When I went on my adventure to New Zealand, I took an old fashioned journal with me- no computer. I pretty much brought the bare minimum, a backpack and a small bag worth of stuff, to get through 2 weeks in the land of Kiwis. I have my journal but none of you know about anything that happened! I kept a pretty detailed journal of the North Island but when we hit the South Island I got distracted by everything, so I'll try and give a vague overview of what I remember in my next post. But until we get to there it's all straight from the horse's mouth! (I'll put it in quotes) And ps. This is gonna be a long one.
"I am thankful for hot showers. And for good people, I have met quite a few of those. My trip started out Saturday morning after the longest all-nighter I've ever pulled. I should win an award for procrastination. I spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday working on Anthropology and History. I managed to finish just in time to print it off, turn it in, get ready and then head to Waiting for Godot. The play was beautiful, but definitely a mind trip. I think I've become a bit immune to the magic that I once found while watching a show. The unfortunate side effects of working backstage for a few years, I suppose. The magic seems to happen backstage now. It's my turn to create the magic for the audience.
Anyway! My trip so far... All my flights went really smoothly. A friend took me to the airport to catch my flight to Melbourne. Probably the quickest plane ride I've ever been on. We were seated (I got an emergency exit seat- woohoo leg room!), were given drinks and food soon after we took off and pretty much started the descent soon after. After getting off in Melbourne, I walked straight to the gate, which was a little room off to the side. Since I was early, not many people were there so I curled up on the bench and fell asleep. When I woke up, there were plenty of people there. On a quick run to the bathroom I passed a store with Kangaroo jerky. It took all my resistance NOT to buy it. I'm such a tourist :) Boarded my plane after a quick wait and had a short 6 hour plane ride. I think after that 14 hour flight, anything seems short I suppose. When we landed, it was dark and rainy. There's about a 2 hour time difference, so what was 8pm Australian time was really 10pm here in New Zealand. I got through customs pretty quickly and got some cash before catching a cab to the hostel. The hostel was far away and the cab ended up being 74$. Ridiculous. But at that point I just wanted to sleep. I got in and proceeded to drop all of my money on the ground because I had left my zippered part open on my wallet. Headed upstairs and was greeted by the warmest looking blanket. It was pitch black so I used my phone light to hunt for a towel. Didn't know that you had to put down a deposit to get one at the front desk, so I asked a girl still awake and she gave me a little towel of her own. Small, but a towel. So I was able to take a nice hot shower before huddling in my bed. Have I mentioned it's freezing here? I must be used to the heat- this weather is a bit of a shock to my system. I definitely don't have enough layers. Fail. Anyway, got in bed, set my alarm and didn't realize my phone had set itself ahead an extra hour. So when I woke up at 7, it was really 6 am. I'm a genius. Thought pick up was at 8 so after waking up early and sitting around I realized the tour was picking me up at 1 (and by realized I mean the receptionist told me) Unchecked out (it's a thing, I swear) and went back to sleep for a few hours before actually checking out and going to hang out in the cafe/tv room.
I saw a bunch of kids on couches and beanbags so I went and sat down and watched a movie with them. Ended up meeting this girl named Jen (along with two guys- one British and one American) who was on my tour. In some weird coincidence, she is from Connecticut too. So at 1 we both headed for the bus and along with 6 others we joined a group of 18 who had been on the tour for 3 days already. We spent a couple of hours on the bus before making a quick stop in Hobbiton, home of the movie The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. Got back on the bus and drove to a Maori village where we got a chance to spend the night in one of the Maori buildings. We had a welcoming ceremony in the traditional Maori style.
After we made our beds, we went to a bar for a drink and I got a chance to really talk to everyone. It truly is a good group of people. Took a short walk back and had dinner at the village. One of the girls asked me about where I was sleeping and I told her I was in the corner and she asked if I had had a death in the family recently. Of course I said yes, my aunt had died a few weeks ago. She said that one of the Maori leaders had said people who picked that spot to sleep had usually had a recent death in the family or were on a spiritual journey. Both of which I feel apply to me. It was just really eerie. We played cards after dinner and finally headed to bed where we slept in this big room all together. Cold, but almost cozy. Woke up the next morning, got dressed, rolled up our sleeping bags, had breakfast and were on our way.
The bus trips, I have to mention now are gorgeous. New Zealand is stunning and I seriously wish I could live here. Especially Wellington. I could live in Wellington the rest of my life and be totally happy. Anyways. We drove from there to our motel and the thermal springs village.
It's a Maori village with tons of hot springs and geisers which they use to cook food, bathe and keep their homes heated. Afterward we had an hour to grab lunch before we went to some afternoon activities. Myself and 3 other girls went to a spa where we had mudbaths (followed by the coldest shower ever) and then got to sit in some of the hot springs (well the water anyways)and met a large group of Mediterranean people who didn't really speak English. The water was nice but by the end we all smelled like rotten eggs (thanks sulfur) and I still haven't quite managed to get the smell out. We all headed back before a group dinner at a bar. It was a good night out with good people.
The next morning we woke up early, had a short breakfast and were on our way. The day was really mainly for traveling. Took a few detours when we ran into a snowstorm.
Not what I was expecting but some people had never seen snow before so it was fun to see their reactions. We stopped for lunch at one point but we really spent a lot of time on the bus and checking out the scenery. We rocked up to Wellington about 5:30 where we checked into our hostel and had a free dinner. Not the best, but any chance to save money is great. I then spent 15 dollars at the bar, so I kind of ruined that. Ran into a guy I had met at the hostel in Auckland when I went to watch the movie the morning I left for the tour. We were both shocked to see each other but talked a bit and ended up plotting a glacier museum. Had a great night out and left right before New Zealand played in the world cup. Tried washing the rotten eggs smell out of my hair, but it's still faintly there. Ah well, eventually it will come out. No ones complained yet so I think I'm good.
Got an early breakfast and had 3 hours to kill in Wellington
before we had to be on the bus, so myself and 6 others paid 20 dollars to go on a short tour to
WETA and a little around Wellington. WETA is the studio where they filmed some of Lord of the Rings and Narnia. Basically every Peter Jackson awesome New Zealand movie.
It was a cute tour, we killed 3 hours and just had fun. Afterward we boarded the bus and headed to
the ferry which I'm currently on. It's an absolutely beautiful day today. A bit chilly, but it's winter and I'm on a boat, so I'm not too bothered.
I mean, I'm I'm sitting on the deck of a ferry headed from the North Island to the South Island of New Zealand and the sun is shining. I am absolutely beyond content right now."
