who has every single foreign intelligence agency trying to get him out of the country, but due to the massive polic corruption and gang presence in Auckland, he can't get out. Hmm. Then there was Paul, the enlightened (self-proclaimed) Japanese Zen Buddhist whom I talked with for three hours, and who also tried to walk me to his apartment and have me spend the night with him. Then there's Thang. Oh, Thang. Thang was my host for the first night, as I was CouchSurfing. Short Asian guy, really nice, flambouyant enough for me to make the crisp obversation of us having different sexual orientations. Him picking me up? Free. Dinner with two gay friends? Free. Taking hospitality to the NEXT level while jet-lagged American is passed out on your couch in the middle of the night? Priceless. I'm kidding....about the priceless part, as I was socially extinct the next day, not really talking to anyone as a result from my midnight-visit-induced-coma. I was fine, but it was definetaly an interesting experience. I left Thang (despite pleads of "give me one more chance" and the explanation of "I thought that you'd like that"), and stayed in a hostel the next night. Owesome. Met peeps from around the globe...and none other than....a guy from Charlottesville, VA. Miniscule world. Had a blast, for some reason we got free drinks and pizza all night. Good times on the reg. During the day, I walked around with my 3000 pound backpack, trying to find free stuff, and sitting in parks. The most beautiful parks I've ever been in, they really take pride in their parks. I then met up with Steve Jones, my wwoofing host...

CHEERS

Laugh in the Face of Danger and Tickle the Testicles of Trouble

Dear Mates and Missess!
Above would be about the extent of my learning experiences so far in NZ. Oh, NZ. About it? 'Twoud be a whirlwind of adjectives, and I'm trying to refrain from any type of mental activity, so...
I find NZ almost naive, just how laid back and new everything is. It's like it hasn't existed long enough for any type of real greed or corruption to incubate. The landscape is mind-boggling though, the only way that I can really describe it is that Hulk got really pissed right underneath the country, and is trying to rip through the dense tropical bush. It's the greenest green that you can imagine, it almost looks synthetic, but in a naturally beautiful way. It's like a big salad bowl (that's for you, mum). The wind is everywhere too. I'd give the analogy of being like an order at ColdStone. I'm the ice cream, and the scoopers come at you from all over the place, some strokes are hard, some are soft, it even feels like its coming from underneath you at some points. The sheep cry, the cows just chew, and the birds whistle like twinkling stars, taking turns sharing the limelight. It's like the terrain is on steroids, from the mountains to the beaches. The people? Different kind of steroid, and I'd go with the beaver tranquilizer to be specific. SOO chill, so nice, very down to earth, and my god they have to have the coolest lingo ever.
Take it easy, cheers