Tales of Wanderlust in Aotearoa

Operation: Epic

2011-04-21T23:15:00.000+12:00

My bestest friend, Allison, was hanging out at the baggage claim when I stepped off my red-eye flight. If the airport wasn’t already awake when I arrived, there was no question after I shrieked with happiness and practically leapt into Allison’s arms the moment I saw her. We bounced around for a few minutes like two kids on pogo sticks – I was euphoric and still pinching myself that I was back in the Midwest. HELLO WISCONSIN!

Our drive to Eau Claire led us directly into a blood-orange sunrise which lit up the small patches of snow that speckled the frozen fields. Allison and I chatted non-stop, scarcely taking time to breathe as there was lots to catch up on! Along with sharing my Fijian tales of woe on the ride home, Allison and I made sure to discuss two very important questions:

1.) How shall we best execute this epic homecoming surprise?
2.) And, how soon is lunch because a Jacob Bluefinger sub is an absolute MUST.

We arrived in Eau Claire in no time at all. I was sleep-deprived, my tummy was grumbling, and my heart was beating a mile a minute. For the last seven months, I had anticipated this very moment. I had actually dreamt about it on numerous occasions. I even wondered if I might cry. Just thinking about walking through the doors made my palms and armpits start to sweat with expectation. Then, it was time. I was greeted by the sweet aroma of freshly baked bread. As I walked to the counter, my eyes gazed at the ample selection of crispy chips, hot soups, and fizzy sodas. Ordering my favorite sandwich from Erbs and Gerbs was like being reunited with a long, lost friend. I swear I went a bit weak in the knees when took my first bite.

Once my belly and heart were blissfully content, it was time to tie up the loose ends of my homecoming surprise, which I had dubbed “Operation: Epic.” My family and I had already planned a pre-Easter skype date for 6:00pm that evening – of course, they were under the impression that I was “in Sydney with the Etheridges for a lovely holiday weekend on the beach.” That same morning, my dad had gone to the Minneapolis airport to pick up my cousin Alana who had come from California to spend 10 days in Wisconsin before heading to Europe on her very own overseas adventure. Non-coincidentally, her visit was to coincide with my arrival so she could take part in the big event! And, as one of my magnificent “Operation: Epic” accomplices, it was going to be her mission to video record the surprise from start to finish.

That afternoon, Allison rang my dad.

“Hi Doug! So, Anna has an Easter present that she wants me to deliver to you. Would it be alright if I stopped by sometime this evening to drop it off?”

“Sure, Allison. Cathy finishes up with work around 5:30ish. Why don’t you pop by around 6 o’clock or so?” Perfect!

Just a few hours later, and it was nearly time. Allison and I had picked out a lovely Calla Lily to pose as my Easter gift. I was practically biting my nails down to the cuticle as we drove towards home. My heart was slamming against my ribcage; my feet were fox trotting along the floor board. We hadn’t even reached the top of the Mt. Washington hill when I quickly contorted and crammed my entire body beneath the car console, bound and determined not be seen by a single neighbor who could quite easily tip off my family that I was back in town. I didn’t care if it was exceptionally unlikely to actually happen, but I wasn’t taking any chances.

Everything was in place for a surprise seven months in the making. I kept shaking my head thinking “This is really happening. I think I am actually going to pull this thing off. Holy crap, they are totally gonna freak out!”

We pulled into the driveway, parking where not a single living soul from inside the house could possibly get even the teeniest glimpse of me. And yet, I stayed firmly wedged inside in the pocket of Allison’s car.

Let “Operation: Epic” commence.

I could see Allison holding the Calla Lily as she rang the doorbell.

“Hi Allison! Come on in!” Cate said as she grinned and welcomed her into the cozy house where the fire place crackled with fervor.

At the top of the carpeted stairs, she saw them – Cathy, Doug, and Alana, all gathered around the kitchen counter visiting and preparing for supper. Hugs were given all around and the blooming Calla Lily was placed on the cream counter top.

“Oh shoot!” Allison exclaimed. “I forgot the card in the car. Hang on, I’ll be right back.”

She slipped on her shoes to walk back outside, and I peered up as she opened the car door. “Are they all upstairs?” I asked.

“Yep!” she grinned. “They’re all there!”

We walked up to the front door together, letting ourselves in. Allison led the way up the stairs, and I followed right behind hearing laughter coming from the kitchen. I was grinning at them for several seconds before their brains even registered what they were seeing. Then, all at once, it hit them.

“HOOOLY SHIT!” Cate hollered as her hands covered her mouth and tears sprung to her eyes.

My mom released a spine-tingling, seeming endless wail and involuntarily walked the opposite direction, completely taken aback by my unannounced arrival.

“Holy Smokes!” my dad exclaimed, clutching his heart as his eyebrows skyrocketed to his hairline.

Then, Cate rushed at me, full force, and we hugged each other so tight the Jaws of Life would have had a hell of a time breaking us apart. Everyone was crying, laughing, and, quite honestly, in utter disbelief. I embraced my mom next, after she had taken a solid minute to let the shock ripple through her every muscle. I glanced up smiling with tears of joy and saw my dad rubbing his eyes and squinting at the calendar.

“June 23rd?” he puzzled, as that was the arrival day of my faux travel plans.

My lips curled into a grin as I went to hug my dad. “Surprise!” I chuckled. I gave a giggling Alana a huge bear hug and made a mental note to give her a humongous thank you for recording the whole surprise affair. Alana and I both knew from the start that pulling off a homecoming surprise of this magnitude was not going to be a simple task – especially when I have one of the best "detectives moms” I know! Even so, “Operation: Epic” went off without a hitch. *Fist Pump!*

The rest of the evening was filled with lots of stories and endless laughter. Cate was quick to point out that I had indeed developed a New Zealand accent and apparently now had a funky blend of Wisconsinite and Kiwi twang with a dash of Aussie vocab sprinkled in. My mom couldn’t stop touching me, as though she wanted to make completely certain that I wasn’t a figment of her imagination. And yet, here I was; home again after one year, two months, and four days of travel and thrilled to be back with family and friends. Home is truly where the heart is.

*Click here for video footage of Operation: Epic

Flashback

2011-04-20T23:00:00.000+12:00

September 2010 – Christchurch, New Zealand

As I strolled through the bustling streets of Christchurch, my eye catches a shop window and I read “STA Travel.” The door jingles as I walk through, and I take a seat in front of Fiona, a cool and calm travel agent who immediately offers me her time and unwavering attention.

“I'm looking for a flight from Sydney, Australia to Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, “ I say.
“No worries, let me check that for you,” she responds with a smile.

Two hours later, I've booked an April flight from Sydney to LA with a ten day layover in Nadi, Fiji. I've decided that, with seven more months of travel, I just might be ready to go home for a visit come Easter. So, with a freshly printed itinerary in hand, I step back out into the ebb and flow of the city streets. I'm officially going home! How much fun would it be to keep it a surprise? Buckets o' fun, I'd say!

October 2010 – Omarau, New Zealand

I'm on the hostel computer reading the latest email from Mom. She had a grand time during her trip to Germany and Poland with my Aunt Carol and has promised to send mountains of photos soon! I read further:

“When Carol and I were in Germany, we met a good friend of cousin Klaus and his daughter, Melina. Melina is interested in coming to the United States after her high school graduation and possibly staying for the summer. I ran an idea by Dad and Cate about potentially hosting Melina during her stay, but I also wanted to check with you on what your plans were. Of course, if you're planning on being home for the summer, we wouldn't give up your bedroom, but if it's open, would it be okay if Melina stayed there? When is it that you're planning on coming home again??”

I chuckled to myself as I considered how to reply.

“Dear Mom,

It's great that you are thinking of hosting Melina for the summer! My plans for after Australia are still pretty up-in-the-air, so if i were to give you my thoughts right now, I'd say I'm 80-90% sure that I'll be off to Southeast Asia after my Australian visa expires. And, most likely, I'll be there for 3 months at least, so I'd expect to come home around, oh, October of next year? Obviously, I haven't booked any flights yet, so nothing is set in stone, but that's kinda what I'm planning out in my head. Keep me posted on plans with Melina!

Love, Anna”

My reasons for giving up my bedroom for the summer was two-fold. 1.) I liked the idea of paying forward all of the gracious traveling karma that I had and was still receiving during my backpacking travels, and 2.) I'd have the once in a lifetime chance to see my family's faces when I walked through the door unannounced – and it would be so worth it.

*~*~*~*

For anyone who knows my Mom, it makes a whole lotta sense that the “surprise the bejesus out of your mother after you've been gone for months” gene runs in my blood. And although my Mom gets a kick out of surprising others, it's no simple task to try and surprise her. That's what made this challenge that much more intoxicating. Over the next several months, I began to create an intricate and convincing back story that evolved more and more as my parents continued to ask me further questions about my travel plans – why was I traveling to Fiji? Vacationing of course! Are you sure you can't come home for Christmas? How would June work instead? What are you're plans for Easter? I'll be celebrating with the Etheridges in Sydney! My advice to secret keepers? Seven months is too damn long!

*~*~*~*

February 2011, Christchurch, New Zealand

For Christmas, my mom and dad graciously offered to fly me home for a visit – a visit that they would like to see happen as soon as possible. Seeing as I haven't told them that I've already purchased a ticket home, I've put myself in a bit of a pickle. I'm bound and determined to keep this surprise a secret no matter what obstacles are thrown at me. So on my last night in New Zealand, I design a very official looking flight itinerary and set my arrival date for June 23rd, 2011. I send the itinerary off in an email to my parents with the subject line reading “I'M COMING HOME!!!” and far too many exclamation points scattered throughout the message box. It doesn't take long before I find out that our home calendar reads, “Anna Home!” on June 23rd – in dark, non-erasable pen.

Monday, April 18th, 2011 – Los Angelos, California

“Hi Mom and Dad!

I'm back from Fiji and finally bedbug free! I'm couchsurfing in Sydney for the next few days until I meet up with the Etheridges to celebrate Easter up at their beach house. The weather in Sydney is gorgeous! I just got back from a walk in the Botanical Gardens this afternoon. There are Flying Foxes everywhere! Would you, dad, and Cate be around for a skype date on Thursday around 6:00pm? It'd be great to see you and wish you all a Happy Easter!

Love, Anna”

Three days later, I am on a plane from LA to Minneapolis/St. Paul. Our Thursday “skype date” is going to be brilliant! :-D

Dancing Amongst Stars

2011-04-20T10:45:00.000+12:00

The pure euphoria I felt as I watched the lights of Los Angelos come into full view beyond my tiny, oval airplane window was nearly overwhelming. I was literally bouncing in my seat, my entire being just tingling with desire to set foot once again in my dear country. I’m home, I’m home, I’M HOME!!!

My good friend Julie, who I first met in 5th grade volleyball, was at the airport to greet me when I was finally able to squeeze my way through customs. Her first words? “My GOD, you are freakishly tan!” Yes indeed – one of the few good things I could thank Fiji for.

The sun was shining, the temperature light and warm. If it had been up to Julie and me, we would have gone straight to the beach. Unfortunately, my other potential souvenirs from Fiji needed immediate extermination. Thus, we drove straight to Julie’s apartment and proceeded to execute “Operation Bedbug Bye-bye” for the remainder of the afternoon.

Julie was the ideal LA tour guide, offering various ideas on how to see the great expanse of all there is to see and do in the LA metropolitan area…in 3 days. On my first evening, we walked the pier at Santa Monica, stopping every so often to watch the various street artists and applaud their performances. Then, we ended the night toasting my return with mega-marvelous margaritas and authentic Mexican cuisine. Salud!

It’s funny the things you miss when you are away for 14 months. While you’re gone, you have cravings for certain foods; miss the comforts of familiar places. What was the first stop shop on my list? Target. When you’ve been stuck with “The Warehouse,” New Zealand’s mediocre imitation of Walmart, you’ll long for the day when you can pass under that red bull’s-eye, walk through those automated doors, and smell the sweet smell of that all-in-one superstore. Oui, Target, oui, oui!

Next stop, Hollywood! As Julie and I made our way over the Star-studded sidewalks, I was in visual turmoil, torn between seeking out my favorite celebrity names on the ground beneath me and ogling in jaw-dropping wonder at all of the colorful stuff surrounding me. We saw Jack Sparrow snapping photos with wide-eyed pirate fans, random people curled up on the ground next to their favorite Star for that special photo-op, and even a gigantic, life-sized wax figure of everyone’s loveable and freakishly green friend, Shrek. I was constantly pointing at the ground exclaiming, “Look! Beyonce!” or “Hey! It’s Kermit the Frog!” or “OH MY GOD, BARBARA STREISAND!!” When we reach the Chinese Theater, the concrete slabs running up to the building were filled with signatures, quotes, and hand prints from a remarkable number of outstanding persons who have made extraordinary contributions to worldwide entertainment; the cast of Harry Potter, Shirley Temple, Sidney Poitier. As I browsed through this cement floor of celebrity imprints, I couldn’t help but giggle when I discovered the gray indentations of thick dreadlocks. Ya gotta love Whoopi.

I was really hoping to be selected as an audience member for the “Ellen Show,” but, as we discovered, if you aren’t up at the crack of dawn to call in and leave a message after the beep, you’re s.o.l. So instead, we found our way to the Getty Museum which has got to have one of the best views of LA. Standing on the balcony, the entire city is sprawled out before you, a smoggy haze draped sleepily over the jagged skyline. The massive (what is it now, an 18 lane highway???) is seriously impressive. The museum itself was fun to explore and the open air garden, just shy of the spring bloom, was a lovely place to stroll in the sunny, yet cool weather.

While I was very much enjoying my time in LA, thoughts of home were constantly barraging my mind. You see, seven months prior, I had booked a multi-plane ticket from Sydney to Los Angelos to Minneapolis. I just chose not to tell anyone. Eventually, a few people got in on the surprise – The Etheridge Family (as my backup story for my “Australian Easter plans”), my best friend Allison (as my welcome hug and personal taxi home from the airport), and my cousin Alana from California (as my fellow accomplice and token videotographer). What started out initially as “oh man, it’ll be so much fun to surprise everyone!” eventually took a very detailed and convoluted course as the 210 and some-odd-days began to tick off one by one.

In October, my mom mentioned that they were thinking of hosting a German exchange student, Melina, for the upcoming summer. I have always wanted my parents to host an exchange student, but it wasn’t until my bedroom was vacated that they decided to consider it. Well, me being the stubborn secret keeper that I am, told Ma and Pa to go for it! Melina could use my room, no worries. Tell her to make herself at home :-)

In December, Mom and Dad offered to fly me home for Christmas. As I had already committed to working in the Milford Sound over the holiday, I didn’t feel good about leaving. And, at that point, I only had a month left on my NZ work and holiday visa, and after that, just 2 months more until I was flying home anyways (unbeknownst to them, of course). It certainly wasn’t an easy thing to do, telling my parents basically, thanks, but no thanks. How, I wasn’t quite ready to come home just yet. What do you think about me coming home for a visit this summer instead? Don’t worry about booking anything though; I can sort that out when I find the time. (Mamma Mia…)

On February 14th, five months after booking my real ticket, I fashioned a false one. To accompany my faux itinerary, I sent along this email:

Hi Mom and Dad!

Well, I did it! I bought a ticket!! Spent all night at the computer last night looking up flights via LOADS of travel sites and finally settled on the cheapest option I could find - hitting the "BOOK FLIGHT" button at 2:47am! I can hardly wait :-)

The 29+ hours of travel time is going to be a pain in the arse...but, all the layovers apparently make the flight much cheaper, so...I'll just have to deal with the wonderfulness of jetlag. ;-) I'll be seeing you at the Minneapolis Airport on Thursday, June 23rd!!

Love you heaps and heaps,
Anna

I can be fairly confident when I say that from that moment on, the date June 23rd was burned, hot and fiery, into my mother’s mind. Ooo, I’m such a sneaky little bugger! (And, I can also say with certainty that my mom would whole-heartedly agree.)

Since my ten days in Fiji was, in reality, an extended stop-over, I had to make up a yaddy-yadda story about how I was going to Fiji with a girl-friend, “just-because.” My mom took that to mean that I wanted a vacation, so I was fine with leading her to believe just that.

>>> As a side note: For those of you who don’t know my Mom, she is an awesomely awesome woman. She is also extremely difficult (if not down right impossible) to surprise. So, if I was actually able to pull off this surprise homecoming, it was gonna be nothing less than epic. Capital E-P-I-C.

>>> As another side note: Once again, for those of you who don’t know my mom, she traveled as a young woman to Greece, spending several months abroad in a country that was going through some pretty serious political mayhem at the time. One day, as my Grandma was outside hanging clothes on the line, a taxi pulled up at the end of the driveway. My mom proceeded to step out of the car and shock the livin’ daylights out of her mother! Heavens! What kind of daughter would DO such a thing?! Now, may I continue with my story, please?

In the month or so prior to leaving Australia, I spent many a night awake thinking about how I could pull off this bombshell of a surprise. Should I surprise them individually? Or all at once? In different places? Or at home? What if they just found me soaking in the hot tub, and then I could jump out and give them all big, wet hugs? Sigh…the possibilities were endless. But, foremost on my mind was making sure that Mom, Dad, and my sister, Cate, wouldn’t have even the itty bittiest inkling of a thought that I was coming home. Needless to say, this took a grand effort from a few of my co-conspirators and a large amount of creative storytelling on my end.

As far as my family knew, I was returning to Sydney after my “vacation” in Fiji, celebrating Easter with our longtime family friends, the Etheridges, and then returning to the Rhythm Hut where I had been offer a sweet job, working and drumming there until it was time for me to return to the states on June 23rd. While in Los Angelos, I emailed Mom midway through telling her how I had just gotten back from a beautiful stroll in the Sydney Botanical Gardens and how I found the Flying Foxes just as fascinating as I did ten years ago. Like I said, seven months of secret keeping and the backup stories get marvelously complex.

I had used my four days in LA to slowly but surely assimilate back into American culture. I found that the oddest thing about being back was getting used to hearing the American accent everywhere. If I heard an American accent while traveling, my ears would perk up and my brain would casually mark them with a red, white, and blue sticker. For my first couple days in LA, my brain was in sticker frenzy, and I was just starting to gradually absorb the normalcy of being back in the States. But now, I was Midwest bound – the land of hunting, fishing, and questions like “oh yaa, dontcha kno?” I couldn’t have been more excited.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

2011-04-17T15:15:00.001+12:00

When you’ve been traveling for over 13 months and your biggest snafu has been forgetting your long underwear in your friend’s car (with the cold weather on its way…), you tend to do two things: 1.) Keep thanking the heavens with all your might for the graces your guardian angels have bestowed upon you, and 2.) Forget that, perhaps, your good luck might just run out one of these days.

On my flight from Sydney to Nadi, Fiji, my flight attendants were all smiles, greeting each passenger with a friendly, “Bula, bula!” As I walked into Nadi customs, the room filled with islander tunes, courtesy of Fijian locals dressed in brightly flowered shirts, singing and strumming guitars. Each visitor was given a beautiful flower with creamy white petals and a yellow center to tuck behind their ear. What a warm and colorful welcome!

The next morning I was off to Mana Island on the Mana Flyer – a relatively small jet boat packed to the brim with island supplies and a few too many passengers. Everyone was bright-eyed and eager for sun, sand, and beachside pina coladas!

As soon as I was able, I had my swimsuit and shades on, a book in one hand and sunscreen in the other. I bypassed the hammocks for a comfortable sun-soaked lounge less than 20 feet from the silky blue waves breaking in gentle rhythm against the golden shore.

The darkening clouds and increasingly strong winds must have been an omen for the various degrees of uncomfortableness I would be experiencing throughout the rest of my Fijian holiday. That very afternoon, one of the male staff members came over to chat with me. From his outwardly obvious chestward gaze, it took me about two seconds to conclude that he wasn’t all that interested in having a conversation with me per say, but rather with my cleavage, which was apparently far more engaging. During our “talk,” I soon discovered that this particular staff member was a very talented jewelry carver, able to carve various trinkets and pendants out of coconut shells. Thus, I told him rather pointedly, that if he intended to stare at my chest, he might as well make me something pretty so I could at least pretend that he was admiring his own art. He presented me with a lovely starfish necklace just a few hours later.

The next morning I woke up a bit itchy around the ankles. It seemed as though the Milford Sound sandflies had stolen away in my luggage and come along for a change of scenery! Fiji was known to have mosquitoes so I shrugged it off as part of my initiation into Fijian life.

That weekend, the sun played hide and seek, several of the guests, including myself, got food poisoning from the Blue Ribboned awarded “Nastiest Lunch,” and I found myself sharing my room with some rather unpleasant, and totally unwelcomed, roommates - bedbugs. These nasty little buggers are no picnic in the park, that’s for darn sure! And, since there were no laundry facilities on the island, there wasn’t a whole lot I could do about it. Soon, several guests were competing for the title of “Biggest Welt,” “Most Bites,” and “Greatest Bodily Coverage!” Needless to say, we were an itchy bunch.

The daily torrential downpours during the first four days seemed only to enhance the dinginess of Mana Lagoon. The scummy shower stalls, soggy toilet paper, and dim lighting left an emotional stench to waft throughout the hostel, seeping into the nostrils of both the guests and staff. The quality of our meals was, on average, very poor and created a general lethargy that hung heavily in the damp and humid air. I could only puzzle over the “Fijian Paradise” that I had heard mentioned from many a traveler that I met throughout New Zealand and Australia. Being bedbug ridden was not my idea of a beach bumming holiday!

Despite all the unpleasantness, I tried to focus on the silver lining. The international hodgepodge of guests staying at Mana Lagoon made for some great conversation and hilariously entertaining evenings. The Mana Lagoon staff threw a party on Saturday night complete with traditional Fijian dances and fire twirling! And, participating in evening Kava ceremonies was a wonderful way to connect with the Fijian locals. Kava, a traditional Fijian drink, is made of a powder from the root of a Kava plant. The powder is mixed with water in a large wooden bowl and then passed person to person around a circle of camaraderie. The Kava tastes as though you’re drinking liquid earth, but the Fijians love the stuff! It even leaves your tongue and lips slightly numb as an after-feel. If you only want to have a small sip, ask for a low-tide. But, if you’re feeling like a grande, tell ‘em “Tsunami!”

A real highlight out of the grab-bag of holiday lows was scuba diving! One of my goals in life was to become Open Water certified. So, between reading my lesson book and taking quizzes, I was able to do four open water dives and explore the reef.

It is incredibly peaceful to float effortlessly just above the ocean floor hearing nothing but the sounds of your own Darth Vader breathing. My diving instructor, Tuks, pointed out all sorts of colorful or camouflaged sea life as we cruised weightlessly through the water and buoyed ourselves over the coral castle, being nosy Nancy’s into the curtained rooms of thousands of royal sea subjects. We spotted flute fish, clown fish, flounder, cleaner fish, and several tiny garden eels poking curiously out of the sand only to retreat shyly into the safety of their cylindrical homes. Tuks pointed out a morey eel twisted amongst the coral reef, nearly invisible if not for its beady yellow eyes staring unblinkingly out from behind its coral fence. As we propelled ourselves around the castle, we saw a small shark lurking just beyond the visibility line. As we swam closer to get a better look, we saw two more! We stopped, suspended underwater, watching the sharks slice gracefully through the clear blue waters. Thankfully, I had already learned that the Fijian sharks are really no threat to humans, so I was happy just to watch them cruise merrily along.

I was very excited to have earned my scuba certification, but unfortunately, the pure relief at finally leaving Mana Lagoon took precedence over the bulk of my emotions. I was on my way to another island and could only hope against hope that my new accommodation would (please, please, PLEASE!) be a few steps up from the last.

My new Canadian friend, Kristina, and I practically melted with joy when we arrived at Walu Beach Resort. The receptionists greeted us with a complementary glass of orange juice. There were folded napkins on the table, electricity that ran all day long, free drinking water, and a swimming pool!! Oh boy, oh boy! The resort was clean, tidy, and peacefully quiet. You know…when you’ve just gone to Bedbug Hell and back, it’s the little comforts in life that really count.

Funnily enough, upon our arrival at Walu Beach, the sun came out from her hiding place and graced us with her warm presence for the remainder of my time in Fiji. For the next four days, I relaxed by the poolside, took out the kayak, snoozed in the hammock, and drank Kava with the Fijian locals late into the evening. On one evening in particular, we sat around a beach bonfire, and I mentioned that I hadn’t yet tried fresh coconut juice. At that, Percy, one of the staff members, literally shimmied himself 30 feet up a coconut tree, plucked a couple coconuts from the palms, and threw them down to his brother below. I was shocked, yet unbelievably impressed. Talk about great customer service!

Despite being a great deal more at ease with our stay at Walu Beach, Kristina and I found ourselves waking up several times throughout the night, only to snatch up our flashlight and beam the bed, eyes squinting in search of any stowaway bedbugs that might have jumped ship from our luggage. Having been unable to wash and dry our stuff left us with our skin crawling at all hours of the night and day. And, as much as I was enjoying watching my skin turn to a toasted marshmallow brown, I was itching (no pun intended) to go home. On top of it all, I had recently found out that my Fijian travel agent who I had booked my entire holiday with had, in fact, ripped me off. This meant that instead of really being able to fully relax and enjoy the rest of my beachside tanning, I was writing emails back and forth to the travel company to request a refund. I had discovered, rather reluctantly, that perhaps my fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants travel philosophy wasn’t always so fool-proof.

On my last afternoon, I was back on the mainland in Nadi and, only hours from my departure flight, I found myself in a cramped, second story office building – the setting of a backpacker travels gone wrong horror film. I was the single lady in the main office of Travelicious, my Fijian travel company, and, with heart pounding, I was holding my ground. My travel agent, Noah, and his business partner had agreed to meet with me to “sort things out.” Well, as long as “sorting things out” meant that I’d be getting my refund, I was game. I felt like Judge Judy - only I was the one arguing my case. And, two hours of discussion and a round of beer later, I won. Case closed (insert gavel *bang* here).

It wasn’t until my plane had lifted off that I, at long last, could truly breathe easy. My airplane buddy, Jen, and I joked that we should wear t-shirts that read, “I Survived Fiji!” But, despite the itchy, swollen bites that covered my legs, I only had one thing on my mind – jumping off the plane at LAX, woah, am I gonna fit in? It’s a party in the USA!!

The Great Ocean Roadtrip

2011-04-06T15:02:00.000+12:00

The last time I was in Australia, we flew up the East Coast all the way to Cairns to enjoy some relaxing time on the beach and scuba dive with the colorful fish of the Great Barrier Reef. This time, I decided to head down the East Coast to Melbourne, Sydney's artsy rival city, to reconnect with a few friends and explore the Great Ocean Road – a you-don't-wanna-miss-it! Australian natural attraction.

I found a temporary work for accommodation job in St. Kilda, a cute and slightly quieter part of Melbourne whose main street was lined with cafes, pubs, and decadent cake shops. Hot chai, cold beer, and pastry puffs...honestly, what more could a backpacker ask for?

The best part about big cities is that there's always so much happening that the hardest decision you have to make during the day is whether you want to go sing along to the latest musical, laugh at that new, up-and-coming comedian, or go out for a relaxing glass of bubbles with the ladies. As for me, I was more than certain that spending my Friday night watching buff Aussie men dash around a field, tackling, tripping, and chasing each other, would be a greatly superior choice to any other weekend event.

This is how my friend Lorna and I found ourselves bundled up in our autumn evening best following the throngs of people heading towards the St. Kilda vs Richmond Footy match. As far as I could tell, Australian Footy League (or Footy for short) was a thorough mix of soccer, rugby, and football. And, despite our lack of Footy knowledge, it didn't take a Footy enthusiast to appreciate a good, man-to-man brawl out on the field! The energy in the stadium sizzled as the spectators cheered and yelled at the players, refs, and one another. From the way people were rocketing out of their seats, you would have thought that someone had lit a fire under their bums. By the fourth quarter, the two teams were neck and neck! The points crept higher on both sides until the buzzer finally sounded with the teams tied 95-95. And, unlike most sports, Footy doesn't actually have an overtime. It's pretty cool when all 47,000+ spectators and players can go home winners!

With a awesome start to the weekend, Lorna and I continued our adventures with a road trip along the Great Ocean Road. This highly acclaimed route follows the southeast coast of Australia with incredible views of the turquoise ocean, sandy beaches, and the blue horizon. The weather had a difficult time making up its mind, going from patchy blue sky with glimpses of sun to thick cloud cover and drizzling rain. But, during the dry spells, we visited a lighthouse capped with a bright red top, drove inland to photograph a pretty waterfall, and window shopped at one of the small towns along the way. A highlight of the weekend was walking through the forest, eyes squinting against the setting sun, in order to peer into the tree tops in search of a camouflaged gray lump of sleeping fluff hidden amongst the leaves. It was worth the crick in the neck to see nearly two dozen koalas nestled in the branches of their natural habitat. We even spotted few of these adorable animals munching leaves, eyes wide and watchful, fully aware yet outwardly unconcerned about the paparazzi that had set up camp beneath their tree house.

The next day, we took a hike down a steep staircase to Wreck Beach where we located the anchor of the “Marie Gabrielle,” a boat that was shipwrecked long ago in the late eighteen hundreds. I wriggled my bare toes into the sand and watched the waves break and drift upon the sandy shore. I love moments like this :-)

Our final stop along the Great Ocean Road was to visit the Twelve Apostles, a group of gigantic standing stones that tower majestically out of the sea. Discarded giant chess pieces left to be claimed by the god's of the earthly elements. Carved from wind, rain, and the crashing waves, the Twelve Apostles have now been reduced to only seven – the elements of creation later becoming elements of mass destruction. Though their numbers have been greatly reduced, the remaining Twelve Apostles stand tall and proud against a backdrop of swirling gold clouds – an impressive and truly humbling sight to see.

Earth Love

2011-03-28T12:00:00.000+13:00

Upon returning to the Blue Mountains, it having been ten years since my last visit, I had a flood of memories from my family vacation in December of 2000. Steve, Gail, and Elena warmly welcomed me back to their lovely home on Blackbutt Circle (teehee :-D) and, as I walked through the house, I instantly remembered Christmas morning with the kids bounding down the stairs to see what Santa had brought while the moms and dads groggily rubbed sleep out of their eyes. Things looked slightly different without the Christmas decor, but it was a comfort to be back in a familiar place visiting close family friends.

The sky gods just happened to choose the first few days of my visit to give the flora a proper soak, so I took advantage of the cozy couches indoors to make a rather large dent in my Scottish novel. Also, Elena opened up a whole new world for me with my first exposure to the musical wonders of SingStar! As the rain pitter-pattered outside, we belted out duets to a variety of tunes by Disney, ABBA, the songs of the 80s, and best of the 90s. I was in vocal heaven :-)

It would be a crime to visit the Blue Mountains and not stop to explore the village of Katoomba. Thus, as I am rather opposed to committing wrongs against the law, I took the train one morning up to this cute little town and met up with John, a friend and workmate of mine from the Milford Sound. We lucked out with picture perfect weather all day long. The two of us walked to Echo Point where we were rewarded with an absolutely sensational lookout. The cloud speckled sky cast puffy splotches of gently drifting shadow over the green expanse of the Jamison Valley. Outlining the greenery, like a child's poor attempt at coloring within the lines, were sheer, vertical cliffs of fiery orange that looked as though they could burst into flame at any moment. The famous “Three Sisters” rock formations stood out in the foreground with impressive superiority, gazing peacefully over their beloved earth.

John and I made our way down the Giant Stairway to a place where we could actually stand directly beneath the first of the Three Sisters and touch the weathered sandstone of these massive structures. Stepping carefully down the remainder of the slippery stairway brought us to a trail that wove through the Jamison Valley all the way to a lookup of the Katoomba Cascades and the touristic remnants of an old coal mine. At the end of the hike, we gratefully bypassed a sweaty looking climb out of the valley in favor of an supersized gondola which carried us quickly and effortlessly back up to where we began.

That weekend, I left the cool mountain air for the salty waves of Bondi Beach. This hip surfer town is where the Sydneyites find relief during those fry-an-egg-on-the-asphalt summer days. Unfortunately, summer was slowly easing into autumn which meant cool temps and spatters of rain throughout the weekend. But, the weather didn't stop us from having a proper Friday night out in Bondi, complete with a box of Goon and some rockin' Karaoke tunes. The following evening, on our way back from dinner, my friend Ruth and I discovered a group of Earth Hour enthusiasts lighting paper lanterns in honor of the annual event where the world shouts, “lights out!” We were invited to join in on their small celebration and did our best in an attempt to light a lantern of our own. But, with a steadily blowing wind, only a few lucky lanterns set sail, drifting up, up, and away - a simple flicker of a flame illuminated against the starless night sky.

A Faaabulous Affair!

2011-03-17T22:00:00.002+13:00

It's not uncommon to walk down the street and have two policemen in uniform walk past. That is unless, the tall, dashing policeman striding down the road is wearing black, shiny, stilettos and the short, pudgy policeman has nicked the other's uniform trousers. When that happens, well, it's time for Sydney's annual Mardi Gras Parade!

This yearly event attracts over 70,000 people and is the largest gay pride parade in the world! So, on this very special day (which funnily enough, isn't actually on Fat Tuesday), I was more than eager to attend this flamboyant affair to hoot, holler, and whistle my appreciation for Sydney's LGBT community.

The celebration began near dusk with the roar and rumble of Harley Davidson's as the Dikes on Bikes came whirring up Oxford Street. Rainbow flags blurred, lights shimmered, breasts flailed in the wind, and the ground vibrated. What an entrance!

For the next 2 hours, the titillated masses watched as colorful drag queens sang on elaborately decorated floats, men sporting 8-packs (and not much else!) pranced around to Katy Perry's smash hit “Firework,” and Bananas in Pajamas skipped along with frequently friendly humping. It's hard to imagine a more colorful, uplifting, and positively “gay” celebration!

As the next weekend rolled around, I found myself out in the Australian bush with my friend Chelsea. Unlike in New Zealand where I learned from the Kiwis to call hiking “tramping,” Australian's tell me they call it “bush walking.” I'm not so certain either phrase is very kosher, but, when in Rome... ;-)

So, here we are “bush walking” in the Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park on a well routed track between the Borowra (try saying that one 5 times fast...) and Mount Kuring-gai train stations. For the next four hours, we climbed up boulders, kept an eye out for snakes and spiders, and just throughly enjoyed escaping the city and being immerse in nature. I particularly felt at peace during our mid-walk rest on the swinging bridge while my corner vision caught glimpses of jumping fish leaping gracefully out of the water and hearing a proper smack! as they reentered the water's surface. There's nothing like tuning into the modern melodies of Nature FM.

That same weekend, I had the opportunity to join five other rhythmic women in performing an eight minute Taiko drumming piece for an event celebrating International Women's Day. After only 3 weeks of playing the Taiko drum at the Rhythm Hut, I was now drumming on stage in front of a theater of 200-something people! I was flattered to be asked to perform and so pumped for the event! Little did I know that come drum time, my heart would be pounding louder than my Taiko drum...

As an entire evening event to commemorate women all over the world, the Rhythm Hut Women, plus our instructor Rendra on flute, opened with a dramatic and powerful performance, highlighting the strength and wonders of our femininity. And, despite being a jumble of nerves, I had heaps of fun sharing a mutual passion for rhythm, movement, and music. The applause at the end left our entire band bright and beaming.

For my fourth and final week at the Rhythm Hut, I helped Rendra with the sweat worthy job of re-skinning a conga drum. After first soaking the cow skin to make it pliable, Ren fitted it to a metal ring which he placed onto the base of the drum. Following that, I helped with the tightening and fastening of the rim to the drum and, after much grunting and lots of elbow grease, we fitted that beautifully black and shiny skin to the hollowed out redwood base. This handsomely chic conga is totally going to make all the lady drums swoon.

Tomorrow, I leave the hum and thrum of the Rhythm Hut for further Australian adventures. But, with the smell of freshly skinned drums in my nostrils and seasoned blisters on my hands, this special place has drummed its way right into my big, beating heart. Don, Do Ko Do Ko!

My Kindergarten Clown

2011-03-05T01:15:00.000+13:00

At five years old, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up – a clown. It was perfectly logical! As a clown, I was able to combine the three main things that I loved in life – drawing (and by drawing, that meant painting my face before each performance), acting, and making people laugh. What better career to aspire to than that of a circus performer? I was brilliant!

Nineteen years later, my dream job has gone through many changes. But, I've discovered that as a five year old little person, I had realized something pretty important. Surround yourself with things you love, people you love. Aspire to combine all that brings you joy, and you will undoubtedly live a wonderful life filled to the brim with happiness and love. Yeah, I suppose I was pretty smart in kindergarten!

Tonight, I had an incredible opportunity to immerse myself in one such joyous event. The Rhythm Hut hosted “The Future Sound of Yoga” led by a dynamic duo that included a rockin' DJ and a soothing Yogi. I really enjoy practicing yoga, so when I found out that this evening event included not just yoga, but a DJed accompaniment as well, I was more than keen to be a part of it.

From above, the Rhythm Hut floor looked like the multicolored “Candyland” board game, checkered with an assortment of deliciously sweet yoga mats. I found an open space, laid out my own teal green mat, and readied myself for 2 hours of yoga goodness. However, my mind and body didn't even come close to anticipating the amount of profound joy I would be experiencing that evening.

The evening started out with slower beats and about 20 minutes of gentle warm ups with cleansing spine twists and sun salutations. Then came the more challenging yoga positions and faster upbeats. Throughout this time, we were given instructions and then allowed the freedom to move, shift, and stretch comfortably at our own pace.

Then came the dance portion. First yoga, then DJ music, and now dance? The kindergartener inside me was jumping up and down with excitement. I had just discovered my new clown!

The music was pulsating. The air was thick with an intense and powerful energy that only heighten as the seconds beat on. Feet and hearts pounded. Arms swayed and sweat poured. I was one with the music - the rhythm of the night coursing through my veins and the joy in my heart bursting out to mix with the floods of energy and movement that immersed the primal dancers in a river of pure, raw, love.

As the music started to slow, the dancers breathed in deep and swayed, drunk with that 100% pure, raw, love, till minds and bodies were back in the here and now. I was more aware than ever of my heart beating - steady and strong and full of life.

The entire evening was such a profound and deeply moving experience for me. I feel now that I truly understand the amazing power of movement and music. I wish for everyone, the guidance to find your very own kindergarten clown. Find that which brings you love and joy – and then share your abundant happiness with the world.

Just Beat It

2011-03-04T17:00:00.000+13:00

Through a stroke of good fortune, I discovered one of the best kept secrets of Australia's Central Coast - The Rhythm Hut. This one-of-a-kind gem is run by a small staff of dedicated people and instructors who believe in the power of music, rhythm, and art. Rendra, a man immersed in the scenes of the Rhythm Hut, had a passion and a vision to create a drumming school and has since established and nurtured a unique and talented community of drumming enthusiasts.

My first experience at the Rhythm Hut included an intense rehearsal by the Rhythm Hunters , a group of Taiko drummers who perform all over Australia. Their most recent public event was held at the Sydney Opera House! Sitting comfortably on one of the numerous couches at the Hut, I watched wide-eyed as a tri-troop of Rhythm Hunters practiced less than a meter in front of me. Talk about front row seating! My entire body was reverberating with each resounding beat of the drum. The Rhythm Hunters played with such strength and fluidity that showed off years of practice and devotion to drumming. I could hardly wait to grip my own set of bachi drum sticks and try my own hand at Taiko.

The art of Taiko drumming originated in Japan and is recognized widely because of the massive drums and the pronounced rising and falling arc of the arms as players strike their instrument with 16” long bachi sticks. I recalled watching a performance of Japanese Taiko drummers at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida and remembered being instantly captivated by the power and raw intensity of the percussionists on stage. Years later, I find that the rhythmic force of the Taiko drums is still not only compelling and mesmeric to watch and listen to but has an even more pronounced absorbing effect by becoming the rhythmist myself.

In the two weeks that followed, I have joined both the Taiko and the Djembe drumming classes being held at the Rhythm Hut. While I enjoy Djembe as a way to improve and challenge my mind and immerse myself in a larger group of drummers, there is just something about Taiko drumming that I can’t seem to get enough of. With each dynamic beat, my entire body vibrates with an energizing vigour. The dance, the flow, and the energy of drumming is intensely primal - you feel one with the natural current of life. I’ve learned to be purposeful and resolute when playing accents and rhythms to create a seamless flow of pulsing beats. The rhythmists strive to fuse the sounds of their drum with that of their neighbours to produce a powerful unity and oneness within the group. With each class, I am welcomed into a community filled with all ages, abilities, and races, and the harmony that I feel amongst them is authentic and emotive. And, whether you’ve come to release the tension of the day, drum out any negative emotions, or become one with a group of like-minded friends, I’ve realized one thing: “Whether you are happy, mad, sad, or glad - it always feels good to beat something!”

Wild Australia

2011-02-20T22:00:00.000+13:00

I have to admit. I was a tad bit nervous about going to Australia. Only a few weeks ago, Queensland was devastated by floods and, shortly there after, ravaged by the menopausal cyclone Yasi. Then, the Aussies of the West Coast experienced horrific bush fires – Mother Nature imploring her wrath without a particularly good excuse. And, never mind the fact that Australia is home to poisonous snakes, deadly spiders, tourist eating crocodiles, and the dreaded blue bottle jellyfish. But, oddly enough, that's not what was putting my nerves on edge. Nope. It was the people. Not the Australians, the foreigners, or the tourists, but rather the simple fact that there are just so MANY people! From what I remember of Sydney, it's got more than its fair share of people strolling between the high rises. And, in New Zealand, the big city life was not something I came across on a regular basis. So, needless to say, I was slightly anxious about stepping into the hustle and bustle of Sydney. However, getting out of my comfort zone is something I've consciously tried to do throughout my travels, and I wasn't about to quit now.

Regretfully, the Aussie television show, “Border Security” wasn't filming the morning I arrived, so instead of being detained, patted down, and cavity searched (with no thanks to Mark McNamara...), I was smoothly ushered through customs by a friendly, neon-blue gum chewing officer and found myself in the land of Oz. Anyone seen my red sparkly shoes?

That very afternoon, I strolled through the city from my hostel down to the Sydney Harbour and surprised myself by feeling quite comfortable amongst the crowded sidewalks and sensory stimulating streets. The sky was overcast, yet, when I reached Circular Quay and found myself within sight of Sydney Opera House, there was nothing that could cloud the elegance of that magnificent structure. It was so calming to walk beneath the tiled peaks of the building with surrounding water and the dark silhouette of the Sydney Harbour Bridge completing the iconic city view. Memories of when I first walked the Opera House steps 10 years ago came rushing back as I climbed the stairs once again. What a beautiful way to be welcomed back to Sydney.

Another happy memory of being an early teen in Sydney was our family outing to the Taronga Zoo. Therefore, a encore visit to Wild Australia was at the top of my Sydney “Must Do” list.

Thankfully, the weather was beautiful for my day at the zoo. I took the ferry across which offered panoramic views of the Sydney skyline, Opera House, and Harbour Bridge. Once I arrived, I made a bee line for Wild Australia to say hello to the local celebrities! The kangaroos and wallabies were just chillin' like villains, the koala was cuddled up on a tree branch enjoying its 23 hour nap time, the emu was ignorantly pecking at its own reflection, and the platypus made out like a magician, disappearing and reappearing in the watery aquarium at its own leisure. Oh, how I've missed these furry, feathery, and leathery creatures.

Interestingly enough, many of the animals featured at the Taronga Zoo are most active at night. So, I decided to follow suit the very next day with a ladies night out at Club TANK with some lovely, dance-crazed woman! We swayed, jumped, and dipped to the beat till the wee hours of the morning, and I have my Couchsurfing friend Aryn to thank for a fabulous night out in the flashing beams of strobe lights.

Aryn was a wonderful host and, having been born in Montana, I didn't expect anything less. We spent our Saturday in the city, exploring The Rocks Market and sweating in the Sydney heat. We decided to cool down with a cold brew from the “Australian.” Besides having over 100 Australian brewed beers to choose from on their menu, they are also known for their gourmet pizzas. In particular, their “Emblem” pizza topped with both kangaroo and emu – one marsupial and one bird featured on the Australian emblem. Unfortunately, the restaurant was fresh out of emu, so Aryn and I substituted with crocodile instead, creating our own personal pie: the “Crocaroo.” A vivid flashback of my mom eating a crocodile burger and me Ewwing at every bite she took crowded my memory. Therefore, my lack of experimentation with foreign food on my last trip to Oz overruled the fact that I'm vegetarian friendly, and I wasn't about to miss out this time around. And wouldn't ya know - kangaroo is a lip smacker! However, that's the last one of Winne the Pooh's friends I'll be snacking on for a while...

GLEEaving Kiwiland

2011-02-15T15:00:00.000+13:00

Just one year ago, I landed in a country halfway across the world. Even now, it's hard for me to fully comprehend. I've lived the last 365 days out of a backpack weighing approximately 20 kg. My backpack has been my constant travel companion. She's seen all and heard everything; been zipped and unzipped Lord knows how many times. I imagine that my travel worn clothes have had endless tea parties neatly rolled and tucked snuggly within my green pack, jabbering and talking over one another about the views they saw from atop that one mountain and that fellow traveler they hugged goodbye in hopes of connecting again in another foreign place. Yeah, my backpack and I, we've had one hell of a year! But you know what the best part is? It's not over yet.

I spent my last week in New Zealand reconnecting with some really wonderful traveler friends of mine at Tombstone Backpackers in Picton. Per my request, the lovely Lynne and Gordon agreed to organize a pizza night at the hostel which is just one of the many hundreds of reasons why I love it there. No better way to spend my last weekend in NZ than with friendly faces and delicious eats.

In Christchurch, my final NZ stop, I stayed with Katie and Mark and learned more Aussie slang in last minute preparation for my next destination. (Anyone want to take a guess at what a “bum bag” is?) I also crammed my iPod full of music from GLEE which I found essential for the next leg of my travels. Man! A GLEE playlist and bum bag enlightenment - I am so well prepped for Oz! :-D

But, no matter how much I tried to prepare myself for my eminent departure, the fact that I was leaving just refused to sink in. New Zealand has been my home for the past year, and I've admittedly fallen in love with the Kiwi culture, the land, and its people. But, ready or not, NZ Immigration was gently untangling my tight embrace from its beloved islands. And, like a reluctant child unwilling to leave her mother for preschool, I boarded the plane to Australia. But, as every child soon realizes, the initial heartache of separation soon quiets, and the lure of the sandbox and creative play with friends brings you to a whole new world where new adventures await around every corner.

The Gold Treatment

2011-02-09T12:42:00.002+13:00

I wouldn't dub it officially summer without a road trip. And, the best way to venture into the Golden Bay region of the South Island is by car mostly because there are loads of side roads and best-kept-secret spots only a few kilometers from the main road. So, with thoughts of exploration in mind, my friend Lorna and I rented a little car, rolled down the windows, and cranked up the tunes – it was time to cruise!

Our first detour off the main road had me maneuvering our tiny car along an 11km, windy, golden gravel road just barely scraping by the monstrous campervans coming at us from the other direction. But, we were on a mission – to see Harwood's Hole. After careful and successful passage down Canaan Road, a 45 minute walk through a white dusted forest, and a brief scramble over a few well balanced boulders, we found it. A bit hard to miss, this cave is the largest in the southern hemisphere at 400m deep and 70m wide, with a 183m vertical drop! Duly noted, however, was the obvious lack of any form of safety barrier between the boulders we perched on and big ass Hole (no pun intended). It was whooper. The granddaddy of all holes! The big Kahuna!! Okay, you get the picture.

Next, we arrived at the Te Waikoropupu (or Pupu for short) Springs, a sacred area for the native Maori people. This spring bubbled some of the clearest water I've ever seen, and perhaps the clearest in the world according to my Lonely Planet travel guide. Farther up the road, just opposite our camping grounds, is where we visited the Mussel Inn to sample their Freckled Frog Cider, a homemade brew made from an NZ grown fruit the Feijoa. It was delicious!

We spent the next two days tramping around the Farewell Spit and Wharariki Beach, even reaching the highest point of the South Island at Cape Farewell. The beaches and archways carved into the cliffs afforded some incredibly picturesque views – that is when we weren't squinting our eyes, heads bowed to the unrelenting wind that whipped and whirled the fine granules of sand into any welcoming orifice. It wasn't until we were safely sheltered from the brutal blasts of beach weather, that we realized how smooth our skin was. Apparently, all it takes is a few hours battling the elements of the Golden Bay for a free, full-bodied exfoliation. I can see it now:

Come to Golden Bay for the Gold Treatment!
Absolutely FREE!
*Only while weather lasts*

On the last morning of our road trip together, Lorna and I stumbled upon the best beach ever – the beach of Totaranui. Seriously, this place should have a blue “#1” ribbon just to prepare people for it's awesomeness. With golden sands, sapphire seas, and a brilliant yellow orb glowing out of a blue sky, this Abel Tasman National Park gem made us feel like we'd be doing the beach an injustice if we didn't crack open a brew and cheers to a fabulous road trip. Never mind that the time read “10:49AM.” Cheers! :-D

I spent two more days in Golden Bay with a fellow named John who, if I think really, really, really hard, I can remember playing on my mom and dad's softball team back in the 90's. John and his partner Brian were most hospitable, and I very much enjoyed my time with them!

Hitching back to Nelson, I had the good fortune of meeting Patrick, who is best described by his very own words: “an awesome bloke.” When Patrick found out that I didn't yet have a place to stay in Nelson, he offered to let me crash at his place for as long as I wished. As a fellow world backpacker, Patrick was happy to pay-it-forward for all the times he'd been helped out during his travels. And, I was delighted to be on the receiving end of his generous offer! Patrick was on his way back to Golden Bay that afternoon, meaning that I had the house all to myself. And, with only a 10 minute walk to the Tahuna Beach, I was happy as a clam! Two thumbs up for cool people.

I've been in Nelson for a week now and enjoying the benefits of a living in the eco-friendly New Zealand city. Nelson has a lovely city center with heaps of cool shops, coffee houses, and even a cathedral smack dab in the middle. Thus, I've been enjoying a relaxing few days of beach bumming in Tahuna, window shopping, lunching at the local eateries, and strolling the Saturday market with a paper bag full of fresh orchard cherries. I reunited with a Taupo friend of mine, Ivonne, and we've been keeping ourselves entertained by the Busker Street Festival, watching a French man on stilts puppeteer Pandora the human (and female) version of Pinocchio. We also attended the International Kai(*1) Festival which was full of enticing smells from food stands selling international specialties. Here, we participated in a Maori Hui(*2) welcoming us to the Nelson Marae(*3). It was beautifully done with speeches in Maori by the elders and ending with a Hungi(*4). So, if when I next see you, I grasp your hand and pull you in close in order to touch our foreheads and noses, don't be alarmed - you've just experienced a heart warming Hungi from me to you.

Learn a bit of Maori:

(*1) Kai - Maori for “food”
(*2) Hui - a Maori welcoming ceremony
(*3) Marea - a Maori meeting place
(*4) Hungi - a Maori greeting

Feeling Foxy

2011-01-27T13:00:00.000+13:00

With altogether pleasant memories of Wanaka, I made my way farther up the West Coast to the small town of Fox Glacier – properly named cause, well, there's this really big glacier there. After settling in at the Inn, I took an evening stroll to Lake Matheson, a picturesque spot to view the mountain range that tucks in the wee Fox Glacier. The rippled mirror view from the shimmering lake only heightened my anticipation for the full-day glacier hike I was booked on for the following morning.

I arrived at Fox Glacier Guiding (FGG) promptly at 9:10am and was pointed in the direction of the Boot Room where I met my enthusiastic guide Ruth. Ruth, by both appearance and personality, reminded me of Ms. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus – a springy, ginger-haired lady with an adventurous spirit! With my rented boots snuggly laced and my backpack packed with lunch, water, a rain jacket, hat, mittens, and, of course, my trusty camera, I was eager to hit the ice!

After about an hour of steep hiking through native bush, with a break at Kodak Point to photograph the impressive terminal face of Fox Glacier, we took a moment to secure our cramp-ons to the soles of our boots – a necessary addition for the next four hours of tramping on the glacier.

Now, prior to our arrival that morning, a crew from FGG had already hacked through the icy mass to carve out steps for the tour groups of the day – a high-energy task that needs doing every single morning to ensure safe and easy access to the upper parts of the glacier. With our wooden walking poles in hand as an extra leg for balance, we excitedly tromped our way up and over the ancient ice in single file. Throughout the hike, Ruth skillfully helped us sidestep small cracks and bigger crevasses that slowly (and I mean very, very, very slowly) are created as the 11 kilometer long ice flow inches forward, like a narcoleptic snail.

Some of these crevasses are actually big enough to squeeze through as we learned by taking a drippy detour through two giant cracks in the glacier ice. After lunch (and a numb bum from sitting on the ice too long), Ruth discovered a small, circular cave whose smooth sides were tinged with cool blue ice – the kind of blue that looks as though the sky has been trapped behind a transparent glass panel. The constant rain of melting ice and the super slippery floor didn't keep any of us from ducking in and exploring the interior of the cave. It was cool as, bro!

At our highest point in the hike, we had an unobstructed view of what I dubbed, “The Foxy Niagara.” The glacier river above fed the enormous waterfall whose icy and jagged streams stood frozen in time – as if Medusa and her writhing head of slithering snakes had decided to pay a visit.

As we made our way back down the glacier, I quietly contemplated the fact that I had just spent the last 4 hours crunching in and out, up, over, and through something that dates back 15,000 to 20,000 years ago! I mean, that's pretty remarkable, eh? And I thought being 24 was old...*

The next day, I traveled further up the coast to the sea-side town of Punakaiki where I hiked the Pororari River Track - a beautiful nature trail that follows the base of a rugged limestone gorge. I felt like I was in the greenhouse of the Minnesota Zoo. It smelt of sticky heat and was pungently sweet, the massive gray boulders had fallen into the river just so, and the insect/bird tape recording was being blasted much too loudly to the point where I could have sworn there was a symphony of cicadas perched right on my shoulder. Needless to say, I'll take the screech of the cicada over the bite of a sandfly any day.

To complete my afternoon hike, I visited the infamous Pancake Rocks and Blow Holes which is what Punakaiki is best known for. With stunning views of the turbulent sea, the Pancake Rocks are quite a site to see! I should have thought to bring along my maple syrup, as these stacks of irregularly shaped “pancakes” look almost good enough to lay out your red-checkered tablecloth and shout “Time for breakfast!” Although they're not really edible (duh...), the sea is slowly but surely eating away at the layered rocky towers. Sheesh, is anyone else hungry??

* Nah, I'm only kiddin' ;-)

A Barefoot Birthday

2011-01-23T15:00:00.000+13:00

After leaving the comforts of Milford, I arrived in the lakeside town of Wanaka – a place where you can actually order a veggie burger named after the famous U.S. Country singer Shania Twain. Who'da thunk? But, besides the availability of celebrity burgers, Wanaka boasts some great hikes, a one-of-a-kind cinema, and the mind-trippy Puzzling World! With all these claims to fame, it's no wonder I found myself staying an extra week – it's a big kids playground!

I had a gig working for accommodation at Wanaka Bakpaka which meant that I got the privilege to live in the “Do Duck Inn” staff room. However, within the first couple days, my roomies and I were wishing it was named the “DoN'T Duck Inn” as new guests often mistook our small, hobbit-sized door for the hostel reception. Needless to say, I didn't spend much time in DDI since the weather outside was summery gorgeousness, and I spent my mornings and afternoons wriggling my barefeet in the soft, green grass, petting the hostel's stray kitty Food, or reading my newest romance novel next to the town's stoney (and sometimes rather windy) lakeside beach. Summer was here!!! :-D

During my two week stay in Wanaka, I couldn't seem to find enough time in a day! On day one, I borrowed the purple bike and joined my friends Ricarda and Hannah on a cycle around Lake Wanaka with a stop midway for a breath-stealing dip in it's icy blue waters. The next day, I met up with Hannah and her housemate Nikki for a morning tramp up the Rocky Mountain with rewarding views of Wanaka, Mt. Aspiring, and Shania Twain's ever-expanding acreage of NZ soil.

With all the exercise friendly activities to do in Wanaka, it came as no surprise that the town just happened to be hosting one of the world's top six Iron Man competitions that weekend – the Wanaka Challenge. Two days before the big race, my roommate Steffi and I got to hang out with one of the athletes! Jonathon Simpson – Simo for short – a 33 time Iron Man Tri-athlete! Holy WOW! Jonathon offered to take Steffi and I to Arrowtown for the day where we window shopped around the quaint, historical gold-mining town. The highlight of the day was coming across a few adorable, young entrepreneurs selling fresh, organic plums from their roadside stand. “2 for 10 cents, 4 for 20 cents, 6 for 30 cents” read their colorful, handmade sign. I couldn't help myself – I bought a whole dollars worth. Their cuteness made them irresistible salesmen!

Instead of sleeping in on Saturday morning, myself, along with three of my Bakpaka mates, were up bright and early to cheer on the Iron Man participants! Although it was early, the whole town was buzzing with excitement and pulsing with secondhand adrenaline from the athletes who were currently swimming 3.8 kilometers in windy weather and choppy lake conditions. We cheered our hearts out for each swimmer emerging from the unwelcoming lake and gave extra whoops and hollers to Jonathon when we finally spotted him! We rushed over to the bike transition area and cheered again as he zoomed by and gave us the thumbs up. Only a 180 km cycle and a full marathon to go...God speed Simo! (*It wasn't until the next day that we saw Jonathon again. He completed the race in 17 hours and 15 minutes, crossing the finish line 15 minutes before the cut off time! Bravo!*)

On the only rainy day I had in Wanaka, a group of us went to check out Puzzling World, a place filled to the brim with mind-playing illusions, a disorientatingly (if that's not in the dictionary, it should be...) tilting room, the most photographed toilets in NZ, and a room full of puzzles! For a rainy afternoon, this is both big and little kid paradise.

Another must-do of Wanaka is the world-famous Paradiso cinema known for their fresh-baked, chewy cookies at intermission and theater seats that include a variety of comfy couches and even a bright yellow car! Not having yet seen the latest Harry Potter movie, my Canadian friend Laura joined me for nearly three hours of teenagers romancing and spell casting – I thought the movie was wicked! :-)

Wanaka, with it's quiet, lakeside charm, was also where I decided to celebrate my 24th birthday. I woke up on Friday morning, only to enter the kitchen to a tray full of “Americans” (Yeah, there's actually a cookie named after us! How did I not know this??) alight with 24 glowing birthday candles. Cheers to Ricarda for awesome birthday breakfast cookies! I spent my first EVER summer birthday doing what I've never been able to do before – lounge in the warm sun, drink a few brews, and be barefoot. Ahhh - being 24 never felt so good.

My Milford Must Do's

2011-01-10T15:00:00.000+13:00

After the holly, jollyness of Christmas and a very pub-friendly New Years, I was becoming increasingly more aware that my time in Milford was, in effect, beginning to evaporate. This fact was both alarming (How could I possibly leave such a wonderful place??) and thrilling (Alrighty! Where to next?!). But, I had some “Milford Must Dos” to check off my list before my final farewell. And, I had less than two weeks to do it. Ready, set, CHECK!

Must Do #1: Land on Big Bay

On New Years Eve day, I got a unique opportunity to take a scenic flight to Big Bay – an area of the Fiordland that is seen by very few people, mostly a handful of hikers or hunters, who have completed the Hollyford Track and request an airplane pick up from the Milford pilots. On this particular occasion, I accompanied Jenni, the Air Fiordland pilot, on a bumpy ride over the Milford Sound, along the West Coast, and ending with a surprisingly smooth beach landing on Big Bay where we picked up two stinky hunters and their shot of the week. Seeing the Fiordland from above is such a cool way to experience this area. I stared out the window in awe at the miles and miles of layered, green mountains that seemed to merge into the gray and foggy horizon. Incredible.

Must Do #2: Take a Late-Night Stroll

When I first arrived in Milford, my friend Elodie told me: “If you only do one thing in Milford while you're here, walk home from the pub at night. It's so worth it. You'll see why.” Well, I was at the pub, it was after midnight, and it was time to be getting back. So, I recruited my Alaskan friend Crystal to join me on my after dark stroll back to the Lodge. I suppose I should also mention that on this very night, the rain goddess had decided to take a particularly long shower with no regard whatsoever for water conservation. In other words, it was pissing down. Crystal and I couldn't have been more thrilled! Within minutes we were drenched to the bone (my black rubbish bag apparently not being a suitable alternative for a rain jacket...). It was so dark that I couldn't even see Crystal walking beside me, much less attempt to avoid the potholes filled to the brim with rainwater. But the coolest thing, by far, were the glowworms. It was as though the stars had broken loose and rolled down the mountainside, only to get stuck in and amongst the bush. With all the rain we'd been getting, the little buggers were extra hungry and they glowed with all their might – like teeny-tiny lanterns that did squat-shit for lighting the way. Awfully pretty though :-)

Must Do #3: Find the Secret Rock Pools

I give full credit to my friend Michelle for bringing me to this awesome place!! For two afternoons in a row, a small group of us 'locals' took a drive up to the Rock Pools (*secret location not disclosed*). Here, we spent hours basking beneath a cloudless sky on sun-warmed rocks with a glittering, waterfall fed pool just beside us for a easy cool-down. It was January and feeling like summer. Freakin' awesome!!

Must Do #4: Eat Some Glacier

With some serious perfect timing and a stroke of good luck, I somehow found myself strapped into the backseat of a helicopter, flying over the Fiords, and landing lightly on a Lord-knows-how-old glacier. If there is ever a good time to use the word “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” this would be it! I mean, holy WOW!! I couldn't have kept the smile off my face if my life depended on it. To top it all off, I was wearing a sundress over my swimsuit with sandals on my feet. On a GLACIER! It could easily have been the excitement keeping me warm, but I didn't feel chilled in the slightest! I skipped carefully across the wet snow, watching out for crevices, crevasses, and other things I could potentially fall into. Then, I stole something. I stole a brilliant idea from my friend Crystal. Scooping up a handful of glacier, I took one glance (nope, not yellow!) and took a big bite. Mmm, ancient glacier ice! It's a delicacy here in NZ, don't cha know?

As hard hard as it was to say goodbye to my fellow Milfordonians, I was excited be on my way and explore the West Coast of the South Island for my last month in New Zealand! After a deep clean of Rapid Room #11 and lots of warm hugs from my wonderful, worldly friends, I hopped a plane to Queenstown. I quietly waved goodbye to Mitre Peak, Lady Bowen, and the hundreds of teeny tiny camper vans from my prime seat in the sky. A view for the perfect Milford farewell.

A Christmas Wonderland

2010-12-24T08:00:00.001+13:00

Set on upholding my own personal holiday tradition, I started singing along to Christmas music on my iPod the very day after Thanksgiving. Without my usual Christmas triggers (snowflakes, snowmen, school cancellations, and Christmas decorating), I was bound and determined to get into the Christmas spirit! (And secretly hoping, wishing, and praying for snow!)

In early December, the Christmas trees went up in the Lodge lounge and in the Saigon staff quarters. About a week later, a package arrived for me from Mom, Dad, and Cate which I dutifully placed under the tree, resisting with all my might the “Oh just open it!!” remarks from my merry co-workers. *sigh*

Despite the glowing tree lights, presents, and humming hundreds of Christmas carols, it still wasn't feeling like Christmas. But, there was still time.

In mid-December, the Milford pub hosted a themed Christmas party for the Lodge staff. But, instead of cotton-topped Santa hats, pointy elf ears, and a room filled with red and green, the Milford Lodge gang arrived as a hodge-podge of interesting creatures. Our “Christmas” theme? Futuristic! We had in attendance Beer-Bot the Robot, Avatar, Wilson the Extra Head, Future Asian, and the Bearded Milford Man – each an interpretation of what we thought the “future” might look like. Oh, it was a merry night alright! Nothing like the “Bite My Box” game to get the crowd all Holly and Jolly! :-D

A few days later, for a bit o' Christmas fun (and as a gift to the person I was Secret Santa for), I rewrote the lyrics to “The 12 Days of Christmas” and turned it into “The Milford 12 Days of Christmas.” Go on, sing along ;-)

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me,

12 guests a-scratchin'

11 waterfalls fallin'

10 boats a cruisin'

9 kayaks paddlin'

8 dolphins swimmin'

7 trampers stinkin'

6 seals layin'

5 BILLION SANDFLIES!!

4 chalet views

3 woofers

2 cheeky keas

And a Tui in a beech tree!

The Christmas spirit was finally starting to seep in! I whipped up a batch of “Reindeer Poop Cookies” (my favorite chocolatey, peanut buttery, oatmealy plops of No-bake goodness!) and wrote a sweet little Christmas note to accompany them:

Santa's reindeer came for a visit and shit on the roof... Help Yourself! ~ Anna

The entire batch had disappeared by the next day. What can I say? It's some good shit!

Now, it was less than a week till Christmas! And apparently in Milford, that means weather like you wouldn't believe. As I chilled out in the staff lounge, belting out Christmas tunes with Rosie O'Donnell, a needle and thread in hand, repairing a few holes in my travel-worn clothes, I was simultaneously keeping my fingers tightly crossed in hopes that the whole of Milford wouldn't get swept away by the torrential downpour of rain that had raised the river substantially in the last few hours. Not to mention, the entire foundation of Saigon was moaning LOUDLY in protest at the powerful wind, like the class nerd boldly refusing to give up his lunch money to the school bully. In the end, I couldn't help myself. I dawned my Santa hat, invited along my friend Crystal, and the two of us went bounding happily through the parking lot jumping smack-dab in the center of every puddle we could see! Merry *SPLASH!* Christmas!!

The heavy rain and brutal wind didn't end there. I think Mother Nature and Old Man Milford had gotten bored of quiet romantic picnics and decided to go out for a crazy night of dancing and drinking at the hippest dance club. The morning must have brought with it a wicked hangover as Milford suffered nearly 10 power outages and two road closings (because of a tree slide road block) over the next few days. Milford was getting exciting!! Not only exciting, but incredibly, stupendously, and awesomely beautiful. Just this week, I've witnessed some of the most stunning scenes of Milford that I have seen since I arrived here. The mountains became vertically striped with hundreds of white, flowy, watery ribbons, some splitting at the middle, like the silky ends of a graduation tassel. And all around, the clouds shimmered and hovered, gently caressing and protecting the fragile greenery that clung so desperately to the plunging mountain face.

A Christmas Wonderland.

And, in the midst of this summer storm, I sit, cozy and dry, listening, writing, sipping Hot Peppermint Chocolate, and simply grinning at the dangerously beautiful nature that surrounds me this Christmas. I have much to be thankful for as I reminisce about all that I've seen and done in 2010. It's been one hell of a year, and I am so happy to be able to share it with you. Family, friends, and loved ones are what give meaning to the Christmas season. You are all in my thoughts as I count my blessing of the old year to make ready for the new.

Happy and content, I look over my shoulder to glance out the window again at the magical view of the Fiordland. My eyes widen and my grin broadens – a fresh snow dusted mountain top. Wishes do come true! It looks like it's going to be a white Christmas after all.

May your days be merry and bright, and may all your Christmases be white.

Peace and Love, Anna

Underground Astronomy & A Wilderness Experience

2010-12-04T21:00:00.000+13:00

With four days off from work at the Milford Lodge, I bussed to Te Anau for a change of scenery and further exploration of this beautiful part of the country. One of the Te Anau's touristy hot spots are the Glowworm Caves, located across Lake Te Anau. So, after a sunny and windy boat cruise across the lake, I reached the “Cavern” along with 50 or so other glowworm goers. As we sipped tea and coffee, we learned that unlike fireflies which glow to attract a mate, glowworms glow when they're hungry thus louring their unsuspecting insect prey into their dangling, beaded, and sticky fishing lines. Mmm, dinner's ready!

In groups of 10-12, we crouched low to shuffle our way under the cave entrance. Once inside, my ears were filled with the roar of rushing water, and my group made its way through the damp, cavernous hollows of the cave, seeing a few bluish pinpricks of light above and using the guide's torch to illuminate a clump of glowworm fishing lines that clung delicately to the overhanging rock. We paused again to watch the mad rush of water cascade over a U-shaped curve of rock above and falling to fill the swirling pool below which fed the underground river. At the end of the walkway, my group settled into a small boat and the lights went out leaving us in total and utter darkness. I couldn't see the outline of my fingers less than an inch from my face! The boat began to glide through the blackness, jolting it's passengers when it occasionally bumped the sides of the cave. The sound of the river was a distant hum, and everyone went unanimously silent in the stillness of the cave. With necks craned back, patches of tiny white lights began to pierce the blackness, like bright stars on a moonless night. I could have sworn I spotted the Big Dipper in this underground nighttime sky.

Experiencing the Glowworm Caves was an unexpected treat during my four day weekend. What I did have planned, however, was an entirely new adventure – a two day sea kayaking and camping trip in the Doubtful Sound, another part of the Fiordland's wondrous National Park. The Doubtful Sound isn't as easily accessible as the Milford Sound, thus making it much more remote and, well, wildernessy! My sea kayaking team was made up Matt and Fi, our two super guides from Fiordland Wilderness Experiences, Larry and Pam, a 60-something year old couple from North Carolina, and Jens, a photo-journalist from Germany who was “here on business.”

As we came over the highest point of the Wilmot Pass between Lake Manapouri and the Doubtful Sound, we got the chance to witness a rare view of the fiords. From high above, we could see a low-hanging cloud that blanketed the entire floor of the fiord, tucking in the ribbon of blue water from view. You could just imagine what the powerful glacier looked like thousands of years ago carving its way through the land. It was a pretty spectacular sight!

It was from Deep Cove that we set off in our sea kayaks, basking in the warmth of the sun, mouths gaping at the magnificent natural surroundings of the towering mountains. During the day, we paddled up close to the mountain sides, listened to funny bird calls, took time out for lunch and a swim (BRRR!!!), heard stories about Maori folklore, and learned historical and natural facts about the area from our knowledgeable guides. Near the end of our day's paddle we decided to “sail” our kayaks! To do so, we rafted up (all three kayaks coming together side by side) and held high a sturdy piece of cloth using two paddles from the back and two hands from the front. Then, it was just a matter of holding on tight and going with the wind! The rest of the afternoon hours were spent drinking in the intoxicating beauty of the Doubtful Sound wilderness and getting quite tipsy indeed! Then, it was time to set up camp for the night with our thousands upon millions of ungracious neighbors – the Sandflies.

Setting up tents and unloading gear was frequently interrupted by slapping various body parts, waving arms vigorously in the air, and pausing every so often to spit out a relentless sandfly that cruised its jolly way in between parted lips. I couldn't believe how many there were! Thankfully, once everything was set up, the six of us zipped ourselves into a mesh tent where we relaxed for the evening with several glasses of sweet wine and a smörgåsbord of cheese, crackers, chips, and dip – safe and sound from the miserable swarms of those biting black buggers.

We ordered another picture perfect day for day two of our sea kayaking expedition. With a few more red and itchy welts to decorate our already suntoasted skin, we began our paddle back out of Hall Arm to Malaspina Reach along the quiet waters of morning, gliding underneath the dripping overhangs of untouched greenery and watching reflections of the sunlight dance along the lower cliffs. It was peace and serenity at its very best.

We sailed the remainder of the trip back into Deep Cove, and I went for a final swim in it's chilly waters – an icy blast of a way to end an incredible kayaking and camping excursion in the magnificent and magical Doubtful Sound.

Mashed Potatoes, Yeah Yeah Yeah!

2010-11-26T15:00:00.000+13:00

Considering the “bubble” like feel of my small Milford community, there really is quite a multitude of things to keep one busy. The dreaded B-word (“Bored” - *in hushed tones) hasn't even come close to escaping my lips. Exploring the stunning surroundings and working full-time has turned me into a busy little bee (correction – Sandfly), and I am having a great time!

On my first weekend off, I decided to go for an afternoon hike with three of my work friends, John, Jonathon, and Angie. John, having worked in Milford before, knew about a local secret trail which leads to the top of Bowen Falls, the Energizer Bunny of waterfalls in Milford. This is because firstly, it's flow generates enough electricity to supply Milford in its entirety. And secondly, it just keeps going and going and going, unlike the thousands of waterfalls that seem to magically appear whenever there's rain. Given that it was the first sunny and dry day in about a weeks time, the four of us were eager to tromp around, up, and through the dense and sodden rain forest.

The trail entrance was camouflaged and nearly impossible to spot. But, once discovered, we had John leading the way yelling, “Mud!” or “Branch!” as our sneakers squished through the soggy trail and dew-dropped leaves and fern fronds brushed our calves. We skipped (carefully...) over rocky streams and crept Spiderman-like through nearly vertical “V” shaped mountain sides. Then, we really started climbing! Ropes had been secured to trees and rocks in years past, and we were scaling up the side of the mountain, gripping fiercely to the ropes and praying that they wouldn't break or slip loose. I felt like an Amazon warrior woman! with a photographic edge.

After tramping our way up the bush, we came to the Pipeline which carries water from the top of Bowen Falls to the hydro-electric building at the base of the mountain. There was more rope and metal rods here to assist our climb, and eventually we just balanced our way to the top using the Pipeline as our cylindrical walkway.

Eventually, we reached the river that fed into Bowen Falls and began to make our way down-stream, hopping over boulders and splashing through the swift currents. Another short trek through the bush led us straight to where the river becomes waterfall – the majestic Bowen Falls. The view from the lookout was just spectacular! I could see the multicolored foreshore with it's greens and browns and blues, the silhouette of Mitre Peak, and the seemingly endless passage of water that winds it's way through the Milford Sound. I could have stayed up there for hours.

The next day, I walked to the foreshore with Jonathon and Leo to fly my stunt kite in the steady day breeze. We named my kite “Kea” after one of the native birds of the area. The colors of the kite and the colors of the Kea's wings are very similar so it seemed like a fitting name for my sky-high toy. With a backdrop of glacier carved mountains and the dark flow of water making its way out to the Tasman Sea, I'd have to say this is one of the most eye-appealing places that I've had the opportunity to practice flying my kite. It absolutely made my day!

After such a refreshing weekend filled with a rain forest tramp and some excellent hours of kite flying, it seemed like perfect timing to start giving some major thanks for the blessings I've had over the past year. And what better way to do that then with a proper Thanksgiving feast! My two fellow American co-workers, Jonathon from California and Crystal from Alaska, took over the meal preparations as I had begrudgingly come down with a nasty, energy zapping bug. But, there was no WAY I was missing out on this year's Thanksgiving celebration!

First and foremost, I have to give mad props to Jonathon and Crystal for their incredible Thanksgiving cooking! The table was piled high with dressing, meatballs, gravy, veggies and dip, and of course, the center piece – a golden-brown mashed potato “Turkey,” complete with a celery and carrot stick fantail, black olive eyes, and a sundried-tomato gobbler. It was priceless! Our staff gathered together over Saigon's best China (paper plates and mismatched forks) and between mouthfuls, we share stories of the first Thanksgiving and the friendship between the Pilgrims and Native Americans. To top off the dinner, Jonathon had made both pumpkin AND sweet potato pie and served it with fresh whipped topping. Bellies were seriously bursting by the meal's end. A Kiwi-Thanksgiving success!

My Itchy Milford Bubble

2010-11-17T22:00:00.001+13:00

I've written before about the joys of hitch hiking in New Zealand (and it's obvious financial benefits...), but I've never really expanded much on some of the interesting folk I have had the pleasure to meet! Allow me to enlighten you...

From Dunedin, I decided to hitch to Queenstown – pretty much going from the far east of the South Island to the (almost) far west. On this particular hitching expedition, I was tucked neatly and snuggly into the backseat of a rental car with two slightly over middle-aged Australian women and their floral-print luggage. During this two and a half hour venture, I chatted gaily with Fay and Margee and learned of their life in Oz, their weekly neighborhood dinner parties, and their happy families. The two ladies had been friends since childhood and recounted numerous stories of their mischievous and laughter-filled lives as playful youngsters. Along the way, we stopped at an information centre and while washing my hands in the ladies restroom, I learned from Fay that Margee had been diagnosed with terminal cancer with a prediction of about 12 months to live. After her diagnosis, Margee decided to tour the world – and invited her friends and family along with her! Margee had just returned from a trip in Europe and had a trip to Asia and the USA already penned in the calendar. My heart both ached and awed for this vibrant woman. She was a real-life Bucket List Lady! This special hitching-ride was both humbling and inspiring. Yet another God-winking reminder to always live life to the fullest and love those close to you without abandon. Love and grateful energies coming your way.

Now, Queenstown is a place known to tourists for adrenaline, pub crawls, and Fergburgers. In other words, a fabulous place for tourists alike to empty their jean pockets of coinage until there's nothing left but a tuft of blue lint. I however, dipped into the less touristy side of Elizabeth's title town. After spending my first day lounged out on the hostel deck with a novel in hand and Lauren dozing nearby in the next chair (the both of us determined to kick our colds in the bum before they got the best of us), I spent the next afternoon hiking up Queenstown Hill. The view of the blue lake and surrounding mountains was lovely; up, up and away from the touristy hustle and bustle of the lake hugging town. That same evening, I was able to connect with three of my “old” NZ friends – two of which I had worked with in Paihia back in March! Hugo and Helen had the honors of introducing me to my first Fergburger. From the way I had heard people talk about the infamous Fergburger, I wouldn't have been surprised if a beam of yellow light illuminated the paper bag it came in, and I heard heavenly angels singing! Of course, I ordered the veggie option, the “Bun Laden” - a whale of a burger with Falafel and every imaginable topping. After dominating this well-known after-bar-close burger, I almost expected to receive a certificate to take home with me, stating proudly, “FERGBURGER. BEEN THERE, ATE THAT.”

While in Queenstown, I organized a WWOOFing job in the Milford Sounds, an easily accessible yet remote spot in the Fiordland National Park. “Milford City” has a population fluctuating from about 200 people per day (working staff sticking around for the season) to 4,200 (!!!) during the height of summer when tourist-jammed coach buses, camper vans, and Milford Track trampers come pouring in to glimpse the magic and beauty of the Fiords. After WWOOFing for just 2 days, I was offered a full-time Receptionist/Housekeeper position at the Milford Sound Lodge (MSL), a buzzing place as the sole open-to-the-public accommodation center in Milford. Unfortunately, it's not just buzzing with travelers but also the dreaded New Zealand pest – the Sandfly. These little biters stop at nothing to make your life (and work) miserable. Not to mention waking up in the middle of the night to scratch your ankles silly. The entire area is teeming with them! They are, by far, the biggest downside to being in Milford.

With a few days to mull over my decision to join the MSL staff, I kept busy WWOOFing (making beds, scrubbing bathroom floors, removing the magically reappearing cobwebs, etc...) and saw more of the Fiordlands via cruise boat and sea-kayak – complements of being a WWOOFer! As a temperate rain forest, Milford receives around 7 METERS of rain per year! The great part about it, though, is that the area is gob-smackingly beautiful come rain or shine. When it rains, waterfalls cascade down steep rocky cliffs out of which sprouts any type of greenery that can stick to the near vertical sides. The water is deep and dark, carved out God-knows how many years ago by turtle-paced glaciers; snowy remnants of which you can still see amongst the mountains. On my cruise, my boat went far enough out to see the Tasman Sea, and, on it's return, we spotted numerous adolescent male seals lounging in the sun and a small cluster of dolphins dipping in and out and back in the water's surface. My sea-kayaking tour took place within the same Fiords, but was an entirely different experience altogether! The sky-scaling cliffs create a kind of optical illusion. Because of their incredible height (Mitre Peak reaches up 1692 meters!), they tease your mind into severely underestimating distances. What looks like a jutting boulder about a 30 minute paddle away takes twice, if not three times, as long. The Fiords are a place where a 300 passenger cruise boat look like a child's bathtub toy and airplanes looks like model planes in flight. Talk about humbling! While kayaking, we took an impromptu shower under the stunning Sterling Falls and witnessed penguins bobbing merrily along through the water. And, surfing the 3-5 foot waves (it was an unusually rough paddling day) with my sea-kayak partner was definitely a highlight to the trip. Just a small perk to having one of the kayak guides steer your boat!

In the end, I did choose to accept the position at MSL and started my new job this past Sunday! The staff here is really like a little family away from family. Everyone (ranging from 8-12 people on any given day) gathers for dinner in Saigon (the staff dining and chillaxing crib), and the homemade meals range from fresh Italian style pizza to Thai curries – it's like eating out at your favorite restaurant with friends every day! Plus, I've been diligently practicing and playing the acoustic guitar daily and am attending local yoga classes with a few work mates during the week. Given the remoteness of Milford, I had to take a 2 hour bus ride to the nearest town last weekend just to buy toothpaste and shampoo! But, when it comes down to it, little itty bitty Milford is really just a sweet place to be – my wonderful, itchy Milford bubble.

Rail Trail Tales

2010-10-31T12:00:00.000+13:00

After Oamaru, I based myself in Dunedin – a vibrant university city swarming with students from all over the world! I couchsurfed for my first two nights in a house with five of the aforementioned students - three Kiwi guys and two American gals. This crazy family brought me straight back into memories of college living, complete with messy university housing, cheap evening entertainment at a local stand-up comedy venue, and a late night out at the university bar. Let the good times roll!

As a result of staying with these cool cats, I was offered free use of a mountain bike for my venture on the Otago Central Rail Trail! In fact, the Rail Trail is one of the top “101 Must Dos for Kiwis” so I was more than eager to begin! The 300+ kilometer ride from Middlemarch to Clyde back to Middlemarch was my watered down substitute to my original idea of a South Island bike tour.

From Dunedin to Middlemarch, I took the train along the scenic Taieri Gorge with my new-found Pennsylvanian friend Lauren. From Middlemarch, I bid Lauren farewell and set out on my bum-numbing six day ride. Wahoo!! :-D

And bum-numbing it was. Not to mention unforeseen challenges such dive-bombing magpies and the mighty & unrelenting headwinds. Those tuxedo clad birds are nothing less than the spawn of the devil... There I'd be, cruising along the graveled trail with mountains and rolling farmland on both sides, the sheep and cows pausing in their constant state of mastication to stare wide-eyed at this imposing cyclist, when SWOOSH! The wings of a magpie come within inches of my head, and my heartbeat skyrockets with a rush of adrenaline to propel me as quickly as possible away from THAT DAMN BIRD.

But even the demon magpies and the remarkable headwind (sometimes I felt as though I were cycling in slow motion - Bay Watch meets Tour de France!) wasn't enough to dampen my spirits. The peaceful scenery among the Central Otago region was a lovely accompaniment to the constant crunching sounds of slippery gravel under the grind of my spinning wheels. I averaged between 55-60 kilometers per day, staying the night at Holiday Parks or hostels and treating myself to scrumptious dinners in the evening.

When all was said and cycled, I took the train back to Dunedin – this time catching some Zzz's instead of enjoying the scenic vista – and was happily reunited with my friend Lauren! The next day, I joined Lauren, along with two other backpackers, Daniel and Angela, to explore the Otago Peninsula – an area well-known for the world's only mainland royal albatross colony, yellow-eyed penguins, massive sea lions, and WIND. The four of us decided to brave Sandfly Bay – a beach named not for the nasty biting sandfly but instead for the wind-bludgeoning* sand that literally pelts the poor bodies of anyone silly enough to cross the treacherous bay. And, well, we were silly enough. We spent our afternoon dodging lazy sea lions and trying to stay upright against the wind while attempting (without much success, might I add) to keep the sand from flying up our nose and out our ears. It was challenging, satisfying, and gritty fun!

Halloween was rather uneventful as the Kiwis don't much celebrate the holiday with the same gusto as Americans. Instead, I went out for sushi (Ooo! Dead fish...spooky!) and joined my friends for a suspenseful movie to mark the occasion. Happy belated Halloween!

* Phrase borrowed without permission from Lauren Sicher :-) Cheers! xx

An Island of Mystic Spaces

2010-10-18T11:30:00.000+13:00

If you looked at a map of the South Island, Lake Tekapo looks like God took his almighty thumb and fingerprinted himself smack dab in the centre of the Island. And good gracious, if God ever did get fingerprinted, Lake Tekapo is a fairly spectacular way of thumbing the earth. First off, the water is dyed a brilliant, opaque turquoise which only adds to the awe of the sky slicing mountains that boarder one long side of the lake. Sift on a bit of the icy cold white stuff to coat the mountain tips, and that, my friends, is just the icing on the cake.

I bussed to Tekapo to visit my friend Hugo and his girlfriend Helen who were superb hosts during my weekend stay. My weekend activities included hiking to the summit of Mt. John (and enjoying the awesome 360 degree panoramic views), soaking in the outdoor hot pools (during the only snow storm flurry that I've seen since I left Wisconsin), and attending a Sunday evening service at the quaint Church of the Good Shepard. Company of friends combined with a scenic beauty overload made for a delightful and relaxing weekend.

From Tekapo, I hitched to Oamaru where I was to begin WWOOFing at Chillawhile Backpackers where I was more than happy to just, well, chill a while. The hostel is a hodgepodge of art displays, heart-thumping music, miss-matching comforters and pillow cases, half-tuned instruments, and backyard clothes lines which are consistently hidden under billowing sheets, clothes, and towels drying in the sunshine.

As far as the town goes, there's not so much to see besides the semi-restored, semi-rundown historical district and the infamous blue-penguin and yellow-eyed penguin colonies. I've gone for several walks and, without much help from the windy coast, tried flying my brand-new stunt kite in the park just in front of the backpackers. So, to mix things up a bit, I contacted a fellow Couchsurfer, 50-something year old Peter, a history buff and Otago area tour guide extraordinaire.

So, on a cloudy Friday afternoon, Peter drove and talked me all the way to the Moeraki Boulders, nearly 40 km south of Oamaru. This well-visited beach site is home to a set of round, massive rocks that have settled into the sand. And lucky for us, we arrived at low tide so you could really see just how unique the boulders were. They honestly look as though they are a set of Giant's Marbles, scattered carelessly on the beach. I've never seen anything like it and was quite captivated.

The Moeraki Boulders were only the beginning of an afternoon of intriguing sites that Peter took me too. Just a bit farther up the road, we tried to catch a glimpse of yellow-eyed penguins, but didn't see more than a few tubby fur-seals. Then, a drive through some less traveled roads between Highway-85 and Highway-83 brought about some goose-flesh tingling scenery. In a pasture dubbed “The Vanishing World,” I spotted honey-combed, limestone rock and a protected ancient whale fossil. It's no wonder the jagged cliffs of limestone and lush green pastures of the area brought out the film-makers of the movie “Narnia – the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” I was able to visit one filming spot in particular, the site of the Elephant Rocks, where gynormous limestone rocks have settled after having been elegantly carved by wind, rain, and rivers. The naturally calming site is so-named for the way in which some of the rocks actually do resemble giant elephants. It's as though Medusa came by, with all her wrath, and looked an entire herd of elephants point-blank in the eye. Whadya know – stoned for life.

Over the weekend, Peter and I met up again to go penguin-spotting near the wharf. It was drizzling lightly and dark (most of the blue-penguins come up to check on their nests around 8pm after the sun's sunk beneath the horizon) but we spotted nearly 30 penguins! They were huddled under branches by the rocky coast or waddling down the wharf. We even caught a couple mating under the street light (not very inconspicuous of them...) and got lucky enough to glimpse a baby penguin crouched and trembling outside it's nest. Peter told me that he's never seen that many penguins by the wharf before, so I was uber lucky! But, as cute as they are, these little fellows create quite a racket and smell like a dumpster load of rotting fish. Thus, I was more then happy to leave the waddling tuxedos for the comfort (and exceedingly nicer smelling) lounge of Chillawhile with a novel, comfy chair, and blazing heater to boot!

Sport 101 (with an Aussie flair)

2010-10-07T13:00:00.001+13:00

I had a relaxing and enjoyable stay in Kaikoura but was eager to move on to the earth shaken city of Christchurch where I would get the chance to visit some long-time family friends of mine – Gail & Steve and Katie & Mark from Australia. I've been staying with Katie and Mark in Rolleston and having a smashing time! I've been expanding my Australian vocabulary with words like “Poofter” and phrases such as “Getting the shits” but, just as importantly, having a significant number of Kiwi/Aussie sport related cultural experiences! All of which have been top notch :-) Let me divulge.

Mark and Katie are originally from Australia, but moved to Christchurch over a year ago so that Mark could pursue his career as a race commentator – harness racing that is. This sport is quite popular in New Zealand, and Mark ranks very high as one of New Zealand's best race callers. With Katie as my guide, we watched one race high up in the stands. There are typically about 10 races per day and each race seems to take place in about 10 blinks of an eye. It's quick! We were watching the Trots form of racing, where the drivers ride and steer from a carriage pulled by the horse. The races begin with a mobile start meaning that the horses are already running when they cross the “start” line. There's a lot to the race that I have yet to understand, but it was still exciting to watch! We watched a second race from the sidelines – up close and personal! You couldn't get any closer to the race without risking getting mowed over by the thundering beasts. And, for my third race, I got VIP access to the commenter box (aka Mark's office). It helps being friends with people up top! From here I got a full view of the race track and even got to watch Mark as he called out during the race and announced the winners at the end. If only I had placed a bet or two...

Over the weekend, I had my first lesson on the sport Rugby League via television with two Australian teams dueling for the big win - the Roosters verses the Dragons. Now, Rugby LEAGUE rules are quite different from Rugby UNION rules. I'm not going to bore you with all the differences (mostly, because I don't really know them...) but let me just say that League rules are much simpler and easier to follow.

* WARNING – THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT MAY NOT BE SUITABLE TO SOME AUDIENCES *

I like Rugby League more than American Football.

And here's why: Because it flows. It seems to me like football has too many timeouts and whistle blowing and clock stopping. Rugby, however, is like the Energizer Bunny. It just keeps going and going and going. And I like that. Plus, you can actually SEE the players as well. They're not all decked out in padding and helmets. Just good, ol' fashioned short shorts. Yeah, rugby wins :-)

And then there's netball. I learned the basics to this English sport last summer, but after some superb coaching from Katie, watching netball during the Commonwealth Games broadcast, and a 10-minute Netball boot camp, I made my NZ YMCA Netball Club debut! I crossed my fingers that I wouldn't bomb too much and put on my Wing Attack (WA) jersey. Turns out my 8th grade basketball skills came in handy, and I didn't do half bad! Not having to worry about dribbling the ball was a big bonus since I never did quite master that skill. And I only got penalized by the ref twice for stepping out of my designated “Wing Attack Area.” All in all, I had a darn good time out on the court!

Nevertheless, sports isn't the only thing that's been rocking in Christchurch. Aftershocks have been rippling through the city quite frequently since the 7.1 earthquake on September 4th. In fact, over 1,000 aftershocks have been recorded in the past month. It's been pretty common for me to be sitting in the house or lying in bed when all of a sudden I hear a dull roar and feel the entire house vibrate beneath my feet. The biggest one I've experienced here was scaled at 5.0 and the epicentre was just about 5-10km out of Rolleston. And even though I never get used to them (they take me by surprise every time), I kind of expect it now. Call me crazy, but I actually think it's pretty cool feeling the earth shift and settle right beneath my toes. You're completely at Mother Nature's mercy. Thus, I've come acknowledge each aftershock as a “count my blessings” reminder. A million blessings and counting! :-D

The Grandeur of Kaikoura

2010-09-25T15:00:00.002+12:00

There aren't many places on earth where sea waves kiss sky scraping mountains. But, wouldn't ya know – New Zealand has one of those very special places. Taking the Transcoastal Railway, I arrived in the east coastal town of Kaikoura – cute and cozy with jaw dropping views and a variety of wildlife to feast your already wide-eyes upon. Here, I settled into my Turkish styled dorm room at the Albatross Hostel (a backpackers complete with organic, fair trade hot chocolate, numerous instruments, and the perfectly pillowed reading spot). This place was right up my alley :-)

I only spent one full day in Kaikoura and was told that visiting the seal colony and walking the Kaikoura Peninsula was a must (along with helicopter whale watching...maybe when money starts sprouting out my ears. So, taking this wise advice, I set out for a morning-afternoon hike. I just couldn't seem to get enough of the mountain view. The contrast of the snow on the peaks and the dark bouldered base was just spectacular. Add in the pebbled beach and endless blue horizon and it was, well, almighty.

When I reached the seal colony, I wouldn't have had to go any further than the parking lot to spot seals. And, as luck would have it, they were young seal pups! Gosh darn they were cute though - all spunky and curious surrounded by a handful of tourists “Ooo-ing” and “Aww-ing” and snapping photos. I wanted to take one home with me (seal pup, not a tourist). But, when I ventured further out in the colony, I passed a few of the Big Mamas and Papas. They weren't as friendly – territorial and sleepy was more like it. So, x-nay on the seal pet idea...

The rest of the walk around the peninsula was lovely. The jagged limestone coast was a stunning boarder to the turquoise seas. I tramped by some cud-munching cows who may have been a bit annoyed by my presence, so I scooted by quickly. And, throughout the entire walk, I'd often look out into the waters and squint to see if I could spot any whales. Wishful thinking perhaps...

R.I.P.

2010-09-22T13:45:00.000+12:00

Thus far, the South Island is as beautiful as they say. Granted, I've only seen Picton (the quaint, gateway town into the South Island) and Blenheim (wine country, about 30km south of Picton). But, as far as gateway towns go, Picton boasts a picturesque backdrop of cloud-splitting mountains and the seemingly endless Sounds. Quite a jaw-dropping little welcome into the South!

For the past two weeks, I've been WWOOFing at Tombstone Backpackers. Tombstone (located on Gravesend Rd, hehe) is definitely one of the nicest hostels that I've been to in NZ so far. Lynne and Gordon, owners, managers, shuttle drivers, cheesy scone and birthday cake makers, bird and cat lovers, and oven-fired pizza creators, are the sweetest couple you ever did meet! It was so easy for me to settle right into the homely and cozy feel of this superb backpackers. R.I.P. - Resting In Picton :-)

And resting is certainly one of the things that I've been getting good at here! The weather tends to be fairly unpredictable throughout the day, yet Mother Nature most often decides to choose heavy rain and even stronger wind. Thus, after my 2 hours of morning cleaning for the hostel, I spend the rest of my day taking afternoon naps, doing lots of reading, taking long soaks in the hot tub, and practicing my skills at pool. Not too shabby!

However, on sunny days, Picton has some great hikes to offer, such as the Snout Track (profoundly named since it, well, looks like a snout...), that I completed on the first sunny day I got. At the end of the trail, I reached Snout Point and had a wide open spaces view of the Picton Harbour and the Queen Charlotte Sounds. And, as an added bonus, I got to see seals! They were showing off - swimming on their sides with their flippers poking out of the water and waving hello! Gotta love cheap entertainment.

On another sun-shining day, I went for a bike ride to Karaka Point which is also a Maori Pa Site. What is a Pa? Good question...of all the information that I read, I never once found the definition of a Pa. Settlement, maybe? But, as Karaka Point was about 10km out of town and farther up from the Snout Track, I got to see a slightly different view of the Queen Charlotte Sounds and was able gaze back at the Snout Point and Waikawa Bay.

But mostly, I am living in anticipation. Great anticipation of the next leg, erm, “wheel,” of my trip. That's right folks, I'm going biking! Since arriving in NZ and meeting a few cyclists along the way, I've made biking the South Island my number one “NZ Must Do.” So, in Christchurch, I plan to buy a bike and camping gear, significantly downsize my already relatively light load of luggage, and buy me a map! Yep, needless to say, I'm pretty stoked about putting my foot to the pedal in (* fingers crossed *) two short weeks. I can't wait!!

Shaking in my Booties

2010-09-05T12:00:00.001+12:00

Spring is in the air here in New Zealand! I’ve felt the last of the winter chill, for two reasons mainly. One - well, winter is nearly over. And two - I’ve left Taupo’s snow-capped peaks for the southern breezes (a.ka. massive gales of wind!) in Wellington - the North Island’s windy city!

Nevertheless, I kept quite busy for the last month of the winter season in Taupo. On August 12th, I finished my final shift at Cybershed – the internet café that I will forever hold near and dear to my backpack traveling heart. But, I couldn’t bring myself to leave Taupo quite yet. I had another week as manager at Blackcurrant Backpackers, and I even though I had been in Taupo for nearly 4 months, I still had activities on my “Taupo Must-Do” list. So, I figured a bit more time staying in my home away from home would be a grand idea.

Unfortunately, it rained for much of my final days in Taupo, so checking off “Hike Mt. Tauhara” and “See Craters of the Moon” was delayed. But, I was able to have a mini-holiday away from Taupo when my friend Marcus and I decided to hitch up to Mt. Maunganui! Here, we checked out the Hot Saltwater Pools at the base of the Mount and then hiked to the summit of the Mount the next morning. This is the second time I hiked Mt. Maunganui and the views were just as stunning as before. The white beach and coastal towns of Tauranga and Mt. Maunganui are breathtaking. And, lucky for us, we had a picture perfect morning – meaning, we took LOOOADS of pictures!

From Mt. Maunganui, we rented a car and drove up the Coromandel Peninsula to Tairua, a bustling beach town in the summer, but you’d never guess it if you visited during the winter months. Besides Marcus and me, there was just one other guest at our hostel – a lovely French girl, Irene, who joined us for our adventure to Hot Water Beach and Cathedral Cove.

Hot Water Beach is a popular hot spot (literally…) for anyone that travels to the Coromandel. This beach is super unique in that, when it’s low tide, people come out to dig their own personal hot spa pools with spades and buckets. The geothermal activity beneath the beach heats up the water and, at some parts, it’s scalding hot! But, once your pool’s been dug, it’s a relaxing place to soak and enjoy the beautiful ocean views.

Cathedral Cove is another popular place to visit and isn’t far from Hot Water Beach. So, that’s where we went to next! The cove is fairly remote and only accessible through a hike in the bush or by boat. We ate lunch and explore bits of the cove, finding a super tall waterfall and an outhouse with a view! And, on the way back to the car park, we were greeted by the cutest lambs you ever did see. My goodness, they were adorable.

When we got back to Tairua, Marcus and I hiked up to the summit of Mt. Paku for a view of Tairua and its neighboring town, Pauanui. When we got back to the hostel, we went for a kayak around the bay before the sun went down. What a fun-filled day visiting more incredible parts of North Island.

On my last day as an official Blackcurrant staff member, we had an awesome sausage sizzling goodbye party on the Blackcurrant deck. It was great to have all the people that I’ve come to know in Taupo there for me to say goodbye to! The next day, I was headed up to Auckland, then down to Hamilton, and back through Rotorua before coming back to Taupo…again. I tell ya, they call it the Taupo trap for a reason!

I finally got lucky and for my last two days in Taupo, there was hardly any rain! So, I finally got the chance to hike up Mt. Tauhara and walk through Craters of the Moon and officially check them off my “Taupo Must-Do” list. Nothing like leaving things to the last minute!

My first stop on my way to the South Island was windy Welly – New Zealand’s capital city! I’ve been here for 5 days now and can see why so many New Zealanders prefer Wellington to any of the other “big cities” in NZ. It’s artsy, packed to the brim with cozy cafes, and boasts views of Mt. Victoria and the harbor.

I’ve enjoyed several of Wellington’s bookshops and have met up with several friends who I’ve met in other parts of NZ. My Texan friend Michelle, has generously let me crash on her comfy couch while I’ve been staying here. And, in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday the 4th, this couch was precisely where I was snoozing when I was rudely shaken awake by none other then…my first earthquake.

By now, I’m sure you’ve all heard of the 7.1 magnitude earthquake that rocked Christchurch that morning. It was amazing to have felt it being nearly 190 miles away! Thankfully, Michelle came out to check on me after the earth finished doing its thing. Apparently, Michelle has felt about 8 earthquakes since moving to Wellington, but most come from off shore and since Thorndon (where she lives) is located on a fault line, she tends to feel the quakes more than most parts of Wellington. We both went back to sleep and didn’t actually realize the extent of the damage done by the quake until we turned on the television the next morning. The quake has been a major news topic and conversation piece for many New Zealanders this weekend. As for me, it’s pretty bizarre to wake up with the entire apartment rocking back and forth. Put this one down in the Baby Book: “Anna’s First Natural Disaster.”

Even without the earth moving I’ve had an exciting time in Wellington! I went to my first Roller Derby bout where nearly 2,500 people attended. Ever seen “Whip It?” Well, it’s a bit like that but with fewer of the ladies getting their faces smashed in. But, there is still a lot of pushing, shoving, and plenty of falling. It’s pretty intense and the crowd really gets into it! The costumes are a major part of the bout as well. Both the players and the fans dress in some crazy attire! In this game, the saying “It’s all fun and games until somebody loses an eye” seems appropriate. Although, if you said, “It’s all fun and games, EVEN if somebody loses an eye” that would probably be fitting as well.

Well, this Wednesday, I’ll be off to the South Island for good! North Island - it’s been grand! South Island - ready or not! :-D

A Nerve-wracking and Muscle-wrenching Week

2010-08-08T09:23:00.007+12:00

Just this week, I was asked the typical backpacker to another backpacker question - “So, how long have you been in New Zealand for?” And for some reason, I answered a bit differently this time – “Oh, well, I arrived in the middle of February so…(quick month count in my head…) nearly, 6 months. Oh my gosh. 6 MONTHS. Wow…” I actually shocked myself a bit. I was getting so used to just saying, “4 months” or “4 and a half months.” When did it turn into half of a YEAR? Sheesh. It’s true though – time really does fly when you’re having fun.

And, speaking of flying – I just happened to do a bit of that recently. Well, flying, falling…one in the same. *grin*

As it happened, I had woken up pretty early on Monday morning to go whitewater rafting down the Tongariro River, but when I arrived at the rafting headquarters, I was told that the trip had been canceled due to too much rainfall and the river rising to dangerous levels. Shoot! So, back to the hostel I went. But, as it happened to be my day off, I was bound and determined to do something adventurous. So, when my friend Hannah suggested bungy jumping, I was immediately on board! Our other friend Malorie was keen on jumping as well, so it was settled – Taupo Bungy, here we come!

It wasn’t until I walked onto the platform that I started to feel a bit nervous. Peering over the railings, I saw just how high 47 metres was – ummm, yeah. It’s HIGH. Really, really, really high. All us girls were on edge (literally!), and before I knew it, I was sitting on the bench and the bungy masters were strapping my ankles into the bungy holds. Holy Crap! At that point, I started my mini-freakout. “Oh my god that’s high!! Holy man…I can NOT believe I’m actually doing this! Hannah, what the hell are we THINKING!!?!” But, beneath my freakout was a very, very excited woman! I couldn’t wait to dive off the ledge. I even requested to the bungy masters that they give me a full body dunk (a.k.a. Sole Club Jump) into the waters of the Waikato River. After all, the Taupo Bungy is the highest water touch bungy jump in all of New Zealand (and possibly the world?) so I figured, go big or go home. KOWA-BUNGY!! :-D

Finally, it was my turn to jump. Eee!! I shuffled my feet over to the edge of the platform and was really surprised that the bungy cord was so heavy. I turned back and smiled for the camera. Then, I looked straight down over the edge and heard in my left ear, “1, 2, 3 BUNGY!” Woahooo, wait, wait, wait…haha – this is crazy!! Oh my gosh…okay, I can do this…I’ll jump this time. One last glance over the edge. “1, 2, 3…” And off I leaped! As I plummeted toward the blue-green waters, the loudest, most blood-curdling scream just exploded out of my mouth. I didn’t know I had that in me! I rocketed to the water and stretched out my arms, but since I was the first person to use the bungy cord that day, the tension had been done a bit tighter as a safety precaution, and I didn’t end up even touching the water. No worries - as I boinged! back up, I was laughing and still yelping a bit. What a rush!! And, if you can believe it, much scarier then a 15,000 skydive. 47 metres verses 15,000 ft and the smaller number freaks you out more…go figure.

The boat came over to release me from my bungy straps and bring me to land so I could watch Hannah and Malorie take the plunge. My heart was still racing and the adrenaline was a-pumping! Fun, fun, FUN!! :-D

But, the fun didn’t stop there. The next day, I was up dark and early - I say this because I reluctantly left the warmth of my duvet at 5:15am, and it was still plenty dark out! And why, you ask, was I up at such an ungodly hour? To hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing! Again. And yes, in the middle of the New Zealand winter. When the mountains are covered by snow. And ice. Once again, another crazy, yet awesome expedition!

The shuttle picked me up from Blackcurrant at 6:00am and drove myself and 22 other bleary-eyed and eager hikers to the start of the 19.4 km hike we were about to embark upon. On the bus, our two guides, Sarah and Danny, fixed us up with essential winter hiking gear – rain-proof jacket, fleece pants, hiking boots, cramp-ons, and even an ice axe! We were geared up and ready to rock!(climb). :-)

The mountains looked magnificent in front of a morning backdrop of blue. But, when we looked to our left, far off in the distance, we could see the yellow, thick clouds rolling towards us. Twenty-four (our guides included) sets of fingers were crossed in the hopes that we’d make it to the summit before Mother Nature came knocking at our door.

The first 2 hours of the hike were really pleasant. Good weather and plenty warm. And dry! But, as we climbed the Devil’s Staircase to reach the base of Mt. Ngauruhoe (a.k.a. Mt. Dome from LOTR), the clouds found us. Mt. Ngauruhoe was right in front of us, yet disappeared completely. We had reached the snow and ice on the mountain as well, so it was time to secure our cramp-ons to our boots to keep from slipping and sliding over the mountain.

We crossed the South Crater and you would have thought we were tramping across Antarctica! Nothing but white all around us. But, instead of snowfall, we were getting drizzle. Soon, our gloves, hats, and clothes were soaked through. Our breaks didn’t last long since most of us became quite chilled when we stopped walking for too long. But, we kept on! Up and over the steepest part. It was pretty bizarre to know what views I should be seeing from the top, but not being able to see anything but cloudy fog. Not exactly the ideal Alpine hike I was hoping for, but our group was great and, after convening for a group meeting at the top, we all voted to continue ahead with the hike to the other carpark instead of turning back the same way we came up. Go team! :-)

After our initial decent from the summit, we came to another iced over crater. As we made our way across, someone’s foot went through the ice into the frigid, 7 inch deep water below. Then another foot. And another. Soon, all of us were breaking through the ice, again and again, trying not to lose our balance and fall in completely! All we could do was shriek, curse, and laugh uncontrollably. Unfortunately for us, this meant another 3 and half hours of tramping with cold and extremely wet feet! Brrrrr…

A quick stop at the Hut for a PB&J lunch break, and I was up and off to complete the rest of the hike – the last 90 minutes! We were allowed to hike this last part on our own. So, I cruised down the path, through the National Park, with the carpark and warm shuttle in mind as the final prize!

I made it back to the carpark around 3:00pm – which meant I completed the Crossing in just under 7 hours! I peeled off my sopping wet jacket, fleece pants, hat, mittens, and hiking boots and dumped them in a pile outside the bus. Tired and majorly damp from a combination of sweat and constant light rain, I plopped down into the bus seat, waited for the rest of the group to arrive, and thought to myself, “Tongariro Crossing, you’ve been crossed. Sahweeeeet!!!”

And, as one of the other girls on my bus said, “Yeah, we’re definitely hardcore.”

We certainly are. :-D

*Video Link*

--> My Bungy Jump! <--
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=myuploads#!/video/video.php?v=618713737401

*Photo Links*

A 47 Metre Leap of Faith
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2157604&id=185002768&l=48a15e13f9

Conquering the Tongariro Alpine Crossing!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2157608&id=185002768&l=abb402722d

Boat-loads of fun on Taupo waters

2010-07-25T15:35:00.008+12:00

Once upon a time, I was feeling adventurous :-) Haha, who am I kidding, I’m nearly always feeling adventurous!! But, on this particular day, I had a jet boat ride booked with Rapids Jet, a company located about 12 miles out of the centre of Taupo. So, I borrowed my friends bike and pedaled through the beautiful, foggy, farm-filled hills of Taupo till I reached the stomping grounds of Rapids Jet.

The jetboat ride quite fun! This time, I was smart and wore my cozy wool hat, so I was much warmer. It was an overcast day, so it was bit chillier than usual. Our driver was fun and easygoing and brought the whole lot of us to the Aratiatia Rapids. At the start of the 35 minute ride, the rapids were mostly just rocks with a bit of water spouting through. But, at the end, after the dam had been opened wide, there was LOADS of water gushing over the rapids. You couldn’t even see the rocks anymore! That was pretty cool.

The jet boat did lots of spins and bumped us up and down the pristine Waikato River. It was fun bouncing along the rapids and gripping on to the heated hand rails! After that wicked ride, it was time for me to jump back on my bike and cruise (well, more like huff and puff – I had to go up a MASSIVE hill!!) my way back to Blackcurrant Backpackers.

The next day, my friend Hannah and I took a lovely walk from town to 5 Mile Beach (which was, actually, five miles out of town!) and back. This walk, also known as the “Great Lake Walk” was on my Must Do in Taupo list. Great Lake Walk – check!

Then, on a beautifully blue Sunday morning, my friend Marcus and I went for a sail on the Barbary – my third time on the boat! It was such a lovely day, but with hardly any wind. But there were others on the boat this time as well, so we motored/sailed out to the Maori Carvings which I had been wanting to see for ages!

The Maori Rock Carvings were done as a gift from the Maori people and have become one of Taupo’s many cultural attractions. The carvings are only accessible by boat, so it was very neat to be aboard the Barbary with views of the magnificant mountains over Lake Taupo and the Mine Bay cliff carvings. What a lovely and peaceful way to spend a Sunday morning!

*Photo Links*

A Wickedly Rapid Ride
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2156255&id=185002768&l=1ab13f0d1e

A Sail to the Maori Carvings
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2157551&id=185002768&l=0355f317dc

Trekking in Taupo
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2157597&id=185002768&l=8e74666f39

A Close Encounter with the Kiwi Whisperer

2010-07-18T15:44:00.004+12:00

First off, congrats to Spain for the World Cup win! We had some die hard and dedicated fans at Blackcurrant Backpackers who woke up at 6:30 in the morning to watch the football (erm, soccer…) game. I was happy to sleep in and catch the last 5 minutes when Spain scored the winning, and only, goal! Congrats :-) Holland – there’s always next time… ;-)

For my brief time off this week, I decided to head to Rotorua with my new Swiss friend, Marcus, (yep, third time to Rotorua! I just can’t stay away apparently!) where we visited a Maori Village called Matai and enjoyed a very touristy, albeit relatively authentic Maori cultural evening!

As part of the Maori cultural event, we were ushered into an outdoor theater to watch a Maori show. There were women and men clad in traditional Maori dress – which, during the winter, doesn’t cover much… And, they were all barefoot! Crazy… But, the show itself was really interesting. We learn several Maori words and phrases, they explained some of the rituals of the Maori culture, the weapons used, instruments, and games played. The women did an incredible rhythmic dance with the Pui and the men danced a Huka which is a dance done to intimidate an enemy before a fight. Both are SO COOL!! Definitely, my favorite part of Maori culture. I could watch it for hours. But, the dances, especially the Huka, are filled with so much energy, passion, and sweat that the performers are completely exhausted afterwards. They really put everything they have into the dance – slapping their chests and thighs, their eyes bulging and their tongues plastered to their chin and coming to a sharpened point. It is certainly an intimidating dance! In New Zealand Rugby, the NZ team (such as the “All Blacks”) perform the Huka before the start of the game. I honestly think it might give them a bit of an edge over their competitor because of the wild and threatening manner in which they perform the dance. I wouldn’t want to fight one of them after seeing that! Plus, most of the Maori men are BIG. And I mean BIG in every sense of the word. Really, really big…

Another highlight of the evening was visiting the after-dark Kiwi Sanctuary at Rainbow Springs. This was the first time I had ever seen a real live Kiwi bird! They are much bigger then I thought they would be! Like, the size (and kinda the shape) of a rugby ball. And, they are so cute! Long, thin beaks and fat, fluffy, brown bodies. And big feet, like a chicken! I tried taking a few photos, but since it was so dark, they didn’t turn out much at all.

Most of our group had left the Kiwi Sanctuary and have moved on for the rest of the tour, but Marcus, me, and this other dude had stayed back to watch this one particular Kiwi a bit longer. It was so close I could have touched it! Then, one of the Kiwi Keepers came in to the sanctuary and said he’d try to encourage the Kiwi into the light so we could take a better picture. Amazingly, the Kiwi responded to this Keeper so easily! He literally followed him to the other side of the pen when the Keeper called his name. When the man came back into the sanctuary, I looked at him in awe and asked, “How did you do that!? That was incredible!” At this point, the Kiwi was actually nuzzling the Keeper’s hand, and he was petting the Kiwi back. Now, this might not sound too remarkable, but the Keeper went on to tell us that this particular Kiwi had chosen him as his Keeper and was the only Kiwi bird that they knew of who would allow human contact. And the Keeper was the only person the Kiwi would be pet by! A pretty big honor for the Keeper, that’s for sure. I dubbed the Keeper “The Kiwi Whisperer” because of his unique talent. So, besides just glimpsing the Kiwi’s we got to witness something pretty remarkable! So cool!!

On the route back to Taupo from Rotorua, Marcus and I visited Wai-O-Taou Thermal Wonderland, a national park of New Zealand. There are several steaming pools and incredibly vibrant colors that the different organic minerals produce. The variation amongst the sulphur pools, rocks, and water is really impressive! And, of course, there is so much to photograph! So, Marcus and I (two lovers of photography) had a grand time snapping photos around every corner. :-)

Getting High in the Sky

2010-07-10T16:16:00.001+12:00

It’s hard to come by days that are as awesome as today. To start, the weather was beautiful – blue skies speckled with clouds and lots of sunshine. My friend Marcus from Switzerland has been staying at Blackcurrant for the past couple days and had picked today to do his skydive! Lucky for him, the weather very much cooperated, and I was so excited that he was going to jump! As I wasn’t working, I decided to tag along to the Drop Zone with him, and our friend and fellow Blackcurrant cleaner, Hannah, decided to come as well to watch with me.

When we arrived at the Taupo Tandem Skydiving, I was immediately asked by my friend Brad (who works as a manager and tandem master at TTS) if I was skydiving. Correction, I wasn’t so much ASKED if I was going to do a skydive, I was more so TOLD that I was doing a skydive. I had actually considered it earlier in the day because it really was ideal weather for a skydive. I joked with Brad asking him if it would cost more to get him as my tandem master for the jump and he replied with a big grin and said, “You can get the skydive for free, but it costs $100 to jump with me!” Turned out, Brad wasn’t kidding… It didn’t take much to convince me past that point! I looked over at Marcus and was like, “Oh my gosh, I’m going again!!!!” Immediately, I had butterflies in my tummy and all the excitement and nervousness of my first dive came flooding back – I couldn’t believe I was going again!

And, that’s the story of how I came to do my second skydive from 15,000 ft and be strapped to the front of my #1 Favorite Tandem Master, Brad Rock :-D Not surprisingly, I was much more present during the second skydive. But, I was just as excited and smiley as I was the first time!! In the plane, Brad pointed out that we could see both the east and west coasts of New Zealand, Lake Rotorua, and the Coromandel Penisula. It was really cool to see the clouds in the sky as well! It really creates a different, more textured view of Taupo and the surrounding areas. Beautiful.

Brad and I were the last tandem to jump out of the plane. As we sat, perched at the edge of the plane with our legs dangling 15,000 ft above the ground, Brad goes, “You ready!?!” YES!!!! I felt a slight tip out of the plane and next thing I knew he pulled back a bit and goes, “No, I can’t! I’m too nervous!!” *!!!* I was like, Brad you bugger!! Seriously, if I could have reached around and popped him one, I would have but those darn harnesses just don’t make it easy! Just sitting there, about ready to jump out of the plane is a thrill in and of itself!! It's one of my favorite parts!! Before I knew it, my head was tilted back and out we went!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW. The freefall was so awesome!!! And, I actually remember it!! Brad and I did lots of spins, and I played around with my arms trying to maneuver them against the full force of the rushing air. It makes such a difference when your brain actually keeps up to speed with your body. ;-) About 5 seconds before Brad pulled the shoot, he pointed to a cloud and I glimpsed a circle rainbow! Apparently, our shadow made that! Where’s my camera when you need it???

The glide down was so nice as well. The views are just so spectacular from way up there! The shoot gets pulled at 5,000 ft so we still had quite a ways to sail. Brad goes, “Welcome to my office.” Definitely a job to envy.

Brad let me take control of the parachute for a while as well! So we did some super fast turns and some pause drifting in the air. That is a bizarre feeling to almost come to a stop in mid air! I didn’t expect to stop moving like we did, and the first time it happened, Brad goes, “Uh oh.” Uh oh is not a phrase I want to hear 3,000 feet in the air!! Sheesh ;-)

We did a standing landing verses a slid-in which was cool! I gave Brad a BIG hug for such an awesome and very entertaining dive! What an fantastic second jump!! There’s no denying it…I’m hooked. Brad, you have such a badass job!! Thanks a million!!! :-D

A Tipsy Tour of Hawkes Bay

2010-07-07T15:54:00.001+12:00

Despite the chilling temperatures in Taupo, I’ve been feeling more and more comfortable in this tourist trap town as the weeks of my work-stay here continue to add up. This winter, I am getting a pleasant mix of the local and backpacker feel to the area, the people, and Taupo’s many attractions!

Three weeks ago, I was offered a thrilling ride on the Huka Falls Jet Boat! The 30 minute speed-boat ride brings you all the way to the Aratiatia Dam and then back up river to a stunning, close up view of Huka Falls. Lots of spins and quick maneuvers to avoid hitting trees sticking up out of the water. I was pretty soaked by the end of it and my head had turned into an icebox. Luckily, my hands were just fine because the handrails on the jetboat are heated! Brilliant :-)

A major highlight of the last few weeks was a photoshoot that I did with my friend and Blackcurrant neighbor, Jana. We went to the back alley-way behind Cybershed and found some quirky, unusual, and trashy spots to shoot at. Jana has great vision with regards to photography and really has a good eye for picking out unlikely photo shoot settings. I had a blast posing and jumping and working on my “come hither” eyes ;-) And, with great creative direction from Jana, we were able to create some really stunning photos!

Later in the week, I was able to go on another sailboat ride with my good friend, Barbary Dave! I seem to time my visits to the Barbary Sailboat just right, as I have gotten to do two charters with Dave without any other customers aboard. And, on this particular day, we actually had some wind to sail with – strong wind! So, once the sails were up, we really got cruising. The boat would tilt sideways to where the edge of the boat was only about a foot or so away from the water. Dave would warn me ahead of time when a stronger gust of wind was coming, but it still got my heart pounding when the boat tilted so much. He even taught me how to predict the big winds – the water from a distance would be different colors and the darker color meant stronger winds. Kinda cool! I also got to meet two of the Barbary’s frequent sailors – ducks! They both landed right on the boat too. Dave gave me some cookies to feed them and one of them even took the cookie bits right out of my hand. They were so cute :-)

I’ve recently gotten into a bit of a creative streak these last few weeks as well. It started out by making a “Thank You” card with magazine cutouts. I had wanted to thank Taupo Tandem Skydiving for such an incredible skydive experience and, thus, made them a card to show them my sky-high appreciation! And, besides feeling artsy, I have started singing a bit at the Sunday Jam Sessions at Mulligan’s Pub! A fun group of locals get together and jam out with guitars and harmonicas and serenade the pub with some good classic pub tunes. It was fun getting a chance to sing with the other jammers!

I ended up with two days off from both Cybershed and Blackcurrant two weeks ago and made an impromptu trip to Napier which is located on the east coast of the North Island, about a 2 hour drive from Taupo. It was such a lovely escape! My highlight of this mini vaca was the wine/chocolate/cider/beer tour that I did around Hawkes Bay via bicycle! I started out around 9:30 in the morning and 8 tastings of wine from the Mission Estate Winery, 1 nibble of dark chocolate from the Chocolate Shop, 3 glasses of cider & 2 glasses of beer from the Filter Room, and 30 kms later, I had thoroughly enjoyed my day! It’s easy to see why Hawkes Bay is known for their wine. There are vineyards everywhere and the wine stuff doesn’t taste half bad either ;-) A wine tour is definitely a must-do for visitors to Napier – add on the chocolate, beer, and cider tastings as well, and you’ve got the good stuff covered!

And, before I forget, a belated Happy 4th of July!! It was definitely odd not watching fireworks to celebrate the 4th. But, as it was Canada Day 3 days prior, myself and a few of the backpackers at Blackcurrant sang our countries respective national anthems and saluted our countries with a glass of vino :-)

Ready, Set, SCRUM!

2010-06-19T15:34:00.000+12:00

Besides a sweet skydive this past week (in which I thought I should dedicate a full blog post too, haha), I have done a few other things which are definitely worth mentioning! A week of firsts it seems :-)

On Monday, I got my first NZ haircut! I figured going over 5 months without getting this mop cut was quite long enough. The lady who cut my hair was super friendly, chatty, and quite interested in my travels to NZ. Her catch phrase? “Good on you!” I swear, she must have said this nearly 50 times by the time my shampoo and cut was finally complete. She told me that for a backpacker, my hair was in surprisingly good condition. And, I told her that I was quite surprised by that considering I haven’t brushed my hair more than 4 times since I left NZ. In fact, I hadn’t even packed a brush! But, hey, apparently that’s the secret to beautiful locks. Works for me!

And, I am working on substituting my American term “bangs” (why in the world do we call them bangs anyway??) for “fringe,” the Kiwi way. I was looking for a bit of a change with my currant hairstyle, so I decided to try out a fringe again. Fingers tightly crossed that I wouldn’t sorely regret it. But, turns out I like it! So, phew! Fringe is in ;-)

I had the next day off (from BOTH jobs – yay!) so I decided to hike to Huka Falls. I had already been to Huka Falls several weeks ago, but had mountain biked there instead. Thought I’d take a different route :-)

Wednesday was of course the epic skydive day. Wahoo! (See *60 Seconds* for the full story!) :-D

And, I finally left Taupo for the first time in 6 weeks to go to Rotorua to watch my first professional rugby game!! Nz Maoris vs Ireland – I had bought my ticket last week and was super excited to watch the game at the Rotorua stadium!! Gavin, an Ireland native, had come through Taupo and stayed at Blackcurrant for a couple days last week and had told me about the game. Thought it would be pretty sweet to watch the game with someone who has a bit of their heart invested in the opposing team. Although, as it turned out, I cheered for both teams for the first ¾ of the game. Eventually decided to cheer for the Irish with 7 minutes of the game remaining. They were losing 31-28, so I was hoping to give them an extra boost of cheer! ;-)

The game was such fun!! They had a few live performances with NZ singers and even a beatboxer as pre-game entertainment. Good stuff! And, it was so nice having Gavin right beside me for the game because I was able to ask him loads of questions about the plays and such. I think I pretty much understand the basics of rugby now and thoroughly enjoyed watching the game! Quite unlike going to my highschool football games where I spent most of my time with my back to the field, chatting with my friends on the bleachers instead ;-)

Unfortunately, Ireland ended up losing…bummer. And, I was super cold by the time the game ended. My pinky on my right hand had gone numb! So, we went back to the hostel, drank a couple beers, grabbed a bite to eat, and hung out next to the fireplace in the lounge. Ahhh…nice :-) Then, once were were nice and toasty, we went out for a night on the town to celebrate the Maori win at the jam-packed Irish pub. What a fun mini roadtrip out of Taupo. I’d say it was a breath of fresh air, but this is Rotorua we’re talking about…a.k.a “Sulfur City.” Not so fresh but a lovely mix up to the weekend :-)

60 Seconds

2010-06-16T17:00:00.005+12:00

*a.k.a – Anna’s Skydive: With 15,000 ft of Perspective

**a.k.a – That time I jumped out of a plane!!!

What. An. AWESOME. Day.

So much smiling!! Yes, definitely a day of grinning overdose.

I woke up at 8:45am and remember first pleading with my alarm clock in my head, “just a little longer…?” And then all of a sudden, it dawned on me that today was the day. ToDAY was the day that I was going skydiving!! Ever since arriving in New Zealand, I wanted to do a skydive. With every freefall video that I watched in the Blackcurrant DVD lounge, with every backpacker that had come through Taupo with the sole goal of jumping out of a plane, the anticipation had heighten – a LOT. And today, was the day. HOLY MAN was I excited!! And, with that thought alone, I was wide awake.

Lars and Bea (my two work mates at the hostel) got me so psyched up for the jump telling me how awesome it would be and how much I’d love it! I literally couldn’t stop smiling. Haha. I actually felt pretty silly – I mean, I hadn’t even jumped yet, and I was grinning from ear to ear!! My tummy felt like I had butterflies doing gymnastics in there! A mini gymnasium for all their somersaults, cartwheels, and tumbling routines. I was completely giddy.

I planned to do the jump with Leslie and Sophie, both who work at the Funky Green Hostel in Rotorua. The jump was scheduled for 2:00pm so I just hung out around the hostel with my boss Beth and the Taupo Tandem Skydive (TTS) marketing manager Bex who had set up the jump for me! Lars decided to come along too, and we both had our fingers crossed that he could do his solo jump from my plane. How cool would that be?!

Bex gave Lars and I a ride to TTS in her little TTS Cruiser. It was pretty cool to be chauffered to TTS with the main marketing lady! Even better than the van pickup!

Now, I think I forgot to mention that since I am working now at both Blackcurrant and Cybershed, and since we do bookings for Taupo adventure activites (such as skydiving), and because Bex and Beth are amazingly, fantastical women, I was offered this opportunity to skydive for free. No joke! I figured, in that case, that I would be given the actual skydive for free and then I could pay for my freefall video and photos on top of that. But, when we got to the Drop Zone at TTS, Bex informed me that I would be receiving the “Gold Package” – a.k.a. the whole works! Freefall video, Handycam video, Freefall photos, and Exit/ground photos. I couldn’t believe it! What a superb perk of working hospitality in Taupo!

I was still beaming from ear to ear, even as I signed my life away on the “Please don’t sue us if you die” contract. I met my tandem instructor, Andy, who has done so many jumps that he’s stopped keeping track! Andy, a born and bred Kiwi, has the typical “I’m a badass skydiver” look with a scruffy ‘tashe and beard, wind-whipped hair, and heavy, carved earrings. Andy helped me into my jumpsuit (under which I was completely layered up – thermal top and bottom, t-shirt, fleece and jeans – it gets chilly 15,000 ft above the ground!!) and secured my harness. The harness makes you waddle when you walk, but I was way too excited to care about my funny gait. I’m jumping out of a plane!!

Just minutes before we boarded, the solo-jumpers on-call were announce over the intercom and Lars was one of them! So, we were going to be jumping out of the plane together afterall! Super cool beans!!

The little, bright yellow TTS plane can fit 16 passengers. As it was a nearly full plane, I got real up close and cozy with everyone there. With Andy behind me and Mikey, my video guy, in front, I felt like we were three peas in a pod :-)

I was doing everything I could to take in the whole skydiving experience. Even the 20 minute plane ride up gave us a splendid view of Taupo and the surrounding areas. We could see Mt. Taranaki which is all the way over in New Plymouth – nearly 300 km away (about 185 miles!). I learned that skydiving on a clear, winter day offers way better views of the landscape than on a clear, sunny day in the summer. I guess the heat makes everything slightly fuzzy. So, basically, we really couldn’t have asked for a better day. And, although it was -8 degree C (so, about 17 degree F), I didn’t even feel the chill! I think the excitement of everything was an extra layer of warmth on top of my already layered up self.

The plane leveled out at 12,000 ft for a few of the solo jumpers and students to jump out. So, that meant a quick “see ya-BYE!” grin and wave from Lars and then he just disappeared! Simply tipped himself out of the plane and whoosh, POOF! Gone. I don’t think my brain was really able to register the fact that my friend just jumped out of a plane right before my eyes. My brain certainly wasn’t registering that I was about to pitch mySELF out of a plane flying 15,000 ft over Lake Taupo. Yet, I still had a silly grin plastered to my face – that smile wasn’t going anywhere.

Along with enjoying the view on the way up, Andy had secured the two of us together – tight! I had harness digging into my ribs, but that feeling alone helped to reassure me that I wasn’t going anywhere without him.

Before I knew it, the plane had reached 15,000 ft. Since Mikey, Andy, and I were at the front of the plane, we were the first to go. I had zero qualms whatsoever. Andy and I scooted forward and next thing I knew my legs were over the edge of the plane – Mikey was actually outside the plane at this point and the three of us posed for quick exit photo.

This part was surreal. My mind wasn’t processing everything that was happening so things are a bit blurry. If Andy had counted to three and said “JUMP!” I didn’t hear him. For the next 60 seconds, I heard nothing. Did we do flips? Spins? I haven’t a clue. For 60 seconds of freefall, my mind, body, and spirit were in system overload. Each one of my senses were being pummelled with pure, WOW. The one thing I do recall somewhat is seeing Mikey freefalling backwards, just below Andy and I. And I remember thinking, “I so want to try that!!”

The 60 seconds felt like 10. Andy pulled the parashute (and yay, it opened!!), and we were sailing through the sky. At this point, my brainwaves finally got up to speed, and the thrill of what I had just done had a ripple-effect throughout my entire being. I was laughing, catching my breath, and feeling a bit of shock at what I had just experienced. Pretty sure I let a 'Holy Shit' leak out, but turns out they edited that from the final video so I can’t be sure. Haha. But seriously, a 'Holy Shit' doesn’t even give a skydive justice. Holy Shit times 20.

The view as we parasailed was just awesome. I was in complete awe of how far and how much I could see! There still wasn’t a cloud in sight and the lake just sparkled. Andy even let me take control of the parashute handles and take the both of us for a ride! I cranked down on left handle, and we went into a full 380 degree spin. Then straightened out and took us the other direction – got a bit dizzy with all the spinning, but it was fun steering this massive green shute!

Andy brought us in for a smooth landing at the Drop Zone. Knees up, legs out, and we slid in on our bums. The parashute landed gently in a heap in front of us and Andy quickly unhooked my harness from his. What a ride!! I gave Andy a high-five and a huge thank you for an awesome dive. So much fun! And yep – I was still grinning like the Cheshire Cat :-D

Like I said. Quite an awesome day *grin*

Becoming Kiwi

2010-06-13T12:38:00.014+12:00

The other day I found myself saying, “Oh yeah, it’s easy as!” Now, if this doesn’t sound odd to you, it should. “Easy as PIE” – now that’s more of the norm to the American ear, but easy as??? That’s a total Kiwi term. Easy as, sweet as, cold as… I stood there kinda shocked after I heard those two little words pop out of my mouth. It just…happened. Apparently after living in New Zealand for nearly 4 months, the Kiwi phraseology has worn off on me a bit. Funny how that happens. My sister Cate seems to think that my accent sounds different too, but I’m not convinced. I can only imagine what another 8 months will do…!

I had my very last day of cleaning at Blackcurrant Backpackers yesterday morning. Yes!! After two and a half hours of cleaning every morning for the past 5 weeks, I am an expert in:

1.) Cleaning shower drains.
2.) Stripping beds in the “special way” to check for those nasty bedbugs.
(Nothing found yet! Knock on wood…)
3.) Disinfecting sinks and toilets.
4.) Not spraying myself while cleaning IN the shower.

And, lastly…

5.) Bed making. (Big shout out to Mom and Great-Grandma Pierzina for passing down the skills of hospital-corner tucks for top sheets! Beth from Blackcurrant would like me to give you a BIG hug :-) *HUG!*)

So, on Monday, I begin my position as Assistant Manager and, as Beth my boss says, I mostly just have to talk to the newcomers and hangout around the hostel when I’m on duty. Basically, getting paid to do what I do anyways around Blackcurrant! And, like I mentioned in my last post, I get my own room (which has an electric blanket!!) so I am pretty darn happy about that :-D

I’ve been getting some good use out of my gym membership this week too. Went to the group fitness class “BodyCOMBAT” with this crazy, hyper-intense instructor. Holy cow! I was jumping and kicking and punching and sweating. It was awesome! A killer workout. My favorite part of the class was at the end when we were stretching out to “Du Hasst* Mich” (a song from Rammstein, a German band, that means “You Hate Me”), which just happened to be quite fitting as the whole group of women stretched and glared at the instructor for wringing every last ounce of water out of our poor, wretched bodies. I’ll definitely be back :-)

I went to my first cinema in NZ this past week as well! My new friends, Gavin the Irishman and Frake the “Flying” Dutchman asked if I was interested in seeing the movie, “Boy” - a story about an 11 year old Maori boy who has to take on a lot of responsibility for his younger brother and cousins when his Grandmother (who they all live with) goes to attend a funeral for a week and leaves them all at home. The movie is both side-stitchingly funny and also heartrending. Overall, I really enjoyed it! And, the pre-scooped ice cream cones from the concessions were just icing on the cake :-D

I’ve really enjoyed watching New Zealand made films since I’ve arrive here. I’m not sure how many of them are actually available in the states, but there hasn’t been one that I haven’t enjoyed. If you are looking for a good movie, check one of these out:

Sione’s Wedding
Meet best friends Michael, Albert, Stanley and Sefa; the ladies' man, the good boy, the weird one and the party boy. They're staring down the barrel of their thirtieth birthdays, but still act as if they're sixteen; they get drunk, they chase the wrong women and they have a remarkable record of misbehaving and causing chaos at every wedding they attend. But now Michael's younger brother Sione is getting married, and everything is about to change. Sione is their boy, the kid they used to look after, who grew up while they were still partying. And to ensure his big day isn't spoiled by his boys and their idiot antics, Sione has issued an ultimatum; the guys all have to bring dates to the wedding. And not just any dates; real girlfriends, someone they've made a commitment to. They have one month. So just how hard can it be to get a date for your best boy's wedding?

Once Were Warriors
Set in urban Auckland (New Zealand) this movie tells the story of the Heke family. Jake Heke is a violent man who beats his wife frequently when drunk, and yet obviously loves both her and his family. The movie follows a period of several weeks in the family's life showing Jake's frequent outburst of violence and the effect that this has on his family.

*Very graphic movie, but extremely powerful! Highly recommended but only for mature audiences.*

Eagle vs. Shark
Lily, a lonely oddball and fast-food waitress, and her crush, Jarrod, another lonely oddball and video game clerk who has spent the last decade plotting ultimate vengeance on a bully from his high school past, connect at a "dress as your favorite animal" party. She comes as an anemic Shark and he's a fluffy-headed Eagle. It's a match that seems made in outcast heaven, but when Lily decides to risk everything for love, her hopes are nearly dashed.

After a brief fling, Jarrod dumps Lily because he's too busy "training" for his all-important payback mission. But neither of them can anticipate just what kind of grit the steadfastly optimistic Lily will show in her heartbreak. As Jarrod's day of reckoning arrives, and everything hits the fan, Jarrod and Lily will find something that goes beyond romantic fantasies and revenge -- faith in who they are.

Whale Rider
On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs, always the first-born, always male, have been considered Paikea's direct descendants. Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny.

And, of course, the infamous Lord of the Rings Trilogy.
Watch. All. Three.

Dear Gabi,
Thanks for the correction on "hast" and "hasst" - my German is definitely rusty!

Chillin' in Chilly Taupo

2010-06-02T16:09:00.000+12:00

Well, the winter has definitely arrived. I sleep in layers:

Layer 1.) long pants and a longsleeved t-shirt
Layer 2.) feather blanket
Layer 3.) duvet #1
Layer 4.) duvet #2

And, to top off my ice cream sundae of coverings, the cherry! A red, hot water bottle that I first use to warm up my toes and once that has been done, I hug it close like a four year old clings to their teddy bear. Only after all of this do I sleep comfortably, cozy and warm. Crazy kiwi’s and their lack of insulation or indoor heating… As I made my oatmeal this morning, I could see my breath in the kitchen! Yep, so go ahead and tell me how you’re having that 80/90 degree weather and the sun is shining bright, but don’t expect me not to get a wee bit jealous! *wink*

Living in Taupo and working, both at the hostel cleaning and at Cybershed, have allowed me to create a bit of a routine. I work just over 40 hours per week at the two places combined, so I keep quite busy. It’s easy to stick around the hostel during the down time, usually during the afternoon between cleaning and work at Cybershed. And, there’s been a bit of a rainy spell here in Taupo for the last week so it’s quite nice to just cozy up under the fuzzy blanket in the DVD lounge and read a book or watch a movie.

A couple weeks ago, I went with one of the other cleaners, Malorie, to Action World! This was literally a world of huge inflatables! The two of us had so much fun and practically had the entire place to ourselves. We swung around on the monkey bars, jumped into the balloon landings, and jump-posed in the air for silly action shots. It was one of the few sunny afternoons we’ve had lately, so it was great to spend it outside jumping around and acting like 8 years olds :-)

Action World is right next to the airport which is where all three of the Taupo Skydiving companies are located. So, I walked over and hung around to watch my friend Lars jump out of a plane! It was so cool to see the divers jump. After a while, I just laid on the ground and watched the plane fly overhead. All of a sudden, you could see a little white dot falling from the plane. Then, POOF! The shoot would open and before you knew it, there were 8-10 colorful parashutes falling from the sky! And the weather was perfect for diving – blue, blue sky and a warm sun. Such a calm and relaxing thing to watch.

It was also fun listening to the jumpers after they landed. The excitement in their voices made it clear that there was still a crapload of adrenaline coarsing through their veins. Just hearing them talk about how amazing the last 7 minutes or so of their life just was makes me that much more pumped to try it out!

Speaking of skydiving, it’s funny how much it’s talked about around the hostel and in Taupo in general. Coming from Raglan where the conversation nearly always turned to surfing, it’s interesting to find that each city has it’s “thing.” I also love learning more about the sport. There are a couple people at my hostel who have either taken the course (Kevin has done nearly 70 jumps already!) or are currently working towards their certificate. They are constantly using terminology that goes straight over my head, so I am consistently asking them questions. It’s fun learning more about the art and technique of skydiving, especially from people who are so enthusiastic about it! I can’t wait to go!!

Last Sunday, Kevin, one of the Blackcurrant long-termers, had the idea to make a Sunday Roast. A great evening of food, laughter, warmth, and wonderful smells. Roasted potatoes, pumpkin, kumara, gravy, mint sauce, yorkshire pudding…wow!! And even a berry pie with ice cream dessert AND dark chocolate mouse made by Malorie. So so so delicious!! It really felt like a family coming together for a big Sunday meal. Ahh, warm fuzzies :-)

And, as of last week, I feel a bit more like an official Taupo community member because…I bought a gym membership! At the local Taupo Events Center fitness suite. It’s about a 20 minute walk from my hostel which isn’t so bad and a perfect thing to do during the cold, rainy winter days in Taupo. The events center is actually a pretty cool place, complete with a huge indoor climbing wall! Just yesterday, it was pissing down rain, so a few of us drove down and, as I worked out in the fitness room, I got to watch my friends climb the rock climbing wall at the same time! I even played on a local volleyball team last Sunday – very impromptu, but it was so much fun getting a chance to play volleyball again! I’m hoping to make it an every Sunday evening thing.

One of the perks of working at Cybershed (and also just living in the close-knit town of Taupo where everybody knows everyone) is getting free stuff! When I had first started at Cybershed, I met Dave, one of the managers at my favorite pub in town, Mulligans, and he offered me a free cruise on the sailboat that he is the skipper for. This past Monday was an absolutely GORGEOUS day – sun and blue sky, one of the few nice days we’ve had in a while - and, because I had the day off, I walked down to the harbor and found Dave to see if he was sailing that afternoon. Turns out there were no other customers, but Dave said he wouldn’t mind going for a sail on the lake anyway. We sailed around Lake Taupo for nearly 2 hours. The mountains were in the backdrop and Mt. Ruapehu had just gotten a fresh covering of snow the night before. It was beautiful! We watched a few sky divers parashute down from the plane – what a perfect day for a skydive. What a perfect day for almost anything outdoors! It was my first time out on the lake as well, and although it wasn’t really that windy, we were still able to put up the sails for a little while. We even had time for hot chocolate and biscuits :-) It was a lovely afternoon on the Lake Taupo. Cheers Dave!

Last Friday marked my one month anniversary of being in Taupo! Gosh, I can’t believe it’s been that long already…it’s gone by so fast! I think especially working at both Cybershed and Blackcurrant for the past 3 weeks have kept things quite busy. And, speaking of working at Blackcurrant, I have accepted an offer from Beth (one of the owners and managers of the hostel) to be a part-time assistant manager for the winter season at the hostel. So, instead of cleaning every morning, I will be working about 3 overnights per week for accommodation (which will be my very own room!) and 4-5 evening shifts. So, I’ll start that job on June 14th and continue until I leave Taupo, I suppose! This also means that I’ll be getting one FULL day off per week between the two jobs so I’m hoping to go skiing a couple times over the winter. Bring on the white fluffy stuff :-9

The art of traveling...on a budget.

2010-05-22T18:09:00.011+12:00

I have been so fortunate to have traveled as much of the world as I have in my 23 years. And, because I've been to several countries, exploring three different continents (yep, still 4 more to go!!), I get asked lots of questions! But the question that I am indubitably asked the most is:

"How in the world do you afford to go so many places!?"

Well, just like we all wish there were a magic pill to weight loss, we all wish we had that one special tree growing in our very own backyard - you know, the one that money grows on?

*moment to daydream...*

Unfortunately, scientists have yet to graft the $$$ tree $$$, which means that we must resort to other means. Each time I travel, I learn new ways of saving as much money as I can! Which most often just means finding ways not to spend it... Because, in my mind, the more I save of the money I already have, the less time and energy I have to use up making more money!

Now, many of my "money saving" tactics might not sit well with you and your ideals of "proper travel." But, I am far from a proper traveler! Some of you might think, "That's brilliant! I am totally doing that the next time I go somewhere!!" Either way, this blog post is dedicated to things I've done during my travels in New Zealand to avoid making a massive dent (or gaping black hole...) in my bank account.

1.) Being lucky.

So much of my money saving has been because of luck. Luck with the people I meet, the places I visit, and just life in general. But, luck can only get you so far, so we won't dwell here...

2.) Being friendly to EVERYONE. (even if you're hungover or in grumpy mood, okay?)

It's just like the saying goes, "A little smile goes a long way."

3.) Hitchhiking.

I have yet to pay for any mode of transportation since I left Auckland. Safe hitchhiking comes with the territory though. NZ is known for being pretty safe for hitchhikers. Traveling to other countries? Hitchhiking might not be such a grand idea...

4.) Couchsurfing.

What an AWESOME way to meet locals and get a free place to sleep and shower! And, if you're lucky, you might get to do your laundry for free! And your host might even cook for ya - a huge and delicious bonus :-9

Go to www.couchsurfing.org to sign up!
Host, surf, or just meet for coffee :-)

5.) Working for accommodation.

This has got to be one of the coolest, money saving things I've been able to do in New Zealand! Depending on availability, you can clean at a hostel for just a couple hours a day and stay there for free! (Each hostel varies, but some let their workers use the laundry facilities for free (inexpensive ways to clean clothes to follow...) or use the internet for free (free internet ideas to follow too!).

6.) Free laundry ideas!

In NZ, it costs around $8 NZD to wash and dry one load of laundry. Crazy right? For my first month in NZ, I refused to pay for laundry. So, I washed my clothes by hand in the industrial sized sink and dried them on the washline outside. (A bit of elbow grease never hurt anyone, right?) Otherwise, like I said before, you might get lucky and get a couchsurfing host who will let you use their machine. As luck would have it (tactic #1!), the hostel that I am working at now gives their workers free laundry usage. Whoop whoop!! :-)

7.) Finding free internet.

Crazy thing about Kiwis - they charge exorbent amounts for their internet usage! Typically $6-8 NZD for one hour. It's highway robbery I tell ya... But, to get out of this, most libraries in NZ have free internet/wireless and even some McDonald's (although I have yet to find one that does...). Or, if you're like me, just land a winter job at an internet cafe and you get free internet access whenever you like! (Again, tactic #1...)

8.) Befriend people who know important people who know key people who can give you free stuff.

Eh, pretty self-explainatory. Refer to tactic #2 for help. :-)

So, yeah. That's about the jist of it!

Any questions? Comments? More money saving ideas??
Email - guavanna@gmail.com or comment below!

Happy cheap travels!
Anna xx

The Joys of Sledging and Impromptu Photoshoots!

2010-05-16T15:48:00.004+12:00

After doing the infamous Tongariro Crossing nearly three weeks ago, I had an awesome couchsurfing stay in Rotorua (aka “RotoVegas” or “Sulfur City”) and, despite the rather rainy weather, was able to do lots of cool stuff in that stinky, eggy city!

First off, I was fed fresh trout 3 times in the first 24 hours of my stay with my two superb couchsurfing hosts, Daniel and Bheema. Daniel is originally from Germany and Bheema hails from South Africa. The two have been friends for over 10 years and are the creators behind the musical sounds of 'Skelm.' Daniel plays the guitar, harmonica, and ankle bells and Bheema plucks out the jams on his double bass. So, on my first night there, I received a personal concert from the talented duo! Very awesome.

Besides the fresh trout, I got to eat all the feijoas my heart desired! Feijoas are a NZ fruit, green on the outside and you eat them like you would a kiwifruit – sliced down the middle and scoop out the insides. Delish!

The Kaituna River in Rotorua is famous for it's whitewater rafting and sledging adventures! I had never heard of sledging before, so I figured I would give it a go! Basically, you have control of your own 'sledge' which is this partial raft thingy that you rest your chest on and grip the handlebars. You steer with your flippered feet and by turning your sledge with your upper body and hips. My group (in which I was the SOLE female...) maneuvered through rapids, rested in the eddies, and glided along the river. It was really fun but I was surprised by how much effort it took to propel and steer the sledge! We also got to “surf” the rapids with the sledge which rad as! Our photographer was close by at all times to take some good action shots of all the, well, action!

The time in the water went by quickly. I definitely could have played around in the water a bit longer, but I know I would have gotten tuckered out pretty quick! All in all though, a thrilling and super fun river ride!

On one of the non-rainy days, I decided to go on a tramp up and around Ruato Bay which is where I was staying at Daniel and Bheema's (about 25 km out of Rotorua). The first part of the tramp goes straight uphill, so it was a good workout. Most of it goes through the bush and is really lush, green, and beautiful. So quiet and remote in the bush as well. All I could hear was the tink, tink, slosh of my Sigg water bottle in my backpack.

The hike took me nearly 2 hours, and I ended up in this massive crater! So so cool. The trees just towered up on all sides and the whole inside of the crater was mostly long grass and small trees. What a good tramp with a really sweet finale!

Daniel and Bheema had a gig at the Rotorua Night Market so I got to tag along as their groupie! It was a beautiful night, and I was excited to see them perform, doing what they do best :-)

I was just standing there, enjoying the music, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. This guy, with a camera in hand, goes, “Hi! Are you busy at all by chance? I was wondering if you wouldn't mind doing us a favor and being in a photo shoot?” I'm like, absolutely!!! Turns out, these guys, Dean and Mikel, are taking photographs for a BNZ (an NZ bank) advert! They had found a guy, Clay, to be their male model but he needed a “girl friend” to walk around the market and be couple-y with! So, I got to be the girl! It was so much fun!! Clay and I had to pretend to be a couple and the guys kept joking that they were really a match making company posing as photographers. Haha, nice ;-)

It was so interesting to be involved in the photoshoot! Every shot took a good amount of time to set up and then when they did snap the picture, we had to do everything veeerry slowly. But it was so much fun! The guys forked over money for Clay to buy me a bouquet of flowers and then later for us to get some baked goods from the market. I got a lemon cake and Clay got a raspberry cheesecake! MhmMM! Sooooo good! Awesome bonus for being the shoot's “talent.” :-D

We got to spend a good amount of time standing in front of Daniel and Bheema while they played music, so that was great. Listening to some awesome live music and being in a photoshoot! How completely random! Rotorua very much exceeded my expectations. In the most positive way!! But, it does smell...something I don't think I would ever really get used to if I lived there.

For my last day in Rotorua, Daniel and Bheema took me for a walk through the Redwoods. It was so nice! And then we all went to the local hot(cold) spot of Hot and Cold. It was so cool! It was a place where two river's merged - one is hot and the other is cold! Crazy cool! So, you could pick your temperature and move closer to one river or the other depending on your preference. So relaxing too :-)

Then, I was off to Taupo, the adventure capital of the North Island! I had gotten a cleaning job working for accommodation at a hostel in town, Blackcurrant Backpackers, so the plan was to stay and work for two weeks and then keep heading south.

Well, this past Friday, the 14th marked my two weeks, and I'm still here in Taupo! And this is because.....

* Drum Roll!! *

I got a job!! Wahoo! I was in Taupo for less then a week when I got hired as Store Supervisor for the internet cafe in town called “Cybershed.” It's really the perfect time for me to find work and settle down in one place for a while. I've traveled NZ for nearly 3 months so far and since the winter is coming, (and, yes, there is no denying that the winter is coming! It has gotten so cold at night!! The sun goes down and poof! brrrr!!! Time for hats and mittens...) I was hoping to work for a few months, make some money, and then continue my travels. So, the timing is excellent!

Cybershed is a really cool place to work too. The other staff are so friendly and easy to get on with, and I get to meet and greet loads of backpackers and locals coming in to use the internet, burn DVDs, make copies, etc. It's a pretty sweet job. And the free internet for myself is a nice perk as well! So, I am excited to have gotten the position and looking forward to bundling up for the winter season in Taupo, NZ!

Lake Taupo (this MASSIVE lake formed when a volcano exploded however many years ago…) is a big part of what makes Taupo so beautiful – with Mt. Tongariro as the backdrop, it's just a gorgeous site! Taupo is also home to the Huka Falls attraction, so on my first weekend here, I mountain biked to the falls with three of my staff mates! The trail was a bit tricky to navigate at times, mostly when it was super steep or going downhill with sandy and loose gravel. There were lots of times where I had to stop and walk my bike up the hills because they were so steep! But it was an awesome work out!

The falls were cool to see too. Loads of water! The jet boats go right up to the falls too, which was kinda cool to watch. We decided to take the road back to Taupo, but not before I fell for the second time that day onto my knee. Apparently, I don't have much respect for my left knee...haha, all scratched up and badly bruised from falling over two too many times! Ah well, as my friend says, “It gives character.” :-)

The other cool thing that has been going on in Taupo for the last 2 weeks has been the “Erupt Festival.” This is a 10 day festival focusing on local, national, and international talent in the arts – dance, music, theater, etc. I was hoping to see at least one show, but the tickets were kind of on the steep side – no good for a backpackers budget. But, working at the Blackcurrant Hostel really has it's perks! I received free tickets to 5 different events! Within the course of a 4 day weekend, I saw a theater production, a juggling/comedy act, a Maori dance performance, an outdoor concert featuring local musicians, and another comedy act! My very favorite one was the Maori dance performance. It is so cool to be able to see another culture's dance and musical chants. I was completely enraptured the entire time! It was very tribal and raw with lots of Maori speak and was definitely a powerful and wholly energetic performance. All thumbs way up!

It will be interesting to stay put in one place for a while. But, I feel really comfortable in Taupo. It's beautiful and has a nice, casual but steady pace to the lifestyle. Lots of fun restaurants and cafes for me to check out too! Big library, lots of walking tracks, and loads of adventure sports (like, skydiving!!) for me to pass the winter days with :-) So, bring on the winter! (I've already got my hot water bottle all ready to go ;-)

The Ladies and the Tramp

2010-04-24T22:45:00.001+12:00

Saturday, April 24th – The day to conquer the Tongariro Crossing.

Well, the hike was awesome. All 19.4 km of it! The steep parts were definitely a challenge, and breaks were a must. But the views? - spectacular!

The first part of the hike had us walking along rocky, volcanic stone, past a creak, and by one waterfall. Then, at the second hut, we all took a break and gazed up at the steep climb we were all about to conquer. The climb was mostly stairs which made it much easier (but, there were people RUNNING up the mountain – they must have been completely insane...) Once we got up higher, we were in the clouds! So, the views were obstructed sometimes, but only for short spurts until the clouds cleared. It was kind of cool actually. I was hot going up, but once we reached the first plateau and took a break to wait for the others, I had to put a jacket on cause of the wind and cooler altitude. The girl leading the pack had apparently been doing this particular hike since she was 6 months old! She said her uncle was a volcanologist so he would come up to the mountain to take samples and her parents would come along and bring her with. Cool, eh?

I realized that Mt. Ngauruhoe, which was the first mountain we could see, was the famous mountain they used in Lord of the Rings – Mt. Doom! Good ol' LTR :-)

Then, we walked through this barren, empty part of the crossing called the South Crater, but it was still cool because there were clouds sweeping across the top and at the very base of the land. Then, up another steep climb where you could see for miles and miles. This climb was a bit trickier because of the loose gravel and volcanic rock that slid under your feet. Once we reached the top of the second majorly steep climb (and thankfully, there were only two steep climbs...) we were practically going to be blown off the side of the mountain! It was so windy!! And, we all agreed that it kind of looked like the moon at the very top (or, at least what we imagined the top of the moon would look like). Jen and I climbed to the next highest peak since we wouldn't have enough time to hike all the way to the summit of Mt. Tongariro (which is actually not part of the Tongariro Crossing, just a side trip) and had a stunning view of the bluish/green lakes between the mountains. But, the higher we got, the windier it was so we went back down to find the group and eat our lunch.

Jen and I got to talking and I found out that she is a Health Promoter as well! How cool is that!? It was so fun talking to someone else who knows what Health Promotion is!

On our way to meet everyone else, we passed the Red Crater which looks exactly like it sounds – a MASSIVE red crater! Really cool looking – kind of like how I would imagine hell to look...dark, red, and ominous. We had to practically slide down the next part to reach the Emerald Lakes where our group was waiting. The terrain was soft and sandy and easy to lose your footing on.

When we reach the group we pulled out the celebratory mini bottle of bubbly and each took a sip to celebrate our climb to the top of the mountain!! Woohoo!!

Being near the Emerald Lakes you could smell the sulphur. Stinky!! But it was so beautiful that it was definitely worth the smell. The Blue Lake was next after passing through the Central Crater which was more of the same barren desert look. Still super windy and cold too! I was glad to have my jacket, hat, and mittens with me!

* Side Note – if you ever plan to do this trip, by all means, do not wear blue jeans, jean shorts, or flip flops. There is unprepared tramping, but there is also just stupid tramping. And yes, we did see people wearing all of the above on the hike. They are almost crazier than the ones running up the mountain... *

The tramp was downhill from there. Beautiful views of Lake Taupo as well. The trail became zigzaggy on the way down which we were convinced was completely unnecessary and was only done to prolong the amount of time it took to get to the next hut (aka. toilet!!). We passed by Hot Springs which were unfortunately on private land so we couldn't take advantage of a good hot soak. It also started misting, but not too terribly – just enough for us to enjoy a lovely rainbow. We really had gotten lucky with the weather. Some days, they close the Crossing completely because of wind, rain, or snow. Otherwise, you just have to face whatever elements come your way. And we got the good elements!

The final part of the track was through bush. I felt my legs on auto-pilot towards the end. But, I was feeling really good for the most part and had so enjoyed the hike and the ladies that I had done the hike with! It was the perfect group and the perfect pace. A great day of tramping!!

We were all tuckered out waiting at the carpark for our shuttle to pick us up. I used the most fowl toilet I have ever used in my life – seriously, it was AWFUL. Took pictures in front of the Tongariro Crossing sign and then hopped the bus and dozed the whole way back to the hostel.

The shower at the hostel was amazing. Everything was amazing. Dinner was bean burritos with loads of veggies and avacado and cheese and wedges to boot! Then an evening of mint dark chocolate, wine, and Cranium. It was so much fun! And then the movie “Weekend at Bernie's” before bedtime. What a fantastic day.

An Escape at Solscape

2010-04-23T15:15:00.001+12:00

Solscape, the hostel that I am wwoofing at, just has this awesome chill vibe going on all over the place – as does the whole town of Raglan. It's beautiful, to say the least. The mountains, harbor, ocean, and beaches are just breath taking. But the laidback atmosphere of Solscape and Raglan just make it one of those places where you can find yourself wanting to stick around for longer than you originally planned to. I'm so happy that I decided to stay for longer. And, even though it's a surfing town, I feel like there is still so much to do to be out and active on the water and around the area. Kayaking, biking, walks on the beach...it's everywhere. And this is something that I definitely value in a place where I want to live. Natural beauty, relaxed environment, and not too touristy. Actually, I think that I came to Raglan at the perfect time. Still great weather, but during the change over of the seasons so there are way less people around. Which is totally my style.

I decided to take Andre's kayak out on the harbor again. This time I went the other direction and went straight into the sun. But, that's where the Pancake Rocks were so I wanted to check those out! It was a bit rougher on the water than the other day, but it was still great being out on the water. I really enjoy kayaking – it's so peaceful and calming to me. I biked back up toward Solscape and hit the lookout spot right at sunset. Perfect timing! So, I chilled out and enjoyed the beautiful sky and sea.

Andre invited me and four friends to go wake boarding behind his boat one day! Katie (another Wisconsinite that I met in NZ) and I went tubing first off and just had a blast! I thought my arms were going to fall off...haha. Andre was brutal! But it was so much fun. And neither of us fell off! Woohoo! the boys (Chris and Karl) went next – Lubos played the paparazzi and used his gynormous camera to take photos. So, Katie and I hung out on the beach with the two other CS (couchsurfing) Chillian girls that were staying with Andre.

It was a perfect day outside too. Just slightly cloudy be lots of sun. I went in the boat to take pictures of Lubos wakeboarding. He was great at it! Plus, it was way fun for me to try out his sweet camera :-) The lens on that thing!! So awesome.

I tried wake boarding after the other boys went and was able to get up most of the time, but had a hard time staying up – the footstraps on Lubos' kite board were too big so my feet didn't feel very secure. But, it was way fun nonetheless! Boy, are my arms going to be sore tomorrow.... We all got to watch the sunset before we packed ourselves into the Lubos' van. The sunsets here are just incredible. I don't think I could ever get sick of them.

The weather changed over a bit later that week. I was sleeping in my tent and felt a drop of water on my face. Turns out, my tent isn't exactly rain proof...bummer! So, I spent a half hour locating all the roof leaks (five...) and placing a piece of already partly damp clothing underneath each. Then, I figured it would be a good idea to bring my electronic stuff into the station house, just in case the rain was relentless and soaked my tent. So, I threw on my blue poncho and ducked into the SH. I sprawled out on the SH sofa in my sleeping bag listening to music on my iPod. Needless to say, it was a comfy spot (and DRY!) but with people coming in and out after about 6 am to make breakfast, it wasn't exactly the most quiet spot to be snoozing...

I finally got to try out surfing!! A fellow friend and wwoofer, Karl, agreed to give me a surf lesson so all I had to do was rent a board and a wet suit. Surfing was really fun – although, I was terrible! Haha, but just my first day...things can only go uphill from here right? ;-) I could barely keep my balance on the board to just paddle. But, when Katie showed up at the beach later, she informed me that I probably picked one of the worst days to try out surfing for the first time because the waves were so messy. So, at least it was supposed to be hard and it wasn't all just me!

We played around in the waves for about 2 hours. It was just fun being out in the water and paddle around a bit! I didn't realize how tired I was until the very end. My legs and arms were just like jello! And then we had to make the climb from the beach back up to Solscape...20 minutes uphill. Not exactly something to look forward to after 2 hours of surfing! But, phew, we made it. :-)

One of the evenings at Solscape was filled with loads of people chopping, cutting, and dicing vegetables and whatever else in the kitchen for...drum roll... PIZZA!! And not just any pizza, but clay oven pizza. MmmMM! I was in charge of chopping the garlic, peppers, and whatever else was needed. It was really fun with all the hustle and bustle in the kitchen. There were three different groups who all decided to do pizza night on the same night. So, we just ended up doing one BIG communal pizza night! There were so many pizzas too! Holy wow!! And it was amazing!! Veggies and chewy thin crust. Sooo good. I was stuffed to the brim! And Chris even made a PB and Nutella pizza too for dessert :-9 What a great end to the deliciousness that was...pizza night!

After two full weeks of wwoofing at Solscape, it was time for me to move on. I was invited to join a group of 9 other kiwi women and hike the famous Tongariro Crossing on Saturday, April 24th! This tramp is 19.4 km long and typically takes people 7-8 hours to complete. But it's rated as one of top day hikes in the entire world! Definitely a must-do during my time in New Zealand.

Cruising the Coromandel on Easter Weekend

2010-04-08T10:32:00.002+12:00

I arrived in Raglan last Wednesday where I met my couchsurfing host, Andre. For those of you who have never heard of “Couchsurfing,” it's something that I was introduced to several years ago and is a budget travelers dream!! Couchsurfing is an online network where people create profiles of themselves and advertise their “couch” or whichever sleeping surface (air mattress, bed, floor mat, hammock... ;-) ) they have available. So, when I decided to come to Raglan, I typed “Raglan” in the search box and Andre's profile amongst other Raglaners pop up. After checking out people's profiles (and viewing their references – just one of the “safety” mechanisms that CS has created), you can message them and let them know the dates that you are looking to “surf their couch.” If they are available and willing to host you, they write back and Tada! you have a free place to stay and a chance to meet a local in the area. I totally recommend Couchsurfing – and you don't even need to be a traveler to do it! Lots of people go on an just enjoy hosting other travelers – if you don't get the opportunity to travel much, it's a great way to bring other cultures to you. I give Couchsurfing two huge thumbs UP! Check it out at “www.couchsurfing.org”

Andre took myself and another couchsurfer, Stephanie from France, to the Te Toto Gorge on the outskirts of Raglan. There was a gorgeous lookout over the ocean with a stunning view of the Raglan Harbor. The gorge was really beautiful with incredibly steep cliffs, black rocky beaches and lots of greenery. So pretty!!

We drove back down to the beach – more black sand but since the sun was beginning to set, it wasn't scorching on the feet! So, I ditched my sandals at the stairs and walked barefoot – one of the many things on my “What makes me happy” list :-)

We walked along the beach for quite a while. With the sun setting it got quite a bit cooler. but we watched a few jetskis playing in the water and dipped our toes in the tide pools of the beach. There were tide pools everywhere! There were even the cliché bongo drummers on the beach to serenade us :-)

When we got back to the car, the sky was starting to turn this brilliant pinkish/orange color. So, we zoomed back to the lookout over the beach and enjoyed the setting of the firey orange ball. How peacefully stunning.

The next day, Andre invited me to go on a road trip with him to the Coromandel Peninsula for the Easter weekend. I hadn't thought I would be able to make it to the east coast/Bay of Plenty area while I was in the North Island, so I was stoked that he was willing to let me tag along! We drove to Thames on Friday and I met Andre's mum, brother, brother's girlfriend, sister and niece. Andre's mum had the idea to go to the Square Kauri tree in Tapu which was about 40 minutes north of Thames. It was in the middle of this windy, gravel road and just had this small sign next to the trail entrance. It only took about 10 minutes to get to the tree, and it was actually square...well, as square as a tree can grow!

We went to the Saturday morning market in town. A mix between arts and crafts and farmers goods! I found my first souvenir – a really cool pair of earring that were carved out of wood – one earring was the shape of the North Island and the other earring was the South Island! They had my name written all over them :-)

Andre and I spent Easter Sunday in Tauranga with a group of his close friends. Andre went on a morning mission and picked up fresh hot crossed buns for breakfast (which are a huge thing in NZ!). Then, the whole lot of us went to the National Jazz Festival in downtown Tauranga and spent the afternoon listening to sweet jazz music by the river. It was a lovely Sunday, but I missed doing the tradition “Easter things” that I would have done at home – coloring eggs and easter eggs hunts. I even missed going to the Easter Saturday mass and singing all the beautiful Easter songs at church. It just didn't feel like Easter without family and easter eggs. But, we all enjoyed the sunny, warm weather and lively music.

On Monday, I drove for my first time in NZ! It was actually really simple but I kept hitting the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal cause they are switched on the NZ cars. But, it was fun to be behind the wheel again :-)

I drove myself to Mt. Maunganui (aka. “The Mount”) and made the hike up to the summit (only getting a bit turned around twice...). I climbed up the steep side of the mountain – like seriously steep!!! I couldn't get over the fact that there were people RUNNING up the damn mountain! Holy hell!! Ambitious buggers...I thought they were crazy – yet seriously jealous that they could do it without passing out...or dying. I spent a while on the summit, playing around with my camera timer and soaking in the beautiful view. I could see all of Mt. Maunganui and Tauranga. It was so big!! So many houses and water and mountains in the distance. Quite a lovely view.

We were back in Raglan by Monday night – and the first thing I had to do was...boil an egg!! I was determined to color an Easter egg – tis the season! Andre had markers and pulled out a NZ flag so I could copy it on my egg :-) It turned out really cool!! Just a day late is all...No bother, better late then never.

I went out in the drizzle of Raglan on Tuesday and walked all the way to Manu Bay. As I was crossing a bridge, I started talking with this Maori guy, Shannon. He and his mates were diving for mussels and oysters! He asked if I wanted to try one, and and I thought I might as well try it! So, he had his friend throw one up, cracked it open, and said, “Just slurp it...shhlup!” Ugh!! It looked pretty gross...and I kept trying to drain the saltwater off (apparently I was supposed to leave the “juice” - whoops!) Anyway, I slurped and ate the whole thing! It was really salty and, well...pretty disgusting. Haha, probably won't be eating raw oysters again any time soon.

I finally made my way up to Solscape Eco-Retreat (a hostel and camp ground in Raglan). They had an opening for a female worker to do cleaning for accommodation, so I start on Friday! I took a browse around the grounds - it was pretty cool! Their dorms are recycled old train cabs! And they have tipis and lots of tents around too, Sweet spot with an awesome view of the ocean. I am excited to be back in the hostel atmosphere. So, looks like I'll be hanging out in Raglan till the 23rd of April. Plenty of time to get some good tramping, swimming, surfing, and kayaking in!! Raglan is just an awesome place to be – I am definitely glad to be spending more time here.

Yesterday, I took out Andre's kayak and kayaked around the Raglan Harbor. It was so quiet and peaceful! The harbor is huge too – I kayaked around for about 3 hours and still only got to about 1/6 of the harbor. Andre's going to let me take out his kayak while I'm staying at Solscape too! So, I'll definitely be taking advantage of that.

Well, time for me to pack up my stuff and head over to Solscape. Goodbye internet and mattress – hello communal kitchen and tent living!! :-)

Hot Air Balloons, hott night life, and a hot bike ride

2010-03-30T23:20:00.000+13:00

I've had a great week hanging out in the Waikato region of the North Island! And tomorrow, I am off to Raglan to check out the surfing conditions and get myself up and out on a board! I'm totally pumped dude!! ;-)

I hitch hiked with a guy that I met (Nicholas from France!) for nearly all of the 7 and a half hour trip from Paihia down to Hamilton. The hitching went without a hitch – we got super lucky to be picked up in Whangarei (about 2 hours south of Paihia) by a guy who was driving right to Hamilton! He was a super sweetheart and even dropped me off right at my friend Paul's doorstep – which was a HUGE relief considering the downpour that Hamilton was getting at 8:30pm Wednesday evening... Hamilton, is a nice, fairly large inland city but it has a difficult time keeping up with the “ooos and ahhhs” of the coastal and mountainous parts of the country. It boasts an excellent nightlife, is famous for it's hot air balloons, and is home to the University of Waikato. All of which I got to experience in person!!

I had met a guy, Paul (originally from Ohio but lived in Idaho completing his undergraduate degree) when I was in Paihia. He had mentioned that he had a flat in Hamilton, so when I decided to leave Paihia and head south to Rotorua, I discovered that I would go straight through Hamilton. Needless to say, I sent out an unofficial couchsurfing message to Paul and decided to make a stop in Hamilton before heading farther south. In retrospect, it was an excellent decision :-)

Paul was a fabulous tour guide, showing me all the hotspots of Hamilton. One of my favorites being a cafe where we proceeded to attempt to order NZ's version of the “All American Breakfast.” Our order consisted of French Toast and bacon (Meal #1), Big Breakfast (sausage, bacon, 2 eggs, toast,tomato) (Meal #2), and The Spinach Omelette (Meal #3). Oh, and two chai latte's please! How obvious do you think we made it that we were Americans??

We also walked around the Uni of Waikato campus. It was fun to see all the students milling about with their backpacks and books and espressos. Makes me start to miss the university life...but only a little ;-) Not nearly ready to go back quite yet!

I got a chance to meet some of Paul's friends when we went out for appetizers and drinks on Friday night. He had met Dan through couchsurfing and via Dan met Ra, and Glenn as well. Since Paul was flying out the next morning, this was the farewell party. To make it even more special, there was a parade in his honour! Well, the fact that it was the weekend of the Waikatoo Hot Air Balloon festival might have had something to do with it... But it was still cool to see all the kids with balloon animals and watch gas ignited flames shooting out the top of the hot air balloon baskets floats. It was quite the celebration! The rest of the night was loads of fun – we went to bar where they had several pool tables AND a sweet live band WITH a dance floor! Add a foosball table and I would have been completely and utterly in my nightlife element :-)

Saturday was the big Waikato Hot Air Balloon festival! I found out that Hamilton has really good weather conditions for flying HABs so the city kind of made it their “thing.” Which is awesome, because the festival only happens once a year, and I just happened to be in Hamilton at exactly the right time! I met up with Dan and Marea who I had met the night before. We met up with a larger group at the festival grounds and had just an awesome evening. A delicious picnic, a HAB light show, and, at the very end, fireworks!! It felt just like the Fourth of July at Carson Park – plus a couple thousand persons. I loved it!

After Paul left, I was invited to stay at Ra's house, one of the women I had met on Friday. She lives about 30 minutes south of Hamilton near a town called Te Awamutu. Yesterday, I decided to make it my mission to find my way to Hamilton and bike all the way back to Te Awamutu (oh yeah, Paul had bought a bike and ended up giving it to me – but, it had been left at his place in Hamilton, so decided it would be a fun adventure to go pick it up!) I ended up hitch hiking to Hamilton with this really awesome Austria traveler, Chris. He even went out of his way to bring me right to Paul's flat. Man the people here are awesome.

The bike ride back to Te Awamutu was highly successful. But not for lack of a sore bum...35 km on a not-so-cushy bike seat made for an interesting ride. But, I never once got lost, which was awesome considering my iffy directions...

Today, I biked into Te Awamutu and spent the afternoon at the Rose Garden – taking lots of close-up flower photos and breathing in the magnificent smell of rose petals. The weather has been perfect since Friday...not too hot and always sunny. It was a lovely day :-)

It's time for a change of scenery - leaving Paihia!

2010-03-23T14:49:00.001+13:00

Well, tomorrow I leave Paihia! I've been here for over a month now! Hard to believe...time sure flies when you're having fun :-)

I still have been spending much of my time meeting new people around the hostel and spending time on the beach during the day and playing pool in the bars at night. I have a fun little family to hangout with at the hostel and around the town. It's great!!

Last week, I decided it was time for me to kayak to Russell! So, I hopped in Little Red Ruby and away I went! Dan (the Coastal Kayaker guy) let me use a dry sack for my camera and stuff which was definitely needed.

The kayak there went great! I was worried my back would start to hurt, but I did fine. Davina and I had talked earlier about swimming to Russell, but after kayaking through the middle of the bay, it was definitely something that I think would have been a poor decision on both our parts. Kayaking was most definitely the way to go.

I pulled the kayak up on the Russell beach and decided to do some exploring of the town. I wandered around the streets – it's really quite a quaint little town. Cute, but extremely small with lots of older people walking about. Russell was actually the first capital of NZ. Interesting, eh?

I hike up the hill to the lookout point called Flagstaff. It was a beautiful view of the bay and the city of Russell. There was this really cool sundial at the top with a mosaic of all the islands and towns in the Bay of Islands. Really neat! I took lots of pictures :-)

Another big happening during the last couple weeks...I had a job trial/interview on board “The Rock” overnight cruise boat. It sounded like a really incredible opportunity – working on a boat, leading night kayaking, snorkeling, and fishing for a 22 hours cruise. Sounds ideal, right? Unfortunately, it was too good to be true. I ended up working for 22 hours in a 27 hour period (the five hours I didn't work, I was sleeping on the boat...) Not that I mind doing hard work, but it really wasn't that much fun...the staff was overworked and anxious all the time and the owner was really demeaning and not very welcoming. It was a definite deal breaker when I found out that I would only get paid $50 per cruise (which comes out to about $2/hr!) Hmmm, I am all about not making a lot of money when the experience is awesome, fun, and laidback – but a combo of hardly any money and a no-fun atmosphere? Eh, not so into that...so, I said, adious after my trial and got the heck off that boat!

There were a few good aspects about the cruise though. Like, I got to see about 6 dolphins swimming and playing next to the boat. That was really cool! And, we got to hike up to a beautiful lookout on this picturesque beach and see a stunning view of the Bay of Islands. Thank goodness for those moments...it saved the experience from being totally bad ;-)

And, of course, it was St. Patty's Day last week as well!! The whole hostel was in a festive mood. We had a BBQ and dressed in our best green outfits. Hugo and Paula took the cake with the best outfits of the night! We all had a great time dancing and taking a crazy number of pictures. It was a very happy St. Patty's day indeed! :-D

This past weekend I went to a local rugby match of some kiwi guys that I had met in Paihia! I had just about zero clue as to what was going on in the game...just lots of scrums and pulling down of shorts and lifting up guys by their shorts...it's quite an intense, but also kind of silly, game. I had about as much interest in rugby as I do in American Football...which, is not much. But, Davina, Megan, and I enjoyed our time checking out the cute rugby players socializing throughout the game :-) Pretty much the same thing I would do at a game back in the states!

I ALMOST went skydiving yesterday!! I made my appointment and walked all the way down there with my friend Matt, but when we got there, they said it was too windy to jump. What a bummer! I had totally gotten myself all psyched up and everything. Ah well, just knowing that I'm here for another 11 months makes it alright – I've got loads of time to do all that fun stuff :-)

Alright now everyone...it's time for me to hear some updates from you! I love hearing about what you are all up to. Send a note to guavanna@gmail.com. Hear from you soon!

Another photo album!

2010-03-10T15:39:00.001+13:00

I've posted more photos of New Zealand!

Check out: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2144588&id=185002768&l=c778998441

Enjoy!
Anna x

Haruru Falls and Snow Mountain

2010-03-10T14:18:00.000+13:00

Well, the weather has been back and forth here in Paihia. Some days it rains and other days (like today!!) it's absolutely gorgeous, sunny, and blue skies outside. I am sitting outside the library right this very minute, stretched out on my beach towel under the shade of the tree. It's pretty darn great.

I've been working every morning this week. We finish up around noon and then make lunch and hang out around the pool, read, visit with new guests or hit the beach!

Last week, I went for a loooong hike to Haruru Falls. I took one of the bikes and went to the trail head by the Waitangi Treaty Grounds and locked up my bike there. I was all excited because there were signs stating that this park was a “Kiwi Reserve Habitat” so I was really hoping to see a kiwi! But, I soon learned that kiwis are nocturnal creatures and quite shy, so it was unlikely that I would see one. Nuts! I kept my eye peeled though...although I didn't really have much of an idea of what to look for or listen for...

The trail was really cool. It started out like a jungle and then turned into this muddy, rooty, mudcrab infested mangrove area, back to jungle-like. I smelled all sorts of interesting stuff – soil and nature, manure, hamster cage...hah, lots of crazy smells. It was a well paved path too, so that made it easy to navigate. I was glad to actually be wearing my tennis shoes!! :-)

The falls was pretty but not super spectacular. I took a couple photos and then, I started my hike back to my bike :-) Got a bit rained on, but didn't get to terribly wet. All in all I hiked 10 kilometers (about 6.4 miles, I think) and I was definitely tuckered out at the end!

I also made a wonderful discovery last week – the Farmers Market of Paihia! The market was cute and quaint. A good variety of fruits and veggies, crepes, meats, jams and jellys, hummus, spreads, honey, cheeses, and sweet treats. I bought a Korean cucumber, tapenade spead (amazing!!!), and some fresh garlic cheese to make cheesy pasta with for dinner!! Mmmmm.

Speaking of food...I've vowed to to give up Nutella (it's the hazelnut, chocolately spread that's just downright delicious...) for 3 days. After a week of consistently dipping my spoon in to the Nutela jar, I realized that I had a real problem...lol. I'm on day two right now. Yesterday was rough tho...I could tell I was going through withdrawal when I couldn't hold my hands steady...*wink.

Yesterday I was sitting in the hostel lounge watching a movie and this girl comes in. Here is the convo that followed:

“Are you Anna?”
“Yep!”
“Nice! So, are you the one that's from Wisconsin?”
“Yeah! Where are you from?”
“Yeah, I'm actually from Wisconsin too! I live in Green Bay but I grew up in EAU CLAIRE.”
“No way...really? That's where I'm from!”

It was so crazy – seriously small, itty bitty, minuscule world we live in! It was so weird to be talking about the high schools of EC, the roads, and Water Street with someone who actually knew what I was talking about! Haha. I think she's sticking around Paihia for a while too, so it will be cool to have a fellow Wisconsinite as a neighbor!

Yesterday, I went on a really nice bike ride with my friend Hugo. We rode this street that I hadn't been on before and it had a stunning, scenic view of the Bay of Islands. He pointed out this rock that was in the way distance and said, “See how it's so white?” “We call it 'Bird Shit Island'.” But apparently when they take the tourists out on a island cruise, they tell them that it's called “Snow Mountain” because it only ever snows on that particular island during the summer...haha. It must be a magical place... :-)

New Zealand Photos

2010-03-04T14:23:00.000+13:00

First album up for pics from New Zealand!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2144162&id=185002768&l=54e0d8e5cb

Enjoy!

Are they Kiwi's? Or Greek Gods?

2010-03-02T09:23:00.002+13:00

The Weekend and beyond...

* Here are the updates from the last week or so! Internet has been scarce and I've just been out and about too much to take the time to post – so, just bare with me :-9 I suggest scrolling down to the bottom and reading up...there's quite a bit, so if you're keen to read a travel novel, have at it! Enjoy :-) *

Well, it's my first weekend in Paihia! Since I starting work in the hostel and have gotten to know the city a bit better, I have gotten a bit of a routine going day to day. So, the whirlwind adventures of my first few days in New Zealand are winding down just a bit. It's actually quite nice to wake up, work for a couple hours, then spend the rest of the day either at the pool or down by the beach – or just hanging out in the courtyard with the other hostel staff and travelers. There's always new faces at the hostel which keeps things interesting and fun!

I made my first trip to the BIG supermarket in town. I took out one of the bikes and cycled my way there since it is a bit of a trek by foot – especially carrying everything back. I got ingredients to make Thai Curry noodles (I have been craving it ever since I saw some other girls making it in the kitchen!) so I am pretty stoked about that meal :-)

I went to a nearby pub to hang out with some friends and watch the Canada verses Slovakia Olympic hockey game. Canada won, but it was a bit of a heart-beater towards the end there!! I wonder which game Brent and Danielle went to... But either way I'm a bit jealous! *wink

At the bar, there were about 30 or so people dressed in Togas!! Hahaha, it was so funny. I found out that they were on a pub crawl from Whangarei and had been going since 1:00pm that afternoon! Lol, it looked like they were having a fantastic time :-9

On Sunday, I went on a hike to the top of the nearby hill to get a wonderful view of the bay, the boats and the water. It's been raining a bit more here so the green stuff is starting to perk up!

I tried to go to the library on Sunday to use their WIFI, but apparently they turn off their internet when the library is closed! Dang! Which also means that when I arrived on Monday, I still couldn't check my email because, once again, closed... That's not so convenient :-(

Last night, I watched my first moon rise. It was absolutely stunning. The moon was HUGE and the color of macaroni and cheese. I watched it rise up over the mountains behind the little town of Russel which sits across the bay from Paihia. I was out for an evening run and just had to stop to watch the moon appear in all it's glory. Pretty incredible.

My Scottish friend Paula and I went to Salty's bar down the way for Kareoke night! And, I typically don't do Karaoke, but I did!! Haha, I sang “Get this party started” by Pink, for all of you who know what song that is... :-) It was super fun! Then played a couple games of foosball, and thanks to all practice I had with Allison and the crew before I left, I totally represented Wisco! Lol. I think they were all quite impressed.

A lovely day for kayaking and a BBQ!

2010-02-26T21:00:00.000+13:00

Woke up around 9 o'clock – 11 hours of sleep!! Yay me! haha. Then worked from 10:00-11:30 or so...J

I applied for my tax ID number at the Post Office today too. The lady behind the desk was super friendly and helpful. I had to go across the street to get a few things copied and printed off a few copies of my resume as well. There were two Germans working in the “copy centre” and they were super nice too! I realized after I handed out my resume to a couple places, that I've been spelling “Paihia” wrong...This whole time too!! Sheesh, well, at least I figured it out sooner than later...

So, I just walked around the town for a good couple hours and walked into practically every restaurant and cafe asking for the manager and then seeing if they had work available. almost all of them have people leaving but not for another 3 weeks or so. Although, I did pretty much get offered a waitressing job...but it doesn't exactly sound like something I want to do...It's a a restaurant called Esmae's and I actually spoke with Esmae the owner! She is a sweet older woman, super cute. I could pretty much start working there next Friday, but it would be 6 days per week (not Sunday), 5:30-10:00pm, $13.50 (ish) per hour, but here's the bummer...I would be the only one on staff. Plus, she wants me longer term (like at LEAST 2 months I'm guessing) so I just don't think it's a good fit. I'll keep looking.

After not much luck on the job front, I asked Mark if the Bay Adventure kayak was available. And it was!! So, I went down to the beach and went kayaking for about 45 minutes or so – it was so great!! I got some good thinking done out on the water...thought about how the ability to kayak, swim on the beach, lay on the beach, and meet new people at the hostel was just exactly what I was looking for. I figured maybe I would treat myself to one “adrenaline rush” activity each month – so in the end, I would have 12 awesomely thrilling things to go with a year's worth of daily awesome. :-)

I went for a good swim after I finished kayaking, the headed back to the hostel. Sarah was collecting money for Loic's BBQ birthday dinner and I was all about BBQing!

I hung out in the courtyard where people were drinking and visiting. John gave me the rest of his crocodile wine (sheraz) yum!! and I met – Scott from Canada, Jerry and Ari from Holland, and Matt (another worker at the hostel who has already been skydiving 4 times!!). We just chatted and joked around to pass the time before they were back with the food and would start up the grill. We played another game of Shithead and I lost again! Seriously, not my game... The temperature had definitely gotten cooler, and eventually, I had to go and put my fleece on. It was actually chilly!! I told Scott if I wanted to wear pants and a fleece I would have just stayed in Wisco ;-)

First day on the job and being dubbed "shithead"

2010-02-25T21:00:00.000+13:00

Couldn't believe how LOUD one of my dorm mates was last night...holy snoring!! It was insane. Luckily, I fell asleep fairly quickly...

I woke up, had a nice long shower, and ate breakfast with my new English friend John. When I was packing up my stuff, I found a card that mom had left me with two calling cards in it! What a lovely surprise :-) Thanks mom! John and I both checked out and he went down to the beach and I went to work! Like, literally, right to work...I dropped off my pack in the office and Mark goes, “Okay! Come with me – I'm just showing another girl how to clean the bathrooms.” Alrighty then! Ended up teaming up with Paula, a girl from Scotland who is here for about 3 weeks. She helped to show me the ropes and figure out what to do and how things should be cleaned. We cleaned two of the BIG suites in the Resort and together it took us just over 2 hours. So, from 10-12pm every morning, I'll be cleaning for my keep! :-)

I was sweaty and hot after working, so I figured it would be a great time for a swim in the ocean! So, I hit the beach. It was a gorgeous sunny day – perfect for the sand and sun. It really is beautiful here. There are islands to be seen from the shore and you can see the town of Russell on the other side of the bay. Lots of sailboats in the water too! There were lots of people out to enjoy the beach but it wasn't too crowded by any means.

When I got back to the hostel, I made myself some lunch and chatted with James, an English guy from Liverpool. He told me that he is a professional football (soccer) player in NZ. I found out from him that I can take out a kayak for free from the hostel so I am definitely excited about that!! Tomorrow perhaps?

It started raining like mad when I was eating lunch and didn't let up for a good couple hours. So, I stuck around the hostel and learned a game of cards called “Shithead” from Paula and her friend Davina (also from England!). And, I lost – thus being rightly dubbed “Shithead.” Crap. :-)

The room that I was put in is great! There is actually no one else in the room at the moment. Really nice to have my own space for a while. I even snagged a double bed!! Wahoo!! Hopefully I get to stay in this same spot for the whole time I'm here. We'll see though.

I read for a while from my current book, “The Mermaid Chair.” and then started watching “Two Weeks Notice” with Hugh Grant and Sandra Bullock in the hostel lounge with a bunch of others. The rain made it a perfect night for movie watching.

Is the manager available? I'm looking for a job...

2010-02-24T21:00:00.000+13:00

So, I wasn't so keen on having to pay for my accommodation while I was staying in Piahia. $25/day was definitely going to add up! I talked to Katie at the reception desk at YHA Piahia (the hostel I was staying at) and she recommended that I walk to the backpackers right next door and see if they had any work for accommodation. So, at 9:00am (one hour to check out...) I walked to Bay Adventures Backpacker Resort and talked to the manager, Mark. Turns out, he had about 5 of his workers leaving and one was leaving tomorrow! So, he told me to stop back around the same time the next day and he would fix me right up. I was stoked!! But, that also meant that I would need to book one more night at YHA Hostel so I scurried back over to Katie, thanked her for the suggestion, and booked night number two.

The bathrooms at this hostel had the tiniest sinks. Like, itty bitty! Probably a good thing though, cause the bathrooms were pretty small to begin with... John left that morning to drive to the South Island. He was eager to start his trout fishing part of his trip!

I decided to go for a walk around Piahia and check out the town a little bit. See where I'll be living for the next couple weeks, I think! Not long after I started walking, I saw a sign to the Public Library (yay! Library! Free internet!) I grabbed a copy of the local newspaper to see if there were any jobs being advertised in Piahia. I found two that looked alright – one for a housekeeper at a hotel and another for a cleaner at a laundry mat. No exactly what I had in mind, but it would work. I was just still so glad that I found the work for accommodation gig at Bay Adventures! Made me start to debate whether I wanted to find another job...or just enjoy the work for stay thing and spend the rest of the warm summer days at the beach!

I must have needed some catch up on sleep, so I took a wonderful nap back at the hostel. Gosh I love naps. Totally rejuvenating! :-) I decided to head to the hotel that was looking for a housekeeper and apply there and then stop into some of the restaurants to see if they had jobs available as well. Most of the places said they had people leaving in the next 2-4 weeks, but no one at the moment. At one place though, a Tapas Cafe, I spoke to the barista and she said she was leaving soon, so she figured the manager would be looking for a replacement soon! I said I would bring in my CV tomorrow and speak with the manager.

I stopped at the 4 Corner store for groceries and decided to get some actual food for a real meal! Bread, hummus, spinach, tomato...mmm!! Got the usual carrots, granola, and yogurt too, but I was way excited about making a sandwich for dinner. I even bought myself a bottle of white wine – New Zealand's finest! ;-) Okay, well it's made in NZ but since it was $6.99 it might not be the country's finest... ~grin~

After I finished my wonderful dinner, I took my wine glass and asked to join these two girls (they had moved into my dorm earlier that day) and a guy who I hadn't seen before. They fully welcomed me into their conversation, which was super nice! And they all happened to be from England!

We chatted and ate some cheese and crackers and some sort of brownie something or other...haha. We sat around the kitchen table for ages. It was really fun! Then we had the idea to go down to the beach and walk on the sand. Much more chill and conversation friendly than having a couple drinks at the bar down the road. So, the four of us wandered along the beach with out toes in the sand and out legs getting splashed by the ocean. What a perfect end of the night :-)

The wonders of Cape Reinga

2010-02-23T21:00:00.000+13:00

I was really surprised by how well I slept in the car for the rest of the night...I kind of folded myself into a shape that fitted into the curve of the seat – and it was actually quite comfortable! John was still sleeping when I woke up. And it was 9:00am! (So much for watching the sunrise...)

John had gotten eaten alive by sand flies during the night. His whole upper arm and chest were full of bites! I, however, got out relatively unscathed. Must be my Wisconsin blood :-)

We decided to take a dip in the lake and wash up. It was so refreshing to go for a swim and shampoo my hair!! Really got us ready for the day. But we were both extremely thirsty (water had run out during our drive...) and made it a top priority to find – a.) water b.) gas c.) breakfast (and in that order...) I even debated brushing my teeth with beer...but decided (and hoped!) we'd probably find water sooner than later.

Sure enough, we found a camp ground where a guy filled our water bottles and we got to brush our teeth. Then, no more than 5 minutes from there we hit a petrol station. And then 5 more minutes away was a mini supermarket where we got stuff for breakfast and lunch. Sweet as! (*Kiwi term here meaning “Cool” or “Awesome”...pretty self explanatory). It was nice to drive during the daylight again – the scenery was beautiful. Lots of farm land and cows and sheep. Every now and then we would see the coast and the water but we were on a mission to get to the Cape. We did stop to take pictures of a sickly looking Emu tho, and we even came across a cattle crossing! Kinda neat :-)

We arrived at Cape Reinga around noon, I think. There weren't too many people around so it was kind of nice that the place wasn't swarming with tourists. The combination of the mountains, Tasmin Sea, and the ocean was absolutely breathtaking. The water was a turquoise blue/green and the beach was completely deserted and stretched on for a good 2 miles or more. It was just awesome. The path had these little signs with historical facts and information about the are which was interesting to read up on. We walked to the lighthouse and took pictures under the sign that pointed to the major world cities – like LA!

John and I decided to make the trek down the mountain and see if we could get to the beach. I hiked the whole thing in my white sandals...again, not very conducive for tramping...I'd be waaaay impressed if these sandals made it to the end of the year. But I wouldn't bet money on it...

We made it all the way down to the beach and Jthen strolled with our feet in the sand and the waves splashing our toes. That has got to be one of my favorite sensations ever – love it!! About halfway down the beach we decide to turn around – this is a loooong beach! I couldn't get over how we had the whole thing completely to ourselves... But, we both wanted to go for a swim first :-) The waves were great and we body surfed some good ones! The water was cool and refreshing, but not too cold. Just perfect.

The wind had picked up on our walk back to the mountain. The sand skidded across the beach and our packs were covered in sand when we went to retrieve them. The tide was coming in as well, so we had to dash across the sand quickly at one point so as not to get splashed too much by the waves and avoid the shell covered rock.

The hike back up to the top was definitely a workout! I am excited to get in some more tramping so I can build up my steep climbing stamina! I was about ready for another dip in the ocean when we got back up to the top!!

We just decided to cruise back to Piahia and John would decide whether to drive on from there or stay the night. We chose to take a bit of a different route back, taking us through the center of the Northland, verses the east coast. In the car, I read something in my “New Zealand – Lonely Planet” book about some hot springs in Kaikohe – it said that it wasn't as well known as the ones in Roturua and that it was mostly used by the locals. I was like, awesome!! We should definitely go! So, I talked John into it and we eventually located the pools after asking a local how to get there.

The pool facility was not what I expected at all. It was actually kind of ghetto looking with this black, plastic fencing surrounding the entire thing. And there were a bunch of individual pools, all different shades of green or milky white...pretty disgusting looking actually, hehe. yet it was still called “Healing Waters.” Hmm... Oh, and smell...it was pretty potent! Rotten eggy, sulfury goodness.

I dipped my toes in a couple of the pools and couldn't even stand it, it was so hot. I kept testing different ones – one was too cool, and the rest were boiling! John came over and tried to get in one too and was having difficulty too! It didn't help that our feet were sunburned... John had the brilliant idea of going in butt first – any part of our body that hadn't been exposed to the sun could tolerate the heat. So, here we sat – in a pool with our legs and feet perched on the edge and our bums in the green water...haha, we must have been quite a site to see.

When I looked down to see how red my arms were from the water, I noticed the ring on my hand. Typically, it is silver with black leaves but the silver was turning black by the second! But, it's doesn't look half bad being black – gives it a bit of character I think :-)

So, eventually we got smart and went over to the worker fellow and asked him which ones were hot but not unbearably hot. he pointed us to a few other pools that we hadn't tried yet, and we finally found one that we could stand!! Haha. And, minus the smell, it felt awesome. After soaking for a bit, we decided to go visit with the worker guy. We found out that the pools were different colors because of the different minerals from the water sources.

It was about 7:30pm by the time we left. John decided he wanted to stay in a hostel for the night in Piahia and then drive south in the morning. So, once we got into town, we searched around for a hostel with open beds and got lucky to find a reception office that was still open after hours.

A shower after a sulfur bath and a bed after sleeping on the ground is so not overrated... ;-)

Hitchhikers and wet sleeping bags...

2010-02-22T18:00:00.000+13:00

I woke up fairly early this morning – around 8 or so (that's early in vacation terms :-) Checked my email with fingers crossed that I had gotten some positive response from my CS requests. But, no luck.

John asked me again if I was interested in going to the Bay of Islands and then on to Cape Reinga with him, and I figured, well, what the hell, no reason to stay in Auckland if I don't have a place to stay. Plus, he was thinking of camping for the night, so I was up for using my sleeping bag and not paying for accommodation. Its the backpackers way :-)

So, this time I took the navigators seat on the left side of the car...pretty weird at first to be in the American “drivers” seat but not steering...hehe. But, John seemed pretty comfortable with the driving on the other side of the road thing already. It was hilarious though, because, every once in a while, he would go to put his turn signal on and would hit the windshield wipers instead – they're switched! I cracked up every time. :-D

It felt good to finally be getting out of the big city. Not long into the drive we hit beautiful landscapes. The trees and mountains are incredible - lush and green. I can't even imagine what it would look like if it rained a bit. The Northland of the north island is in a drought right now – we kept seeing signs for Very High or Extreme Fire Danger the farther north we got. Rain is definitely an asset up here!

We chatted and munched on food as we drove. Got to know John a bit better. And of course, every now and again one of us would exclaim...Wow!! Look at that! Or, Cows!! Sheep! Haha, not much wildlife up here except for the frequent dead opossum on the side or middle of the road...yuck. I learned about opossum hunting in NZ too. Just take your car late at night, and drive down a dirt road. The opossums practically leap out in front of the car and consequently, smash into your grill...sheesh! Apparently, it's a fun hobby for some kiwis...lol.

We continued on driving north up the east coast of NZ. The sun was shining bright, the windows of the car were rolled all the way down, and the radio was blasting. Ahh, I love road tripping in the summer :-)

As we rolled on through a smaller town, we saw a guy on the side of the road walking with a backpack on. I told John that he was probably hitchhiking and that we should give him a ride! But John goes, “Maybe...but he doesn't have his thumb out...” I figured you can only stick your thumb out for so long before your arm gets tired. hehe. So, we pulled off on a side street and yelled out to the guy to see if he needed a ride. Sure enough, he was heading to Piahia – where we were going! So, he jumped in the backseat, and we were on our way!

Jamie (the hitchhiker from Canada), John and I decided to check out the Whangarei Falls in Whangarei (pronounced “Fengarei” - the “Wha” is actually an “F” sound.) It was a very pretty falls that people used to jump off of, but they no longer allow it. Looked like a fun jump though!

We hung around there for a bit and took some pictures, then filled up our water bottle and headed out again. We became very intrigued when we passed by a sign that said “Famous Hundertwasser Toilets in Kawakawa.” We're like, we have got to see these toilets!! The facilities were actually really cool, kind of mosaic like with glass bottles and lots of color. Pretty! :-)

We dropped off Jamie in Piahia and then found a place to park by the beach. We strolled around the town for a little bit. My first impression was that it was pretty quiet with lots of hostels, hotels, restaurants and the like. Which was kind of a good thing because this is where I hope to find work and live for a while – there are a lot of adventure things going on in town, like kayaking, skydiving, tours, swimming with dolphins, and deep sea fishing. So, looks like there are plenty of things to do! Plus, it is on the water with beautiful views, so that's a definite plus.

For dinner, we went with Fish and Chips. (Or “Fush and Chups” as the kiwi's say). We found a place to sit by the water front and I ate my first “real” meal since arriving here! Thus far I have been surviving off apples, bananas, trail mix, bread, carrots, peanut butter, and yogurt and cheese when a fridge is available. Pretty simple, but it works and it all travels pretty well too.

John wanted to head farther up north to get closer to the Cape, so I said I was in. Plus, he was planning on coming back through Piahia the next day so I figured it wouldn't hurt to put off job hunting for another day. :-)

We got to see a little bit of the sunset, but it got dark pretty soon after we started driving. John was doing the hand out of the window thing, riding the air and all of a sudden I heard this “Thuap!” I thought a bug had hit the windshield, but John goes “Ow! That damn bug hit me!” Hahaha, I couldn't stop laughing. Just the combo of the sound and his reaction was too much...lol.

After a couple hours of driving, I spotted a sign for lake, so I told John we should check it out and see if it would be a good place to set up camp. It was really dark out but when we pulled in we saw a camper van and a tent in the same area, so we figured, good place to stop! I was exhausted, so we both pulled out our sleeping bags and brought them outside to lay on a gaze up a the stars. It was so beautiful! I told John I was just going to sleep outside in my sleeping bag. It was a clear night so I wasn't worried about rain.

Not sure what time I woke up, but it had started to sprinkle...man!! So, I woke John up and we grabbed our sleeping bags and headed to the car. We were both swapping away bugs the whole night too, so it was good to get into the car. No sooner had we closed the car door then it completely started down pouring! I am so glad I woke up! I didn't think I was going to be able to fall asleep in the car, but I eventually found a comfortable position and drifted off.

Day at the beach? Yes please!

2010-02-21T15:00:00.000+13:00

Once again, woke up and had a leisurely morning. John from Montana had invited me to go to Piha beach and then up to the Bay of Islands with him (he had rented a car for his entire time here) but I had already booked a room at Freeman's for one more night. So, I asked Seema about it, and she was so cute! She told me that she didn't want me to not be able to go because I had already book a bed so that I should go and have a great time! Aww :-) And, as it turned out, this girl Kellie, who is from England but is working in Melbourne, was in Auckland for just a day and planned to go to Piha with John too! And me, being the indecisive person that I am, could decide whether to go or stay and explore the city...but, eventually, with Kellie's persuasion, Seema's understanding, and John's gunghoe attitude, I decide to go! And, after the day's end, it was an excellent decision. :-)

I took backseat in the car and Kellie took passenger and navigator. Other side of the road driving too! John was on day 3 of his other side driving experience.., oh boy! Seatbelt fastened! It took us a bit to find our way out of the city...I hadn't a clue on what to do or where in the world we were going actually...so I just kinda sat back and let them figure things out...

We took an unexpected turn off when we saw some incredible scenery...then stopped every 10 feet to take pictures of something else we saw that was beautiful and spectacular. :-) We drove into this carpark and discovered we were in Karekare – a beach that is known for it's good surfing waves. But, unfortunately, the surfing conditions were “messy” so...dang.

The beach at Karekare was awesome!! Black sand and huge rock cliffs...it was stunning, It was a bit overcast at first, but that made for much cooler sand and a bit cooler temps. The sand felt so great to walk on too! As Kellie said “It's like walking on a brownie!” And it totally was... :-)

We noticed a group of Maori dressed up in grass skirts and flowery tops and a camera crew and the like surrounding them. I thought for sure they were shooting a movie! But...it wasn't a movie...it was a taping for the Biggest Loser!!!! Cool, right!!? I was pretty stoked about seeing that. We kept at a distance, but I think we still might have been closer to the scene then the crew would have liked...but it was the Biggest Loser!! What else were we to do?

Next, we drove to Piha beach on a mission for – beer. It was hot, we were thirsty, and it was beer:30 time as John liked to say :-) But, apparently there is no beer to be had before 5:30 on the Piha beach, so John and I decided to climb Lion's Rock (This GINORMOUS rock in the middle of the Piha beach.) Also, I'd like to add that I am climbing this thing in white, thong sandals...not exactly ideal for hiking up a massive stone structure...

At the top was another incredible view. Piha beach was much more crowded and the landscape was dotted with houses nestled in amongst the mountains. So, the scenery wasn't nearly as serene and starkly nature at Karekare, but beautiful, nevertheless.

We decided the beer drinking would have to commence back at the hostel. So, when we got back to Freeman's, we cracked open a drink and sat down to play “Pairs” with Sarah, Steven, Suguru, and a guy from Finland (who was now one of my new dorm mates). “Fin” went for a shower and both Kellie and I gawked when he walked past us to his room with his shirt off. “Appreciating the beauty,” Kellie said. Yes indeed :-)

We played more cards and made/ate guacamole and hummus with spicy blue chips...yum!! I was all tuckered out from the day at the beach, so by 10:30pm, I crawled into bed...sooo sleepy! And a bit sunburnt... John and Kellie tried to wake me up at one point to go downtown with them, but I was completely out...But, I woke up around 1:30am when they got back from the bars and then couldn't fall asleep again! Kellie was snoring and the guy next to her kept saying “Excuse me, shhhh!! Excuse me!!” So, I got up and went up to the lounge and sent off about 10 CS requests since I figured I would stay in Auckland for the next couple days and sort out my tax ID number and bank account. Plus, I still hadn't seem much of Auckland, so I thought it would be good to explore the city a bit before I left.

Food + Wine + Festival = darn good fun :-)

2010-02-20T18:00:00.001+13:00

I slept in late, had a leisurely breakfast, and checked my email during the morning. Seema greeted me and told me that she loved the way I had made my bed! Haha, she is such a sweetheart... Sarah came into the room at one point and started talking again about her and her brother going to the Food and Wine Festival over on Devonport Island for the day. After I found out they were coming back for the night and that it was only $11 for the bus and ferry ride there and back, I was all in! So, they were great and waited for me to shower and get ready. When I got back up to the lounge, I found out that Ben and Suguru were coming along too! Excellent :-) It took a little while for everyone to be ready and in one place, but eventually, we were out the hostel door and on our way.

We arrived in the center of Auckland city and found the ferry. The ride over was short and it was looking to be a beautiful, sunny, blue skied day! Perfect :-) We kept noticing loads of people dressed in 70's style hippy outfits too...haha, not really sure why, but we assumed it was part of the festivals festivities!

When we arrived at the Food and Wine Festival gate, we discovered it would be $30 to get in... eh???? A bit more than we were hoping to spend, but we thought we'd get a free glass of wine out of it – turns out, only those who purchased tickets ahead of time got the free wine... Krikee!! Lame beans... But, we soon got over the fact the the festival was more $ than we had originally thought (we had to buy our drinks once we got in the festival too...) and decided to have a grand ol' time. Funny thing was, I ended up not even having a single glass of wine...just beer! But I tried their Summer Ale and 2 x Golden Lager, all of which I throughly enjoyed :-)

There were pirates on stilts, a comedian, several live bands, and loads of people. It was all held in a fairly small space, but it didn't feel too crowded. Plus, it was right by the water so that was really nice.

We ended up staying till almost the end and danced and sang along to a live cover band – they totally had my attention when they started playing “wagon wheel.” Such a great tune!!

We decided to walk up the mountain on the island in order to see an incredible view of the city. Instead of walking the roundabout way, I surged straight up the hill, shortest (and steepest) way possible to get to the top! I thought Sarah was going to keel over and die...haha. But the view from the top was amazing. Beautiful mountains and water and the city-scape was awesome too.

We took the ferry and the bus back to Freemans where I met one of my new dorm mates. I asked him if he wanted to run to the supermarket with me and get some food and he said he was in. Found out his name was John and he was from Montana! He was here for a month and wanted to see and do as much of NZ as he possibly could – but he's also super into trout fishing, so that was a key part of his travel too.

Got back to the hostel, ate a late dinner, and then hit the pillow. It was a long but really fun day!

PS. No word on any of the jobs I applied for...dang it! This might prove to be more difficult than I thought...

A whole 'New World'

2010-02-19T23:57:00.000+13:00

Well, it's half past nine and here I sit on my hostel bed along with the rest of my four dorm mates...apparently we all that the same idea to just chill and relax in the comfort of our rooms.

But, I did have a lovely afternoon. The weather here in Auckland today was gorgeous. It was sunny and breezy and just the perfect temperature. I could definitely get used to this! I was in a tanktop, jeans and sandals when I walked to the grocery store. Beautiful!

The super market, “New World,” has a fitting name for travelers, don't you think? I was pretty hungry by the time I went there but I managed to do pretty well and get some good essentials for the next day or so – bread, cottage cheese, apples, peanut butter, carrots, cereal, yogurt, and some trail mix. Mmm mmm!

On my walk, you couldn't help but notice the sound of the Cicadas!! My goodness are they loud. I actually got a good close-up picture of one in the backyard of the hostel. Big fellas!

When I ate lunch, I visited with two of the Asian workers at the hostel. The girl is here to go to university and study English. The guy, Suguloo, had just graduated but was continuing to work at the hostel for some hand-on English practice. He was like, “You are helping me study!” Lol, awesome :-) I taught him what “book exchange” and “odd” meant.

I went online to check out the SEEK.com website for jobs. There is one through the US Postal Service as a “Postie” - cycling around and delivering mail! Sounds like fun!! It's in Gisborne which is still in the North Island, so I am going to fix up my resume and send it in.

I really have a different feel about this trip (trip? work vaca? work holiday?) then I have about my travels in the past. Since I have such a long time here, I am just taking it easy and going at a slower pace. It is really nice! I don't feel in this super rush to “get everything done and see everything asap!!” because I'm leaving in a month. I much prefer this pace.

After browsing for jobs, I visited with Wan, my Australian dorm mate. He showed me some cool pictures of the Carnival in Rio that he was at last weekend. Looks like quite the party! I am excited for Cate and I to go to Brazil together after she graduates!!

I read for a little bit and was actually feeling pretty good as far as sleep goes. But, my eye started to droop a little, so I figured I'd sleep for a bit. Well, 5 hours later...I woke up to cats running past the door and Wan making odd sighing noises in his sleep! haha. I felt so rummy after waking up - like I had been drugged or something! I was really hoping that because I got quite a bit of sleep on the plane, that my jetlag wouldn't be quite as intense. But, apparently there's no avoiding it... Aww shucks, hehe.

On Kiwi turf!

2010-02-19T12:18:00.001+13:00

I AM HERE!!!! The rest of the flight went splendidly. I actually was able to sleep quite a bit. I watched another hilarious movie called “The Invention of Lying.” Totally recommend it if you get the chance to watch it. Breakfast came – omelet with fruit and yogurt. Delish! I got lucky with no one sitting next to me – gave me plenty of space to put my stuff and not feel like I was sleeping on the person next to me. And I never had to move for anyone to get out and pee!

I got through customs just fine – had to ask the customs officer to repeat himself though. Haven't gotten used to the Kiwi speak yet. I had a beagle sniff out my bag at baggage claim. The dog smelt my fruit and nuts that I had in it from the plane ride. Smart pup! I felt a bit “suspicious” though... ~curling up the mustache~

I went straight to the information desk at the airport to find out the best way to get to my hostel. There was this other girl there with a backpack so I go, “Where are you headed?” “Freemans Lodge” “No kidding? Me too!” And the lady behind the desk goes, “Well that's lucky, you two can split the shuttle fare.” Nice!! Come to find out, she is a nurse from England, quit her job, spent a couple weeks in California on a group tour, will spend 3 weeks in a campervan with her other English friend in NZ, and then plans to find a job as a nurse in AUS for four months. Her name was Leanne.

We arrived at the Freemans Lodge a little after 7am. The hostel lady in charge wouldn't arrive for a while, I hit up the free internet and chatted with Leanne and Anna her friend. Read a bit of my book, free asleep, read some more...

The woman, Seema, is the lady who owns the hostel. She was so helpful and friendly! Told me about how I should apply for a Tax ID number and open a bank account. Gave me a map and showed me all the hot spots near by and how to get to the city center. Pointed out the super market down the street. Definitely hitting that up soon!!

In the hostel lounge alone, I met Ben from England (going to study at Uni of Auckland), Sarah and her brother Steven (might go to a festival with them for the weekend), Pip from England, and another dude from England. Crap ton of Englanders!

I was finally shown to my room (5 bed mixed dorm)...but apparently I am the only part about it that is mixed, lol. We've got Pip, a guy from Brazil, a dude from Australia just coming from South America, and I think another guy from the states...but I haven't introduced myself to him just yet. So – me and four guys. Good deal ;-)

Okay, time for me to get some eats!! It's just past noon, so I figure I'll try to get on Kiwi schedule asap. Trick will be to not pass out around 6:00pm...

Giving up America for Lent

2010-02-17T19:00:00.003+13:00

Location – LA terminal

Okay, you know when you always HOPE that there will be a stunningly attractive person on your flight? Well, wish granted! Hot, tan, rugged looking European man at 10 o'clock. Awesome :-)

Mom made me a yummy breakfast of polenta and raspberries! We got on the road at 9:00am – giving us just enough time to get to the MSP airport and arrive about an hour and 15 minutes before take-off.

At the check in counter, I find out that I need a visa to get into Australia since I have a flight there in October from Christchurch to Sydney. But, the nice lady says that as long as I apply for that visa before I go to AUS, I should be fine. Phew!

I had to take the shuttle to Terminal 2 in LAX. The weather in LA was beautiful!! Heat wave I tell ya! I spent a little time walking around outside and even saw the airplane as it taxied to the gate.

Apparently I needed to apply for a visa BEFORE I left the USA to get into Australia – and it cost $25! :-( So, NZ is free, but Aus charges it's visitors...already, New Zealand has one up on Australia *wink.

I went to exchange my $ for NZD. The lady at the counter just goes, “So, $183.20 to New Zealand dollars then?” And I'm like, “yeah! How'd you know?” She goes, “Didn't you say NZD? And I'm like, “Nope! You must just be able to tell.” Apparently, I am glowing “NEW ZEALAND” or something... :-D

~~~~~~~~ FAST FORWARD!! ~~~~~~~~

I AM ON THE PLANE TO NEW ZEALAND!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Oh man, I don't think anything could happen to bum me out...just can't stop smiling!! I think about where I'm going and all the fun I am going to have and I just have a perma grin on my face :-D

I have a couple things making this flight even more “grin” worthy :-)

1.) You know when I mentioned that there was this rugged, sexy man on my flight? Well, as luck would have it, he is sitting right in front of me to my left. I KNOW!!! Lucky me!

2.) I have always wanted to have a drink on a flight, but have never done it because either a.) I was underage... or b.) it was too crazy expensive! But, apparently Air New Zealand is AWESOME and has complimentary alcohol during the flight! So, I got a Bloody Mary (to ease my headache...) and woah...strong little guy it was!! I guess my meal didn't register as vegetarian, even though I requested it, so the attendant had to fix something different/special, but it was going to take about 15 min. But, about 45 minutes later, I was tipsy and really hungry! Hehe, I think they just got busy with other things and forgot. No worries... Dinner was really yummy – Queesh, asparagus, roll, crackers and cheese, and a tasty berry dessert. Now my tummy is filled! Nap time :-)

3.) Watched a movie via my personal tv in front of me :-) It was a NZ flick called “Shark vs. Eagle.” So cute!! And the main singer from “Flight of the Conchords” played the main guy! Not sure if they have NZ flicks in America, but if they do and you get a chance to check it out, I would recommend it! Gives you a little Kiwi flavor :-)

Well, as I listen to techno music and glance over, on occasion, at the beautiful man next to me, I start to get sleepy. I think it's time for a little shut eye. G'night!

There must have been something on my mind...

2010-02-17T01:33:00.001+13:00

Chuck Taylors? check.
Toothbrush? check.
Sleeping bag & novel? check & check!

Today was a whirlwind of last minute errands and goodbyes. As I drove to the mall, I pondered which clothes I would be getting rid of when I went through my backpack for round two...stoplight...stop...go. HOLD UP!! Still a red light! Sheesh...there must be something consuming my thoughts today... Arrive at the mall, all in one piece (phew!) and proceed to buy two shirts and two tanks tops. Definitely something I need more of for the trip...oh lord...

I bypass getting a haircut and a bikini wax...maybe I would have had enough time had I actually took the time to start the packing process last week instead of two days before departure...yep - Madame Procrastination is not my friend right now.

As I cruise on through my neighborhood, it starts to hit me a little...the fact that I'm leaving. For a year (+?). Holy shit. A WHOLE YEAR?! How will I have changed in a year from now? Where will my friends be living? How many buildings will be built or torn down in the next 12+ months...? *Deep breath*

I spent the entire afternoon unpacking, repacking, rethinking, unpacking, rolling clothes, packing...and finally ZIPPING! My life in a backpack equals 33 lbs. Wow!

Played a fun, family game of Pedro before my Bon Voyage dinner with a group of Eau Claire friends at the festive Mexican restaurant "Azul Tequila." This goodbye business is definitely not easy stuff! Yet, it still doesn't seem to be quite sinking in...this bittersweet feeling of leaving the comfort of the known for the glorious adventure of the unknown is...well...a bit unsettling - but exciting as hell! I say, "bring it." :-)

Too excited to sleep but too exhausted not to...it's time for the full effects of, yep, you guessed it - jetlag. Alarm set for 6:30 AM. Night all!

The woes of packing...

2010-02-15T19:55:00.000+13:00

Well, it's coming down to the wire! My best intentions of packing this weekend were to no avail. I kind of feel like I'm procrasting studying for a huge exam, but once there's enough of a pressure from Father Time, I buckle down and do it!

My packing list is loooong. So, I decided that I would pack everything that I need and also WANT to pack today - then sleep on it. Then tomorrow, unpack everything, ask myself, "Now, do you reeeeeally need this???" and take out more stuff. Bear in mind that I am only bringing one travel backpack with me plus a purse. Packing light is the name of the game! But for a whole year's worth of stuff?? Ei-yi-yi...

I also booked my hostel today! Figured I'd find a place to stay for my first three nights in Auckland and recover from the two days of stale airplane air, airport food, and time zone changes. Hopefully, get my bearings and meet some fellow travelors :-)

Kiwi's know what I'm talking about...

2010-02-13T14:05:00.002+13:00

I thought I would put in a quick note about some of the words and titles I've used to create my new blog! Since I've just learned what they mean, I am assuming it would be a good idea to fill in the rest of you! So, here goes:

"Kiwi" - Actually, a flightless bird living in New Zealand; today, New Zealanders are also called "Kiwis" - so, I'm planning to meet a lot of them :-)

"Tramping" - Stop you're worrying, I will not be selling my body all over New Zealand to fund my travels... "Tramping" is a word used by the Kiwis to refer to hiking, along with backpacking and camping too - something I hope to do a whole lot of!

"Aotearoa" - This is the native name for 'New Zealand' used by the Maori people. The Maori are indigenous population of New Zealand. Aotearoa means "the land of the long white cloud."

Inspiration via a silence bath

2010-02-13T13:40:00.004+13:00

I had the absolutely wonderful pleasure of meeting one of my all time favorite writers on Thursday - memoirist extraordinaire, Elizabeth Gilbert, author of "Eat, Pray Love." This book has been an inspiration to women (and a handful of men ;) world-wide and certainly made an impression on me during the spring of 2006 when I was a freshman in college. Liz writes brilliantly and has a superb way with both the written and spoken word! She was a delight to talk to, listen to, and enchants the soul of all those in her presence.

Liz asked the whole troupe of people who had made the trek to see her one of her favorite questions - "If you had no responsibilities, limitless funds, and an entire year, where would you travel too?" Well, if you're reading this blog, you probably already know that I asked myself that exact question (minus the "limitless funds" part...) a few months ago and decided that it would make my heart immeasurably happy to travel to New Zealand and spend a year wandering, working, meeting, introducing, and playing throughout the country. So, late one night in November, while browsing travelocity.com, I found it. The flight. The departure date, arrival time... Destination - Auckland, New Zealand!! And, at midnight, I clicked the "confirm" button on the screen with a shaky and FLIPPIN' EXCITED!!! finger. One step closer to the adventure of a lifetime. Holy crap.

Despite having over two months to do research on places I want to visit and things I want to do (ummm...everything.), I simply haven't. I've taken the "flybytheseatofmypants" approach to planning. My "plan" is to meet some awesome travelers and locals, find random work doing random things with random hours, and just living in the moment. A fellow traveling friend of mine said "If you plan too much, you'll just set yourself up for disappointment" and I have to agree. So, for all of you who are thinking "Go, Anna, go!!" - right on! :-) And, for those of you who think I'm nuts...you might have something there...lol. And mom, I'll spend the $14 USD per night to stay at a hostel for the first couple days in Auckland. xx

But, although I haven't done much physical planning, my mind has been on the move with the mental stuff. Leaving home and everything that's familiar to me will pose definite challenges. But, I'm excited for this voyage of self-discovery and feel so blessed to be able to have the opportunity to take a year of my life to go off the beaten path and hack, tramp, and lose my way through the weeds and bush and what have you. I look at this next year as a time to discover and develop the person that I am and want to become. It's going to be incredible, terrifying, thrilling, and normal all at the same time. And I cannot wait!!

So, today's Saturday. I leave...Wednesday. Sheesh, I better start packing!

*Note - "Silence bath" is a phrase coined by Liz Gilbert for the time you should take each day for mental and physical renewal. Whether it's an actually bathtub soak, meditation, petting a cat, or a snooze, silence baths do wonders for the psyche and all in all, make you a much more pleasant person to be around. "The shit works." :-)