Where is Darran?

Made it down to Franz Josef. Spending the entire day tomorrow hiking a glacier. See ya soon.

Wow. If you hit NZ by landing in Auckland, don’t let it put a bad taste in your mouth. Wellington is sweet redemption. That being said, Auckland was getting better the more and more time I spent there. Heading out tomorrow to the South Island. Crashing in Nelson. Also, got a call from the immigration officer today and he informed I have been granted a work to residence permit. Full work rights baby………

In beautiful Lake Taupo. It has been a dream so far. Got approved for a working holiday visa last week! Will hit you guys with some words, pics, and vids when I get some downtime. Much love from NZ to all over the world.

Just booked a tour with Kiwi Experience. Leave tomorrow at 7 AM. No worries mate.

Wow. A year in Australia already? Arrived in Australia on August 14, 2008. Departed Australia on August 14, 2009. What happened the past year? Was it worth it? How has the experience impacted you as a person? These are some of the questions that enter my mind as I transition to a new country and begin to conceive and implement new ideas and new goals for a different place and time. I look forward to  sharing some of the answers to these questions with you in the future. What is one piece of advice I can give to myself and to you now?

Do not have expectations.

I have never been let down when I did not have expectations. What was the plan for New Zealand? The plan was to get a permanent residence visa and continue progressing my career in industry, continue training for marathons and triathlons, and explore Asia. The backup plan was to get a working holiday visa and carry out efforts aimed towards the same goals.

Primary Plan: Permanent Residence Visa not granted or denied.

Backup Plan: Working Holiday Visa not granted or denied.

What I was able to get: Tourist Visa expiring on November 14, 2009. Flight booked back to Sydney on November 13, 2009 and a question of where to go from there.

What does this mean? It means that instead of looking for an apartment, getting a bank account, job hunting, and spending hours on the bike, in the pool, and pounding asphalt, I am going to travel New Zealand. Even though this is not what I planned, it is probably the most appropriate action given that I have only seen one city of what I have heard to be an amazing country.

For some reason, I felt compelled to take all of the possessions I have aquired over the past year and place them in storage here in New Zealand. You’re not your fucking khakis. Everything not needed for getting around New Zealand I have put in storage. I am going to book some transport on a hop-on, hop-off bus, pack my backpack and get back on the road. See ya later.