Kiwi-Land, Northern Style

Motueka, South Island Wednesday 4-09-08, 3:00pm

“To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.” - Bill Bryson


Hello all, after a long absence! Things have been busy busy, go go go here in New Zealand, but I think its time to play some quick catch-up!

Auckland was a big city, which is never my favorite, but some good times were had. Cooking with new friends, a bit of shopping, some sight-seeing. The Museum was amazing, and walking across the bridge was incredible. Auckland is full of lovely little volcanic hills, and I got to climb a few for some gorgeous views of the city (pictures eventually). I stayed at Base Auckland, which was hopping with backpackers, and I found myself constantly heading out with someone, or chatting over drinks in the evening. There was a hot tub which I rented out for myself and spent a lovely hour in looking out over the city.

After some debate about how to get around NZ, I finally decided to join a backpackers bus. There are three main ones, Kiwi Experience, Magic and Stray. Kiwi is known for its young, rowdy, partying crowd, so I skipped that one. Stray had a special discount going, and it is the only one that actually has stops inside of the National Parks, so most of the lodges are actually in the bush/on the ocean, as opposed to in a city. Stray has been spectacular, and I'm very glad I joined on.

The way these buses work is that you can hop off at any point in time and then hop back on, as long as you complete your circuit within a year. No problem for me, since I'm flying to Sydney on May 6th!

Okay, quick recap of what you've missed:
On Monday March 31st we headed out of Auckland to the Coromandel Peninsula. We visited gorgeous Cathedral Cove and swam at Hot Water beach (the water was steaming!!!), but because of some tidal weirdness we couldn't dig the tubs and soak (does it still count, Michelle? I have pictures!). We had a lovely BBQ at our beach side lodge in Hahai and got to know each other.

Tuesday we drove to Raglan, which is a surfing town. On the way we hugged some giant Mauri trees that were at least 600 years old, and had a fun photo shoot. In Raglan Helen and I, who had met back at Base Auckland, hitched for the first time in our lives, to get down to the surf beach and watch our fellow travelers try it out. That night we had fish and chips, I lost in a poker tournament and we did a really really long fast zip-line (they call them "flying foxes" here) in the pitch black . . . I was shaking for at least 20 minutes, but it was great. They love their adrenaline rushes here! Amazing stars that night in Raglan.

Wednesday I had a sore throat so opted out of the wet and wild caving expeditions in Waitoma, and instead had some of the most delicious garlic bread of my life with Josephine, a lovely Swedish girl on the bus. We stayed close to Rotorua in the house of a Maori tribal leader. We had a traditional Kiwi roast, learned some traditional Maori dances, and the girls learned some Poi. It was very friendly, enjoyable, and didn't feel exploitative at all (I had been worried!).

Thursday I hopped of in Rotorua for a night (as did a number of people on the bus including Rachel, Helen and Josephine). I went of to Hell's Gates and saw incredible thermal activity including mud volcanoes, steaming sulphur lakes and pools so hot the water cooks a full size pig in 30 minutes. I had a lovely mud bath, followed by a dip in the sulphur pools--- absolutely amazing!! It was great to have some quite time to myself to relax!

That evening the girls and I ate massive amounts of nachos at the bar attached to Base Hot Rocks hostel, and then went to the movies to watch "The Eye." It was scary and freaked us out, which was fun.

The next day Josephine and I walked up to our new Stray bus and were greeted by blasting Japanese reggae music and a full-on dance party spilling out of the bus. We all danced in the aisles, introduced ourselves, and took at least thirty minutes to settle down. Great group.

We landed in Taupo, where there is a gorgeous volcanic lake, skydiving, bungee jumping and hot springs. A group of us headed up to the natural hot springs, which were absolutely amazing. Right in the middle of the town park are these hot waterfalls spilling into hot-tub temperature pools (surrounded by palms and ferns of course), which tumble town into a lovely cool river fit for swimming. We loved it so much we came back that night and sat back in the hot pools while enjoying a gorgeous view of the stars!

Saturday was intense, with a 7 hour climb on the Tongariro crossing- up past Mount Doom (from Lord of the Rings) and its neighbor mountain. The uphill was grueling, but the views fantastic, and amazing red craters and emerald lakes rewarded you when you reached the top. The last hour on the way down tested my attitude, but happiness prevailed and I was still pleasant and happy when we reached our gorgeous lodge within Tongariro national park. We all piled into the hot tub, and later enjoyed delicious food, wine and desserts at the lodge's bar.

Sunday we headed to Wellington, where a group of us checked out the Te Papa museum, which was incredible. Internet, laundry, and phone calls were all priorities, and it was nice to get things done. In the evening we headed down to the bar (we stayed at another Base hostel) and lost in a very fun bar quiz. My team did win for the best name however (why the judge thought that "Sasquatch Sexual Rebellion" was a good name beats me), and won free tequila shots. We danced until we couldn't dance anymore and then crashed into bed.

Monday the 7th we took the ferry over the South Island (yay!), had a fantastic wine and schnapps tasting in Marlborough area, and then headed to Marahau in Abel Tasman National Park. Yesterday I slept in and wandered about with Josephine and Shevonne, a lovely Irish gal. We walked about an hour (the park is soooo beautiful!) and found a lovely little beach on a bay where we camped out for about two hours, sun bathing, reading and relaxing. The day was restful and relaxing and much needed!

Today I am in Motueka waiting for a 4pm bus to Takaka. In Takaka, Josephine, David from Vancouver and I will be heading up to Anahata Yoga Retreat center for the next 6 days or so. There is a retreat going this weekend, and I am very much looking forward to some meditation, yoga, vegetarian food, and beautiful scenery (we will be up on Golden Bay in Abel Tasman National Park).

Next Tuesday or Wednesday I will be getting back on the Stray bus and heading down the West Coast of the South Island!

Hopefully pictures soon!

Michelle-- I'm hoping you'll count me in for Hot Water Beach, and I'm working on the others . . . I already missed Lake Taupo, maybe I can make it up somehow (preferably with something OTHER than skydiving :).

LOVE LOVE LOVE

Anna