It's a Brand New Day

New Zealand is the first country in the world to begin the new day; specifically Gisborne, New Zealand is the first city to see sunlight of the new day - they really like to live on the edge. Now that I have officially arrived here in Auckland, let's start a new day!

A true representation of my McGrimmley fam :)

I O my Kym!

After all the good byes back home and help packing from my McGrimmley family [for Kym's b-day, I O My Kym! shirts seem appropriate], Base Auckland will become my new place of residence for the next 2 weeks. Additionally, continued job hunting will begin in earnest.With no work, a working holiday only becomes a holiday (my bank account being the only hater of that idea).

First adult lesson learned: internet is expensive in the land of the long white cloud. Welcome to my adult life. Cheers!
:D

Watching the Big Boy Planes Fly

Supposedly a Richard William Pearse (New Zealand) flew a "heavier-than-air-machine" in March 1903 - some 9 months before the Wright Brother's! I'll continue believing my American history books and school teachers in saying the Wright Brothers were the first :) 

However, the Wright brothers were able to obtain sustain and controlled flight for a period of time while Pearse did not. Seriously, Wikipedia has all the deets (but some NZ travel literature claims Pearse as the father of modern flight).

LAX Terminal 4: Lufthansa and American Airlines

In 2012 we've these ginormous monsters that are no longer simple puddle jumpers they had back in the day when Grandma and Grandpa had to "walk to school up hill both ways".

Cheers to my 13-hour, modern flight filled with free beverages and entertainment
:D

011+64 [Call Me]

"Travel when you're young because it's too much work when you get older"

~ Great Grandma 

Grandma may really have a point here. Perfect timing that I'm hitting up Auckland, New Zealand on 22 March (a full 8,057 miles [or 12,964 km for you metric folk] from the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport!) Nothing like a jump, hop and a skip to reach your final destination - of course, 17 hours of airplane time provides a decent substitute.

That's right y'all, I'm heading back to down under's cuz where the toilets flow backwards and they drive on the left! For 12 solid months I'll become a Kiwi to enjoy the finer things in life like sky diving, bungy jumping and public Holiday's for everything British. Plus, who in the Northern Hemisphere would not be jealous I can comfortably sit on a beach in a tank and jandals in January?!

Zorb (May 2011)

Don't forget work too, Derek. This visa allows me to rake in the NZD's so I really can go sky diving, bungy jumping and drive on the left!

Plus I'll be able to

• Eat Pineapple Lumps (yum?)
• Actually go sky diving (Zorb is totally 2011)
• Checkout Auckland University Master of Urban Planning 

 

 

LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!