Reasons to fall in love....

Here are just a few of my favorite things, about the Great White Cloud (New Zealand)... and why I love this place....

1- Tourism, no warnings, no labels, no liabilities, no worries. 

2- Milk Bottles, the best "lolli" (candy) ever.... you can eat heaps of them at a time!

3- Guides, Guides, Guides (be it a rafting guide, glacier guide, anything... male....)..... so passionate about the environment....one will be my future husband

4- Maori Culture. Integrated into daily life of both English and Maori descent. 

5- "No Worries" attitude. Everyday is good. Everyone is happy!

6- Kumara Chips

7- Adventure.... you never know what you are getting into... until you squeeze yourself into a wet suit and find yourself in the ocean searching for a dolphin....

8- Recycling. No holes in the ozone layer will be because of the clean Kiwis!

9- Transportation..... learning to entertain oneself with lack of radio station, CD player... MP3 hook up...... 

10- Accents. Accents. Accents. 

New Zealand tourism....

.... Is a Gold Mine, in fact. This truly is a playground for travelers, endless possibilities, and endless adventures. Why this place isn't completely flooded with tourists all the time is a mystery to me.

I should note some comparisons made to US tourism/culture, and NZ tourism. There is much to contrast, actually....

Kelli and Kelli, two AMericans decide to rent scooters. What is required? A short drive around a field to prove we aren't completely incomptent. What is not required? Driver's license, test, vision test, etc. So we cruised an island for 12 hours, sharing the road with cars and trucks. Our only instruction? Have fun!

Since the scooters were so fun, and we mastered left-side driving so fast, we decided the country would be be explored by rental car, as there is no "Deutsche Bahn" in NZ. Again, no background checks, although they did ask to see our US driver's licenses. Our only instruction as we drove off in our Toyota Vitz (affectionaly known as 'Vikki' now) was "no smoking, otherwise, it is good. No worries!"

Sand duning: one of the most popular spots in NZ said our handy Lonely Planet guide. As we cruised up to the top of NZ, we expected signs pointing to the sand dunes. Nothing except a petrol station marked "last petrol before the Cape," in other words, if you make it to the top, you better have enough petrol to get you back down!

Lucky Vikki gets excellent gas mileage (we aren't sure how many km to the litre she really gets) and we soon found ourselves staring at the face of many sand dunes in the middle of a dense forest. Where is the ticket booth? The warnings of iminent death if rules are not followed? The waiver? The directions!? and of course, the sand boards?!

Insert Sandwoman, the holder of the sand boards, located on a farm just 7km off the beaten path of the sand dunes. She lent us the boards, took our name, and sent us on our merry way with a reminder "Bring those back like good girls!"

Back to the dunes we went. Unsure of how these work, we spent 30 mins trying various positions to get us down the sand dune. We weren't moving. We tried running starts. Nothing. It was then we realized we really had to climb these sand dunes (imagine a snow hill, at a 15 degree angle). After sweating our way to the top, we tumbled down the mountain, in our boards. At the bottom there was sand in our hair, our shoes, our fingernails, everywhere. But the biggest thrill of the trip!!

So here are more reasons I love NZ, and in it's way, it's innocence. The people here have a sense of trust in the human race, and truly want us all as visitors to enjoy their country.

As long as, of course, you do not try to sneak chicken croissnats into the country....

The Kiwi Experience... thus far...

Has been memorable, eventful, and full of twists and turns, as we figured it would. The journey over here nearly didn't happen due to lack of organization and planning on our part, and also due to lack of knowledge on behalf of American Airlines of New Zealand immigration laws, which of course we read thoroughly.....

Enter SFO, 2pm, with a 4:20 scheduled departure time. Yes, a little later than we had anticipated, considering neither of us knew which airline we were departing on (I think it's Alaskan air.... or Air Pacific..) wrong on both. 

Put us in American Airlines check-inn center, once again, panting, short of breath, and sweating under our well-planned out "flight outfits." 

"You cannot check in for this flight without a return ticket" declared the attendant. 

In my head I knew with about 65% certainty that was not true. All the immigration department required was a passport, and proof of funds to feed yourself AND get yourself out of the country within a timely manner. 

"You must phone Air Pacific and check," which was the airline we were flying into Auckland with. "You have their phone number, correct."

Of course we didn't. At this point we do trust the system enough to assure that they would contact us should our flight be delayed/cancelled/changed for any reason. 

She magically found the phone number, and of course Kel and I were correct in our reasoning for not purchasing return tickets. 

We raced through security, and found ourselves sitting in our assigned seats just as the flight was boarding. 

Which brought us to LAX, where we savored final moments with our cell phones, phoned our favorite people, and cried over the thought of not seeing them for such a long time. We reiterated this was all a part of the plan, the plan much bigger than us. 

Air Pacific became our home for the next 24 hours, and surprisingly, they provide comfort and great service for people traveling so far. I can say it was the shortest 11 hour journey I have ever undertaken, and I did not even need the Benadryl tucked away in my luggage which I forgot to grab before we checked in. 

Upon nearing the Island of New Zealand, we watched a brief, but informative video on entrance into New Zealand. The message: "we patrol some of the toughest borders in the world." We kind of chuckled at that thought as in my head, I imagine New Zealand as two Islands of fun, happiness, and a care-free attitude.

New Zealand is an agricultural country, with it's greatest resources being exports of it's natural resources, fruit and dairy products, wool, wood, and paper products. It's citizens take great pride in protecting it's ecosystem. Little did we know, bringing any seed item or meat threatens New Zealand's natural ecosystem. Not that we had any in our possession except for Kelli's apple bought at LAX, and we certainly did not plant to plant it in a remote location and grow a new kind of apple. 

Rick, one of the MIF border dogs, managed to locate Kelli's apple, and it was kindly taken away. Now we just had to get through a series of questions, and an x-ray of our luggage before being "free."

Not so fast- an old smashed chicken croissant was discovered in Kelli's carry on, and we were promptly taken away to an area where the questioning began, the the most politeful way:

"WHere did you get this croissant?"

"Did you pack your own bag?"

"Why didn't you declare this croissant?"

"What are your intentions in New Zealand?"

Luckily, they only slapped Kelli on the wrist based on "forgetfulness" and gave her a $200 fine/entrance fee, and we were free to go, not without registering into the New Zealand agricultural network.... hopefully there are no more offenses to follow....

In all, it's been a great experience, even the customs police, because they were so pleasant even as we got into trouble. Aucklanders, also known as JEFA's, are some of the friendliest, diverse people in the world. Auckland has the highest Polynesian population of any city in the world, and there is a huge European, Pacific Island, and Asian influence here. We are here to bring the American influence.

More to come, oh there is so much more to come.... 

Greetings from the International Dateline.... where did Friday, Sept 4 go? Lost somewhere over the Pacific between Cali and Fiji, where I currently sit, sipping Fijian coffee, surrounded by mountains, international company, and the friendliest people in the world!