Alright guys... I know it has been a while since my last post, but that is because I have been away. This may well be a long one as I have a lot to catch you up on. Many adventures in the 2 weeks of vacations I have just had.
So to take it from the beginning I was having an old friend from the States visit me here in NZ. She had just graduated last year and joined the peace corps. So for the past year she has been living in Mongolia (least densely populated place in the world) and teaching English. For her summer break she came down to NZ to visit me (after a week with her family in Australia). Our plan was to do a week in the North Island of NZ and then a week in Fiji. And that's just what we did.
So Lara arrived on Saturday in the afternoon. I picked her up at the airport (I was late! Oops!) and we hopped a bus from there to downtown. I wasn't going to give her any down time. We were headed straight to Waiheke (an Island in that has several towns on it that is situated in the Auckland Harbour). I had a friend who had a house boat on Waiheke and was throwing a goodbye get together there for me. So we caught the ferry and went straight over. Once arriving we got groceries and made our way to the houseboat. The whole night was a lot of fun especially in such a rustic setting as this houseboat. We had to use a long-drop (the NZ word for an outhouse), and the house had no electricity so we partied using candles and a gas lantern. The boat was docked in the middle of a mangrove swamp, and the water was full of phosphurscent algae so when you splashed it than it lit up neon green momentarily. It was really cool. We made a huge soup dish for dinner. Lara was lucky enough to find a hair band in her serving, "Michelle did you lose a hairband while you were cooking?" was probably the hardest I had laughed in a long time. In the morning we through some tuna in the water and watched the eels come in and eat it. Then we went for a walk and saw some of the ugliest ducks I have ever laid eyes on (and these ugly ducks will never grow into beautiful swans). We took the ferry back that evening and got dinner at my favorite food court. Lara was in constant amazement and the ease of life here (they have no hot water in Mongolia and electricity is pretty on and off) (not to mention it gets down to -40 degrees there). After dinner we saw Robin Hood because Lara hadn't been to a cinema in over a year. By the way, HORRIBLE film! Afterwards we drove Thomas's brother home, because Thomas was kind enough to lend me his car the next day.
So the next morning we relaxed in the morning. We did some laundry and got our all together all together. Around noon we decided to leave (I was taking Lara to a west coast beach, Karekare). We got to the car, and started it.... or tried to start it. Nothing was happening. The battery wasn't dead, but the engine wasn't catching. So then we thought it had been pretty low on gas when we had parked it last night. So, after trying to push start it to no avail, we decided to walk to a gas station. When we arrived the woman said that they had no gas tank to lend us because some one had made off with their last one. So we then walked to a mechanic's, and Lara used her womanly wiles to get a gas container from then. Then it was back to the gas station, then to the car. When we finally got to the car, we realized that the spout on the container the mechanic had given us was the wrong fit. We couldn't get a seal between the container and the spout. So we had to try and hold the two together as tightly as we could while we poured. After pouring about half the container (1/4 in the car and 1/4 all over ourselves) we tried again. The car still didn't start. So the rest of the gas went in, but the car still refused to start. At that point, I was out of ideas. Lara ran across the street to a man outside of an Auto shop and brought him back. He sat down in the drivers seat, turn the key, and the car started immediately..... I HATE THAT! Haha. Apparently I just need to tap the gas pedal while starting it to feed some gas into the lines.
Anyways with that adventure behind us, we went to the beach and went for a walk. Now I knew that it had been raining a lot, but I was unaware of just how much. When we got to the carpark, we decided to take the path so we didn't have to get our feet wet (It is Winter over here.) What I didn't realize was that the path was also covered in a river about ankle deep. So we then waded through that went for a walk on the beach, got caught in a downpour, and then waded our way back to the car. (Not our ideal day, but actually a lot of fun.) When we got home Lara met Leigh, Christoph, and Yannik. We cooked dinner for them that night (which also turned out somewhat disastrously, but I think they appreciated the gesture.)
The next morning we were up bright and early, packed our bags and took Thomas's car back to him on the North Shore. However we failed to predict traffic on our way back, and just managed to catch our bus (I mean like almost ran it down sort of thing). But we made it and so we caught our bus down to Taupo for the first leg of our journey. Upon arriving in Taupo I immediately called to double check our reservations for ....... Wait for it...... SKYDIVING!!!!!! The company picked us up and drove us out to the airfield. We both got dressed up warmly since it was -10 degrees Celsius at 15,000ft up. So after a 15 minute plane ride we and a man strapped to our backs sat on the edge of a plane 15,000 feet above the ground, and gently threw ourselves out of it. The fall was a blast. It was a whole minute plus of freefall time, and I had told my guy to just have fun as if I wasn't there. So he took it upon himself to do flips and spins and such. It was a great ride down. Then after a minute or so the chute was pulled and I had another 5 minutes or so of looking out at the snowcapped mountains beyond Lake Taupo just as the sun was setting. Stunning!
After our skydiving adventure we got a recommendation for a hostel, checked in, and settled down. We watched the second LOTR movie, and then headed to a bar. See, it was the night of the 1st game of the world cup for NZ. (NZ's All Whites had not been in the world cup for 30 years, and in a country that is fanatical about sports, this was obviously a HUGE deal). So we found a nice pub where we ran into some of our skydive instructors. After a little chat with them the game came on. Now this was a Irish pub, and there were a bunch of Irish men that were apparently very passionate about NZ's All Whites. The game was pretty incredible. We got scored on early in the second half and then in the 90th minute of the game (literally seconds before it ended), we got a header in. Needless to say I learned a couple new curse words that night from the incredibly vocal Irishmen around me. It was a blast though. When we tied at the very end, it was hugs all around. (I've never seen so many grown men cry at once).
The next day we were up early again, and walked to Huka falls, and then back for a lay about in the natural Hot Springs. Once again, we rolled up to our bus just seconds before it was to depart. I actually had to ran for it, and when I caught the bus driver he just looked at his watch and chuckled saying how close we were cutting it. But we caught our bus and made our way down to Wellington (I should mention if only so they live in infamy, that we had the most annoying couple in the world behind us on the bus. Man if I ever sound like that when I'm with my girlfriend in a public location, someone please smack me.) Anyways, at Wellington Jeanie picked us up. (She is a friend of Leigh and Christoph's who I have met, and who my parents and I stayed with when we traveled earlier in the year). So that night we had a delicious dinner and great company.
Then next morning Lara and I spent the day in Wellington. We went to Te Papa (the National Museum of NZ) and then ate at Wagamama (which apparently means "naughty child") where I had my first eddimomy (that is definitely not how spell it, but I'm going phonetically). After lunch we went to the National Tattoo Museum (Kiwi's have some awesome tattoo's not to mention the native culture of tattooing among the Maori's). This museum obviously had been downgraded from what it once was. It was a bit of a bust to be honest, but it was free, and we saw some cool pictures. Afterwards we bought a cake and some wine for Jeanie and Larry and made our way back to their place. (Which I should say is always fun. Jeanie is just a blast to be around and so funny, not to mention she has some great stories. And Larry (an American) is always happy when he meets a fellow countrymen, and after 40 years in the Marines, he has some incredible stories too. (and he likes to share them))
Well the next morning found us being dropped off at the airport fly over to Fiji. Our first week was over. The airport was uneventful, except that Lara forgot to print her return ticket off, and supposedly you have to have proof that you also have a ticket to leave a country if you are going to enter the country. But we printed one off at the office, and it was no big deal. We landed in Fiji in easily about 85 degree weather. We had planned to couchsurf while there. So Lara had arranged for us to stay with this family in Nadi (city where the airport is). As we were leaving the airport a man came up to us and asked where we were going. The conversation went something like this:
Man: Bula, May I ask were you are staying?
Lara: Oh we know people here
Man: But where are you staying.
Lara: Oh we are just staying with some friends.
Man: Oh, so you have friends here.
Lara: Ya.
Man: Well where are they?
Lara: You mean like where do the live?
Man: Yes, where are you staying?
Lara: Like the address its um here
Me: (Staring back and forth between them at this bizarre exchange and deciding whether this man was planning to either scam us or mug us.)
Man: Oh Diane and Paul. I know them.
Lara: Wait you know these guys.
Man: Yes Diane and Paul, many people stay with them. That woman over there is waiting for you.
It was then that we saw the woman in the corner holding a sign saying "Lara and friend". So she set us up with a taxi and sent us on our way. Before going to Diane and Paul's though we got the taxi driver to give us a tour of Nadi, and ate some fresh coconut from a stand on the side of the road. When we did arrive at Diane and Paul's, we were greeted at a gate by a group of Rockweilers and a man with a gash in his side about 3 inches long, a half inch wide and an inch deep (quite literally an inch deep so you could see like flesh). I thought, this is a little bizarre, but then Diane came out and greeted us and introduced us to Paul. Diane breeds Rockweilers which explained them, and Noah, the guy with the gash had had a cyst that took a nasty turn which is where the gash came from. (Hospitals don't have the best medicine in Fiji, so they were treating it with herbal salves and it was getting better (I would have hate to of seen it when it was worse. Yikes!)) Noah it turned out was a travel agent, and so we talked that night about our plan for Fiji, and he set us up with a good package and so the next morning we were hopping on a boat and making our way to Mana Island.
Mana is where Survivor Fiji was filmed (they still had the set there, they had just left it sitting there. It was pretty disgusting how we had never cleaned up after ourselves), and right next to the island where Cast Away had been filmed. We stayed at a backpackers there for $30 US a night with all food included. It was pretty awesome. One day we went out snorkeling, and had literally the best snorkel I have ever had in my life. (Even better than the Great Barrier Reef). Most the time was spent relaxing on a beach or swimming in gorgeous turquoise water, or playing foosball in the backpackers. Mana also had a village on it. (Many Fijians still live in rural villages on islands). So it was nice to be able to walk through a village, and meet native Fijians. See the kids in the school and listen in on a church service. On night I was walking back to my bunk when I started talking to several Fijians who were sitting around drinking Kava. (Kava is the traditional Fijian drink. It was made from the root of a Kava tree/plant. They grind it up and mix it with water. Its not alcoholic as many people think, but it does numb your tongue and makes you a little drowsy. It also should be noted many people hate it and compare it to mudwater (which is what it does look like and partially taste like)) Anyways, they invited me to join them, and so all night I spent just hanging out with the villagers and learning my Fijian phrases and joking around. That was really cool cause for the rest of my time there I could refer to people by name and talk to them lightly in Fijian. Anyways, it was really neat to kind of get a real taste of Fijian life from the village.
I should also comment that Lara and I were scheduled to have a room to ourselves, but we decided when we got there why not just crash in a dorm so we can meet people easier. So they moved us.... to another room with just two single beds in it. Pretty much the same as what we had before. However the next day we found out the bed they had given us originally had been given to another couple after we changed rooms, and that couple had been attacked by bed bugs in the middle of the night. Funny how fate works sometimes.
At any rate, after 3 nights at Mana we went to Kuata which was definitely a little more upscale but a lot more tame. It was a nice transition after going from a young place with a good share of nightlife, and bad food and bad beds we moved to a place where the food was good and we had our own room, and we went to bed at 10 rather than 3. So it was a good way to end the trip. We spent 2 nights in Kuata. While there, I was able to go spear fishing... Awesome! Mark that off my life list. And we went snorkeling with reef sharks. You could swim down and if you were fast enough grab there fin and get pulled along by them. Another life goal to mark off. I also got a message outside in a cave (for ridiculously cheap) while I listened to the ocean waves break on the beach (this sound was only slightly deterred by the gaggle of Fijian women gossiping around me in a foreign language).
All in all, an incredible week. Fiji was fantastic, and I would recommend it to anyone. Lara and I made our way back to Auckland (flying on Air NZ which is even better than Quantas! I didn't know it was possible to be better than Quantas!) Her last day we took it easy, and went out to dinner with Leigh and Christoph and then rented a movie and watched it. The next day, we went out to a cafe for breakfast right before I took her to the airport. When we went to leave I realized that I had left the lights on and the battery was dead. Yay Dead Car Adventures. Haha. Fortunately we were in a parking lot with lots of help around. It started pretty quickly with a jump. After dropping her off I realized I only had a week left.
That night I went to a "fancy dress" party. Which I should let those of you in the states know, THAT DOES NOT MEAN BE FANCY! Apparently "fancy dress" in NZ means a costume party. Well I felt silly. Let me just say that. But I had an incredible time. It was a lot of fun.
Since then this week has been more of the same wrapping up stuff as before. And now I have wrapped up my blog for the time being. Thanks for listening. Sorry its such a novel. Next time I talk I may well be in Melbourne. Well. Cheers. I'm on my way home guys.
Wes
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