Is This Real Life??

Kia Ora!

In my current sleep deprived state I know only three things for certain:

1) These last 10 days in New Zealand have been some of the most incredible days of my life.

2) Thin Mints are a great snack to eat while blogging.

3) The following blog will be the longest one I've ever written, and probably ever will write.

Day 1

Our late evening flight to New Zealand was pretty luxurious.  It was my first experience with Qantas and I was definitely impressed.  The safety video had a cameo by John Travolta and our dinner (fish with carrot pureé) came with a fancy chilled glass.  Later I finally saw "The King's Speech" while eating a raspberry creamsicle.  We landed in Auckland really late, checked into our hostel and went straight to sleep.

Day 2

The view from the top of Castle Rock

Early in the morning we took a 2 hour ferry from Auckland to Coramandel Peninsula and got our first look at the beautiful volcanic landscape of the country.  It was an incredible sunny day when we got off the boat so we spent some time walking around the tiny town at the base of the mountains where we found a market selling bananas for only $2/kg!! (Turns out that bananas are this cheap in all of New Zealand, which obviously made me really happy)  We took a shuttle out of town to a spot that we were told was great for afternoon hiking and came across Castle Rock, an old volcano core in the middle of the bush.  The hiking here was basically just rock climbing through a rainforest because it was so steep and at the top of the first peak were literally THOUSANDS of flying ants that swarmed us and made it really hard to breathe.  Luckily there was a second peak we found that had no ants for some reason and we were able to have lunch in the sun with a breathtaking view in every direction of the mountains along the coast.  And so began the theme of our trip: wondering if, in fact, this was our real life..

On the way back into town, our driver stopped at his friend's farm who raises pigs (as pets, not for bacon!) and we learned a lot about the farming culture of the people of the area.  I thought it was interesting that although his family owns 900 acres of land in the hills, most used for cattle grazing, their cattle business is never profitable because they lose money to cattle thieves who are abundant in the area.  When we got back to the main street we had some time to kill before the ferry came so we bought more bananas and laid out in the sunshine in a grassy park, ate and did crossword puzzles.  After sleeping through most of the ferry ride back then grabbing a quick dinner in downtown Auckland, we decide to walk through the city a little to see what it was like at night.  Turns out for some reason we all felt pretty uncomfortable there, I guess it just had a weird vibe, so we made an early night at the hostel which worked out well since our bus to the next city was early the next morning.

Day 3

Our 2 hour bus ride left us in the very rural town of Waitomo.  We expected to sleep on the ride, but our bus driver decided that we should instead listen to his non-stop commentary of the drive.  Although most of it was thankfully blocked out by the volume setting on my ipod, I managed to get a few interesting facts in between songs.  For example, Waitomo is Maori (pronounced like Mowry) for "water in a hole in the ground," the Maori language was only a spoken language until the British helped them in the late 1700s to develop a written version of it which is used quite frequently throughout New Zealand, and that every conversation begins and ends with "Kia Ora" which is just Maori for "be well."  He also mentioned that there are over 34 million sheep in the country, which computes to about 10 sheep per person.

After getting settled at our hostel (which was small and family-owned and felt like we were just renting out a cabin on a farm) we did some exploring on the property.  We got up to the top of the hill behind the lodge and were startled to see 4 horses and a red deer.  The horses were mostly just interested in eating, but the deer became increasingly interested in us and actually started acting really crazy (aka grinding it's back teeth while sticking its tongue out).  When the girl who lived at the house came out to get one of the horses, she noticed that we had locked ourselves in the tennis court to get away from the deer (which was blocking the only way out and staring us down).  She told us that the deer's name was Snowdrop and that we shouldn't we worried unless she was sticking her tongue out.  My thoughts on this: awesome, since that's exactly what she had been doing.  Eventually we made it out, but I was pretty traumatized by the psycho deer..

Abseiling into the cave (total of 35m)

That afternoon we walked across the street to start our 5 hour black water rafting tour in Ruakuri Cave (Maori for "den of dogs").  One at a time we abseiled 35m down into the caves then rode a "Flying Fox" (zipline) through a room in the cave that had tons of glowworms.  Here we were all given "cave cookies" and hot chocolate that our guides had brought and then grabbed inner tubes and jumped into the subterranean river, which was FREEZING, and headed down river to learn about the glowworms and see more of the cave system.  Turns out the worms are actually just maggots whose digestive systems fluoresce through their skin to attract food towards the paralyzing web strings that they extend.  In the dark though they just added bright blue constellations to the cave walls.  Next we ditched the tubes and swam, walked and climbed through the river, stopping a few times for warm drinks and food and then finally climbing up two waterfalls and out into the woods.  Here we were met with a hot shower, tomato soup and toasted bagels.  Later we walked along the road into town and split some gourmet pizzas.

Day 4

Headed for Rotorua (Maori for "two lakes" even though there are actually 7 of them..) we drove through lots and lots of rain.  It was ANZAC Day, a public holiday in Australia and New Zealand meant to be a day for the remembrance of those who lost their lives in WWI.  We had heard that Sydney goes crazy with parades and parties, but Rotorua was pretty much dead.  The bus driver did mention that every city in NZ has a memorial with the names of those who died in the war from that specific town, which we thought was pretty cool.  After getting set up at the hostel in town, we headed to a hot springs park to have a look around.  To save some money we just made pasta dinner at the hostel and then played euchre while the rain continued to pour outside.

Day 5

Rafting down the 7m waterfall!

We started off our second day in Rotorua with a white water rafting trip on the Kaituna River (Maori for "fish food" which was a little unsettling for a few of us!)  When the guide picked us up from the hostel he let slip that all the other rafting companies had pulled off the river because of all the rain and he didn't know why they had decided to still go.  It was still raining when we signed the "we will not sue you if we die" waivers but somehow it stopped and the sky cleared up for the exact amount of time that we were on the river.  Rafting was a blast especially since the water was so fast and strong from all the rain the night before.  Our guide was awesome and knew exactly what to do to get us safely over the "Highest Commercially Rafted Waterfall in the World" which was 7m tall.  It was actually just like a roller coaster and not scary at all.

Maori Hangi meal: SO delicious!!

When we returned it had cleared up and we walked down to Lake Rotorua to the Polynesian Spa and spent some time relaxing and chatting in the natural thermally heated pools.  The best part was that one of the pools went right to the edge of the lake and had a great view of the mountains behind it.  Later, a few of us were picked up to go to a Maori Hangi dinner and performance.  We watched Maori warriors in traditional dress come down the river in their Waka (hand-carved war canoe) and then a performance that taught us about their peace-making strategies as well as their Hakas (war dances) and weapons/training.  They demonstrated the Hongi, which is the "pressing of noses" and symbolizes friendship.  I was most interested in the Mokos (tattoos).  The women have an owl on their chin, symbolizing their protection, while the men have 4 birds: bat (forehead), parrot (beak on nose), owl (chin), kiwi (both sides of face, mother's and father's unique design).  Men also have Mokos on their legs which represent power, speed and the elements of Mother Earth.  After the presentation we were given dinner which was cooked underground in traditional Maori style and a traditional karakia (prayer) was said in the Maori language.  The choices on the buffet included lamb with mint sauce, chicken, stuffing, potato bake, corn and rice salad, bread, ranch slaw, fruit salad and a few desserts...it looked and tasted terrific.  To drink we had water that came from the freshwater spring on the property where we were taken after dinner to see glowworms (the only place to see them outside of caves in Rotorua).

At the end we were left with this Maori farewell:

"Ma te kaihanga kotou e tiaki e manaaki i roto i nga haerenga katoa" (Let the creator guide and protect you in all your travels)

Day 6

Mt. Nguaruhoe (pronounced like Nar-u-hoey)
or Mt. Doom; the volcano that we climbed!

We took an overnight bus from Rotorua to Turangi and after a short night's sleep woke up to the news that Tongariro National Park was closed due to severe winds.  Four of us really wanted to go no matter what and the owner of the hostel convinced us that we would be able to complete it. He drove us to the trail since the official shuttles weren't running and even gave us his son's cell phone so we could be in contact with him.  With backpacks full of water, sandwiches, granola bars, trail mix, dried fruit and extra socks (for our feet originally, but we eventually used them as gloves!), and wearing 5 layers, we got dropped off at the Mangatepopo car park and began the 19.6km hike along the Tongariro Alpine Crossing Trail that would take us up to 1896m elevation as we climbed Mts. Tongariro and Nguaruhoe (the latter being the mountain used by Peter Jackson and crew in the Lord of the Rings trilogy as Mt. Doom).  The wind was strong even at the base so we knew were in for an experience.  As we got higher, the sun was blocked by the clouds of sideways mist that was covering the tops of the mountains and it continued to get colder and windier.  We started seeing snow on the track about a quarter of the way through near a sign that outlined the fact that the mountains were still active volcanoes and described warning signs for eruptions and course of action to take.  Since the wind was so loud, we probably wouldn't have heard or noticed any of these warning signs, so it's good that it didn't erupt.  At times we would walk across the craters (South and Red) and I marvelled at the sheer size of our surroundings.  At the peak when we were about halfway through, the trail narrowed to about 6ft wide with a sheer drop on either side, and the wind continued to whip up one side and down the other.  This was easily the scariest thing I've ever done in my life, but totally worth it since we are all still alive.  On the way down the other side we passed by the Emerald and Blue Lakes, which are supposed to be really beautifully colored lakes that we could only barely see until we were right up to their shores.  After another hour or so we finally descended out of the clouds and were startled by the incredible scenery that we hadn't been expecting as well as a hut that got us out of the wind for awhile so we could eat and enjoy the view.  Finally after walking down one of the longest switchbacks I've ever seen we crossed out of the Alpine Zone and back into the Temperate Forest and followed the trail along a fast moving mountain stream with lots of great waterfalls through to the Ketatahi carpark.  We were really tired by the end, but extremely proud to have completed one of New Zealand's best day-hikes (and even in severe weather conditions when everyone said we couldn't do it!)  The owner of the hostel made pumpkin soup for us when we got back and warmed up and then we watched "The Return of the King" so we could see what we had just climbed on screen.  It's pretty cool to be able to say that I've climbed a volcano and it's even better knowing that it's the same one from the movies!

Tongariro Alpine Crossing

The view from Ketetahi Hut near the end of the Crossing

Day 7

The next day we slept in late and used the sunny mid-day to relax on the trampoline and hammock at the hostel.  The owner of the hostel made us sandwiches for lunch and even drove us into town to pick up snacks for the rest of our trip.  Later in the afternoon we got on another bus, this time for a 5 hour trip and got to watch the sun set over the sheep and cattle farms along the highway.  We also caught a glimpse of the mountain we had hiked the day before, which was still covered in clouds and snow.

That night we got into Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, and met up with Ryan's friend, Matt, who lives there and we got settled in for an early night.

Day 8

We woke up fairly early and headed into town to visit the country's best museum: Te Papa which features exhibits from nearly every interest and is incredibly interactive and modern.  Here I learned the Maori creation story: the Atuas (essentially gods) of Earth (Papatuanuku) and Sky (Ranginui) were too close together that life had no room to grow.  The Atua of the Forests and Trees planted his feet on Papatuanuku and his shoulders on Ranginui and grew like a tree until the two were forever separated, allowing life to flourish between them.  We also learned the significance of the Kiwi birds (also the nickname of New Zealanders).  Maori legend says that Kiwis made the greatest sacrifice because they willingly gave up their bright colors, ability to fly and life in the trees, to live on the ground and clean the forest floor, thus making them the most highly revered birds in the area.

After exploring some more of the museum, we grabbed lunch and then walked through some more of the city (which has a really great public transportation system complete with electric buses) and the local beach at the bay.  We saw the ferry that takes people to the South Island; 1600 passengers and up to 600 cars can fit at one time for the 3 hour trip.

That night we went out on the town for a bit but only after we made grilled cheese sandwiches for the Kiwis we were staying with who had never had them (!!) but quickly decided they were "sweet as!" Apparently Canadians put ketchup on theirs, which was weird, but kind of good.  We also bought some Hokey Pokey which is the famous ice cream favorite of NZ but it's basically just vanilla with small toffee/heath pieces.  Really delicious though!

Day 9

Red Rocks Coastal Walk

After sleeping in a bit we grabbed lunch and got on a bus to Island Bay where we walked along a Marine Reserve before coming to a Quarry along the coast where we began the Red Rocks Coastal Walk.  We were hoping to get far enough out to see seals, but we didn't make it that far.  We saw wild penguins which was awesome, but I was a bit let down about the elusive seals..not cold enough yet I suppose.  The coast line in New Zealand is incredible since its volcanic creation makes the mountains rise straight from the edge of the land.  The beaches we walked along were made of volcanic rock instead of sand so the waves made a really cool sound when they pulled back out to sea and all the pebbles bounced against each other with them.  The water is always a breathtaking turquoise blue color, both here and in  Australia, and it always makes the scenery even more exciting.

That night we went back into town to watch a Super 15 Rugby Union game where the New Zealand Hurricanes played against the Queensland (Australia) Reds.  Although I don't know any of the rules it was really interesting to watch since there are no pauses during play like in most American sports.  I definitely want to learn more about it, but you can imagine that any game that has things like "scrums" and "grubbers" just has to be fun to watch.  The NZ team won at the last second which was exciting, but I was less than impressed by the size of the crowd...I guess I've been spoiled by Big House football!

After the game we stayed up hanging out and watching movies until we left for the airport at 3:45am, which explains my sleep-deprivation.

--

I loved everything we did in New Zealand and it seemed like I couldn't get enough pictures of the scenery.  It's definitely now on the list of places I could see myself living for a long time later in life.  I wish that other places, especially America, had embraced the culture of their native peoples as much as New Zealand has because I really enjoyed learning all about the Maoris and it made me wish I knew more about Native Americans.

Like any big trip with friends it was an adventure, but also a time to practice and learn patience and flexibility and I definitely needed both of those at times this week.  I couldn't have asked for a better break, but now I can't seem to snap back into work-mode which I'm going to need to do before class tomorrow!

Although it was hard to leave since it meant vacation was over, it wasn't as hard once I remembered that "going home" meant going back to Sydney and 2 more full months of adventures around here!

Miss and love you all! XOXO

P.S. A big BIG shoutout to Tom and Helen Yoo, friends from church here, who lent me their hiking backpack for the trip: made my life so much easier!