i bought some thick socks today (wool, sorry guys) to try with my hiking boots (leather, sorry guys). i tried to set up a mini obstacle course in the room to test out the boots. tried to bend my feet, uphill, downhill, stretch this and that, just trying to get a sense if this is the right match for me or not. i think this is the best that i can do right now. it isn't bad, still a smidge tight on the right foot. but i know when i get back to america my feet won't be swollen anymore and if i buy really big boots here, i will have no use for them in america with regular size feet! everything i buy here i'm gonna make last a long time and get a lot of use out of.

the other thing i did was size the backpack i got. there are so many ways to customize it! it's like totally ergonomic or some shit. pretty rad. you can cinch up here and there and just make it work for you. except, i realize it doesn't hold that much. i did put all my stuff in, and twiddle thumbs's, for the most part. didn't put in the toiletries or towels. those don't take up too much room. there was space for them. but then you gotta consider we have to hike 4 days worth of food at least as well. and it is recommended to pack your sleeping bag inside your pack, not attach it outside of it. so there's no getting around it. we're gonna have to buy another proper hiking backpack. not so big though like the one i have, even though it really isn't that big! something small enough to help distribute the weight between the two of us. luckily, this week backpacks are 50% off at kathmandu. thank fuck. i am not paying full price for them. they are so expensive here.

since there are a few other clothing and gear items we need to get, and kathmandu has longer hours tomorrow, it looks like tomorrow will be a 'shop until they close' day. i can't believe we leave next week! so excited! of course, we're taking baby steps towards the main activity that is stressing us out: milford track. baby steps include kayaking in taupo and abel tasman, short walks here and there, and hiking the hump ridge. even the baby steps are damn exciting! i don't know if we can afford everything. please send money! hahaaaaa hopefully we can find decent work immediately after traveling and earn most of it back.

kiwi image of the day: