I'm here!

So, I did it!

My luggage and I are safe and sound in Auckland, and I'm all checked into my hostel and really looking forward to a killer long, great sleep tonight.

It's hard to believe I'm really here! I've been thinking about and planning this trip for so long that it almost felt like a dream until I actually stepped out of the airport. Yes, I was scared, but not as scared as I thought. More like incredibly tired.

My trip went pretty well I guess, but not great. My first plane to L.A. was delayed about an hour, but it didn't matter that much because it was just less time to kill in the L.A. airport. Side note: the L.A. airport is gross! And there's only about 30 seats at each gate, and those gates are for 747's! So I grabbed a seat early and held on for dear life until my plane boarded. That plane was also delayed, and didn't leave until about 10:30 pm. I was already not that stoked about a 12 hour flight from L.A. to Auckland, but when I found out I had an isle seat I was one sad puppy. I had requested a window seat so that I could lean against it to sleep overnight. But not only was my seat an isle seat, it was an isle seat right next to the steward's cabin where they keep all the food and trolleys and things. So the whole flight it was killer noisy with them coming and going for food and drink trays and opening and closing cupboards and drawers. So I watched a few movies to make myself really sleepy, then tried to get some sleep when they turned all the lights off. But that's when the 2 year old right behind me decided he wanted to start screaming his head off for 5 minutes, three times an hour, for the 6 remaining hours of the flight. Not joking...

So yeah, very little sleep. I got to my hostel at 8:00am, killed time in a Starbucks until it opened at 10:00 and then checked in. My room has an amazing view across the harbour. I think I may ask to extend my reservation and keep the single room for a few more days. I can always meet people in the common room, and this way I'll get used to travelling before I have to worry about leaving my bag where other people can get to it. More peace fo mind as I get the hang of things I guess.

I was trying to figure out how long it took for me to get here, but it was confusing my tired brain. I got to the airport at 10:30am Vancouver time on the 27th, and landed at 6:00am Auckland time on the 29th... To get from Vancouver time to Auckland time you subtract 5 hours, so I'm thinking just over 24 hours? Either way it was a long time. But at least it wasn't as bad as the guy next to me. He was a young guy from New Zealand who had already just spent 10.5 hours on that plane coming over from London. And once we got into Auckland he still had to catch a 1.5 hour flight down to Christchurch on the south island. Ouch. But the girl next to him was from Germany, and so had already flown from Germany to London, London to L.A. and then out to Auckland. It was going to take her 36 hours I think she said... The guy next to me was killer nice, and gave me tons of good info about stuff to do here. And then when I was waiting in Starbucks, a woman saw my backpack and came right over to ask where I was travelling, and how it was going! Holy I heard New Zealanders were friendly but that pretty much amazed me. I think I'm going to like it here. :)

Ok, so with my little map up there, the purple dot is always going to be where I am, and the red dots will be where I've been. So if I don't say where I am, or you can't find it, just look for the purple dot. Got it?

So, today I'm just walking around downtown Auckland and getting my bearings. I might go check out the art gallery, since I found it earlier, and it's only 1pm. Tomorrow comes the first big adventure: using the public transit system. Eeeek!

Love you all, miss you already!