Thursday, January 6, 2011
Sat’day December 4
Checked out of my room and smashed my toe on my big suitcase. Lovely. Bollocks it was bloody! Ended up checking back into the same room. (eyes roll). Finished claiming the same bed then went to STA office to collect my travel voucher for the Magic bus. The safe that the vouchers are kept in still wouldn’t open so I had to limp down the street to the other office and wait for the agent there to fix his computer for another customer before he could get the vouchers. Finally got it and everything was booked. I decided that I should get photos of Auckland while I was here for a few days. So I grabbed my Nikon and started snapping away. Giant Santa above the bookstore, ornaments in the park, Sky tower from every angle of the city, marina, the tree I took a nap in...lol. It was fun, got Subway for dinner and just took it back to my room and watched NCIS for a while. Went to bed after my noisy roommates went out. D and D2.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Day 3
Monday 29 Nov
We loaded the bus at 7 AM and set off for Whakahoro. We stopped for a swim in the hot water of one of the hot springs. Had a nice waterfall massage! Then we drove to Huka Falls. It was absolutely beautiful! It was really funny on the drive up to the Blue Duck Lodge there was a radio station that seemed to be engineered to me and Nerissa! Hits from when we were growing up through today. It was a really windy and dusty drive, we had to open up the back windows and buckle up our seat belts. It’s a 23 seat bus with the red trailer on the back. The guy who owns the Blue Duck Lodge, Dan, has an incredible story and is doing so much for just one guy. He has something like 22, 000 acres. He farms sheep and cattle and cultivates honey from the natural bush of the manuka plant. He does tourism as a side project, just because it’s fun! Lol. He took the 6 of us and 4 dogs out in a Polaris Ranger to se some of the his land and what he does. The views were absolutely gorgeous (especially where he is building his Top of the World Lodge.) The best way to travel around was standing in the back with the dogs, wind in your face and views that never end. =) It was cool to see how well trained each dog was for their specific jobs. After that tour Dan dropped us off at the Depot (the last building left of the farming era) with Wendy. She told us a bit of the history of the place and took us down to the river to look for fossils and blue ducks. Then we kayaked under the waterfall and the cliffs. I swear everything we did was more amazing and beautiful than the last. After kayaking we climbed back up the muddy rocks and hopped back into the polaris. This time there were no dogs so Nerissa and I stood in the back. We showered and then hung out with the group before a delicious dinner of goat curry. We hung out and watched the staff play with the pet goat at the Blue Duck Cafe. N and I were pretty tired so we turned in early but we were just in timeto hear Claire play guitar and sing. I turne off my iPod and let her sing me to sleep. I have simply loved every minute that I’ve been in this country and it just seems to keep getting better. The land, the people, activities...I can’t keep a smile off my face! =)
We loaded the bus at 7 AM and set off for Whakahoro. We stopped for a swim in the hot water of one of the hot springs. Had a nice waterfall massage! Then we drove to Huka Falls. It was absolutely beautiful! It was really funny on the drive up to the Blue Duck Lodge there was a radio station that seemed to be engineered to me and Nerissa! Hits from when we were growing up through today. It was a really windy and dusty drive, we had to open up the back windows and buckle up our seat belts. It’s a 23 seat bus with the red trailer on the back. The guy who owns the Blue Duck Lodge, Dan, has an incredible story and is doing so much for just one guy. He has something like 22, 000 acres. He farms sheep and cattle and cultivates honey from the natural bush of the manuka plant. He does tourism as a side project, just because it’s fun! Lol. He took the 6 of us and 4 dogs out in a Polaris Ranger to se some of the his land and what he does. The views were absolutely gorgeous (especially where he is building his Top of the World Lodge.) The best way to travel around was standing in the back with the dogs, wind in your face and views that never end. =) It was cool to see how well trained each dog was for their specific jobs. After that tour Dan dropped us off at the Depot (the last building left of the farming era) with Wendy. She told us a bit of the history of the place and took us down to the river to look for fossils and blue ducks. Then we kayaked under the waterfall and the cliffs. I swear everything we did was more amazing and beautiful than the last. After kayaking we climbed back up the muddy rocks and hopped back into the polaris. This time there were no dogs so Nerissa and I stood in the back. We showered and then hung out with the group before a delicious dinner of goat curry. We hung out and watched the staff play with the pet goat at the Blue Duck Cafe. N and I were pretty tired so we turned in early but we were just in timeto hear Claire play guitar and sing. I turne off my iPod and let her sing me to sleep. I have simply loved every minute that I’ve been in this country and it just seems to keep getting better. The land, the people, activities...I can’t keep a smile off my face! =)
Sunday 28 Nov
8 Am departure again. Had gluten free toast and fruit for brekky =) Drove out to Rotorua. Got there about midday. We went into a Maori village for a traditionally cooked lunch. Everything is cooked by the steam of the geothermal activity of the volcanos. After lunch we went on a tour of the village (live village, ~25 families live there). It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. After the tour we witnessed a cultural song and dance performance. Afterwards a van picked us up to go white water rafting and river sledging! We dove and spun and kicked and bounced and surfed down that river! (Hell’s Gate) Sweet as! Got back and walked the hot mud pools park and the Government Gardens. Got boysenberry whip covered in raspberry sorbet and Indian take away for dinner. Was ready for bed around 9. Lol
Sat’day 27 Nov
Started off at 8 AM. Loaded the monster luggage into the trailer behind the bus and set off out of Auckland. We stopped for pics at Mt. Eden. We saw the arena for the 2011 Rugby World Cup from our peak. We kept on driving towards Hahei (the breath of Hei, a Maori chief) with a stopover in Thames. When we got to our campsite we dumped our stuff, changed into our swimmers and head for the beach for 3 hour of sea kayaking around Mercury Bay! We went along the shoreline to Coromandel Cove, had tea on the beach, paddled around the little islands, hooked together and sailed for a bit, then paddled back to the beach we started from. The waves were a bit choppy but it was one of the most fun things I’ve ever done! Nerissa and I swapped places in our double kayak so we each had a turn steering. As our tour guide, Marky Mark, would say “easy as!” When we got back we loaded the bus and took the short jump to Hot Water Beach. We dug holes in the sand and sat in the geothermal hot pools. Nature’s own spa! After a shower and some napping in the sun, we had an amazing barbeque provided by our bus driver/guide! Chicken, veggie medley, gluten free bread, asparagus, capsicum, and strawberries for dessert. =) Played a few games of shithead with the group before calling it a night. We are a fairly small tour group. There is only 6 of us total, 7 including our guide Ali BarBar.
Last Day in Newy/First in New Zealand
Thursday/Friday 25/26
Continued packing most of the day; Ben took us to the postal shop to ship our boxes home. Packed some more and we ate the rest of the food in my cupboard and watched Glee and Burn Notice. Then headed to Nat’s room for chocolate milk and music! Went for one last drive to Kmart and then we went back to 420 to hang for a bit before Rhi took N and I to the train station. Said more tearful goodbyes. :’( I think I cried the hardest when I said good bye to Emma, Sean, and Nat. I frickin hate goodbyes and crying! I thought I was all out of tears when I said bye to Liam and Angie, but the water works came back on the train after saying bye to Rhiannon. We caught the 11:30pm train in Broadmeadow and had to switch trains in Gosford and that train was suppose to take us to Sydney Central Station but they made us get off in Hornsby. After much debate and talking to the guards Nerissa and I ended up taking a taxi to the international airport terminal. The doors didn’t open until 4 AM (we were rushing because we thought we needed to be at the airport 3 hours before departure). So we had over an hour to wait on a bench outside the terminal. At this point we were beyond exhaustion, I hadn’t slept at all and Nerissa only napped on the train. We finally got in then had issues with our boarding passes because I couldn’t get my itinerary printed. The ticket worker eventually printed our boarding passes and checked our bags. Customs wasn’t ready for us yet so we had to wait for a bit outside, but once we got in it was smooth sailing. Waited for 6 AM boarding, got on, settled in with a movie, saw about 30 seconds of it! Lol. Brekky was a no go since I was about to faceplant in it anyhow. When we landed in Auckland we went right through customs and then went searching for a shuttle from the airport to our hostel. We checked into the Base X hostel and then an hour nap turned into a 7 hour sleep! We still had a bit of daylight left when we woke up so we explored a bit. We found a gelato shop by the harbour that had a selection of 12 sorbets! I’ve never seen so many choices in one shop! I got a double scoop of plum and kiwi and Nerissa go pomegranate and passionfruit. So delicious! We had Subway and Wendy’s guacamole chilli fries for dinner. Uh yum! Walked back to the hostel and sorted out music for Nerissa for a bit, then went to bed. Early day tomorrow =)
Continued packing most of the day; Ben took us to the postal shop to ship our boxes home. Packed some more and we ate the rest of the food in my cupboard and watched Glee and Burn Notice. Then headed to Nat’s room for chocolate milk and music! Went for one last drive to Kmart and then we went back to 420 to hang for a bit before Rhi took N and I to the train station. Said more tearful goodbyes. :’( I think I cried the hardest when I said good bye to Emma, Sean, and Nat. I frickin hate goodbyes and crying! I thought I was all out of tears when I said bye to Liam and Angie, but the water works came back on the train after saying bye to Rhiannon. We caught the 11:30pm train in Broadmeadow and had to switch trains in Gosford and that train was suppose to take us to Sydney Central Station but they made us get off in Hornsby. After much debate and talking to the guards Nerissa and I ended up taking a taxi to the international airport terminal. The doors didn’t open until 4 AM (we were rushing because we thought we needed to be at the airport 3 hours before departure). So we had over an hour to wait on a bench outside the terminal. At this point we were beyond exhaustion, I hadn’t slept at all and Nerissa only napped on the train. We finally got in then had issues with our boarding passes because I couldn’t get my itinerary printed. The ticket worker eventually printed our boarding passes and checked our bags. Customs wasn’t ready for us yet so we had to wait for a bit outside, but once we got in it was smooth sailing. Waited for 6 AM boarding, got on, settled in with a movie, saw about 30 seconds of it! Lol. Brekky was a no go since I was about to faceplant in it anyhow. When we landed in Auckland we went right through customs and then went searching for a shuttle from the airport to our hostel. We checked into the Base X hostel and then an hour nap turned into a 7 hour sleep! We still had a bit of daylight left when we woke up so we explored a bit. We found a gelato shop by the harbour that had a selection of 12 sorbets! I’ve never seen so many choices in one shop! I got a double scoop of plum and kiwi and Nerissa go pomegranate and passionfruit. So delicious! We had Subway and Wendy’s guacamole chilli fries for dinner. Uh yum! Walked back to the hostel and sorted out music for Nerissa for a bit, then went to bed. Early day tomorrow =)
Wednesday 24 November
Tried to go to the beach with Rhi and Nerissa but it was still incredibly windy and the sand was pelting all of us. So we just came back and hung out at the pool. Nerissa helped me start taking stuff off my walls and putting my room away in boxes and bags. Later we went to Sean and Liam’s touch footy game and then made dinner. Hung out with IH nd then Teds and the we got ready to go out for one last night on the town! We went to Soho with IH and then walked to Customs House with Cramer and Nerissa to meet Teds people. Stayed for a bit and then caught the train home because we couldn’t get a taxi. Found Mattio and Max and a few others. Nerissa wanted to go to bed so I let her take my bed and I went for a swim at Teds.
Tuesday 23 November
Nerissa arrived today! ! =) Timmy and Nat went to the airport with me to pick her up! =) So exciting! We spent the day hanging out and taking pictures around campus. She came to the gym with me and then we just hung out and watched a movie.
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