The concept of traveling alone...

It's odd how my view of traveling on my own seems to change on an hourly basis. In Auckland, I went back and forth on it - I occasionally felt a bit lonely, but I really enjoyed seeing the city on my own terms. I also wasn't so concerned with meeting people there, since I knew I was off to Mt. Maunganui for my home exchange and didn't figure anyone would be heading that way. Then in the Mount, I was REALLY alone for 6 straight days and loved it. I even found myself wishing I had decided to stay longer. I never craved any company at all and made only half hearted attempts to talk to people the one night I was in Rotorua. By the time I got to Queenstown, though, I was thrilled to meet great people in my hostel, especially since I'll see some of them later on my route. One of the guys, Gavin, is a 33 yr old Melbournite who was here on his own for a few days between leaving his last job and starting his new one. Given his age, I had the most in common with him. We plan to meet up when I get to Melbourne. I met a really nice British couple who are traveling the world for a year and will be in many parts of Australia while I'm there so me may try to meet up too. Now they've all left Queenstown and I don't leave until tomorrow afternoon. No one else has checked in to the hostel, so I have to admit I'm feeling a bit lonely tonight, but I was with people almost 24/7 all week so maybe it's just the withdrawl! I wonder how I'll continue to feel as the trip goes along. Susan and Aileen - I'll definitely be glad to meet up with you!!!!

Age is the other thing that's funny. I've met a few people my age, but the vast majority are at least 8 years younger. Sometimes it makes me feel young that I'm doing "young things" and sometimes it makes me feel REALLY OLD, especially when I see myself in their eyes as ancient. It probably won't help that my next stop is a university down (Dunedin). This is definitely going to be a journey of self discovery as well as just travel! Sorry to end on somewhat of a downer - it's not as bad as it probably sounds and tomorrow I'll likely feel completely different again!!