The wind is cruel, it rains all the time and every town is successively colder the further south I get. This isn’t exactly my idea of paradise, but I’m managing to enjoy myself even though I have to wear several layers of clothes morning, noon and night (see my previous entry titled “Going Where the Climate Suits My Clothes” and you’ll understand my disappointment).

After a couple nights in windy Wilmington, New Zealand’s chilly capital city, I made the inter-island crossing for the South Island. My North Island tour is over (click here to see where I've been).

It’s officially winter now, and I recently bought a jacket that looks more like a sleeping bag in hopes of keeping myself warm as I traverse the South Island’s west coast, which nestles between the frigid South Pacific and snow-capped Southern Alps. I’ll make it as far as Queenstown, a frozen urban outpost perched at the edge of Lake Wakatipu, before making a wide u-turn to work my way up the east coast to Christchurch and Kiakoria.

My plan to spend a year on the tropical beaches of the world has taken a hefty detour, and I have to say, I often find myself staring longingly at the bikinis, shorts and skirts in my backpack, wishing I was somewhere warm and sunny.

I’ve done a good job at keeping a positive attitude however, and despite the low temperatures, I still have high spirits and have really enjoyed my travels here.

From the soggy walks down Queen Street in downtown Auckland, nippy nights out in Taupo and unheated accommodations on the East Cape to the ice-cold morning hike in Tongariro National Park, outdoor toilets in River Valley and countless cloudy afternoons, my most common phrase these days is “it’s freezing."

Surprisingly enough, a warm high sun welcomed us to the South Island and my first couple days along the west coast in Nelson, Westport and Franz Josef have been relatively pleasant. Although I still need to sport all my sweatshirts, jacket and gloves to be comfortable, it was nice to see the sun again. From what I hear, there’s a whole lot of rain and snow waiting for us further south so the big chill is yet to come.

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been in New Zealand for over a month now, and even harder to believe that it’s been more than 4 months since I started this adventure. I feel great. While I’m constantly faced with the varied challenges of living out of a tiny backpack, sharing cramped living quarters with other travelers, waking up early almost every day to get back on the bus and coping with the total lack of personal space, I’m loving this life and still enjoying the ride.

May 20, 2006