Guide Dogs, Bomb Sniffing Beagles and Caving

So far so good...the flights all went well. I highly recommend Air New Zealand as they provide you with your own personalized TV full of movies, games, TV shows...I was in heaven! I arrived in Auckland about 4 am Sunday (NZ time) and made my way to the baggage claim where they had a dog sniffing all luggage. The catch was that the dog was perhaps one of the tiniest cutest beagles ever, and he had figured out that if he jumped up on peoples bags he'd get a treat...no matter what! This dog was a genius, he'd just act like everyone had something and made out like a king. Somehow when I jumped on peoples bags I didn't receive the same treatment.

I spent one day in Auckland which was enough for me...The city is strange, some sections are very modern but then there will be rows of burnt out old builings across the street. The harbour was beautiful though. Lots of water, lots of volcanoes (something like 72 in the area) and lots of boats. I made my way up to the top of the Sky Tower which is the highest building in the Southern Hemisphere. The view from the top was unreal.

Later that day I went to a pub to watch the All Blacks (NZ Rugby Team) play France. It was a huge deal in the area and when the bouncer carded me and found out I was there to watch the game despite being from Canada he said "Good on a mate...there's a good lad" I felt strangely happy...and maybe cockney.

I'm currently in Waitomo where I went on a cave tour yesterday. These things are unreal. We had to rappel 27m (100ft.) then walk upstream into huge caverns full of gloworms. Turning off our lights it looked like the clearest night sky you've ever seen. I have a few pictures but they really don't do it justice. We also tubed downstream and ended up climbing back up the same 27m to get out. Overall it was a 5 hour trip and well worth every penny. Possibly the coolest thing I've ever done.

Anyways, off to Rotorua today to see some hot springs, geysers, etc. I'm now travelling with a guy I met from Alaska. We have bonded over the fact that everyone from the rest of the United States thinks we both live in igloos...Good times

I'll talk to you all later and post pictures when I get back. Take care