Abel Tasman

February 23, 2010

A few of the group left us at the National Park in hopes of doing the Tangariro crossing a few days later when the weather cleared up. I should have stayed with them but instead I headed down to Auckland with the rest of the group. Nick, the trainee, was our driver that day and we played some games on the way including one where you put in your earphones, turn on your iPod, turn up the volume and sing your heart out. It was quite entertaining.

When we got to Wellington it was raining. Since I had already visited the Te Papa national museum I decided to go for a run. I forgot to check what street the hostel was on as I was leaving but since it was on a main road I figured I would be able to find it quite easily. On the way back I turned off a street or so too soon. I still had an idea where the hostel was and asked one of the locals for directions. I got pointed up and around the corner. When nothing looked familiar I again asked for directions and was told to go straight down the street. After a while I was in a very residential area and asked for directions once again. This time I found the hostel although it had taken me an extra half an hour to do so.

That night we went out for Indian food. I’d never really had Indian before but it was quite nice. We all ended up sharing different curries with the person sitting next to us. Metro and Brad went out and bought four bottles of wine, which we drank with our curries until the restaurant closed down for the night.

The next morning we caught a ride on the Stray bus to the ferry. They played two movies on the way to Picton including one of Autumn’s favorites Tinkerbell. The other movie was a documentary about a singing group called Young at Heart, which is comprised of people mostly over the age of 65.

From Picton we loaded up the bus and headed out towards Abel Tasman. We stopped for wine tasting, which I passed on since I had done it previously, before driving to Nelson for pick-ups and drop-offs. After a brief stop to talk to Milan, who runs the sailing company, and another stop for those that wanted to go kayaking, we arrived at Old MacDonald’s Farm. They have a special camp for the Stray people and on the way you walk by chickens, cows, llamas and, of course, sheep. I went for a run that night before cooking up a small meal and having a few drinks.

The next morning I was up early and after saying hi to Daisy (my last bus driver who was staying next door at the Barn), I went on a full day sailing trip. Our boat was appropriately called the Stray Cat. We saw some seals and a penguin and had some magnificent views of the coastline. We stopped for lunch at Anchorage and picked up those that were doing the half-day sail and walk. On the way back we jumped out of the boat to take a picture on Split Apple Rock.

We returned to camp around 5 pm and after showering went out to the café for my leaving the bus party. Metro had gone into town and bought party hats, party poppers and balloons. Only Metro, Liz and I knew what the party was for, although Steve was also invited. We gave one of the hats to the kid at the next table who was celebrating his birthday as well as to the waitress that Metro knew and the Latino DJ that showed up later. It was a great party.

The next day the bus left but I stayed behind. I decided to hole up here for a while. The accommodation is fairly cheap at $15 a night and the weather is absolutely gorgeous. There is also volleyball. Milan had told me that the guys play beach every Sunday afternoon and indoor every Tuesday in Motueka. So Sunday afternoon I headed out to the beach for a few hours but no one showed. Instead I spent the day on the beach reading and chilling out. I think it was exactly what I needed.

That night a new Stray bus came in and some of my friends that had gotten off of Metro’s bus earlier were there. I nipped a bit of food from there BBQ but also cooked up some chicken korma curry that Liz and Metro had left me.

On Monday I had planned to go into town with Rob but slept in too late to catch him. Instead I went skydiving. It was kind of on a whim but I was in the mood to do something crazy. So a little after 2 the bus picked us up and took us into Motueka. The suited us up, and next thing I knew I was up in this little plane with 7 other people taking in the beautiful scenery. I wasn’t very nervous until they opened the door and I watched my friend Greg disappear from view. I was the last one in the plane to jump. The freefall was intense and I went from being scared to happy to scared and back again. They got the whole thing on video and also sent us away with almost 100 pictures and a t-shirt.

That night I saw a group of guys playing beach volleyball. I started walking over there but then stopped myself thinking that it was almost dark, they were playing two on two and I didn’t know them. I found out later they were looking for me and I’m still kicking myself for not going up to them and asking to play.

This morning I got a ride into town with Rob on the Stray bus. Debs was supposed to come with as well but was a no show this morning, which gives me the day to myself. I ate at a cute little café and made a little bit more progress on the book I am reading. They also have free internet at the library and adjacent park, which I plan to take advantage of. I also need to do a grocery shop and buy some new shorts, but the thing I’m looking forward to the most is volleyball. Apparently the Marahua guys come into Motueka on Tuesdays to play in a 6 on 6 indoor league and they invited me to join them. It’s been a while but it will be nice to play again.

I’m not sure how long I will stay here but long enough to clear my head and sort some things out. I might try to find work for a couple of weeks but it’s becoming a bit pointless to find a job. You can’t say I haven’t tried.

North Island

February 17, 2010

It has been an eventful past week and a half. After having my own private Super Bowl party I cooked up some fried noodles and caught up with John and Stu. I had wanted to see Tara, John’s niece, to see how she was doing but she was in the hospital for another round of chemo. Apparently the tumor is not shrinking the way they had wanted it to and it looks like they are going to have to take her leg. She’s an amazing girl though and has a really good attitude about everything.

Fruit picking was supposed to start on February 20th in the Nelson region and I had signed up for it when I went through Abel Tasman last time. So I figured that I had enough time to go up to the North Island and get back to the Nelson region just before February 20th. I called up Stray and a bus picked me up the next morning.

We headed up the east coast again and stopped in Kaikoura. I signed up to do the whale watching but it was cold and rainy and the boat didn’t go out. I went for a run instead and that night our bus went across the street for the pub quiz. We didn’t do very well but it was fun. The next morning we were off to Picton to catch the ferry over to Wellington. The ferry took 3 hours but they played a couple of movies and the time went quite fast.

After we were dropped off at our hostels we headed over to Te Papa, which is a natural history museum. I learned all about the wildlife, geological formations and history of New Zealand. Very interesting stuff. The next morning we were off to Auckland and after twelve hours of driving had a meal and drink at the pub. We went out barhopping that night and had a grand old time.

The next morning we headed out toward Hahei. When the tide is out they have a hot water beach where you can dig holes in the sand and sit in your very own hot pool, heated by the geothermal activity in the area. We then went over to Cathedral Cove, which was absolutely gorgeous. I went for a run on the way back and we had a big group BBQ that night.

Next up was Raglan, surfing capital of New Zealand. I didn’t feel like spending money on surf lessons so I just went down to the beach for a while and sat in the sun. We stayed at a really cool backpackers that night called Karioi Lodge. The rooms are set up on a hill with awesome views of the ocean. They also have a free low ropes course and flying fox.

Our driver’s name is Metro (really cool guy) but we also have a trainee on our bus named Nick (Stray nickname TBA). Basically when they hire a new driver they send him around the country on one of the buses to learn the ropes. They also have to do some crazy stuff including a naked flying fox at Karioi Lodge. So after dinner that night, when it got dark, we all went out to watch the initiation.

The next morning we headed to the Waitomo caves. They have a half price deal on a trip called Haggas Honking Holes where you get to abseil down an underground waterfall, climb up rock faces and see glowworms. The glowworms look really cool and when we were underground our guide told us about what they really were, cannibalistic shagging maggots with shiny shit.

After we were done caving we headed over to Maketu for our culture stop. We stayed at a place called Uncle Boy’s Cabin. After eating some traditional food we went next door for a performance. Since we were a visiting tribe, the local tribe had to make sure that we came in peace. They attempted to scare us with spears and loud shouts before laying a twig in front of our chief (the eldest male on the bus). If the chief picks it up it means we come in peace. If the chief steps over it, it means we want war. If that happened I think it would have been a good idea for all of us to run and get the bus out of there as soon as possible.

Luckily our chief decided to pick up the twig and we greeted the local tribe by shaking hands and touching our noses. They then performed a few songs for us before splitting up the men and women. The women learned the poi song and dance while the men learned the Haka, which is meant to scare other tribes. We then performed our dances for each other. The boys were quite amazing and got really into it. That night we sat outside for a few drinks and then all slept on the floor of the performance room.

The next morning it was off to Rotorua. The smell there is awful (think rotten eggs) but there is a really cool rafting trip that a lot of the group did that includes a 7-meter waterfall. Since I already did white water rafting when I was in Africa I passed and instead went on the internet for a few hours and made some phone calls. After everyone was back on the bus we headed to Taupo. I was hoping to do a skydive there but the weather was quite bad. Instead I went for a run and went out for burgers. Then the group decided to head out to the pub for a pub quiz. The questions were tough but we had a very smart group with us and we ended up winning the quiz and getting two pitchers of drinks for free.

This morning we left Taupo at 7 am. We were hoping to do the Tangariro crossing, which is rated as the best 1-day walk in New Zealand and possibly the best in the world. Unfortunately it was raining yet again and the walk was cancelled.

I really don’t have a plan for the rest of my time here yet. The fruit-picking place didn’t call me back so I started calling them about two weeks ago. They didn’t answer the phone so I left them lots of voicemails. Finally they emailed me back saying that there were no jobs available. I applied for a few other jobs that were listed on the backpacker’s board, and although I heard back from one, it doesn’t sound very promising. I head to Wellington tomorrow and then back down to the South Island. I’ll figure the rest out later. Miss you all!

Deep South

February 8, 2010

On Monday morning Lara and I got up early to go bungy jumping. We waited at the bungy station in town for about half an hour before the bus came and took us to Karawau Bridge, a 43 meter bungy. After weigh-in, Lara went while I videoed and took some pictures. As soon as she was done I went over to get harnessed up. It goes quite quickly after they start getting the bungy rope tied to your feet and before I knew it I was standing at the edge of the platform waving to the cameras. They did a quick countdown and I jumped. Right after I jumped I remembered thinking what the hell did I just do. But by the time that thought was completed I was already slowing down and getting close to the water. I wanted to get dipped in the river but ended up about a foot short. The rest was absolutely amazing and I cannot wait to do it again.

That afternoon Monia and I walked around for a bit looking for work. I dropped off my resume at a few places but nothing sounded that promising. They are lots of opportunities to work for accommodation but it seems hard to find a job that pays for such a short period of time. That night I decided that I would get the Deep South loop done with and take a few more days to figure out my next move.

We left early the next morning and headed to Milford Sound. New Zealand is located on a fault line between two tectonic plates. As one plate slipped beneath the other, the Southern Alps were formed. Glacier movement in the area carved out deep basins that led out into the sea. Together these forces created the beauty that is Milford Sound. The deep blue water runs out into the sea amongst high cliffs dotted with stunning waterfalls. In the background the snow-capped Alps can be seen.

We did a two-hour cruise through the Sound, followed by some picture and swim stops, before heading over to Gunn’s camp for the night. The camp was nice. They even had a sense of humor about the abundant sandflies there (my legs are covered in bites). The dorms were basic and the electricity was turned off after dark. We cooked a large group meal on the grill of bangers and mash before spending some time around the fire.

The next morning we were on the bus by 6 am for the drive to Invercargill. We did a few picture stops on the way but were on the ferry by 11 am. The day was cloudy and after an hour on the boat we checked into our hotel. I was exhausted and opted for a nap. Unfortunately this made the trip to Stewart Island a bit pointless. I did go for a walk that night but the next morning I got back on the ferry and headed back to the mainland.

We then drove over to Dunedin for the night. There was a Speight’s brewery tour that some of the group went on. I went out for pizza and some drinks that night at the bar. We ended up playing pool and singing karaoke where I ended the night with a rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Want to Dance With Somebody.”

The next morning we were on the road after a quick stop at the World's Steepest Street. After that the drive was fairly boring into Queenstown although we did stop to see where the Riders of Rohan sequences in the Lord of the Rings movies were taped. We also stopped at a fruit shop for real fruit ice cream. That night I met up with Monia and we went out to eat at a pizza and pasta place before wandering around for a while and since the next day was a national holiday we stocked up on alcohol. After some stargazing from the balcony we called it a night.

I slept in the next morning, which felt amazing, and after a quick stop at the grocery store had a wonderful lunch of chicken cordon blue (slightly overdone) and a huge Caesar salad complete with chicken, olives, tomatoes, pistachios, croutons, carrots, onion and cheese. After a quick stop for the internet, we had a few drinks on the beach before going to the circus that was in town.

On Sunday morning it was on the road yet again heading over to Christchurch for the night. The drive was uneventful and fairly boring with a very North Dakota feel to the landscape, flat with fields and a few trees. After getting dropped off at the hostel I had some dinner and went out for some drinks. This morning it was back to Amberley to figure out my life. Fruit picking starts in about two and a half weeks and I’m hoping to go over to the Nelson region to do that. I’ll give them a call today and see where things stand. As for now, I’m off to the supermarket to get some snacks for the Super Bowl.