Good day everyone!
55 days to go and exactly a month after my last update, I thought it'd be about time to write a new one. But the timing isn't the only reason that I'm writing this right now; I've actually got a few announcements to make! And, unlike these last two updates, it's good news! In fact, that's quite a bit of an understatement - it's fuckin'GREAT, that's what it is!!

Right, so what's the big deal?
Well, with the end of the year coming so close, so is the end of my internship... January 11th. And with my plane not leaving until the 16th of February, it means that my "month of freedom" is almost here as well! I'd actually already expected time to go this fast, so I started planning a bit early. Which is quite unlike me ;) (nog 'ns wat anders dan "Wuahhh, komt wel goed") I think it's also got something to do with the holidays drawing close... I must admit that I have been getting a little homesick from time to time, and especially the idea of being alone on Christmas was  not a very pleasant thought. I'm sure you can imagine. Fortunately, I won't be! It seems that my host-family here was even expecting me to be there! An offer I couldn't refuse. I still can't believe their generosity...

But I've found that the perfect cure against this home-sick-ness, is planning! That's right; planning. It's the best reminder you can get, to remind you just what the hell you're doing down here on the other side of the world. Every time that I felt that feeling pop up (quite often on a Sunday-morning, I've noticed...), I just grabbed my "travel-bible" the Lonely Planet to look around and discover New Zealand, right from my kingsize bed. Does miracles, I tell you.
 And there's a lot involved with that planning! More than you'd think. With such a vast country at your fingertips, the whole thing soon becomes a huge maze of... Of total awesomeness :P It's just so hard to decide on what you want to do, what you can do and what you've got time for. I've got about a full month for the whole South Island... A South Island may not sound like much, but please bear in mind that it's still almost 4 times the size of the Netherlands. (and only just over 1 million inhabitants - most people live here up North... So much for balance)

Right, so... What's the big deal?!
Hang on, man, I'm getting to it! Jesus.
The thing is, it didn't just stick to planning! After I'd made up my mind about everywhere that I wanted to go, I could move on to defining a route through the country, and from there on you set dates to the places... It's been quite a consuming task, but eventually figured out the perfect route. But here comes the best part:

Ladies and gentlemen - with pride I would like to announce that, as of yesterday, my FULL TRIP is completely booked and payed for!! Everything is taken care of, and all I have to do now is WAIT. Which isn't easy, trust me on that one ;) But it's a great feeling, it really is. Just knowing what I'm in for, it brings a certain kind of confidence. As far as transport is concerned, I'm fully covered. Way up until Amsterdam.
 It's gonna be quite an expensive month for me, but I can already tell you that it's gonna be the most amazing month of my life. Up until now, that is. I still hope to exceed it even further in the future, of course ;) I know it sounds a bit rash, but just let me explain how I came to this conclusion. Let me explain my plans.

Have a good look at my route! I've spent a lot of time making that, explaining all the details and adding everything. It's a perfect way of showing you folks back home where I'll be going. It's also helped me get a perfect overview of everything. I'll explain it step by step... Please note that the placemarks on the left are not in the right order; they go by numbers. I'll explain in the right order.

• It all starts right here in Hawera. It's the bright green pushpin.

1. Wellington (Kings of Leon)
2. Auckland (The National and Big Day Out)
   (then way down to the South Island...)
3. Invercargill
4. The Catlins / Curio Bay
5. Invercargill
6. Stewart Island
7. Te Anau
8. Kepler Track
9. Te Anau
10. Queenstown (Bungyjump!)
11. Fox Glacier
12. Punakaiki (Pancake Rocks)
13. Abel Tasman National Park (Skydive!)
14. Picton
15. Queen Charlotte Track
16. Picton
    (annnd back up to the North Island...)
17. Wellington (Explosions in the Sky)
18. Hawera (farewell-dinner with everyone)
19. Auckland (Interpol)

Instead of writing everything down here, you can just view a detailed description of every stop, just by clicking on the corresponding placemark! I've even added pictures and everything, I don't know a better way to share it with you guys - YET. Just wait 'til you see the photo's when I get back! Most of you seem to've quite enjoyed the photos that I made so far; you ain't seen nothin'yet! The best is yet to come ;)

But that's not all! Nooo, there's even more! This is all still a few weeks away, but... Well, you might already have noticed that smaller turquoise route - that's my Christmas holiday! That trip will start RIGHT after Christmas: this Wednesday (26th) I'll be heading off to Taupo for a day of Parasailing (:D) on the lake, and finish off the day with The Black Seeds - AGAIN! After that it's on to Gisborne, where the party REALLY gets started! I mentioned Rhythm & Vines in my last update - that's on New Year's Eve, but the campsite party starts on the 27th already... A full week of camping with 9000 other R&V-attendees - my kind of people... ;)
 Gisborne actually had an earthquake just 2 days ago, by the way! Quite a big one too: a 6.8 on Richter, causing a few buildings to collapse but only a few people got hurt. It's been on the news throughout the world, but I don't think the Netherlands payed much attention to it. A few people from America and Canada emailed me afterwards to see if I was okay, very thoughtful.. :)
 The Rhythm&Vines site states the following: "GISBORNE ROCKED WITH THE 6.8 EARTHQUAKE BUT RHYTHM & VINES WILL ROCK EVEN MORE...". Yeheaahh.

For planning purposes, I've put everything down in my calendar as well. Every concert, every activity, every trip, every bus, flight & ferry is in there. (Nee Ferry, jou bedoel ik niet) You can click any event for details. So now everyone back home can see exactly WHERE I'll be, and WHEN! It's perfect! Keep in mind that all times mentioned are in NZ's timezone ;)

If you have a good look at that calendar, you might notice a little extra... The very last part is already part of my planning for back home! Now, I know some of you will call me insane for this but... I'm gonna have a homecoming-concert! ...A FEW HOURS AFTER MY ARRIVAL!! XD
 That's right! As you can see in that calendar of mine, I'll be arriving on Schiphol at 17:55. Let's say check-out would last about an hour, 10 minutes trainride to Amsterdam... En dan DIRECT DOOR NAAR DE MELKWEG!! Hahaaaa, I'm loving this... the Mad Caddies just happen to be playing in Amsterdam on the very evening after my arrival. It's gonna be a close call and I might even miss the start of the gig, but I don't care. There's no better way to celebrate my homecoming ;) I just have to figure out what I'm gonna do with my luggage, but I'm sure we'll figure something out.

So yeah, everyone who's planning to come pick me up is invited to this concert! :D It would mean SO MUCH to me to have some more friends there... One of my favorite gig-friends, Mat, is going either way and was even so kind to buy my ticket for me, but... Please join me! Even if you barely know the band, even if you don't go to concerts as often as I do, it's VERY accessible music and we'd just make it a night to remember :)

Whoever can't make it on that particular night, I would EXPECT you to be on my homecoming party! I've explained this before, I really want EVERYONE here! Y'hear me? EVERYONE! Both local and long-distance friends. My guys, the other 2 local hippie groups (inclusief Elise & Sebas..), my concert-friends, school friends, Marieke, Randolf, Emiel, Tienkamp, Daniëlle, Iteke, Zuriël... Renske&Daniël, ook jullie zijn nog uitgenodigd :) Bring a friend, het kan er allemaal wel bij! THIS IS GONNA BE BIG, PEOPLE! :D Nieuw Zeeland moet helaas vroeg of laat wel tot een eind komen, maar dat hoeft niet direct ook een eind aan de pret te betekenen ;)
 Now, we already had a slight lack of chairs/space at my farewell-party, but I'm considering to do it in Scherpenzeel this time. People could even spend the night that way, especially people from longer distances. We'd just have to figure somethin'out for transport, OR just stuff it into my place anyway. We'll figure something out!

So mark it down! Friday, the 22nd of February. Keep that date free and do what ever you have to to make it there. I really hope to see you all then :)

That's it for now. I still had some other things I wanted to mention, but I'll save those for later. And don't forget; I'll be off the radar from December 26th until the 3rd of January. I'm still phone-less, so I'm afraid that I really wouldn't be able to call or be called :( I'm getting a new phone soon, but I don't think I'll have it by New Year's Eve... Just think of me around noon on the 31st - I'll already have entered 2008 ;)

I hope you all have a great Christmas and an even better 2008... 'm sorry I won't be able to celebrate it with any of you this time, but I'll be there for 2009. I promise :)

Tot eind Februari iedereen!

From New Zealand