Wellington

Day 22
Wellington is at the bottom of the north island and has a population of about 350 000.

Our first full day in the city we went to the famous TePapa Musuem. Most of the museum was about New Zealand culture from giant squid to Vogue to earthquakes. It was a good free place to especially on another rainy morning. Since Wellington in the capital city of the country Charlotte and I then went to the Beehive and parliament buildings. We got a free tour and educated ourselves on New Zealand political history! CHECK! Saturday night we..you guessed it! Watched rugby! Wales vs France semi final at an Irish bar called Molly Malones. After the game we went dancing at the hostel var! Iwas definitely channeling Jenny with my dance skills that night! haha

Bee Hive

Day 23
Sunny Sunday!! We went on a 30 min hike up Mt Victoria. CHECK! There is a good views of the city and you are able to watch the ferries leave and planes land. At the lookout is where we met Malika and friends. Malika is an Aussie living in NZ that is a host mom to exchange students. She offered to take us with her and 3 students into her small car around some sites around the city. Such a generous lady! She took us to some wind turbines because Wellington is known as Windy Welly so these turbines have become landmarks of the city. She also took us down the coastline which gaves us pretty views of the water and a glimpse of the south island in the distance. After she dropped us off in town Char and I took a cable car up to Botanic Gardens! CHECK! We couldn't waste any of this sunny day so we got gelato at the waterfront and sat in the sun. Springtime in the city :) There was an Indian festival going on that day on Queens Wharf so we decided to go for some dinner-samosas and pumpkin curry! Delish! There were a lot of other things goingon the festival which we saw a small bit of but we had to get to the Wellinton FanZone for yup...more rubgy! All Blacks vs Australia semi finals. All Blacks are going to the finals! Yippee! Good day in the city!

Wellington was my favourite city so far! Despite it being small there seemed like there was always something going on unlike London of a similar size ahaha!

Next...the south island!! I'm heading down the west coast at the moment so stay tuned!!!

Sweet As Bro

Day 14

We got on the Kiwi Experience bus! Yay! Finally our adventures through the rest of the New Zealand could start! Before leaving Auckland we went to Mt Eden, another dormant volcano that overlooks the city. There is a story that a couple of years ago some college grads put burning tires in the crater late one night so when the city awoke to see smoke coming from the mountain they all assumed the volcano was erupting!!

Anyways, now we are out of Auckland and driving the Coromandel Peninsula which is known for there vcation homes and beachs.  We stopped a few hours to check out Cathedral Cove.  It's called Cathedral Cove because of the archway that has been eroded into the rocks. Beautiful blue skies and water here! Amanda had been giving us a hard time that we hadn't had a swim yet in New Zealand so we cooled off in the freezing water here.  We are thinking about coming back here near the end of out New Zealand times because that way we can appreciate the beaches here and visit Charlotte's friends cottage. Back on the bus we headed to Hot Water Beach for the night.  Hot Water Beach has this unique thing where at low tide you can dig holes in the sand to find boiling hot water so hot that you actually need to mix sea water with it to avoid buring yourself.  Low tide for us wasn't until 10pm so off we went to the beach with flashlights and shovels to dig ourselves some holes to sit in.  Our own private hottubs! Pretty cool!

Day 15

En route to Waitomo we visited Karangahake Scenic Reserve for a 30 min hike over swing bridges, through gorges and in old railway tunnels. Next we passed through a town called Paeroa.  Lemon and Paeroa or L&P is a soft drink that was originally made here to cure hangeovers but now is "World Famous in New Zealand." And of course we got a pictures with the giant L&P bottle like a true tourist. CHECK! Although it was orginally made to cure hangovers it is good to cause them too...yummy to mix with vodka :)

When we got to Waitomo we had booked the legendary black water rafting trip called the Abyss. Right before going on the trip our guide reminds us of the movie Sanctum where for those of you who havn't seen it basically all the people die in a cave. Awesome! First, we started off abseiling down into a cave about 11 storeys.  Scariest part of the whole tour! Then we ziplined into the darkness further into the caves. Next, we jumped into the water with tubes where we floated around looking up at the glowworms.  the glowworms were pretty interesting but not as much when we were told they are actually maggots glowing to attract other insects to eat! Yuck!  We wandered through more caves, squeezing through small spaces and swimming in cold water with our only light coming from our headlamp.  To finish of the trip we had to climb up waterfalls to the surface! So great! Well worth the money!!!! That night we just more rugby at the only bar in town called Curleys.

Day 16

Sunday we are back on the bus to make our way to Rotorua (or Sulphur City or Rotten-ua). Part of this city really smells because of the geothermal activity. There is bubbling pools of mud and water everywhere.  Mid-day we took a gondola ride up Mt Ngongataha to go luging.  This wasn't typical luging but just taking a cart down a steep hill. We bought 5 runs on 3 different tracks and despite the rain I wish I could have gone all day! Around dinner time we were picked up to go to a Maori (New Zealand natives) village called Tamaki.  We wanted to go because Kiwis seeem to really embrace this culture into their own so we wanted to learn more about it.  When we got there they had a cermony when they do their famous eye bulging and sicking out of their tongue.  We then walked around the village where we were shown poi twiling, weapons and the haka (made famous by the All Blacks). And finally the best part was that they cooked us a feast using the traditional hangi (earth oven-hot rocks, baskets for food and buried with dirt). It was a good substitute thanksgiving dinner! Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!
Oh...and more rugby! Quarter-finals with the All Blacks vs Argentina. All Blacks won!

Day 17
Charlotte and I decided to stay an extra night in Rotorua so it was the first time we left our original bus.  It was raining all day but we still mangaged to walk around to look at the goverment gardens and the bubbling surphur pools around.  It was quiz  night at the hostel bar and our team got 2nd to winning a $100 bar tab.  So close but probably too dangerous anyways! Good team name too- Quiz-team-a Aguilera. I definitely want to use this when i get back for Morissey House quiz!

Day 18
On our way to Taupo we stopped at a few places before like a bee farm and Huka Falls. The falls are on the Waikato River formed by an earthquake splitting the land.  Once getting Taupo we walked around the town.  We bumpted into a fun hole-in-one competition where the hole is out on an island dock in the lake. The winners get $10 000! I wish I was good at golf! Lake Taupo is the biggest lake in New Zealand.  The country of Singapore could fit into the lake but it still has nothing on the Great Lakes! Since it was still raining outside the only thing to do was play drinking games in the hostel room. Later on most of the bus went down to the bar to go dancing. Good times!

Day 19
Still raining!! We were all feeling a little hungover anyways! I had my first pie of beef, bacon and cheese. Now I know what everyone is always raving about! YUM!

Day 20
To start off the day our bus driver took us to Tawhai Falls on our way out of Taupo. These falls are also known as Gollums pool from Lord of the Rings! I'll have to go back and take notice in the movie.  Next we went to Tongariro National Park and we went on a 2 hour hike. There was falls over lava fields and more scerny from LOTRs like Mt Doom. After our hike we took an hour drive twisting and turning through the sheep filled Ruahine ranges to get to the extremely remote River Valley. This was a really cute lodge! We might go back and be slaves to get free accommaodation and whitewater rafting.  All there was to do here at night was drink, play giant jenga and go to bed early!

Gollum's Pool

Day 21
On our way to Wellington we took a short visit to a town called Bulls.  Bulls jokes about their town name by naming places and things with BULL in it. For example, the police station is called Const-A-BULL. We arrived in Wellington late afternoon.

Week Two in Auckland

So where I left off...

Day 7
Pretty boring day. Lazy all day even though it was warm and sunny out but at this point we are starting to get bored of the city and excited to start the rest of our journey. Highlight of the day was Rebecca and her friend Jo made everyone mussels. Only $12 for 3 big pots of them! I've only ate mussels from restaurants before but apparently from the grocery store you have to check for crabs which was so unappealing after finding several! Ugh!

Day 8
Char and I woke up early to walk to a car fair across town to look for a van. There wasn't much selection and most of them were out of our price range. At that point we decided we had to book a tour and we realized the Kiwi Experience office was down the street. We booked the tour called the Funky Chicken! Added bonus was it was 50% off!! Highlight of the day was Charlotte took me to the England vs Scotland rugby game at Eden Park stadium. We painted our faces and dressed in red and white! Despite the rain we walked the FanTrail, which is a walk to the stadium that had entertainment and food along the way.  Once we got there we realized the ticket were 3 rows up from the field!! Best seats I've ever had for anything haha!! It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and thankfully England won in the last 5 min after trailing the entire game!

Day 9
Another day full of rugby! Rebecca, Jo, Charlotte and I went to a pub called the Cavalier for the All Blacks vs Canada game. I went with the Canada flag although that didn't help   the All Blacks from beating Canada badly! Later on there was another rubgy game on but a different league with different rules. Confusing! The Australia team won against the New Zealand Warriors! Before heading home we all headed to the Chapel again for a dance or two!

Day 10
Monday was another lazy day but our excuse was that it was cold and rainy. Also since it's Monday that means dinner party night. R for Rebecca! She made rabbit stew with kumura, rustic bread and rhubarb crumble. I was alittle hesitant with trying rabbit but after I got my mind around it, it tasted yum!

Day 11
Amanda had a day off work so she offered to take us to Piha beach west of the city. Piha is another black sand beach but it has a crazy surf and in the summer the Piha town is apparently super busy with people from Auckland. Our Lonely Planet book told us there was a penguin nest on the beach so we went on a penguin hunt but no luck :( We spent a couple hours here with our picnic lunch, our walk and a FruJu popsicle from the general store. For dinner Michael, Rebecca, Char and I went to Bolliwood for $10 curry night! I feel like I'm always talking about food haha!

Day 12
Wednesday started off on a bad note because even though we were on a waiting list to get on the Kiwi Experience bus we were told there was a good chance we would get on if we showed up. We didn't get on and we were quite frustrated that we had to spend 2 more days in Auckland. To cheer ourselves up we went to see Crazy Stupid Love. Funny with alot of shirtless Ryan Gosling!! Since we didn't leave we all headed to Rebecca's family home in Kawakawa Bay about an hour drive east of the city. We had a big meal and tried new things like whitebait fritters, which is whitebait and egg. We were told it was one of those things you had to try in New Zealand. I wouldn't have those again but at least it can be checked off the to do list!

Day 13
It turned out to be the warmest day in New Zealand so far! Great for our last day in the city! Charlotte and I just walked around and had lunch by the waterfront. We watched one of the most crazy and graphic show I have ever seen called Embarassing Fat Bodies! It is this British show that I have never seen and I'm pretty sure it would NOT be allowed in primetime TV at home. YouTube it.

Amanda, Rebecca and Michael were really good hosts and I appreciate all that they did for us and I feel like I really got to truly experience Auckland and not just completely like a tourist.

 “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller