Bringing Napier to a Conclusion

Well, tomorrow is my last day of work here in Napier; the feeling is bittersweet. I'm really anxious to do some more traveling around New Zealand, but at the same time, it is going to be very sad to leave all of the wonderful people who we have met here. I was soooo lucky to get this job with absolutely no waitressing, barista, or housekeeping experience. Now, I can gladly put on my resume that I have all of the above from a 5-star hotel! Plus, my boss told me that he can guarantee me a job almost anywhere in NZ & that all I need to do is call him before I head somewhere and he'll get things moving. So, next time I need to save up some extra money to have more NZ adventures, I should be covered =)

Napier is actually a really nice town---verrry pretty. Beautiful, tall palm trees are everywhere! I'm positive that this little town has more palm trees in it than most cities in Florida. Plus, Napier has wonderful green mountains, a couple of gorgeous parks, flowers everywhere, christmas tree lights year round by the beach, a lovely fountain that changes colors in the evening, and just a really nice, clean spotless feel to it. The only thing this town is missing is a nightlife. Oh, and another thing I love about Napier is that Sonja & I always see people we know when we are walking around town. It's such a strange feeling to be walking down the road in a country practically as far away from the United States as it gets & run into people I know. Napier is so small though & we know so many people here now, that it happens all the time. I will miss that =)

One other sidenote about Napier: it is known for this 'amazing' Art Deco architecture. Shortly after we arrived here, we noticed that we always saw these random groups consisting of about 10-20 people walking around the city with cameras and awestruck looks on their faces staring at the surrounding shops, hotels, and cafes. It was the strangest thing. Sonja & I kept thinking, "What the hell are they all staring at??" It was later that we realized all of these crazy people were actually on guided Art Deco tours of the city. Okay, I realize I haven't been to a ton of places around the world, but I HAVE been enough places to know that the architecture here is far from amazing. Nonetheless, without fail, you always see numerous groups of these people all over Napier walking around on guided tours just in complete awe of the buildings. I can't imagine what their faces would look like if they saw architecture that was actually worth a guided tour...they would need a hell of a lot more film for all of their picture-taking! Every time we walk by those groups, I give Sonja my own dubbed version of the Art Deco tour that is going on--"And here, you can see a cafe that has a slightly curved top and some intricate squiggle lines over the entrance..." Haha. I think, as much as I hate to admit it, I will actually miss seeing those ridiculous tours as well =).

Sonja's last day of work is Tuesday, so we will be headed out of Napier on the bus early Wednesday morning! We will go to Rotorua for a couple of days, then off to Waitomo for a day or two. Rotorua has a lot of geothermal activity & the whole city actually smells of sulfur. Ignoring the not-so-pleasant smell, however, there are some really cool things to do. We will check out some huge geysers, hang out in the mud pools & thermal springs, and check out a volcanic valley. In Waitomo, we will explore the glow worm caves, which will involve repelling down into the caves on harnesses, crawling around a bit, then blackwater rafting inside the caves while surrounded by all of the lights of the glow worms! Awesome? I think so. After Waitomo, I will head up to Waiheke Island for a couple of weeks while Sonja goes to Taupo to try & get a temporary job there. The plan is for her to save enough money so that when I come back down from Waiheke Island, she & I can SKYDIVE in Taupo!! That's right...little shy Ashley is going to jump out of a plane at about 12,000 feet above the ground. What can I say...NZ makes sane people lose their mind =)

Cheers,
Ash