Two One-Ways: Couch Exchange Program (Kiwi Edition)

When we lived in Bozeman we hosted a lot of Couchsurfers; people we had never met that we let into our home for one or two nights based on their online profiles and references left by other Couchsurfing hosts. Over the course of the three years we lived in Bozeman, we hosted a disproportionate number of Kiwis (New Zealanders). For some reason they flock to Montana, probably because the mountain landscape and geothermal hotspots remind them of home. We have spent the last couple weeks traveling the South Island doing what I like to call 'couch exchanges'. We met up with George in Timaru and Tom in Queenstown; two super friendly Kiwis that stayed with us in Bozeman summer of 2014. We also stayed with some family friends that are currently living and working in Waimate (roughly between Timaru and Queenstown). It was lovely to meet up with all these old friends and we still have two more 'mates' to see during the final two weeks of our time in NZ. Tomorrow we are off to do our second Great Walk: The Kepler Track in Fiordlands National Park.

(P.S. We parted ways with Erica after the Abel Tasman Trek since her plan was to continue WWOOFing and ours was to meet up with Couchsurfers and other friends before the three of us meet back up to finish our time in NZ volunteering at a music festival on the North Island.)

Hitch-hiking has been a common form of transportation for us. It is very typical in NZ; locals and tourists alike take part in the hitch-hiking culture of NZ.

Empty chairs memorial for the lives lost during the massive earthquake in Christchurch in 2011 that destroyed a lot of the city. Much of the city has still not been rebuilt. Many city blocks have been turned into parking lots (or 'carparks' as they're called down here).