kaikoura

Amy and I are now in Kaikoura - a small touristy town on the South Island. We're staying here for about a week and earning a free place to stay by cleaning for a few hours every morning at our hostel. I'm sure all my college professors would be glad to know I'm putting my degree to good use :)
It is gorgeous here - with soaring snow-capped mountains overlooking the ocean, but the weather has been pretty bad since we arrived, so we've pretty much been hanging out at the hostel, reading and playing games with other bored travelers.
The hostel was fully booked for New Years, and there were a few rowdy parties. However, Amy and I managed to have a fairly quiet night and ended up going out at midnight for a drink with one of our new Australian friends.
One of the funny things about staying in hostels is the variety of people you meet. We haven't met any other Americans since we arrived on the South Island. This morning I cleaned with a guy from Uruguay, and we are staying in a room with several Germans, a girl from Taiwan, a Brazilian, and a girl from Ireland. We've also made friends with a group of Israelis and plan to play an exciting game of Monopoly with them tonight. It's amazing how few Americans travel down here; Amy and I are novelties, which is a little strange.
Rather than have a set itinerary, Amy and I have decided to plan ahead by the week. Next week we'll probably head to Christchurch, meet up with our Israeli friends and then maybe head inland for a bit. Eventually we'll do some long treks and see some glaciers and probably pick fruit for a bit, but we have several weeks to fit all that in. It's pretty nice to just pick a place you want to see and go there without having to plan too much. We're enjoying this mode of travel a lot ... who knows where I'll be or what I'll be doing when I post next.