I’m sitting here in my lodging in Wellington staring out at the city from the 10th floor trying to think of what else I need to do before I go.

A little while ago I picked up my backcountry hut pass. Right now I’m filtering through my gear again trying to figure out what I can send to Queenstown, which isn’t my halfway point but I feel is a good first bail option point, and by the time I get there I’ll have a better idea of what the shape of the rest of the trip will look like.

I’m anxious about the weight I’m going to have to carry, even early on in the trip. Worried about food still, since I still don’t have much of a clue as to what I’ll be doing on that front. Fortunately I only need to worry about one food drop to get me to Queenstown, and if all else fails I can hitch from the trail at several points to go get groceries.

But also super excited about all of the people I’m now following on Instagram and through blogs, seeing their pictures, reading their stories, and most importantly, lookin forward to meeting them, even if only briefly as we pass each other in opposite directions. Hopefully overnight hut selection between northbounders and southbounders will have enough overlap I can at least get an evening with them!

Earlier today I was running errands and I realized that a couple of years ago I wouldn’t have dreamed I’d be “wasting time” doing things like laundry, grocery shopping, waiting in line at the post office while on a vacation. Yet here I am, thousands of miles from home, doing just that. And I’m even about to go take in a movie at the local cinema. Fly half way around the world to see Jumanji, you say? Damn right.

The calm before the storm. I am glad I opted to spend a week or so in country before starting the walk. I can do last minute things. Get over jet lag (which wasn’t that bad actually). Explore Auckland and Wellington a bit. Do some day hiking as a bit of warm up. And most importantly, relax. The week I had between coming home from Iceland and leaving for New Zealand was packed full of activity. Paperwork. Visiting friends. Dropping off my cats. Worrying about my cats (which I’m still doing to be perfectly honest). Cleaning my apartment. Packing. Right now though, mostly what I need to do before I start walking is done. The rest I can make up as I go along.

When I first got here I was so anxious to get started I wished I hadn’t pre-booked everything up until the day I start walking because now I can’t really change it. But I’m glad I did 🙂

Anywho. I think I’ve rambled enough. I start walking in a few days. I’m excited. Slightly terrified, but excited 🙂

On a side note it’s super expensive to send a postcard to the US from New Zealand. $2.20NZD! (About $1.50 US) I’m going to go bankrupt sending postcards home and to everyone I can think of! Speaking of which, if you want a postcard, hit up the the about page and send me your address.