Anna and Molly invade the North Cascades

Last week I finally bought plane tickets for my upcoming trip to New Zealand and Australia! I started to get a bit nervous when Orbitz summed up my trip of "201 days" and "18,500 miles." Whoa.

I leave on November 13, flying from Seattle to Auckland, NZ. I'm planning to look for temporary work through my New Zealand Working Holiday Visa. Then on March 14, my oldest sister and a mutual friend of ours will join me in Queenstown, NZ for a whirlwind three-week tour of the West coast of the South Island. We'll do several of the great walks and a bit of kayaking, as well. On April 20 my sister and I will continue on to Sydney, Australia, then work our way up the East coast. We'll meet up with her husband in Brisbane on May 15 and drive straight to the Great Barrier Reef, ending my seven-month adventure with scuba diving (? if I'm brave enough) and sailing in the Whitsunday Islands. We'll all fly out of Cairns, Australia on June 1, my sister and brother-in-law to their new home in Philadelphia and me back to Seattle.

I'm actually in Seattle this week, with two goals:

1) Catching up with as many friends & family members as possible before I leave the continent. (Note: do you have Skype? If so, add me to your contacts: my username is my full name. If not, download the free program here: http://www.skype.com/download/skype/windows/ . We'll be able to talk for free over the internet while I'm in New Zealand!!)

2) Gearing up for the serious outdoor adventures I'm planning in New Zealand and Australia.

I joked with my other sister Anna that I am actually staying at REI this week, not her house, and it's not too far from the truth! So far I have bought a 65 liter backpack, pack rain cover, down sleeping bag, thermarest, Gortex hiking boots, superfeet, sock liners, hiking gaiters, Gortex rain/sun hat, head/neck buff, long underwear bottoms, and Gortex rain pants. I'm probably leaving something out.



My sister Ellie has previous experience with the rainy weather in New Zealand; she provided a detailed shopping list, and I took it very seriously!

To try out my new gear, Anna and I packed up her Subaru Legacy and headed for the Thunder Creek trail in the North Cascades. We had gorgeous weather (sounds like the only good weather in the state!) and enjoyed the fall colors.










Watch for the next post - hopefully from New Zealand!