first pics are up!!!

so my first round of pics are up on facebook, here's the link:

http://bates.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020002&l=ff610&id=14600837

i'm not entirely impressed with the quality of the photos, but the general idea is there... new zealand is gorgeous.

right now i'm in Karioi Lodge in Raglan, about to head into town to check it out before going to the beach. i hopped off the stray bus again for an extra night last night, so it was a bit sad to say bye to everyone, we had a great night last night playing pool/basketball/pingpong/etc and riding the zipline... tommorrow morning i'm hopping on the bus again and heading to Waitomo caves, where i'm going to be doing a 4 hour abseiling/rapelling/tubing/swimming/climbing adventure in the caves. i dont think i can bring a camera, but i've heard it is absolutely incredible, millions of glow worms and general cool caveyness. then its on to Maketu for a night, where we're staying in a tradition Maori hut, eating traditional food, and watching a cultural showcase. i'm super excited about that one. After that its on to Rotorua, where i think i'm going to hop off the bus again for a night or two to go zorbing (rolling down a hill in a giant plastic ball filled with water... sounds exactly like my silly cup of tea) and possibly rafting...

holy moly. yeah, lots of stuff going on. i'm glad to get a down-day today to relax and figure some things out... for example daily expenses...
and i apologize for having to spew things out into this blog, time is short and the internet is pricey here!

i suppose i should quickly explain how the stray bus tour works. basically, i have a predesignated route (the short moe) but i can hop off wherever i like to hang out and check it out for a day or two. and then i hop onto the next stray bus passing through (one usually passes through daily). so basically I can extend my tour for as long as i want. the only things that is tricky is the constant rotation of people... you start to really gel with one group of people, but then you have to leave then and meet up with a whole new variety. so it is really exciting on one hand, but it can be a bummer as well. i'm just making sure that i'm sticking to my guns and not just following a group when it gets comfortable. i'm trying to stretch my 14day minimum tour to about 40 days... so i've got plenty of time to stop and check different places out.

alright, gotta run!

alli