So it's been quite a long time since I last updated and a surprisingly little amount has happened. Again, I'm in a regular routine now so during the weeks things sort of are all the same. Classes are easier but that's mostly because I only need to get a 55 to get credit back at Georgetown. I've done probably about 4 days of work and by Friday I'll be done with all my work until May, (I had to get some stuff out of the way so I could take a trip next week).
But anyways, the biggest thing I've done was take a trip up north and hike the 40km (22ish miles) of the Cape Reinga Coastal Walkway. We took three days to do the whole thing and slept out in a tent 2 nights. First I'll complain before I praise the walk. I slept probably 6 hours the whole weekend. We had a 4 person tent and 5 average sized humans and 20 or so mosquitoes. Part of the fun of camping is getting to the campsite at 7:30 and being in bed by 9:30. For us it was a curse; getting in the prison of a tent at 9:30 meant at least 10 hours until the sun came up and gave us reason to get out of the hot and smelly mosquito Mecca. I have at least 20 bites from my sleeping attempts and another 10 or so from these mites called chiggers. They pretty much just live in your socks or waste band and then kill some skin cells for a snack when you put them on. The result is these tiny red dots all concentrated in one area. Not fun...not itching has been really hard since getting back Sunday. The other downer came early the first day walking. I bought new socks for this tramp and they were too thin so I got two blisters right away which made the hike a lot harder because I had to walk in ways that didn't agitate them (and this said style of walking wasn't productive up hills).
BUT with that all said, the walkway was amazing. We strolled into Waitiki Landing looking for fuel and a map (neither of which the complex had). We had arranged to get dropped off at one end of the circuit and get picked up Sunday elsewhere and we assumed they would have some maps and their website mentioned they have fuel, (in fact they have a sign 50 km away that says last fuel stop in New Zealand...lies). Once we found something like a map we got in the a manure truck and headed to Spirits Bay on the east coast of Northland. From there we walked about 3 hours between a beach and a swamp. Crazy how you look left you see the Pacific and you look right and you see this swamp that just doesn't look like it belongs next to a beach.
From there we got a little lost. The trail wasn't really that well marked on beaches because the tide varies and depending on what time it is you take a certain route. Nonetheless we found our way to Pandora which is pretty much the start of my blisters and a "roistering up and down" as the book warned. The up and down is so worth it though. Since we're surrounded by flat and low beaches, when we started to climb these ridges that were probably 1000 feet or so above sea level at most, you get these great panoramic views of the ocean. The ocean here is also a unique blue turquoise and it's like nothing I've seen really. The camera couldn't even do it justice but trust me that it's really amazing.
4 hours later we got to the first night campsite at Tapotupotu Bay. This was a formal campgrounds with water, toilet, flat ground, and even showers (not that we bothered to use them). It's also on the beach so we set up camp, hung out by the beach to watch the sunset and ate dinner. This time we had a gas cooker so we bought dry food and boiled water. We ate well both nights.
The second day I got up at around 6:30 because I couldn't take the tent anymore and just sat around pretty much. The views from the campgrounds were great so I just did some lounging alone which was a nice divergence from the clown car like tent we were in (if you saw the tent and and then saw the five of us pile out you'd gasp). This day was by far the best and most diverse. We walked 2 hours to Cape Reinga. It's just barely the second most northern point in New Zealand, the first being a few kilometers east of Spirits Bay. It's very touristy and when we climbed our last hill, we all collapsed on the grass by the famous Light House while tourist likely smelled and avoided us. Cape Reinga is fantastic. You can see for miles on a clear day and there's almost nothing in the distance. about 40 miles off are a few islands that we could see but nothing. It really made me sympathize with people who once thought the world was flat because if you didn't know any better you'd think you just fell off the edge eventually. The other amazing part of Reinga is that you can see the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean collide. Very odd to think of bodies of water having clear cut starting and ending points. The waves just collide a few meters of the coast and the color is unbelievable. As always, please just look at my pictures if my descriptions fall short.
From there we travelled down a ridge to Te Werahi Beach. This was the most amazing place I've been yet probably. The beach was just so beautiful and vast that it really made me feel isolated and small. It really can't explain it. We were so close to all these people from all over the world but the beach was just so untouched. The sand was incredibly soft as well and there was at least 100 yards of flat beach before the water. We were also under a cloud so we got a refreshing breeze as we walked. Walking on these longs and empty beaches is a challenge because nothing ever changes. We would walk for 20 minutes and turn around and feel like we just started. Once we finally made it to the end we lounged in the sand and relaxed. From there we ended up in these amazing sand dunes that seem like they were meant to be on Mars. Again, the diversity of the land impresses me. It seems like someone took a whole bunch of scenery puzzle pieces and just jammed some that didn't fit together and made New Zealand. One of my fellow campers said it made him feel like on the 7th day of creation whatever was doing the creation took all the little bits and pieces it didn't use and chucked them in the ocean, wondering if anyone would find them.
From the dunes we found another amazing beach, Twilight Bay, where we set up an informal camp. We used survival skills to find a stream with fresh water to boil and drink which made us all feel like self sufficient nature taming campers. The sunset was amazing and we watched it as we ate all the food we could find after our combined 14 hours of hiking. Sleeping that night was horrible as I mentioned and the I woke up the third day grumpier than I've ever been which unfortunately made me almost forget what we did that day. We had a brief walk to 90 Mile Beach were we walked for an hour or so trying to find Te Paki Stream. The walk there was awful because the sun was blistering and we didn't feel like we were moving. The stream wasn't much better. We had to cross shallow areas of water while we winded through massive dunes on our left and forested ridges on our right. We made it to the car park where a nice man offered us water. From there we had 3km to get to the meeting point for our ride. The driver actually met us closer and picked us up after 1.5km. The last stretch was through a cattle farm where we didn't make many friends. As we walked through all the cows started to moo and run around. We were convinced a stampede was coming but we made it out safely.
Once we got back we bought the last 10L of gas the Landing had and found out they had no electricity for 100km which meant no gas or food till then. That was a very stressful drive but once we got gas we got some junk food to hold us off until a more appropriate dinner time. We ate in Whangarei, the biggest city north of Auckland. Chicken never tasted so good.
We made it home safe and sound where all of us rushed to shower and do laundry. The sense of accomplishment after finishing these hikes is a great feeling. Next week I head to the South Island for a week since we have a few weeks off for Easter Break. That's the next big thing in my life so once I get back expect an update. Sorry if it takes me too long sometimes but I rather write one long blog rather than a few short ones just because it makes me feel like I'm doing more and also my weeks are very boring. They usually entail class and hanging around with friends. Wednesday nights we usually take advantage of the student drink specials around town and Thursday we pack for where ever we're going on the weekend.
Life is really a treat down here and so easy going. There's something about living on an island that makes everyone more relaxed (I think it's the ocean breeze), so I'm really living the life down here. I'm looking forward to coming back home but I'll definitely need some time to readjust.
OH and the pictures. I think I put 140 new ones so hope that keeps you busy until I get back. Check them out here.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Sunrises and Staircases
So the last trip I took started out kind of shifty...We ended up with a manual car. While we had know idea on the drive down, that ended up being the only problem all weekend. One of us ended up being able to handle the driving (quite well actually) and we drove out to Mt. Edgemont which is also known as Taranaki.
If you look at a map of the North Island, you'll see a sort of circular peninsula in the south west. Taranaki is in the center of that and is a dormant volcano. It's about a 5 hour drive from Auckland so we stopped in Mokau, a small coastal fishing village. If you blink you'll miss the town which makes the fact that we couldn't find our hostel even more depressing. We ended up checking in around 10pm and thought we'd go see the Black Sand Beaches at night. On our way, some Kiwi's were setting up for a birthday party the next night and invited us to sing karaoke with them and make sure everything worked for their big party. We ended up staying there for a while and singing and chatting. Kiwi hospitality is pretty crazy. Nelly, the hostess who was about 40, kept shoving food and drinks in our faces. It was pretty cool to pick some real Kiwi's minds and singing in front of strangers makes you a lot more daring on the mic.
The next morning we got up early and checked out the beaches. They filmed the Piano on the black sands and it's pretty amazing looking. It's so secluded that the place is mostly untouched. There were a few people surfing but for the most part we were the only people we could see for miles. From the beaches we could also see Taranaki. That day was incredibly clear and we could see for several miles, (Taranaki and Mokua are like 50km apart).
We got to the park at around 10am, rented maps, finished packing, and headed up the first 250 meters of stairs. I really can't stress how many stairs I climbed last weekend. My quads still hurt and it legitimately felt like we were going uphill the whole time. That said the views were phenomenal. Instead of trying to describe them I'll just post my pictures at the end. The place is just amazing and all you can do is just look around. We didn't really do much talking for the 8 hours we spent outside. We took a side trip to some huge water falls and the path there was so beaten up that it felt like we were the first people to discover it. Really just look at the pictures because that will do a much better job than I could ever do.
We got to our Hut (a building with beds and a fireplace) at 7:30 and met a really nice family form New Plymouth, the closest big town. They actually gave us all of their leftovers and fed us very very well. Again the Kiwi's are a nice breed. The next morning we got up at around 6:30 and watched the sunrise. Again just look at the pictures...The sun just peaked up over this mountain out of no where and all of sudden the whole sky turned orange. Probably one of the most amazing things I've seen. There were also some really still ponds that faced Taranaki and in the morning you could get a great reflection of the mountain in the pond. Like I said check out the picture.
On our way out we had to cross 5 rivers. One of them had a bridge but you wouldn't want it to support your weight for very long; it just felt like it could give at any moment. We hiked probably 6 hours the second day and walked up the road to our car at about 3:00. We stopped in the first town on the way back to fuel our cars and our stomachers and headed back home, arriving at 10:00. It was just an amazing trip and I was so excited to be on it (and try out my new camping gear). I've never done anything more extraneous though. We probably were walking up stairs for a total of an 1.75 hours. But as you'll see in the pictures, it's well well worth it.
That's about it for now. I'm in Auckland this weekend but I'll probably take some sort of day trip Sunday. The following weekend I'm heading north to wear the Indian and Pacific Oceans meet. The main idea for the trip has been planned but we haven't figured out all the little details. Most of my weeks have been focused on planning the next weekend and so far everything has gone so well. I'm really loving New Zealand and being outdoors so much. Hopefully the pictures can help you see why.
If you look at a map of the North Island, you'll see a sort of circular peninsula in the south west. Taranaki is in the center of that and is a dormant volcano. It's about a 5 hour drive from Auckland so we stopped in Mokau, a small coastal fishing village. If you blink you'll miss the town which makes the fact that we couldn't find our hostel even more depressing. We ended up checking in around 10pm and thought we'd go see the Black Sand Beaches at night. On our way, some Kiwi's were setting up for a birthday party the next night and invited us to sing karaoke with them and make sure everything worked for their big party. We ended up staying there for a while and singing and chatting. Kiwi hospitality is pretty crazy. Nelly, the hostess who was about 40, kept shoving food and drinks in our faces. It was pretty cool to pick some real Kiwi's minds and singing in front of strangers makes you a lot more daring on the mic.
The next morning we got up early and checked out the beaches. They filmed the Piano on the black sands and it's pretty amazing looking. It's so secluded that the place is mostly untouched. There were a few people surfing but for the most part we were the only people we could see for miles. From the beaches we could also see Taranaki. That day was incredibly clear and we could see for several miles, (Taranaki and Mokua are like 50km apart).
We got to the park at around 10am, rented maps, finished packing, and headed up the first 250 meters of stairs. I really can't stress how many stairs I climbed last weekend. My quads still hurt and it legitimately felt like we were going uphill the whole time. That said the views were phenomenal. Instead of trying to describe them I'll just post my pictures at the end. The place is just amazing and all you can do is just look around. We didn't really do much talking for the 8 hours we spent outside. We took a side trip to some huge water falls and the path there was so beaten up that it felt like we were the first people to discover it. Really just look at the pictures because that will do a much better job than I could ever do.
We got to our Hut (a building with beds and a fireplace) at 7:30 and met a really nice family form New Plymouth, the closest big town. They actually gave us all of their leftovers and fed us very very well. Again the Kiwi's are a nice breed. The next morning we got up at around 6:30 and watched the sunrise. Again just look at the pictures...The sun just peaked up over this mountain out of no where and all of sudden the whole sky turned orange. Probably one of the most amazing things I've seen. There were also some really still ponds that faced Taranaki and in the morning you could get a great reflection of the mountain in the pond. Like I said check out the picture.
On our way out we had to cross 5 rivers. One of them had a bridge but you wouldn't want it to support your weight for very long; it just felt like it could give at any moment. We hiked probably 6 hours the second day and walked up the road to our car at about 3:00. We stopped in the first town on the way back to fuel our cars and our stomachers and headed back home, arriving at 10:00. It was just an amazing trip and I was so excited to be on it (and try out my new camping gear). I've never done anything more extraneous though. We probably were walking up stairs for a total of an 1.75 hours. But as you'll see in the pictures, it's well well worth it.
That's about it for now. I'm in Auckland this weekend but I'll probably take some sort of day trip Sunday. The following weekend I'm heading north to wear the Indian and Pacific Oceans meet. The main idea for the trip has been planned but we haven't figured out all the little details. Most of my weeks have been focused on planning the next weekend and so far everything has gone so well. I'm really loving New Zealand and being outdoors so much. Hopefully the pictures can help you see why.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Rules of the Sidewalk
It's just under a month since I got to Auckland and I think it's safe to say I'm pretty settled. I got a good handle of the city and New Zealand in general. Just thought I'd put up a brief update about my classes.
I'm taking 4 classes that add up to 12 hours a week. All of my teachers have been very good lecturers. Here they don't really want to hear you talk in lecture so professors in general are good at filling up the whole class period with easy to understand and useful lectures. Some classes have tutorials, which are like discussion sections but for the most part you learn by listening and thinking about everything a professor says. It's kind of fun since it's not like Georgetown where professors really want to get you involved. It's helps that all of my classes interest me though since I actually want to learn about each topic.
Thursdays are my worst day in terms of class since I've got 4 of them with an hour break in between. Class start and end times are different here in that one class will end on one side of campus at 11:00 and then the next will start on another end of campus at 11:00 as well. So people get up and leave early or arrive late all the time and the lecturer in general doesn't care. But walking here kind of works different, which doesn't help. It's like driving a car between classes. Uni (as they call it) has just under 40,000 students. City campus is the main campus and is about the size of 4 large city blocks that have open courtyards or quads in the middle. There are other campuses but all of mine are on City and for the most part once class ends I rush to get my books in my bag and set out. Then you have to "merge" into an isle and look both ways because people are rushing for the next classes. The isle bottlenecks at the door where usually one of two doors is open (opening the other door is dangerous because you have to reverse to open it and you can cause a huge pileup. So once I get out of the lecture hall I have to weave in and out of traffic. To some extend people stay in their lanes but it's not unusual to find yourself or someone else walking right at you in an attempt to pass someone who apparently has time. Cross walks are pure mayhem; people walk up, down, left, right, and diagonal once the light turns green. The busy intersections are engineered so that cars go then walkers go so you don't have to wait for two lights in the 0 minutes you have to be at the next class. I should note though that often you get out of class 2-3 minutes early because the professor has to be somewhere as well. Anyways the point is walking at Uni during the day on the hours is crazy. The weirdest part is that you can go a block and only see like 5 people in the middle 30 minutes of the hour.
Not to much is happening right now. I'm getting into a regular routine which involves a lot of hanging out and making new friends. Auckland is a fun city to be a student for sure. It's also nice having some international friends who want to explore the country. This weekend I'm heading down south again to hike around Mount Edgemont or Taranaki. We wanted to climb up it but turns out we need icepciks, ropes, and a bunch of experience. I jsut bought a sleeping bag and pack so I'm trying to get out as much as I can. I'll probably spend like NZ$ 110 or just shy of US $ 55 (the exchange rate is getting even better and better) for the whole weekend so I can't complain.
Tonight I'm going back to Mount Eden and watching the city shift at a wine and cheese night sponsored by the Tramping Club...if the rain holds off (night will happen obviously regardless but I might not watch it if its wet). That's about it for now...I just realized I didn't list my classes for those who would be interested so I'll just rattle 'em off:
Differential Equations (Math requirement but it's fun to take math in a different country. Same stuff but different approach).
Pacific History (My last general education requirement...which means I'm almost done with college...)
Pop Music and Gender (A really cool ethnomusicology course. Something I could never take at home)
Advertising in Society (I've taken a few film classes so I wanted to try one out over here and this seemed different enough to keep me interested)
Thats about it for now. Next time I'll probably have some cool pictures from this weekend.
I'm taking 4 classes that add up to 12 hours a week. All of my teachers have been very good lecturers. Here they don't really want to hear you talk in lecture so professors in general are good at filling up the whole class period with easy to understand and useful lectures. Some classes have tutorials, which are like discussion sections but for the most part you learn by listening and thinking about everything a professor says. It's kind of fun since it's not like Georgetown where professors really want to get you involved. It's helps that all of my classes interest me though since I actually want to learn about each topic.
Thursdays are my worst day in terms of class since I've got 4 of them with an hour break in between. Class start and end times are different here in that one class will end on one side of campus at 11:00 and then the next will start on another end of campus at 11:00 as well. So people get up and leave early or arrive late all the time and the lecturer in general doesn't care. But walking here kind of works different, which doesn't help. It's like driving a car between classes. Uni (as they call it) has just under 40,000 students. City campus is the main campus and is about the size of 4 large city blocks that have open courtyards or quads in the middle. There are other campuses but all of mine are on City and for the most part once class ends I rush to get my books in my bag and set out. Then you have to "merge" into an isle and look both ways because people are rushing for the next classes. The isle bottlenecks at the door where usually one of two doors is open (opening the other door is dangerous because you have to reverse to open it and you can cause a huge pileup. So once I get out of the lecture hall I have to weave in and out of traffic. To some extend people stay in their lanes but it's not unusual to find yourself or someone else walking right at you in an attempt to pass someone who apparently has time. Cross walks are pure mayhem; people walk up, down, left, right, and diagonal once the light turns green. The busy intersections are engineered so that cars go then walkers go so you don't have to wait for two lights in the 0 minutes you have to be at the next class. I should note though that often you get out of class 2-3 minutes early because the professor has to be somewhere as well. Anyways the point is walking at Uni during the day on the hours is crazy. The weirdest part is that you can go a block and only see like 5 people in the middle 30 minutes of the hour.
Not to much is happening right now. I'm getting into a regular routine which involves a lot of hanging out and making new friends. Auckland is a fun city to be a student for sure. It's also nice having some international friends who want to explore the country. This weekend I'm heading down south again to hike around Mount Edgemont or Taranaki. We wanted to climb up it but turns out we need icepciks, ropes, and a bunch of experience. I jsut bought a sleeping bag and pack so I'm trying to get out as much as I can. I'll probably spend like NZ$ 110 or just shy of US $ 55 (the exchange rate is getting even better and better) for the whole weekend so I can't complain.
Tonight I'm going back to Mount Eden and watching the city shift at a wine and cheese night sponsored by the Tramping Club...if the rain holds off (night will happen obviously regardless but I might not watch it if its wet). That's about it for now...I just realized I didn't list my classes for those who would be interested so I'll just rattle 'em off:
Differential Equations (Math requirement but it's fun to take math in a different country. Same stuff but different approach).
Pacific History (My last general education requirement...which means I'm almost done with college...)
Pop Music and Gender (A really cool ethnomusicology course. Something I could never take at home)
Advertising in Society (I've taken a few film classes so I wanted to try one out over here and this seemed different enough to keep me interested)
Thats about it for now. Next time I'll probably have some cool pictures from this weekend.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Road Trip on the North Island
So that last week has been pretty crazy between 4 days of road-tripping and 3 days of class so far. We left last Thursday at around 4 and picked up our red Toyota Yaris, the smallest car Toyota currently makes. It cost us $25 US a day and I don't think you could have lined up 25 one dollar bills end to end in that car. I happened to go with really tall people so I ended up feeling this most taking the middle seat for a good amount of the driving since the most confident driver was our smallest and I came in second. Nonetheless we started south to the town of National Park took about 4 hours and we had a pretty uneventful night, going to sleep early to rest up for our hike across the Tongariro Alpine Crossing next day.
The hostel/motel we stayed in provided a hardy breakfast, a diverse packed lunch, a steak dinner, a 30 minute spa (when they spa they mean access to a hot tub), transportation to and from the crossing, a t-shirt and two nights stay for $155 NZ or $78 US. It's a real steal considering the walk alone is the most fantastic 8 hours in nature you could imagine. I'm really just not a good enough a writer to give you a clue as to how unique and beautiful this place is. It's about 20km (12.5 miles) up and over an active volcano. You start out in these grassy hills and work your way up to these vast open dust fields and begin climbing the actual volcano and all the lava rock around it. From there you start to walk down into more wide open fields and out of nowhere these lakes appear. Out of nowhere is the best phrase for the whole thing because different scenery or landscape just literally pops up and doesn't seem to fit in with what's behind you. Anyways there are 4 lakes (maybe 5 but one just looked like a big a puddle from the recent rain). 3 of them make up the Emerald Lakes where we broke for lunch. The lakes are so vividly colored, the camera doesn't even do it justice. Also, there are sulfur vents everywhere because the lakes are adjacent to the largest (not highest though) crater on Mt. Ngauruhoe so finding a good place to eat lunch was a task in and of itself. From there you climb up a little more to the Blue Lake, a lake much bigger than the other three and a little above the other lakes at around 1800 meters up. After you get past this lake you sort of just end up in these Irish looking highlands and work your way down into the jungle. There's still sulfur spout out of the ground on your way down which really doesn't fit in but that's what makes it great. Really the best way to get an idea is look at my pictures thus far (I'll link them at the end of this post).
We did the crossing in about 7.5 hours including breaks. We got home at about 5 and soaked in the spa to relax before the best tasting (and bloodiest) steak I've ever had. Hunger really is the best spice there is. That night we wanted to see what the National Park nightlife was like so we walked to the only pub in town. Locals were watching rugby while we played pool and drank mugs of local beer at scarily cheap prices. That all said we were in bed by about 11 because we were so tired.
From National Park (FYI it got it's name because it was the first national park in NZ and maybe even the world but I'm not positive), we hit a down poor on our way to Lake Taupo, the biggest lake in NZ. I plan on going back there when it's clearer and skydiving if I work up the courage but we'll see. I'd even considering doing the crossing again because it was just that awesome. But anyways we played mini golf (I won by a stroke when one of my friends folded under pressure on the last hole) and ate lunch at an Asian take out. I've yet to really go and sit down at a real restaurant. Take is huge here and things close early. From there we drove north to Rotorua a place you can smell before you see. It's known for all of its geothermal wonders and Maori villages. Again it was raining so I only saw a water fall where one huge lake joins another huge lake and water just rushes through and it creates this teal color nothing like the color of the lakes. I'd also like to go back there. All things are kind of touristy but fun and it's only a few hours from me in Auckland. The Maori villages are supposed to be cool too. They're like Colonial Williamsburg, VA but for the native Maori culture.
We woke up after a night of BBQing and sleeping in a smelly room with two strangers (hostels are great) and it was a beautiful day. We had planned on going home by 4 that day but decided to rent the car an extra day and make the most of it. We started out Zorbing. Zorbing is pretty much jumping in a huge hamster wheel and running down a steep windy hill. There's water in the main compartment up to your knees (they change it every run so it's cleanish). You loose your balance and fall and then are pretty much subject to gravity and momentum. You toss and turn and jump and bounce and slip and fall. Sounds ridiculous but it's pretty awesome. If you ever wanted to know what a washing machine would be like...
After the Zorb we took gondolas up the side of the mountain outside or Rotorua and lodged. It was fun but after two runs down the track I was sick of it. The view was nice and it was an escape from the stench that is Rotorua. From there we drove east to the Coromandel Peninsula which juts out into the Pacific. We stopped at the Hot Water Beaches where hot gasses leak through the sand and if you dig deep down you can hit water and create a natural little hot tub. Sounds lame but it really was unique. The gas was so hot I burnt my toe but if you find the right spot it can be very relaxing. On the way home we pulled off at Hahie Beach to watch the sunset. Again just look at the pictures. It was pretty but I wish it was facing west instead of east. The last thing worth mentioning was the night sky on the drive back. I couldn't get a picture obviously but I've never seen more stars in my life.
We eventually made our way back to Auckland, had a late dinner, and passed out. Our last day was the longest but the whole trip was tiring. The whole trip was fun and for the most part being around new people for 24 hours for 3 days went well. I actually went with a diverse group of people. The US, Malaysia, Indonesia, Norway, and Canada were all represented on the trip. Some of the most fun came from talking to people from different places who all some how ended up in the same sardine can of a car on the North Island of New Zealand.
Getting back we wanted to take as long as possible because coming home meant facing the reality of class and a regular routine. I've had 3 of 4 of my classes thus far and they all seem to be very interesting. I'm excited and the teachers are very energetic. It helps I don't have to get an A down here since the grade doesn't transfer exactly. I feel like I've been writing forever so I'll call it quits. I'm heading out of town again this weekend on a camping trip out west. So the next time I find time to write I'll have more pictures hopefully.
The pictures are all the pictures I've taken since being here (well not all but several). I captioned most of them or at least captioned the first of a series of one place so hopefully it makes sense. Here's where you can find them.
The hostel/motel we stayed in provided a hardy breakfast, a diverse packed lunch, a steak dinner, a 30 minute spa (when they spa they mean access to a hot tub), transportation to and from the crossing, a t-shirt and two nights stay for $155 NZ or $78 US. It's a real steal considering the walk alone is the most fantastic 8 hours in nature you could imagine. I'm really just not a good enough a writer to give you a clue as to how unique and beautiful this place is. It's about 20km (12.5 miles) up and over an active volcano. You start out in these grassy hills and work your way up to these vast open dust fields and begin climbing the actual volcano and all the lava rock around it. From there you start to walk down into more wide open fields and out of nowhere these lakes appear. Out of nowhere is the best phrase for the whole thing because different scenery or landscape just literally pops up and doesn't seem to fit in with what's behind you. Anyways there are 4 lakes (maybe 5 but one just looked like a big a puddle from the recent rain). 3 of them make up the Emerald Lakes where we broke for lunch. The lakes are so vividly colored, the camera doesn't even do it justice. Also, there are sulfur vents everywhere because the lakes are adjacent to the largest (not highest though) crater on Mt. Ngauruhoe so finding a good place to eat lunch was a task in and of itself. From there you climb up a little more to the Blue Lake, a lake much bigger than the other three and a little above the other lakes at around 1800 meters up. After you get past this lake you sort of just end up in these Irish looking highlands and work your way down into the jungle. There's still sulfur spout out of the ground on your way down which really doesn't fit in but that's what makes it great. Really the best way to get an idea is look at my pictures thus far (I'll link them at the end of this post).
We did the crossing in about 7.5 hours including breaks. We got home at about 5 and soaked in the spa to relax before the best tasting (and bloodiest) steak I've ever had. Hunger really is the best spice there is. That night we wanted to see what the National Park nightlife was like so we walked to the only pub in town. Locals were watching rugby while we played pool and drank mugs of local beer at scarily cheap prices. That all said we were in bed by about 11 because we were so tired.
From National Park (FYI it got it's name because it was the first national park in NZ and maybe even the world but I'm not positive), we hit a down poor on our way to Lake Taupo, the biggest lake in NZ. I plan on going back there when it's clearer and skydiving if I work up the courage but we'll see. I'd even considering doing the crossing again because it was just that awesome. But anyways we played mini golf (I won by a stroke when one of my friends folded under pressure on the last hole) and ate lunch at an Asian take out. I've yet to really go and sit down at a real restaurant. Take is huge here and things close early. From there we drove north to Rotorua a place you can smell before you see. It's known for all of its geothermal wonders and Maori villages. Again it was raining so I only saw a water fall where one huge lake joins another huge lake and water just rushes through and it creates this teal color nothing like the color of the lakes. I'd also like to go back there. All things are kind of touristy but fun and it's only a few hours from me in Auckland. The Maori villages are supposed to be cool too. They're like Colonial Williamsburg, VA but for the native Maori culture.
We woke up after a night of BBQing and sleeping in a smelly room with two strangers (hostels are great) and it was a beautiful day. We had planned on going home by 4 that day but decided to rent the car an extra day and make the most of it. We started out Zorbing. Zorbing is pretty much jumping in a huge hamster wheel and running down a steep windy hill. There's water in the main compartment up to your knees (they change it every run so it's cleanish). You loose your balance and fall and then are pretty much subject to gravity and momentum. You toss and turn and jump and bounce and slip and fall. Sounds ridiculous but it's pretty awesome. If you ever wanted to know what a washing machine would be like...
After the Zorb we took gondolas up the side of the mountain outside or Rotorua and lodged. It was fun but after two runs down the track I was sick of it. The view was nice and it was an escape from the stench that is Rotorua. From there we drove east to the Coromandel Peninsula which juts out into the Pacific. We stopped at the Hot Water Beaches where hot gasses leak through the sand and if you dig deep down you can hit water and create a natural little hot tub. Sounds lame but it really was unique. The gas was so hot I burnt my toe but if you find the right spot it can be very relaxing. On the way home we pulled off at Hahie Beach to watch the sunset. Again just look at the pictures. It was pretty but I wish it was facing west instead of east. The last thing worth mentioning was the night sky on the drive back. I couldn't get a picture obviously but I've never seen more stars in my life.
We eventually made our way back to Auckland, had a late dinner, and passed out. Our last day was the longest but the whole trip was tiring. The whole trip was fun and for the most part being around new people for 24 hours for 3 days went well. I actually went with a diverse group of people. The US, Malaysia, Indonesia, Norway, and Canada were all represented on the trip. Some of the most fun came from talking to people from different places who all some how ended up in the same sardine can of a car on the North Island of New Zealand.
Getting back we wanted to take as long as possible because coming home meant facing the reality of class and a regular routine. I've had 3 of 4 of my classes thus far and they all seem to be very interesting. I'm excited and the teachers are very energetic. It helps I don't have to get an A down here since the grade doesn't transfer exactly. I feel like I've been writing forever so I'll call it quits. I'm heading out of town again this weekend on a camping trip out west. So the next time I find time to write I'll have more pictures hopefully.
The pictures are all the pictures I've taken since being here (well not all but several). I captioned most of them or at least captioned the first of a series of one place so hopefully it makes sense. Here's where you can find them.
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