Last New Zealand Post, a Video Update and Advice on Campervans

So, this has a couple elements to it. The first, is the last update that I made, the second is some final thoughts about NZ, and lastly is my advice on what transportation to use.
Part of the above update - I really enjoyed the last 10 days in NZ. Maybe people are different in this general area (not everyone), but I think it's the places I've been. They are laid back and more my style, so I think I felt more comfortable in them.
When I was swimming with the dolphins, it's in the wild. You boat out to where they hangout and jump in. The water was really cold and I nearly gave myself hypothermia cause I didn't want to get out.
The last sneak camping spot is along a lake that has black swans, which is funny to me because it's a term that got beat into me during that program my work had me doing. So, I sat watching the ducks and swans, eating some excellent cheese and sipping wine. There was a warm breeze that would occasionally blow on through and had the smell of a someone's fireplace going and hay. An amazing send off for the last night. As if to say, "give me another chance, I can really shine".
I like to say that I loved NZ, but in truth, I mildly only liked it. I met some cool people and some funny characters, but most were to be honest - stupid or dicks. Perhaps if I had someone with me like Ivy, the experience would have been a bit more positive. I feel like there may be something more there and that I need to give another chance; a chance to redeem itself. That being said, there are other places I'd rather go first.

Some last thoughts:
NZ is a very unique country, it's also a country of contrasts. It reminds me of the girl at the bar who is stunningly beautiful, but when you talk to her, you realize that she has skated by on her looks and never had to develop any character. She just expects everything. Of course, that's not 100% true, but it's the best representation I can think of.
The things I liked about the country were, the scenery (obviously), the rugby, the humor (quite dry) - my favorite day was Wednesday because a radio station had "wind up your wife, Wednesdays" which wasn't limited to just the wife, but one would set up the other and then the radio personalities would rile up the spouse; really fucking funny stuff. I liked the birds, they were very curious and would follow you about on your hike. I liked how empty it was and how few police there were. It was super chill in most places, which is more to my liking than hustle and bustle. I like how they embrace and merge their heritages - Maori and European. Although, it does create a lot of confusion when towns have the same name with one letter difference and are close to each other. Lastly, I loved that all meat was pastured - as in, ethically treated and NOT GRAIN FED. In fact, I maybe saw one farm that grew corn.
I'm not going to focus on the negatives. I think I've already made my point on that. NZ, does have some problems that they will need to address in the future. The main one is forestry and pastures. As I drove the islands, I realized that all that pasture land used to be forest; thick forest at that. Most places where they could put grazing animals, they have. Some areas have been so deforested that it looks natural, like that's how the land originally was. And it's still happening. It's not necessarily a conspiracy to cut them down. I think it comes from each individual farmer. If they clear those 2 trees on their property, there will be just a little bit more food for their sheep or cows. It may seem ridiculous to cut down a tree to get that extra few kilos of grass a year, but that's what they are doing. The problem with major deforestation is that it changes weather patterns, which of course have major unknown consequences.
The other problem is the over populating the pastures. It's not a widespread problem, but in parts of the country, they have pastures that are way over populated. I tried to get a picture to represent it, but it didn't turn out well. Anyway, I think we all know how bad overpopulation is for the environment, so I won't go into it. Oh, and side note, while NZ is known for having a fuck load of sheep, they have almost as many cows (they also farm deer). The interesting thing is, they have an enormous amount of meat available, but the prices of meat is really high. I discussed this with some NZers and travelers. My contention was that they are exporting most of it. The NZers said this is the case, but even more, they export the best parts so NZers get stuck with over-priced meat.
Anyway, those two things just kinda sadden me. They have this unbelievable little paradise and they are slowly destroying it. I guess that can be said for most countries, but because NZ is so small, it's more dramatic to the eye.

Lastly, here is my video post on "sneak camping" and my advice on whether to get a campervan or something else. I can't remember if I addressed it, but if you got the time and don't mind having to stay in a place you didn't plan on, the cheapest (and safe and fairly easy) way to get around is to hitchhike. For me, hitching would have worked well if I was only going to be on one island for that month. Otherwise, the distances become an issue. I'd say if you are hitching, you need at least a month per island. Plus, you get close experiences with the locals, which is a highlight for all travelers.