2 Weeks in Paradise

Alright then. It's now my duty to attempt to inform you on the last 2 weeks of my life. As most of you who read my last post know, my parents have been with me, and we went on vacation. So this is probably going to be a long one, and I apologize, but it is inevitable.

Well my parents arrived early on Saturday morning. We were successful in meeting up despite my failure to realize that they had to go through customs, and telling them I'd meet them at baggage claim. Upon arrival we got our rental car without much hassle (although we quickly realized how much the accent of NZ would be difficult for my parents, so throughout the trip I was called upon to translate for them). After we grabbed the car, we I drove them to Mt. Mangere so they could stretch their legs, and have a look around the Manakau harbor (and where I commonly take Yannik for walks). Next we headed off to Parnell for our first of many Thai meals. We strolled parnell, and then I took them to Mission Bay. I thought I would show them were the beautiful people were. By that point, jetlag was catching up, so I dropped them off at their hotel, and ran some errands for that night. An hour or two later, I picked them up, and we had hors d'erves with leigh and christoph. That was followed by dinner in town on the harbour. (I had a delicious steak! YA MEAT!). After that I let my parents finally sleep after their 20 hour plane ride.

The next morning we were up early. I picked my folks up and we headed out towards Muriwai beach where the a Gannet colony lives. It was a beautiful morning, and the beach was gorgeous. A lovely black sand beach which even I had not been to before. The gannet colony was several rock outcrops that were absolutely covered in gannet nests. Unfortunately, it was slightly late in the season and they were not swarming them as they sometimes do. Regardless mom and dad got to see a black sand beach which I believe was new for them. We decided from there to head to Karekare (my favorite beach) because I thought Muriwai was rather crowded (and by that I mean there were more than 10 people there. I know, I am now spoiled by empty beaches). So off through the Waitekeres we went, and meandered around KareKare. Afterwards we headed to KK. KK is a tiny hole in the wall Malaysain restaurant and takeaway in Onehunga (a pretty offbeat place), and it also happens to be the best Malaysian food in NZ. After an incredible meal (again filled with meat) we stopped by One Tree Hill, and then went off to the domain to see the Wintergardens. The wintergardens I have explained before. They are beautiful gardens that represent the seasons with a reflecting pool between greenhouses. Anyways, in the domain there was a Jazz concert happening. But we decided to leave that to go attend a punk rock concert at Albert Park (I love my parents). We were there for a brief bit. My parents were introduced to some of my CS friends which was nice. And then we split up and prepared for dinner that night. Dinner was at Leigh and Christoph's, with Christoph fixing a lovely meal of stuffed capsicum (which is a what they call a bell pepper here).

It was on the next day however that the adventure truly began (for me atleast, cause I know Auckland already). On Monday morning, I picked the rents up nice and early, and we set off out of Auckland and towards the Coromandel. We drove up and had our first real stop in Coromandel Township where we would be spending the night, but at the moment we were just grabbing lunch. My parents asked if there was any kind of traditional Kiwi food. Well there isn't exactly any kiwi food, but there are some foods that the kiwi's have claimed over the years as their own. One of these being the "Meat Pie". I know I should sound more excited when I say that, but let me explain. The Kiwi "Meat Pie" is our equivalent to the gas station hot dog. They are quick and easy along with disgusting and putrid. Needless to say, I've had my fair share, but not necessarily a meal my parents would enjoy. But I told them that the meat pie was a trademark of NZ, so we found a place and each grabbed a meat pie. Picture a cup cake filled with a Salisbury Steak. Anyways, mom made it through about half and dad around the same. After that they decided it might be better to just be hungry for a bit than finish the meal.
So we left the Township and drove up to Fletcher's Bay which is a drive that is far better than its destination. The drive itself is one I've taken before. It runs along the coast and so is a single lane dirt road. That runs along cliffs in places dropping down to the ocean. But lining the road are the coolest Pohutakawa's in NZ. I've mentioned the Pohutakawa before, but essentially it is this awesome gnarly tree which is a national treasure in NZ. If you look they are seen everywhere in Lord of the Rings. Anyways, the ones on this drive are truly spectacular. My parents were thoroughly impressed. Fletcher bay itself is not to much to see. That is to say it is gorgeous and fabulous, but when the whole country is that way, it doesn't really stand out to much.
After Fletcher bay we headed to Waikawau where I spent two weeks over Christmas. Mom and Dad were able to see the beach and the house were I stayed. I've described them before so I won't go into detail. Following this we returned to Coromandel Township where we met up with Alexandra and Victor. These two were the people I stayed with in Coromandel on my previous stay. I had organized for us to grab fish and chips with them. So they took us to their favorite chip shop and then drove us to a camp ground on the ocean. We thought this is pretty, but suddenly instead of stopping they drove past the camp ground, opened a "do not enter" gate and continued to drive. We shortly found ourselves on another beach. This one however was completely empty. We laid a blanket out, and watched the sun set as we ate our fish and chips. Alexandra and Victor as I have spoke of them before are characters, and great examples of the people who live in Coromandel. I am really glad mom and dad got to meet them.
Well we parted ways after the sun set and went to crash in our first hotel room of many (first for me atleast).

The next day we hit the road heading first towards Hot Water Beach. This is a beach I've described where you can dig at low tide and form your own hot tub due to geothermal springs. However over the night there had been an earthquake in Turkey, and so the tides were abnormally high. We only missed low tide by about an hour, but the water level was as if it was at the peak of high tide. So unfortunately we were unable to dig a spot out. So we packed up and went to Cathedral Cove. There we had more luck. It was a spectacular day. When we arrived we were able to sit and relax. (Cathedral Cove is another place I've described so again I won't go into detail.) Since the surf was abnormally large (due to the earthquake) dad and I were able to go play in about 1.5 -2 meter waves, in pretty much one of the most beautiful places in the world (in my opinion). It was nice to finally have reassurances that it wasn't just me neither (mom and dad were enthralled with the beach as well (i think (i hope))).
Anyways, eventually our strict schedule called and we had to hit the road again. We were on our way to Rotorua for a Maori performance that night. But on the way we stopped for lunch at an unusual spot. A little cafe that's windows advertised "Belgium Waffles, Japanese Sushi, Italian Crepes". I was unaware (even after working in a crepery) that crepes were italian, but apparently you learn something new everyday. Surprisingly, the non-French crepes were incredibly tasty.
After lunch it was to Rotorua were we checked in to Ann's Volcanic Motel. I haven't talked about Rotorua yet in my blog, so let paint a picture for you. Rotorua is what most Kiwi's would call as a tourist trap. And it is to a large degree. Yet it is still a lovely town. What makes it a tourist trap is that a lot of Maori's (NZ's natives) do "cultural performances" there. Along with this many tourists already come to the town for its natural aspect. That is that the whole town is sitting on and surrounded by geothermal activity. Essentially it sits on a whole chunk of hot pools. Water bubbles up from the ground all around Rotorua ranging in temperatures from 90-120 degrees. Needless to say the city is full of spas and hot pools and that sort of resort thing. Thus... a tourist trap. One slightly unusual aspect of the city is that due to the geothermal activity the whole area smells of it. There is a constant smell of sulfur (you know that rotten egg smell). You get used to it pretty quickly, but every once in a while you get a huge whiff and think "Oh ya, I'm in Rotorua" However, let me not paint a negative picture of Rotorua. I like the town in the end. Its situated on a large lake named Lake Rotorua, and has a lot happening.
At any rate, after arriving and situating ourselves, we were picked up by a bus and taken to Mitai. Our cultural performance for the evening. There we had an introduction by a man that welcomed everyone. He was a rather remarkable man that asked what countries were present, and proceeded to welcome each country in their own language. It was pretty incredible considering there were about 12 countries present with about 7 different languages represented. After that we were taken for a walk in the woods were several warriors canoed in and welcomed us in full Moka (that is the Maori face tattoo). Then we were taken to their "village" and they did a some song and dance for us, along with their "chief" giving us information along the way. It was a really good show altogether. Informative and entertaining. The Haka (Maori war dance) and the Poi Poi of course being the trade mark dances performed. After that we all went inside where we sat down for some Hangi. Hangi is probably the only traditional Maori food there is. Essentially NZ's only contribution to the food world. Unfortunately, its not all that special of a dish. Its meat and vegetables that are cooked in the ground. (It didn't do to much for me.) After dinner there was one more walk through the woods in darkness so we could see some glow worms, and in their spring, an eel. That night I picked up a friend of mine, Thomas. He had hitchhiked down from Auckland to join me and the family on our adventure the following day. So I found him, stranded on a park bench waiting for us to get out of Mitai (poor man), and he came and slept on our couch for the night.

The next morning we woke up early and drove an hour away to Taupo. There we met up with a man in the marina who was taking the 4 of us (Thomas included) out fishing on Lake Taupo. Little did our guide know, that he had the world's most curst fisherman onboard (aka. Me). So we set off trolling and slowly our guide's apprehensions grew as no fish seemed to be biting. Finally after about 2 hours without luck we got our first one. A 3lb. Lake trout. It was followed by 4 more, but only 3 were keepers.
After fishing we went to Huka falls. and then headed back to Rotorua. There we took it easy for the rest of the evening. We had kept two Lake Trout from our trip that morning, and cooked them up there in the room for dinner.

The next morning, we again hopped in the car and made for Wellington. Along the way we swung by Ohakune (where Leigh and Christoph have their home at the ski mountain). However it was foggy out and so you were unable to see any of the volcano's.
That evening we arrived in Paraparaumu at Jeanie and Larry's home (apparently Paraparaumu means stinky ovens because the Maori tribe that lived there went off to fight a neighboring tribe, but at the same time the neighboring tribe sent a war party to attack them. Well when the war party got to Paraparaumu and found it empty, supposedly they shat in the ovens. So when the tribe from Paraparaumu arrived home from their warring, they found rather "stinky ovens"). Anyways, Jeanie and Larry are friends of Leigh and Christoph's and I had met Jeanie earlier in the year. She had kindly invited me to come stay with her in Wellington on my travels. So this is were we were to spend the next 2 days. Jeanie and Larry have a awesome house literally directly on the beach. The sun sets over the ocean and you can see Kapiti (a island bird sanctuary) right across the way from them. It is a stunning location, and they were the kindest of hosts.

In the morning we made the half hour trip from Paraparaumu to downtown Wellington. I should mention that Wellington is the capital of NZ and at the very southern tip of the North Island. We started the day by finding Mt. Victoria. The largest park in Wellington, yet not marked by street signs anywhere to be seen. Eventually we had to pull over and ask 2 people who pointed out the sign. "oh of course, how did we miss that 1 foot by 1 foot sign". Haha. Mt. Victoria has beautiful views of the city and surrounding harbour, but more importantly, it is where several scenes from Lord of the Rings was filmed (like when they hide under the tree root from the dark rider) (that tree root off the road by the way is from a Pohutakawa tree). Regardless, after Mt. Victoria, we went to Te Papa which is the National Museum. And what a great one it is. It is a really good, free museum and beautifully done. Halfway through touring it I suddenly realized... "I've been here before!". I had been to Te Papa ten years previous the first time I came to NZ. From Te Papa we walked to the cable cars to take us to the top of another mountain in Wellington where the Botanical gardens were.
When we got in the cable car I realized... "I've been in this cable car!". When we got to the top we ate at a cafe there, and I realized... "I've eaten at this cafe!" Obviously the day was full of an odd sense of de je vu. We walked through the Botanical gardens and and walked by the Beehive (the NZ Parliment building). It was at this point that the weather decided to nail us with a torrential downpour. As we ran to our parking garage, it dawned upon my parents why all the buildings in NZ have an awning over their entrance (cause that way the rain doesn't hit you).
We drove back to Jeanie and Larry's house that night and treated the family to a massive Indian takeout dinner. This was then followed by several games of ping pong and fussball against their sons.

We awoke especially early the next day, and packed and left before 7:30. We drove to Wellington and boarded the "Interislander". Which is the ferry between the North and South Island. A very comfortable boat. I personally bought a movie ticket and watched Valentine's Day for the 3 hour ride. After the movie finished I went out above decks to watch us enter Marlborough sounds. I try to describe that too, but it'd just be more of those boring adjectives that you always read in this blog like, grand, beautiful, spectacular. But, in all honesty it was a wonderful way to enter the south island. The sound is lush green mountains on either side speckled with tiny islands and mussel farms.
The boat ride ended in the tiny town of Picton. A cute little town with a lovely harbour area. We didn't stay to long though, and soon enough we found our way to Blenheim. A place that was described as beautiful. Its in wine country and surrounded by vineyards. The town certainly had tried hard. The main downtown was brick and well, they had tried to be this beautiful quaint town, but... They just didn't pull it off. Something was missing and all three of us were rather let down by Blenheim. But that didn't stop us from having another staple Kiwi food. Kebabs! (pronounced Ke-bab, not the American way of Ke-bob) There are Kebab shops everywhere in NZ for some reason. At any rate, we finished our tasty kebab's and traveled off through rugged country to Nelson.
Now Nelson, in contrast to Blenheim was a city that had succeeded in exactly what Blenheim had tried to do. Nelson was a lovely city. The several main streets were covered with hanging flower baskets, all electrical lines were underground, and well... it just had that good feel about it. That afternoon we spent walking the city and exploring. We went to the Botanical gardens (which turned out not really to be gardens at all), but the cool thing was we saw signs for "the Centre of NZ" I know its spelled wrong but bear with the British please. Anyways we hiked to the top of this hill and found "the Centre" of NZ. Supposedly if NZ was balanced on a pin, this is where it would balance perfectly. After that we went to a little Thai restaurant downtown.

In the morning we hopped in the car and drove over to Abel Tasman National Park. A place I had really wanted to go to. It was a spectacular day. We started out by Kayaking a little ways out to Crab Apple Rock. This is a rock that is a large circle and split pretty much perfectly in half. Thus it looks like a Crab Apple. Anyways, we Kayaked there and back and had a lovely morning. After that we hopped on a boat and they drove us up the coast of Abel Tasman. Again I'd describe it but its just a list of adjectives. Haha. I will say that I always see these resort beaches in magazines that seem far from anywhere and untouched by human hand and where the water is unbelievably clear. Well Abel Tasman was the first time I felt like I was actually at one of those resorts... only without the resort part. It was beautiful golden beaches with lush green forests behind them. The water was so clear you could see the bottom even when it was 20 feet deep. And the best news, was that the park was getting use. There were kayaker's and campers all along the beaches. It wasn't crowded at all, but the park was getting use which in my opinion was great since it was such a magical place. Well, we got dropped off and did a 2 hour hike back to an earlier beach. When we got there the boat picked us back up and took us back to our car.
That evening we went to an Italian restaurant where I had literally the best Italian meal I think I have ever had. It was Gnocchi with a mushroom and ham concoction on it. Man it was good.

The next day we headed south towards Christchurch. The second largest city in NZ. I should put in a disclaimer now. There seems to be a lot of driving in this trip. Well there was. By the end we totaled 3800km. But please keep in mind that traveling in NZ (especially the South Island) is a wonderful thing to do. The scenery is constantly beautiful. In the south you are always somewhere in sight of the Southern Alps, which just add such majesty to any backdrop.
But, back to my story at hand. On the way to Christchurch we swung by Kaikora (pronounced Kye - cor - a). There we stopped at a cafe for pictures and lunch. On the road between Kiakora and Christchurch we ran into a big group of people who had pulled off the road. When we followed suit we saw they were looking at a large group (Pod?) of seals that were all up on the rock beach sunning themselves. There were atleast 25 I'd say.
When we arrived in ChCh (Christchurch) we pulled up to the city plaza first thing. In the plaza was a Maori group doing some traditional songs and dance to raise money for an upcoming competition they had. (I believe that here in NZ there are Maori Cultural competitions. So its like "The best Haka" and such things) Anyways, it was a good performance, and really made me wish that Auckland had a central plaza. While in Chch, we spent the day riding around on the old fashioned trolley they have there, and exploring the city.
That night in our hotel we learned that a storm was coming in and might even bring snow! (to the passes atleast). So we decided to change our plans and leave later the next day. For dinner we found a Bengali restaurant. I didn't even know what Bengali was, but after eating there it made me want to go to Bangladesh. Actually, we had the most amusing waiter there. He was far more a salesman than a waiter to be honest. When he came over he explained that we could expect three things from him, a unique and delicious dinner tonight, the best in customer service and something else that we apparently deserved. He then thoroughly explained the difference between Indian and Bengali food (which to his credit, I must say after thinking about was a spot on explanation). He then told a story of an Englishman that he convinced to eat there and if he didn't like the food he didn't have to pay, but the Englishman liked it so much he asked for a recipe. I don't know, ... he said a lot, but as I was saying an odd character. Anyways, the food was scrumptious.

So the next morning was spent exploring Chch more. We went to the Art Gallery which is the largest in NZ, and then we went to the Arts Center (which is full of Studio's (cool place)). Then after a stroll through the Botanical gardens we headed off to lunch. Lunch was at a good old American Deli. I had some BBQ (Dad found it sub par, but he hasn't lived with vegetarians for 7 months).
After lunch it was off to Omarama. Omarama is found in the center of of the south Island, and is in amongst the southern Alps. You want to talk about empty country. On the drive there in some places, there is nothing as far as the eye can see. It reminded me exactly of some of the NZ beer commercials about the South Island. Speight's, Pride of the South. Haha. Anyways, on the way there we stopped at Lake Tepako, the most photographed location in NZ. We also swung by Clay Cliffs. Clay Cliffs is a series of rock spires that jut out of a mountain side. While we were there the sun set and the whole sky turned red. We were there with a crimson sky with pink and purple clouds, clay cliffs behind us, and nothing but dirt and grass stretching out as far as the eye could see. It was a pretty special moment. Again not one to easily describe, but you know those special moments where you just have to kind of stop, look around, and say, "Wow."
We arrived at Omarama late and was forced to eat at the hotel restaurant. Dad and I split a steak. MEAT!

We left Omarama making our way towards Queenstown. On the way we stopped by Cromwell. A little town on a massive lake up in the mountains. It had a massive, and I mean massive statue of an apple, orange, banana, and peach, because fruit was the towns main business. It was full of nothing but vineyards and orchards. I love NZ produce so I can't complain.
After Cromwell we got to Queenstown. Now our final destination for the evening was to be Te Anua, but it was such a gorgeous day that we wanted to stay in Queenstown longer. We went for a walk, and ate some fish and chips. Then we made our way to the Gondola which takes you to the top of a mountain. Now I should explain Queenstown. It is a small town of less than 10000 people. It is considered the adventure sports capital of the world. It is the location where the bungy jump was invented. Jet boating (another Kiwi invention) is prolific here. Its primary industry is tourism and adventure sports. It is built right at the crook of a massive lake (as in a 40-50km long lake. Running along the lake is a mountain range called the Remarkables, and they are just that... Remarkable. So from the top of the Gondola you are able to take all that in with one glance. Of course from the top of the Gondola you have another selection of adventure sports to choose from. You can bungee jump, or you can luge down, ... or you can paraglide.
It was this last one that particularly caught my Dad's attention. It was absolutely the perfect day to do something like that. We had a hot air balloon ride scheduled for later in the week in Queenstown, but who knew what the weather would be like. So we decided to cancel the hot air balloon and go paragliding. So we signed up and up they took us. From the top of the Gondola we took another ski lift up higher, and then hiked another couple hundred feet. Mom Dad and I each got suited up at the top of this mountain, then very informally our tandem instructors simply walked us to the edge, told us to walk, then run, and then... Oh man "I'm in the air!". Haha. Essentially that was how it played out. We ran off the cliff at 2500 feet, but then we caught an updraft and rode it 500-600 more feet. So we set out over Queenstown, over Lake Wakapitu, over the Remarkables, at 3000 feet. It was incredible. At first rather terrifying, especially because you aren't really secured in tightly. You are more loosely sitting in a chair. You in now way are tightly secured to the chair. Of course, you are attached but it doesn't feel that way at all. After a while though you tell yourself everything is alright and you can relax and enjoy it. And enjoy it I did. My guy let me drive for a little bit, so I could take the chute, and steer us left or right. Then he took back and asked if I wanted to have some excitement. I told him sure, and man he whipped us all around. We went into a tight corkscrew essentially. It was awesome. The whole thing lasted about 15 minutes. And it was fantastic.
After that we then headed off towards Te Anua, where we in with some pizza (which got forgot at the restaurant and we had to wait an extra half hour).

The next day we were scheduled to go to Milford Sound, but we had some time before we had to be there. So we walked to a bird center, and got to see a Kea and a Kaka and most importantly the Takahe. The Takahe is a flightless bird thought to be extinct for 20 years before it was found in Milford Sound, and now there are 160 of them remaining in the world. After that we hit the road. On the way to Milford we swung by Mirror Lake. Aptly named since on a day without wind the lake mirrors the mountains it sits infront of. However when we stopped it was a little cloudy and windy for that. We also stopped by Lake Gunn, and went for a 40 minute hike to a waterfall.
Our last stop before Milford was called the Chasm. This is another waterfall you walk to. However what makes this waterfall special is that the rock that makes up the riverbed consists of both "hard" and "soft" rock. So over thousands of years the water has eaten through the "soft" rock, and left the hard behind. So what you find are several massive boulders (the size of a room), that have what look like worm holes eaten through them (where the water eat through the soft rock). Its really quite impressive. It reminded me of some natural Gaudi statue or something.
Eventually we found ourselves in Milford Sound where we were met by rain and fog. Little did we know that was exactly what we wanted. We still had a little time to kill so I went ahead and beat my father in a couple games of pool, and then we went to the harbour. I should say what we were doing there I suppose. Milford Sound is pretty much no more than a lodge, and a dock (which holds the ships that do tours of the Milford Sound). We were there to do an overnight cruise on the Sound. So we went and boarded our ship. They took us the length of the Sound and then parked the boat in a bay near the ocean. The way up was pretty magical. The reason I was glad it was rainy was that it meant the waterfalls were all in full flow. See the sound is a massive valley carved out by a glacier (technically making it a fiord, not a sound). So on each side of the water you have mountains jutting right out of the water. Massive mountains with sheer walls. There are no beaches in Milford Sound, the walls go up. ... up up and up. There are waterfalls that fall from these mountains that are 500 feet tall. The size of a fifty story building. Some of the mountains are twice as high as the empire state building. So there are no springs in the high mountains so the waterfalls are formed by rainfall essentially. So the rain was welcomed, and the fog just made everything so much more mysterious. I felt like I was on a voyage about to discover some long lost civilization. Uncharted Waters. It was as I said magical, I think that is the best word for it.
Well after we dropped anchor in the bay, we went out in little motor boat and got showed around by a nature guide. They pointed out the wildlife and that sort of thing. After this was a tasty buffet dinner. It was dad's birthday that night so there was a special announcement made about that (and a slice of cake in the bargain). After dinner, I went outside, and watched seals play around the boat. It seemed the fish were attracted to the lights on the boat, so the seals were feeding on these fish, which since they were in the boat lights, meant I got to watch. It is a pretty special place in the world. Milford Sound. I could go on and on trying to describe it, but really its pointless. There is no way to put a place like that in words.

The next morning found the weather a little clearer. We did a spell out to the ocean, turned around, and then headed back to the dock where we said our goodbyes to Milford Sound. That day we drove all the way back to Queenstown stopping in at Te Anua for lunch. That night was a quite night. We order Thai Takeaway, and watched a Rugby game (with me desperately racking my brain for rugby rules). Good news though, Blues Won! (NZ team beat an Aussie team, always good for NZ moral). Actually just so you get a picture of how rugby obsessed NZ is, pretty much every business in NZ has a sticker somewhere declaring themselves proud supporters of the All Blacks (NZ's national Rugby Team).
At any rate, the next day we walked through the Botanical Gardens of Queenstown, and then went to the airport. I was awesome and forgot I was carrying both a lighter and a hunting knife on me, both in my carry on. But you have to love a country that simply says oh ya just put the lighter in your pocket and keep it there, and your knife well just run back to the check in desk and book your carry on as luggage. They gave me a bag to put things I did want to carry on in, and I went back and checked my laptop bag. No problems. Ran back through security they smiled and I moved on.
Well, flight went off without any incident. Came home, and packed my snowboard bag to have my parents take home with them. Met them in town, and we went to a Korean Restaurant for our last meal out. Stayed up and talked a bit, then we hit the sack.

Their last morning we went to the Auckland market, which was pretty pathetic (fortunately it wasn't the full blown one or else it just would have been sad). Then up the sky tower for one more look at Auckland. They got to see someone jump from the top. Then Leigh picked us up and took us to the airport where I said my goodbyes to my folks. It was a great 2 weeks. I got a chance to see and do things I never would have seen nor done had they not come. And finally I have 2 people that can relate to my life here in NZ which is really refreshing. Now it is Wed. I am about to head out to weeklies. Not much happened since sunday. I had improv on Monday, and we hung out afterwards again. A lot of fun. Yesterday had a nasty headache.

Alright. Sorry this is so long. Thought it was long to read... you should see how long it takes to write it. Long enough in fact that I am currently to lazy to reread it and correct errors. Sorry. Complain to the lazy bum department. Well I'm off. Miss you. Hope you all are well.

Wes

CHEESEFEST 2010!!!!

Alright, I know its been a week and some, but again, like last week, if I had time to write before now I would have.

It has been a busy couple of days since our last chat. I believe when I left I was going to my weekly couchsurfing meeting. The night was fantastic as it always is. Nothing in particular jumps out at me as being particularly note worthy. But I"m sure it was a great night. They always are.

On Thursday night I worked late. Yannik and I went to Fantastic Mr. Fox when he got home from school. It is always a good plan to go to the movies in the afternoon on a weekday with him. That way you disturb the least amount of people. Yannik normally has this innate fear of the cinema for some reason. He loves it once he is inside and everything, but getting him inside is normally quite a chore. However on Thursday he ran right in. I think he believed we were actually going swimming although I tried to tell him we were going to the "big DVD" as we call it. Regardless, Yannik did quite well. He lasted for almost an hour until he started to yell and beat his chest in the cinema. I could tell we were almost to the end so I asked him to stop and we made it all the way to the end. Fortunately, it doesn't take long I think for people to realize they are in a movie with a special needs person. So after the first couple of outbursts they stop turning around to stare (which is appreciated when you are the one trying to calm them down). Anyways, Yannik behaved quite well, especially for sitting through an entire movie. I enjoyed the movie too. I didn't know the story myself, but it was quite. An odd animation style I thought, and was surprised so many people liked it. That night we had some delicious beef bulgogi and then yannik went to bed around 8:15ish. I had to stay up and aware though till about 11 when his parents got home.

Friday marked the beginning of the weekend long "Chinese Lantern Festival". It was the Chinese New Year, and every year the city of Auckland helps them bring it in with style. So all of Albert Park was decorated with laterns of different shapes and sizes. Along with lined by figures of lions and dragons and lucky crickets and such. Not to mention the huge line of delicious asian food stalls that lined either side of the park. There were bands and performances occurring all night long. However the headliners were a group called Hanggai. Which was started by a punk rocker turned Mongolian Throat Singer. And they were AWESOME!!! Cool enough that I took money out to buy their CD and then couldn't find the booth got fed up and gave up. BUT... They were really cool! You could still hear this kind of punk influence but done through throat singing. Fantastic! So I went there with several couchsurfers. There ended up being roughly 14 or so of us, and we enjoyed a picnic in the park (not to mention some delicious Vietnamese food from a vendor). Afterwards Chris and I made our way to a little Irish pub and shot some pool.

On Saturday I hung out in the morning till I got a call from a friend. There was another free concert in a park by Kingsland. So off I went (it took two bus rides since Auckland public transport royally stinks! (don't get me started)). The concert was part of the Auckland Sounds of Summer series and it was very much typical Kiwi's at play. The band that was playing was the Batsams, a group from Dunedin. They're bogan appearance was well matched by the other long haired shirtless guys in the audience. But it was still alot of fun. Not to mention Kit Kat was there giving away free dark chocolate Kit Kats. (Speaking of which their slogan in NZ is like "make it a Kit Kat" or "Have a Kit Kat" or something like that. Way more lame than "Give me a break... ") Anyways, that night Kevin (my French cs friend I was with) and I went over to Miriam's (another French cs friend of mine) house for her birthday celebration. Miriam lives in like a Commune house. It s this massive place where 21 people live. Everything is included in their rent, and every night 3 people cook dinner. Each week each tenet has 1 chore that they need to do. Its a very cool set up. I like the sound of it as communistic as it sounded. Haha. But more importantly they had both a ping pong table, and a fire pit in the yard. More than this, they had set the projector up outside and taped Krape Paper to the stairs. So you could sit around the firepit, and watch what was playing on the projector all while singing songs to the guitar. It was a great night. At midnight we put on the Roomba (which apparently is a new wave of exercise videos where you dance your way to fitness) we then proceeded to learn several fat burning dances. As odd as it sounds it was a lot of fun. That night I fell asleep in their hammock on the porch overlooking the city of Auckland's lights. It was really beautiful.

On Sunday I took it fairly easy. I was invited to go to Waiheke for the races, but missed the bus (again! Don't get me started). However it was actually a good thing since the ferry was shut down due to Tsunami warnings from the Chilean earthquake. Leigh and Christoph were at the west coast beaches that day, and they got soaked in a wave that came way up on the beach and caught them by surprise (even though it was on the west coast). I was also invited to be a cheerleader for some female friends of mine who were going to a roller durby. I thought that sounded incredible. I mean ROLLER DERBY!! However, I was very let down to see it was much more a practice than anything. But I did get a good low down on the rules of Roller Derby (I was unaware there was such a thing as rules in roller derby) along with an idea of the Roller Derby scene in Auckland (Yes its much of what you would think it was).

On Monday night I had improv which went well. Some nights you're on and some you're off. On Monday I was on which always feels good. Afterwards 3 of us went over to a house and just hung out and played some video games. It was good improv group bonding time.

Tuesday night I made some tasty bean burritos. I'm embarressed to say, that I almost like my bean burritos now as much as meat burritos. What has living with Vegetarians done to me? After that I went to a French photo exhibit at a French restarunt with my French friend Kevin. I found quickly that it was slight entirely to much French for me. But I did find a peice of vital information out. That on the next day, Wednesday. There was a Cheesefest. Thats right, a Cheesefest.

Well I pulled some strings and got out of work early. Showed up at the Langham hotel (Schnazzy place might I add). And there in this beautiful place, was the most beautiful event imaginable. 30 dollars, thats 21 US dollars. And all the most delicious gourmet cheese you could eat! For thirty dollars you got a complimentary glass of wine, and entrance into the conference room. Once in, all your troubles went away. As you looked around and saw roughly 50 Kiwi cheese producers all displaying their finest cheeses for you to simply walk up at eat. Scattered throughout the room were tiny islands of barrels on which were placed loaf after loaf of delicious french bread. Amongst the cheese vendors were wineries doing wine tastings and suggesting wines to pair with your cheese. And to top it all off there was a stand of Kiwi brand Ice cream giving out samples. Oh. Oh! It was the epitome of Dairy Heaven. I must have eaten easily 7 pounds worth of cheese. Such glorious cheeses. And Cuisine magazine was there and had set up a table displaying all the gold medal cheeses and listing their names so you could go find and taste them. And they were selling cheese so CHEAP. I bought a block of cheese for 5 dollars that normally would have easily have been 30 had I got it in the store. It was the best 30 bucks for a festival I have ever spent. I couldn't believe it. Gouda, Brie, Edam, Cheddar, Hollinder, something I couldn't pronounce, Ricotta... The list goes on and on. Not to mention I was with Kevin (again my French friend) who like to make comments on how much stinkiness a cheese had. Man I had a blue that just melted in your mouth. Of course I suppose thats why it had the gold medal for Kiwi blue cheese. Well I could rant on and on, but needless to say, WICKED AWESOME CRAZY SPECTACULAR!!! (My brain is so clogged with cheese right now or I would think of better adjectives.)

After Cheesefest I walked on down to My weekly CS meeting. Another fantastic evening. I said my goodbyes to several people as I would not be back for three weeks. As I should say my goodbyes to you folks. My parents are coming on Saturday, and I will be MIA for 2 weeks as we travel the north and south Island. I will try to write as we go so I don't just have one massive entry when I return, but who knows if that will actually happen. So now I am off. I must go be shadowed for the evening by the woman that is going to replace me for the next 2 weeks. Hope you all are having a good old time in the freezing states. I'm loving Summer. :-)

Warm Regards,
Wes