as of May 7, 2011

I left Wellington the morning of April 2^nd. The ferry ride to Picton is just over three hours. From the ferry I drove to the west coast then enjoyed the coastal views as I headed south to Hokitika. Unfortunately I wasn't able to stop and explore any of the numerous walking tracks along the way. I injured my foot about two weeks before leaving Wellington so extended periods of walking or standing range from uncomfortable to painful. After two nights couch surfing in Hokitika I drove on to Wanaka. The section of road between Haast and Wanaka is beautiful, especially at this time of year.

When I left Wellington the weather felt like Summer was coming to an end but it didn't feel like Autumn quite yet. Heading south I am reminded that Autumn is well under way. Autumn is has been busy transforming the colors from luscious green to a spectral of yellows, oranges and reds. Wanaka is particularly beautiful right now. The lake, the mountains with a sprinkle of snow, the trees with their various colors, the crisp air. It isn't quite freezing yet but it is definitely chilly.

I stayed one night in Wanaka then headed on to Invercargill. My initial plan for the south island included a lot of hiking. However my foot was still bothering me so I reluctantly came to terms with the fact that this idea was not going to come to fruition. When the friend I was visiting in Invercargill offered me a house sitting gig for a couple weeks I figured it would be a opportune time to let myself heal. The next two weeks were entirely uneventful. I stayed off my foot as much as possible and went to the hospital twice. Once at the beginning to be told it should get better if I stay off of it for a few days. For the next week I put practically no weight on my left foot. I didn't have crutches but I did have a chair with wheels that I put my knee on and used as a leg substitute. When I didn't notice much improvement I decided to I return to the hospital to get an x-ray. It was confirmed that no bones were broken and I was told that foot injuries just take a long time to heal. How fun. Oh yeah! I also went to the world's most southern Irish Pub, located in Invercargill.

When the house sitting gig was up I went to Queenstown. I had previously thought about living there, but after a weekend I am glad I decided against it. It is a beautiful part of the country, but the feel of the town is entirely different from why I like New Zealand. It is very touristy. In Queenstown my friend Rien met up with me so we could travel together for a bit:

I found the Cromwell/Alexandra area pretty, but very different from Wanaka/Queenstown. The hillsides are covered with small shrubs and a lot of rocks. Bluff supposedly has the best oysters in the world, if you're into that. Lake Hauroko is the deepest lake in New Zealand. Clifden has a neat cave system, glowworms and flash floods warnings included. Gore is the brown trout capital of the world, a fact they proudly let known with a huge statue of a fish.

Due to my recent change in hair style I have been thinking a lot about hair. The hardest part of my decision to cut off all my hair was my concept of beauty. Hair on the top of your head is often connected with beauty. I finally had to decide that I didn't care if I was less attractive with less hair on my head. I am happy that I decided to follow through with this idea. I am also glad I chose to keep half my hair long and the other half shaved for three months. The only reason I am sad about not being able to grown a beard is that I can't do the half shaved, half full beard look. I would definitely play with my facial hair styles if I had a beard. Not that I want a beard, I don't. Instead I can play with the styles of hair on the top of my head. It was a fun hair style. Many interactions and conversations were sparked. From this experience I started to think more about hair. There are many strange views having to do with hair in our culture.

Hair on your head is acceptable, but as soon as it leaves the body it is gross. Hair in the drain, hair on a plate, hair on the bar of soap: these are often met with disgusted reactions. Then I started thinking about the various places of hair on one's body, especially associated with gender. Why are we so accepting of leg hair, arm pit hair, and facial hair on men but not women? From these thoughts I decided to try to change these ideas within myself. I made this my April resolution; this included the ceasation of using a razor. It didn't work after one month though so I am continuing into May. I don't think a couple decades of being ingrained with social norms is going to be eliminated by a couple months without a razor. We'll see how I feel in a few weeks.