So for those of you who knew and now for those of you who didn't, just after finishing my last blog, is had aches that made it very difficult to move and even though I felt my body was on fire I couldn't stop shaking. Plus I felt like I was trying to swallow a walnut whole. It was horrible. I just sort of got hit with the plague over night. Unfortunatly the next day I had already booked my bus to Wellington, so I was going to such it up, get settled in Wellington and take a couple days to recover.
The ride down was miserable. Not only was it a full bus, but I was sitting next to a guy who snored so loud I swear he could make the bus rumble. I wanted so badly to kick him. I just didn't have the energy in me.
I found my way to a hostel (of course the one I wanted was booked) and got myself a single room so I could quarenteen myself off. I mean that's all that I could see happening. I go into a Pharamcy and tell them I think I'm coming down with the flu OR strep and instantly they'll go "AMERICAN, AHHHHH!!! Bag her up and sanitizer her!!!" So I got some stuff at the local supermarket, including lots of liquid, which I had already been drinking a lot of any ways.
The next morning I was feeling a bit better, but let me tell you, the worst feeling in the world is have the plague, all alone, on the other side of the world from anyone you know. You feel so helpless and alone. Lucky for me, I found a cheap phone card, unlucky for me, my parents had JUST left for a cruise. Talk about bad luck. It's ok, I had help. By the end of the day I had found a pharamcy. I of course did get the question "Now, how long ago did you leave the States?" But she was nice and understood. She gave me some great stuff and I was on my way.
By this morning I was feeling so much better I was ready to go at 2:30am. Yup!! And I still don't feel tired. It's crazy. Somehow between all the drugs, and the sleep, and the comfort, and possibly the 11 liters of liquid I am making it though this dreadful battle.
Now I have to go figure out how to start my booking on the bus tour I'll start up in two days, but until then carry on.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Rotorua and Turangi, NZ
Good day to you all!! Hope all is going well where ever you might be.
Monday May 25
So for where I left off.... Oh yes.... the bungy.
Sorry about the photo situation. The do internet here strange. It is based on the number of Megs you use so for me to put up a bunch of photos would cost so much. So I'll give you what I can.
Ok, so after the bungy I went down to the Sky tower, were this time I just picked up the shuttle to the Kelly Tarton Aquarium. It was kind of a shame because there really wasn't much to see there, but I did get to watch some of Happy Feet. Yay Happy Feet.
No really though the highlight there is they have a little train thing that takes you through the Penguin exibit. Yeah, I'm such a dork, I went through 3 times. I wanted to get my moneys worth. Plus, they were just so cute.
I was just able to catch the last bus back into town (Helps being alone at times), where I just went back to Dani's. I wanted to make sure I spent the evening with her and Kris since they were just wonderful to me.
Ok, you don't need to know my move by move.....So.....
Tuesday May 26
That next morning I headed to Rotorua, which is really famous for it thermal heating, and the smell of rotten eggs. Oh yummie, that's exactly what you want to smell first thing in the morning.
Once I got in town, I still had a good portion of the day, so I booked a Mud Bath Spa at "Hell's Spa" This was great because you could go out and see the thermal park first. When I checked in I happened to bunk next to Katherinia, who is from Germany, and decided to do the spa with me. I was really greatful for that, because it would have been boring otherwise.
After the bath, they have you take a cold shower to close up the pores. It was so cold, and it was really cold outside too (All this happened outside). But then they send you over to the Sulfur Pool, where it's like a hot tub, only you can feel it really relaxing the muscles. I stupidly forgot they told us not to put our jewlery on 24hrs after, so to get the sulfur though our system. Well, I woke up the next morning with black ring. It actually looks pretty cool, cept the more I'm washing, it's cleaning it off, but it's still black inside.
Ok back on track.
Wednesday May 27
This morning I went to Rainbow Springs. I believe it is one of the largest natvie bird parks in New Zealand, and it is the largest Kiwi Concervation. So yes, I got to see a Kiwi bird. It's possibly the only time I will because they are nocternal, but I can live with that. I really wanted to go back that night but I'll explain that later.
I caught the bus to go down just a little further where I did Zorbing. Now for those of you who don't know what that is, it is when they have a large clear plastic ball, inside another another plastic ball. They fill the outside one with air and in the inside you one you can either get water or you can strap yourself to the ball. I chose to do the water. I would get sick if I did it the other way. So then what they do is a person climbs into the inside ball, then they push you down a hill. It's about 3 mins of total uncontrolable slip and slide.
That evening Katherinia and I went to a traditional Moari performance and dinner. Moari, are what you could call the natives. But don't say that to anyone from New Zealand who is not Moari. New Zealanders believe that if they were born and raised here, and so were they family, then why does that not make them natives. It is crazy the politics here.
So I caught a shuttle out to the "Village" (It was recreated) where the bus driver told us about doing a combo of the Rainbow Springs at night after doing the Moari event. I thought that since my ticket that day was good for 24hrs I could combine it, but they were dumb and said that I would have to walk myself over there, then find my own transportation. So...forget that....
This Moari event was quite and event...duh...They walked us out to the woods where we saw the Moari men canoe up in a traditionally made canoe. Then we were walked over to the "theatre". We got to learn about their songs, dances, traditions, and we even got to try a hand at some of the dancing. I don't know why but the Moari have this thing with opening their eyes really wide and sticking out their tongue. It might be just as an intimidation thing, who knows.
After the performance, they had a whole buffee laid out for us. This was a traditional Hungi, which is they way they cook their food. They put stones ontop of logs. Once the logs fall in the pit, then they put the food ontop of the hot stones. Oh man, it was fantastic. Probably the best fed I'll be this whole trip.
Thursday May 28
This day I moved on to Turangi. This is a small town in the center of the North Island. Most people go to Taupo, but I'm glad I chose a more quite place. Here, I heard the only real thing to do was walk around their river and do the Tongoriro Alpine Crossing. I chose to do both. However, the crossing was a whole day thing, so I booked it for Friday. Now you all think I'm crazy for going Bungy Jumping, but it can be more dangerous to do this crossing. It is all dependent on the weather. So I was crossing my fingers for good weather.
Friday May 29
I got up just before 6am to call in to see if the crossing was happening. It was, so I did a little happy dance. The bus picked us up and we were off.
In the winter time (Cuz remember it's winter here) they will only do guided tours because of the danger, and they provide all that you might need for this crazy walk. Once on the bus, I got hiking boots, a water resistant jacket, a larger backpack, and some crampons. Crampons are great. They are the spiky things you attach to your boots when you get to snow.
When we first pulled up all we could see was Mt. Doom. Yep, that's right, the Mt. they used to film Mt. Doom in Lord of the Rings. So far that is all the LOTR thing I've seen, but I've still got 2 1/2 weeks. We, however were not climbing Mt. Ngauruhoe (don't ask how to say it, I have no idea) the real name of the Mt., we were climbing Mt. Tongoriro.
If you're looking for more LOTRs you would go to the other Mt. Ruapehu, which is the tallest Volcano in NZ and a very active volcano. But they filmed a lot of the mountain scenes there.
So to give you an idea of this hike. It was 19.6km (just under 12miles). The summit we reached was 1900km.
Let me tell you about this fantastic experience. It was all pretty easy walking for the first 3km but then we walked up "Devils Stairs". Oh boy did the devil all out to you call that. It was rough. At the top of that we walked down into a valley of snow, and walked across to our volcano. Oh, did I forget to mention, it's a volcano, yep, it is. At the base we got to put on our Crampons, so yay me, I"m a mountaineer now. Well after this next part I would say I"m far from that. All this time, the veiw was fantastic and I really wish I could have experienced this with someone home. However, I'm glad no one I know saw me make a fool of myself. Well they say, "Slow and steady wins the race", no I would say "Fast and steady wins the race". Slow people loose. Yeah, I was the last of the group to reach the summit. How embaracing. At least I made it.
At the top we ate our lunch. Oh how I loved my flat,crummy sandwich. Yummie. Well, from there we went down the other side. This however was a side step down because it was a steep hill of dirt and loose rock. It was kind of scary, especially when you got to the edge where you could fall off. Well, you would more of slide down since it's snow, but that would be no fun at all. We reached a a real steep part of just rocks and dirt and just below was snow, where Sara (our guide) told us to take off our campons. We thought she was crazy because the hill was just too steep. I followed the crowd and next thing I know we are all sitting on our bums sliding down the side of the mountain. Oh man it was fantastic. Until I realized I lost my camera, b/c somehow I managed to do flips down. I guess I'm clumsy even when I'm sitting. Lucky for me Jeff (another one of the guides) saw it on his way down and picked it up for me. That was a pretty big scare for me.
We continued on over another valley of snow and went back up a moutain. Oh, we so thought we were done going up. But it was ok. Before we knew it, we were on a slight decline. An hour later we were at the out house on the other side of the mountain. There were only 4. One at the beinning, one before the climb, one after the climb and one at the end. So it's a good thing nature lucked out for us. Once we got to the out house we found out we still had another 8kms to go. But this was kind of the end of the guided part. Here, Sara had us all go around and tell our low and high. I would say my low was being at the very back of the group at the summit and thinking I would have to be the only one to go back. I just felt so unfit next to these people. But I did it, so I can't complain. The high, had to be getting to eat my lunch looking over the Emerald Lakes. They were lower down, but they just shone. So amazing. I mean, the view all around was, b/c it was mountains for miles.
The end of the hike was hard but I made it and now I feel I need a shirt that says "I concored Mt. Tongoriro" Can't seem to find any around here.
Well, as you may have guessed I did not go to the Whitomo Caves to see the glow worms and do dark water rafting, but I felt Mt. Tongoriro was so much more amazing. I think it was much more worth my money too. I mean shoot at the end of the hike they gave us free beer. Well, ok so if you know me, I didn't take the beer, I took the Sprite, but it was still so good after the walk.
Aside from all that, I've been doing well. Been really thinking about all of you. Plus, it's hard when you're away, feeling a bit under the weather, but I'm trying to fight it off, so hopefully it won't hold me back too much. I mean shoot, I just climbed a snowy volcano.
Tomorrow morning I will catch a bus to Wellington. Not quite sure how long I'll be there, but it is possibly you may not hear from me for about a week. It might not be till I'm in the South Island, unless I can find some free WIFI.
I have sent out some postcards, so keep your eyes out. I miss you all!!!
Cheers from Turangi!!
Monday May 25
So for where I left off.... Oh yes.... the bungy.
Sorry about the photo situation. The do internet here strange. It is based on the number of Megs you use so for me to put up a bunch of photos would cost so much. So I'll give you what I can.
Ok, so after the bungy I went down to the Sky tower, were this time I just picked up the shuttle to the Kelly Tarton Aquarium. It was kind of a shame because there really wasn't much to see there, but I did get to watch some of Happy Feet. Yay Happy Feet.
No really though the highlight there is they have a little train thing that takes you through the Penguin exibit. Yeah, I'm such a dork, I went through 3 times. I wanted to get my moneys worth. Plus, they were just so cute.
I was just able to catch the last bus back into town (Helps being alone at times), where I just went back to Dani's. I wanted to make sure I spent the evening with her and Kris since they were just wonderful to me.
Ok, you don't need to know my move by move.....So.....
Tuesday May 26
That next morning I headed to Rotorua, which is really famous for it thermal heating, and the smell of rotten eggs. Oh yummie, that's exactly what you want to smell first thing in the morning.
Once I got in town, I still had a good portion of the day, so I booked a Mud Bath Spa at "Hell's Spa" This was great because you could go out and see the thermal park first. When I checked in I happened to bunk next to Katherinia, who is from Germany, and decided to do the spa with me. I was really greatful for that, because it would have been boring otherwise.
After the bath, they have you take a cold shower to close up the pores. It was so cold, and it was really cold outside too (All this happened outside). But then they send you over to the Sulfur Pool, where it's like a hot tub, only you can feel it really relaxing the muscles. I stupidly forgot they told us not to put our jewlery on 24hrs after, so to get the sulfur though our system. Well, I woke up the next morning with black ring. It actually looks pretty cool, cept the more I'm washing, it's cleaning it off, but it's still black inside.
Ok back on track.
Wednesday May 27
This morning I went to Rainbow Springs. I believe it is one of the largest natvie bird parks in New Zealand, and it is the largest Kiwi Concervation. So yes, I got to see a Kiwi bird. It's possibly the only time I will because they are nocternal, but I can live with that. I really wanted to go back that night but I'll explain that later.
I caught the bus to go down just a little further where I did Zorbing. Now for those of you who don't know what that is, it is when they have a large clear plastic ball, inside another another plastic ball. They fill the outside one with air and in the inside you one you can either get water or you can strap yourself to the ball. I chose to do the water. I would get sick if I did it the other way. So then what they do is a person climbs into the inside ball, then they push you down a hill. It's about 3 mins of total uncontrolable slip and slide.
That evening Katherinia and I went to a traditional Moari performance and dinner. Moari, are what you could call the natives. But don't say that to anyone from New Zealand who is not Moari. New Zealanders believe that if they were born and raised here, and so were they family, then why does that not make them natives. It is crazy the politics here.
So I caught a shuttle out to the "Village" (It was recreated) where the bus driver told us about doing a combo of the Rainbow Springs at night after doing the Moari event. I thought that since my ticket that day was good for 24hrs I could combine it, but they were dumb and said that I would have to walk myself over there, then find my own transportation. So...forget that....
This Moari event was quite and event...duh...They walked us out to the woods where we saw the Moari men canoe up in a traditionally made canoe. Then we were walked over to the "theatre". We got to learn about their songs, dances, traditions, and we even got to try a hand at some of the dancing. I don't know why but the Moari have this thing with opening their eyes really wide and sticking out their tongue. It might be just as an intimidation thing, who knows.
After the performance, they had a whole buffee laid out for us. This was a traditional Hungi, which is they way they cook their food. They put stones ontop of logs. Once the logs fall in the pit, then they put the food ontop of the hot stones. Oh man, it was fantastic. Probably the best fed I'll be this whole trip.
Thursday May 28
This day I moved on to Turangi. This is a small town in the center of the North Island. Most people go to Taupo, but I'm glad I chose a more quite place. Here, I heard the only real thing to do was walk around their river and do the Tongoriro Alpine Crossing. I chose to do both. However, the crossing was a whole day thing, so I booked it for Friday. Now you all think I'm crazy for going Bungy Jumping, but it can be more dangerous to do this crossing. It is all dependent on the weather. So I was crossing my fingers for good weather.
Friday May 29
I got up just before 6am to call in to see if the crossing was happening. It was, so I did a little happy dance. The bus picked us up and we were off.
In the winter time (Cuz remember it's winter here) they will only do guided tours because of the danger, and they provide all that you might need for this crazy walk. Once on the bus, I got hiking boots, a water resistant jacket, a larger backpack, and some crampons. Crampons are great. They are the spiky things you attach to your boots when you get to snow.
When we first pulled up all we could see was Mt. Doom. Yep, that's right, the Mt. they used to film Mt. Doom in Lord of the Rings. So far that is all the LOTR thing I've seen, but I've still got 2 1/2 weeks. We, however were not climbing Mt. Ngauruhoe (don't ask how to say it, I have no idea) the real name of the Mt., we were climbing Mt. Tongoriro.
If you're looking for more LOTRs you would go to the other Mt. Ruapehu, which is the tallest Volcano in NZ and a very active volcano. But they filmed a lot of the mountain scenes there.
So to give you an idea of this hike. It was 19.6km (just under 12miles). The summit we reached was 1900km.
Let me tell you about this fantastic experience. It was all pretty easy walking for the first 3km but then we walked up "Devils Stairs". Oh boy did the devil all out to you call that. It was rough. At the top of that we walked down into a valley of snow, and walked across to our volcano. Oh, did I forget to mention, it's a volcano, yep, it is. At the base we got to put on our Crampons, so yay me, I"m a mountaineer now. Well after this next part I would say I"m far from that. All this time, the veiw was fantastic and I really wish I could have experienced this with someone home. However, I'm glad no one I know saw me make a fool of myself. Well they say, "Slow and steady wins the race", no I would say "Fast and steady wins the race". Slow people loose. Yeah, I was the last of the group to reach the summit. How embaracing. At least I made it.
At the top we ate our lunch. Oh how I loved my flat,crummy sandwich. Yummie. Well, from there we went down the other side. This however was a side step down because it was a steep hill of dirt and loose rock. It was kind of scary, especially when you got to the edge where you could fall off. Well, you would more of slide down since it's snow, but that would be no fun at all. We reached a a real steep part of just rocks and dirt and just below was snow, where Sara (our guide) told us to take off our campons. We thought she was crazy because the hill was just too steep. I followed the crowd and next thing I know we are all sitting on our bums sliding down the side of the mountain. Oh man it was fantastic. Until I realized I lost my camera, b/c somehow I managed to do flips down. I guess I'm clumsy even when I'm sitting. Lucky for me Jeff (another one of the guides) saw it on his way down and picked it up for me. That was a pretty big scare for me.
We continued on over another valley of snow and went back up a moutain. Oh, we so thought we were done going up. But it was ok. Before we knew it, we were on a slight decline. An hour later we were at the out house on the other side of the mountain. There were only 4. One at the beinning, one before the climb, one after the climb and one at the end. So it's a good thing nature lucked out for us. Once we got to the out house we found out we still had another 8kms to go. But this was kind of the end of the guided part. Here, Sara had us all go around and tell our low and high. I would say my low was being at the very back of the group at the summit and thinking I would have to be the only one to go back. I just felt so unfit next to these people. But I did it, so I can't complain. The high, had to be getting to eat my lunch looking over the Emerald Lakes. They were lower down, but they just shone. So amazing. I mean, the view all around was, b/c it was mountains for miles.
The end of the hike was hard but I made it and now I feel I need a shirt that says "I concored Mt. Tongoriro" Can't seem to find any around here.
Well, as you may have guessed I did not go to the Whitomo Caves to see the glow worms and do dark water rafting, but I felt Mt. Tongoriro was so much more amazing. I think it was much more worth my money too. I mean shoot at the end of the hike they gave us free beer. Well, ok so if you know me, I didn't take the beer, I took the Sprite, but it was still so good after the walk.
Aside from all that, I've been doing well. Been really thinking about all of you. Plus, it's hard when you're away, feeling a bit under the weather, but I'm trying to fight it off, so hopefully it won't hold me back too much. I mean shoot, I just climbed a snowy volcano.
Tomorrow morning I will catch a bus to Wellington. Not quite sure how long I'll be there, but it is possibly you may not hear from me for about a week. It might not be till I'm in the South Island, unless I can find some free WIFI.
I have sent out some postcards, so keep your eyes out. I miss you all!!!
Cheers from Turangi!!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Auckland, New Zealand
Hello all my awaiting followers.
So I arrived safely Auckland, 3 days ago. That was Friday May 22 in the morning to me, but only Thursday May 21 in the afternoon to all of you. It was a long day of traveling. I had my relaxing 5 hour flight from DC to LA, only to land and nearly not be able to get my ticket to New Zealand. It turns out New Zealand has a rule that if you are not a Kiwi or and Aussie (for those of you who might not know those are New Zealanders or Australians) then you have to have written proof of leaving the country. Well, little did I realize, but the ticket information I printed out had my booking information in a color that did not print in black and white. Finally an hour later they were able to get my booking information and I had my ticket in hand.
Once I found my terminal, I made myself comfortable because I still had another 4 hours to wait for my plane to board. Well while waiting a nice man by the name of Wayne began talking with me. He was telling me all about the things to see in the South Island because he is from Christchurch. He also gave me his information, so I'm planning on visiting him when I get down there. The coolest part about him, was he was my first (hopefully of many) person I met who was actually an extra in the Lord of the Rings. He was a horse riders in the 3rd movie. I'm sure I would never see him, because he couldn't even figure out where he was in the shots, but it's still cool to know, plus, I'm a dork and Squirt and I got a photo with him.
By the time I was on the plane I was beat, so I curled up (and had plenty of room with and empty seat next to me) and slept. I woke up long enough for dinner, but then I was right back out for about 6 hours. True it was not a good nights sleep because how can you ever get comfortable on a plane, but at least I got some sleep. After, a long 13 hour plane ride, an ok dinner, a decent breakfast, the movies "The Other Boleyn Girl" and "Bolt" I was down in Auckland, NZ.
Luckily before I left I was able to get in contact with someone I met last year on my travels, Dani, who happens to live in Auckland. So I met her at the airport and was heading into town. Dani had to go to class so I went straight into the city. I was able to find out so much information about all of New Zealand I was about to explode. That first day I did quite some walking. I got to see all of the Harbor, which is massive. I saw the SkyTower, which is kind of THE touristy thing to do, but I don't really care to go up it. I've seen some other better sights of the city. Then I took a walk out to the Harbor Bridge. Big mistake. That was about a 3 mile walk and after a whole day of walking and little sleep and then it started to rain, but I was at least able to find a shuttle back.
That night I tried to get back to Dani's however, I forgot where she left. I know I know, I should have written down her address, but I was tired, and it had been early and I was really antsy to get started. So....Oops.... Well after walking around in the dark for about an hour, and really having to go to the bathroom (or as kiwi's who are blunt say, they have to go to the toilette), I went back to the train and planned on just booking a room at a hostel for the night. I got all the way to the hostel, when I finally got a call from Dani. She was so concerned, but was able to send Kris, her boyfriend, out to get me. I felt bad, but was really glad she did that.
May 23
The next day, Dani, Kris and I went out to the west coast. They took me out to all of the lookout points so I could see the whole city. They also took me to see, to them, just an ordinary waterfall. To me this thing was gorgeous. We then went out one of their most famous beaches Pani, which also, is one of their most dangerous, but only if you are surfing. It was way too cold to even think about surfing.
May 24
My third day in Auckland I did the coast to coast walk. It is a 16km walk that goes from one side of the city, to the other, while hitting all of the main points, which is mainly parks. 16km doesn't seem to bad on paper, but when most of it is up hill, well.... But, Kris dropped me off at really what is the end, so I could end up in the city. I went through a few parks, but the first big one I got to was "One Tree Hill". Yes I know, sounds just like that tv show that was out at some point. Well, as I said everything was up hill, so of course this was up hill, and I mean a huge hill. You have to keep in mind the North Island is full of Volcanoes so that should give an idea of the type of hills there are. I loved this hill though, because they had a mini version of the Washington Monument at the top. Of course it wasn't a mini of our monument, but that's what it looked like.
On the other side of the hill was a park where people were actually playing cricket. It was so cute. People actually do that here. I pushed on through the rest of the park to yet another park, where there was actually some kind of Indian event, so I decided not to stop there for lunch. Although, I'm sure I could have fit in and just grabbed a plate and start eating there food. I mean I look Indian right...?? Yeah that's what I thought, so I moved on to the Auckland University to eat. Of course, just as I sat down to eat it began raining. This kind of put a damper on the day.
So, once I was done eating, I was tired, cold, but full. I didn't want to throw in the rag yet, because I still had the volcano, Mt. Eden, to come. Of course in my journey to find the volcano I got lost, then found myself, then lost again and one last time. It really is quite tiring to get lost so many times going up hill after walking straight for 5 hours. Eventually though I found myself at the base of about 100 stairs that led straight up to the summit of the volcano. Let me tell you, even though it was a long hike, and it was cold, and the volcano has been in active for I don't know how long, it was so worth it. It's just crazy to see this huge crater at the top of this mountain, knowing what's under it.
Mt. Eden was just about the end of my trip. I made it just a little further to the Auckland Museum where I decided I needed to call Kris. I had been walking for over 6 hours and probably made it about 13km, and it was getting dark, and even wetter. It was time to get a warm shower. Plus, I had an early morning a head of me.
May 25
This morning, today, I got up early because I had an appointment. I went into town, caught a shuttle, and paid for my adventure. I got all strapped up and walked out on the Harbor Bridge. I got strapped up even more, then I jumped off the bridge. Yep, if you are reading this correctly then you should have understood that I bungee jumped off the Harbor Bridge. Best part was, they had a special, so not only did I get to jump off the normal way, but then I got to get strapped back up and jump right back off only this time, I got to run off and free fall for about 3 secs. Talk about a wake up call. It was so fantastic, I wish I could do it again. I promise, there will be photos and I even have a DVD.
Well, I would say that's a pretty good way to wrap this up. Tomorrow, I will be moving on to Rotorua, where I plan on getting a nice warm mud bath, and watching a Maori (the natives) show, and go zorbing. From there I will get to Hobbiton, then go to Waitomo, where I plan on going black water rafting, and see the glow worms. I miss you all!!!
From Auckland, NZ,
Cheers!!
So I arrived safely Auckland, 3 days ago. That was Friday May 22 in the morning to me, but only Thursday May 21 in the afternoon to all of you. It was a long day of traveling. I had my relaxing 5 hour flight from DC to LA, only to land and nearly not be able to get my ticket to New Zealand. It turns out New Zealand has a rule that if you are not a Kiwi or and Aussie (for those of you who might not know those are New Zealanders or Australians) then you have to have written proof of leaving the country. Well, little did I realize, but the ticket information I printed out had my booking information in a color that did not print in black and white. Finally an hour later they were able to get my booking information and I had my ticket in hand.
Once I found my terminal, I made myself comfortable because I still had another 4 hours to wait for my plane to board. Well while waiting a nice man by the name of Wayne began talking with me. He was telling me all about the things to see in the South Island because he is from Christchurch. He also gave me his information, so I'm planning on visiting him when I get down there. The coolest part about him, was he was my first (hopefully of many) person I met who was actually an extra in the Lord of the Rings. He was a horse riders in the 3rd movie. I'm sure I would never see him, because he couldn't even figure out where he was in the shots, but it's still cool to know, plus, I'm a dork and Squirt and I got a photo with him.
By the time I was on the plane I was beat, so I curled up (and had plenty of room with and empty seat next to me) and slept. I woke up long enough for dinner, but then I was right back out for about 6 hours. True it was not a good nights sleep because how can you ever get comfortable on a plane, but at least I got some sleep. After, a long 13 hour plane ride, an ok dinner, a decent breakfast, the movies "The Other Boleyn Girl" and "Bolt" I was down in Auckland, NZ.
Luckily before I left I was able to get in contact with someone I met last year on my travels, Dani, who happens to live in Auckland. So I met her at the airport and was heading into town. Dani had to go to class so I went straight into the city. I was able to find out so much information about all of New Zealand I was about to explode. That first day I did quite some walking. I got to see all of the Harbor, which is massive. I saw the SkyTower, which is kind of THE touristy thing to do, but I don't really care to go up it. I've seen some other better sights of the city. Then I took a walk out to the Harbor Bridge. Big mistake. That was about a 3 mile walk and after a whole day of walking and little sleep and then it started to rain, but I was at least able to find a shuttle back.
That night I tried to get back to Dani's however, I forgot where she left. I know I know, I should have written down her address, but I was tired, and it had been early and I was really antsy to get started. So....Oops.... Well after walking around in the dark for about an hour, and really having to go to the bathroom (or as kiwi's who are blunt say, they have to go to the toilette), I went back to the train and planned on just booking a room at a hostel for the night. I got all the way to the hostel, when I finally got a call from Dani. She was so concerned, but was able to send Kris, her boyfriend, out to get me. I felt bad, but was really glad she did that.
May 23
The next day, Dani, Kris and I went out to the west coast. They took me out to all of the lookout points so I could see the whole city. They also took me to see, to them, just an ordinary waterfall. To me this thing was gorgeous. We then went out one of their most famous beaches Pani, which also, is one of their most dangerous, but only if you are surfing. It was way too cold to even think about surfing.
May 24
My third day in Auckland I did the coast to coast walk. It is a 16km walk that goes from one side of the city, to the other, while hitting all of the main points, which is mainly parks. 16km doesn't seem to bad on paper, but when most of it is up hill, well.... But, Kris dropped me off at really what is the end, so I could end up in the city. I went through a few parks, but the first big one I got to was "One Tree Hill". Yes I know, sounds just like that tv show that was out at some point. Well, as I said everything was up hill, so of course this was up hill, and I mean a huge hill. You have to keep in mind the North Island is full of Volcanoes so that should give an idea of the type of hills there are. I loved this hill though, because they had a mini version of the Washington Monument at the top. Of course it wasn't a mini of our monument, but that's what it looked like.
On the other side of the hill was a park where people were actually playing cricket. It was so cute. People actually do that here. I pushed on through the rest of the park to yet another park, where there was actually some kind of Indian event, so I decided not to stop there for lunch. Although, I'm sure I could have fit in and just grabbed a plate and start eating there food. I mean I look Indian right...?? Yeah that's what I thought, so I moved on to the Auckland University to eat. Of course, just as I sat down to eat it began raining. This kind of put a damper on the day.
So, once I was done eating, I was tired, cold, but full. I didn't want to throw in the rag yet, because I still had the volcano, Mt. Eden, to come. Of course in my journey to find the volcano I got lost, then found myself, then lost again and one last time. It really is quite tiring to get lost so many times going up hill after walking straight for 5 hours. Eventually though I found myself at the base of about 100 stairs that led straight up to the summit of the volcano. Let me tell you, even though it was a long hike, and it was cold, and the volcano has been in active for I don't know how long, it was so worth it. It's just crazy to see this huge crater at the top of this mountain, knowing what's under it.
Mt. Eden was just about the end of my trip. I made it just a little further to the Auckland Museum where I decided I needed to call Kris. I had been walking for over 6 hours and probably made it about 13km, and it was getting dark, and even wetter. It was time to get a warm shower. Plus, I had an early morning a head of me.
May 25
This morning, today, I got up early because I had an appointment. I went into town, caught a shuttle, and paid for my adventure. I got all strapped up and walked out on the Harbor Bridge. I got strapped up even more, then I jumped off the bridge. Yep, if you are reading this correctly then you should have understood that I bungee jumped off the Harbor Bridge. Best part was, they had a special, so not only did I get to jump off the normal way, but then I got to get strapped back up and jump right back off only this time, I got to run off and free fall for about 3 secs. Talk about a wake up call. It was so fantastic, I wish I could do it again. I promise, there will be photos and I even have a DVD.
Well, I would say that's a pretty good way to wrap this up. Tomorrow, I will be moving on to Rotorua, where I plan on getting a nice warm mud bath, and watching a Maori (the natives) show, and go zorbing. From there I will get to Hobbiton, then go to Waitomo, where I plan on going black water rafting, and see the glow worms. I miss you all!!!
From Auckland, NZ,
Cheers!!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Preparation before the big day
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In case all of you were wondering what it takes to go on a trip like this, I can at least give you an idea of what I've been up to.
To begin with I had to figure out some kind of plan of attack. This could be a trip where you could just get one plane ticket to some place and as you went just buy a ticket using whatever means of transportation it takes to get around to the next place you want to go. As fun as that sounds I liked to have my options on cost. Cost is really the big determining factor in what you can do. Some may disagree but if you decide to go to many many different places, that will usually mean that you can do many extravagent things in each of those places (depending on budget of course). This is yet another reason why I cut down the length and number of destinations so I can do crazy things like camp in the outback, get scuba diving certified in the Great Barrier Reef, hang gliding and Zorbing in New Zealand, get a relaxing spa/mud bath in Rotorua, schedule a tour to hold a Koala, get a tour of the Sydney Opera house, see Baths in England, enjoy the scenes of Wales, visit the Monty Python Castle and see Loche Ness in Scotland, climb the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland, kiss the Balarney stone upside down, and visit a remote island in Southern Ireland...Oh, sorry got a little carried away. Ok, so you get the point. It is first and for most, important to figure out what you are willing to spend.
Once you determine what you are willing to spend then one would need to figure out where to go. Of course this can be easy or hard, just like everything else it takes to plan a trip like this. If you are someone like me, then you would want to just spend the rest of your life spending time in every nook and cranny of the world, then maybe, just maybe, someday come back and settle down. So if that is how you are this part can be quite difficult. From my first post you can see that this trip had quite an evolution, ending me up where I am basically because... well honestly I don't know why. When I was little I always remember telling my dad that Australia had to be our next vacation. When we went to France, my dad told me that simply me saying "Dad, when are we going to France?" was all it took for him to book the tickets. I have since tried that same trick to get us to Australia. So Australia is a place I have been trying to get to for a long time, honestly, I mainly wanted to go just because I thought it would be cool to go on the other side of the world. I mean Australia seems SOOOOO far away. The other places I had been planning on going to in my first form of this trip have been more recent desires, so I guess that was why I chose Australia and while I was there, I might as well do New Zealand too. Plus, if I hadn't decided to do this then I was going to send in a video application for "The Worlds Best Job Ever" being a cartaker at Queenstown Australia. So, no matter what I was going to find myself in Australia.
As to why I chose Great Britian, that is a question I get a lot, since it is no where near Australia. Well for one, I had a close friend move to London a year or so back, and though I was able to see her last year on my travels, I did not get to see much of her. Plus, my feeling was that if I'm going to be out and about why not just stop on over. So, that gets me at least to Great Britian. As for why I'm going to Wales, Scotland, and Ireland....because I can. I want to go, so I am.
Well, now you know why I chose where I wanted. Hopefully that can give some inspiration into choosing a place if you were to ever decide to go on some large trip. I guess it is just like choosing ANY location for a trip, this is just on a larger scale.
Next step is to decide how you want to travel. For the most part for a large travel trip like this planes are your typical starting points, but they don't have to be. A whole trip could be planned around taking a boat, or if you wanted to stay in this continent there is always the option of trains. I myself have chosen plane so as to not loose time through the beautiful land of New Zealand. I have booked my plane tickets for all of my trip and I have done that so as to make sure I do at least get to the other countries fairly hassle free. Here's hoping. Again this is each persons preference. I myself am a planner, so I need to some security in knowing that at least on such and such date I will be flying from.....to.... However, anything in between the flights is fair game. In Europe I used trains. I got the Eurail which is a pass that you can use all throughout Europe on their train systems. It is meant to save you time from waiting in lines, you pay a flat rate and basically can just hope on any train without having to buy a ticket. There are of course many different packages you can get depending on your trip size. I have also been told buses are a great means of travel through Europe. They are cheaper and you get to see way more scenery. They are, however, longer rides and you may see a few more characters.
As for how I plan on getting around. I will try to use buses in most cases, but there may be times that train is just the best suitable way. I know in Ireland buses will most likely be my best friend. This is something I will just see as I go. The only place I have a real plan of transportation is in Australia. I am cheater there and am getting a hop on/hop off bus pass. This is mostly due to the fact that they have many other activities planned through them that I possibly would not have to opportunity to experience because of lack of transportation, lack of knowledge, lack of a discount, or various other reasons.
The last main thing to think about is packing. Before last summer I had always done some kind of rolly bag. Never thought twice about it. This is not the way to travel doing a trip like this, well of course unless you are going to rent a car and can pack it to the brim and will be staying in a nice hotel or be stay in one place most of the time. This is why I can call myself a backpacker, because I will be carrying a backpack around with me. When you are hoping on and off buses and trains and moving around on a regular basis it makes life easier if you can just strap your stuff to your back and move on. I even made the mistake last year of taking a duffle bag too. It made traveling such a hassel. So first you begin with a backpack. (Note backpacks are not very large)
Then it comes to packing this backpack.
This year I am oddly enough cutting down my packing list for my 4 month trip from last years 1 month trip. I learned that I don't need at many socks and underwear, just more quick dry things. Last year was a great way to learn what I needed. I found myself thinking I had brought just about the right amount. There were a few things I wish I had left behind. For example, I wished I had not brought nicer shoes or a nice dress. This year I am compremising by taking a dress that can be casual, nice or a shirt, and I can layer under it. (Very practical) Shoes, I am cutting down. I have only sneakers and flip flops, and a pair of shower shoes. However, last year I took a pair of jeans and a pair of kahkis. I thought it was the right amount, but I wished I had brought capris, so on warm days I didn't just have the option of a dress. (I took a couple summer dresses). So this year, this is what I'm taking:
All the clothes:
Everything:
Everything all packed up:
Other little things that I've had to think about were:
What to do with Binx, my cat while I'm gone. She is currently at my parents place. She may move back to my place some time while I'm gone, but that is still to be determined.
I had to make plans with my job. Luckily I have a job that can't give me a lot of work over the summer so I am able to just say what day I'm leaving and what day I'm coming back, and they say, "Great, have fun!"
I had to figure out how my place was going to be paid for. A friend of mine has so kindly offered to sublet my place so that is less worrysome, plus it's a friend and not a stranger in my room.
Aside from all that, it's a piece of cake.... Really though it may sound like a lot of work, but it is well worth it, and now... I am off to the other side of the world. I'll see you all on the flip side!!
In case all of you were wondering what it takes to go on a trip like this, I can at least give you an idea of what I've been up to.
To begin with I had to figure out some kind of plan of attack. This could be a trip where you could just get one plane ticket to some place and as you went just buy a ticket using whatever means of transportation it takes to get around to the next place you want to go. As fun as that sounds I liked to have my options on cost. Cost is really the big determining factor in what you can do. Some may disagree but if you decide to go to many many different places, that will usually mean that you can do many extravagent things in each of those places (depending on budget of course). This is yet another reason why I cut down the length and number of destinations so I can do crazy things like camp in the outback, get scuba diving certified in the Great Barrier Reef, hang gliding and Zorbing in New Zealand, get a relaxing spa/mud bath in Rotorua, schedule a tour to hold a Koala, get a tour of the Sydney Opera house, see Baths in England, enjoy the scenes of Wales, visit the Monty Python Castle and see Loche Ness in Scotland, climb the Giants Causeway in Northern Ireland, kiss the Balarney stone upside down, and visit a remote island in Southern Ireland...Oh, sorry got a little carried away. Ok, so you get the point. It is first and for most, important to figure out what you are willing to spend.
Once you determine what you are willing to spend then one would need to figure out where to go. Of course this can be easy or hard, just like everything else it takes to plan a trip like this. If you are someone like me, then you would want to just spend the rest of your life spending time in every nook and cranny of the world, then maybe, just maybe, someday come back and settle down. So if that is how you are this part can be quite difficult. From my first post you can see that this trip had quite an evolution, ending me up where I am basically because... well honestly I don't know why. When I was little I always remember telling my dad that Australia had to be our next vacation. When we went to France, my dad told me that simply me saying "Dad, when are we going to France?" was all it took for him to book the tickets. I have since tried that same trick to get us to Australia. So Australia is a place I have been trying to get to for a long time, honestly, I mainly wanted to go just because I thought it would be cool to go on the other side of the world. I mean Australia seems SOOOOO far away. The other places I had been planning on going to in my first form of this trip have been more recent desires, so I guess that was why I chose Australia and while I was there, I might as well do New Zealand too. Plus, if I hadn't decided to do this then I was going to send in a video application for "The Worlds Best Job Ever" being a cartaker at Queenstown Australia. So, no matter what I was going to find myself in Australia.
As to why I chose Great Britian, that is a question I get a lot, since it is no where near Australia. Well for one, I had a close friend move to London a year or so back, and though I was able to see her last year on my travels, I did not get to see much of her. Plus, my feeling was that if I'm going to be out and about why not just stop on over. So, that gets me at least to Great Britian. As for why I'm going to Wales, Scotland, and Ireland....because I can. I want to go, so I am.
Well, now you know why I chose where I wanted. Hopefully that can give some inspiration into choosing a place if you were to ever decide to go on some large trip. I guess it is just like choosing ANY location for a trip, this is just on a larger scale.
Next step is to decide how you want to travel. For the most part for a large travel trip like this planes are your typical starting points, but they don't have to be. A whole trip could be planned around taking a boat, or if you wanted to stay in this continent there is always the option of trains. I myself have chosen plane so as to not loose time through the beautiful land of New Zealand. I have booked my plane tickets for all of my trip and I have done that so as to make sure I do at least get to the other countries fairly hassle free. Here's hoping. Again this is each persons preference. I myself am a planner, so I need to some security in knowing that at least on such and such date I will be flying from.....to.... However, anything in between the flights is fair game. In Europe I used trains. I got the Eurail which is a pass that you can use all throughout Europe on their train systems. It is meant to save you time from waiting in lines, you pay a flat rate and basically can just hope on any train without having to buy a ticket. There are of course many different packages you can get depending on your trip size. I have also been told buses are a great means of travel through Europe. They are cheaper and you get to see way more scenery. They are, however, longer rides and you may see a few more characters.
As for how I plan on getting around. I will try to use buses in most cases, but there may be times that train is just the best suitable way. I know in Ireland buses will most likely be my best friend. This is something I will just see as I go. The only place I have a real plan of transportation is in Australia. I am cheater there and am getting a hop on/hop off bus pass. This is mostly due to the fact that they have many other activities planned through them that I possibly would not have to opportunity to experience because of lack of transportation, lack of knowledge, lack of a discount, or various other reasons.
The last main thing to think about is packing. Before last summer I had always done some kind of rolly bag. Never thought twice about it. This is not the way to travel doing a trip like this, well of course unless you are going to rent a car and can pack it to the brim and will be staying in a nice hotel or be stay in one place most of the time. This is why I can call myself a backpacker, because I will be carrying a backpack around with me. When you are hoping on and off buses and trains and moving around on a regular basis it makes life easier if you can just strap your stuff to your back and move on. I even made the mistake last year of taking a duffle bag too. It made traveling such a hassel. So first you begin with a backpack. (Note backpacks are not very large)
Then it comes to packing this backpack.
This year I am oddly enough cutting down my packing list for my 4 month trip from last years 1 month trip. I learned that I don't need at many socks and underwear, just more quick dry things. Last year was a great way to learn what I needed. I found myself thinking I had brought just about the right amount. There were a few things I wish I had left behind. For example, I wished I had not brought nicer shoes or a nice dress. This year I am compremising by taking a dress that can be casual, nice or a shirt, and I can layer under it. (Very practical) Shoes, I am cutting down. I have only sneakers and flip flops, and a pair of shower shoes. However, last year I took a pair of jeans and a pair of kahkis. I thought it was the right amount, but I wished I had brought capris, so on warm days I didn't just have the option of a dress. (I took a couple summer dresses). So this year, this is what I'm taking:
All the clothes:
Everything:
Everything all packed up:
Other little things that I've had to think about were:
What to do with Binx, my cat while I'm gone. She is currently at my parents place. She may move back to my place some time while I'm gone, but that is still to be determined.
I had to make plans with my job. Luckily I have a job that can't give me a lot of work over the summer so I am able to just say what day I'm leaving and what day I'm coming back, and they say, "Great, have fun!"
I had to figure out how my place was going to be paid for. A friend of mine has so kindly offered to sublet my place so that is less worrysome, plus it's a friend and not a stranger in my room.
Aside from all that, it's a piece of cake.... Really though it may sound like a lot of work, but it is well worth it, and now... I am off to the other side of the world. I'll see you all on the flip side!!
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