naporization of the nations: help i'm stuck in the lord of the rings movie set

so... new zealand. i started off in auckland, which is on the north island. cool city, but not too much to do or see, so i went to the town of rotorua. this place smells like rotten eggs. that's because of the natural geysers. i spent a day sitting in the thermal baths. just me and about 100 japanese tourists. then i went to mt. tongariro, known to most people as "mordor's mt. doom." there's a famous one day hike over the volcano that i was signed up for, but due to the wind and rain, they cancelled it. bummer. but you've all seen the movie and don't need my dinky photos anyway.

from there i went to wellington, the capital city which was a lot of fun. i met a bunch of american triatheletes who were there for a competition and met some people who will probably be in the olympics. they made me feel lazy.

i hopped on the ferry to the south island (which is where people said the best places were) and spent 3 days in a "city" called nelson. they call it a city, but it's the size of my hometown of westfield new jersey, so i don't really consider it a city. i did some wine tours, hiking, hot yoga and ate healthy food there. it was good to have a place to call home for 3 days. i'm trying to convince my uncle rob to move here, so i'll have a place to come visit. it's a fun town with tons to do and a decent american expat population. i'll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.