Day 1:
September 29th we caught a plane at 10:30am from Sydney to Auckland, New Zealand, the last stop on our Asian Adventure. The flight was a quick two hours but we felt the affects of the 3 hour time change. We got our bags quickly, oddly scrutinized by the immigration guy, then we were on our way. We are staying at another hostel, K Road City Travelers, and it's pretty nice. It seems to be in a good location so we are excited. We dropped our stuff off and then walked down to a local pizza place for dinner and then we went back to the hostel to map out our week of activities!
Day 2:
Our first full day in Auckland and we got a pretty late start...stupid time change. But the weather was pretty crummy so we didn't miss out on too much. We walked to the downtown area where we literally just walked around all day looking at shops and people watching. Around 4:00pm, we decided to walk to the Auckland museum which I told Andrew probably closes at 5pm, but we walked what seemed like forever anyways. Of course, being right at usual, we arrived at 4:58pm and it closed at 5pm. By this time are legs are aching, we are sick of the drizzling weather, and a little hungry. So we grabbed a bite to eat and went back to 'actually' make a plan for tomorrow.
Day 3:
Since we missed out on the Auckland Museum yesterday, we decided to start our day off with a little New Zealand history. When we arrived, we were a little irritated at the sign in the front entrance. "Admission is free however a $10 donation per adult is appreciated." Then we went to the ticket office where the lady told us the fee would be $20. I understand a donation to be of any denomination...they need to change the sign to, "Admission fee $10 per adult," and just do away with the word 'donation,' it confuses people.
The museum was HUGE and we ended up spending 3 hours there! It's made up of three large floors each hosting different galleries. The ground level was all about the history of the 'Pacific People,' Which included a large exhibit about the Maori people, New Zealands native tribe. It was full of old ships, pottery, baskets and clothing from the tribal people. The first floor was a gallery of Natural History. This included early sea and land life as well as a really cool interactive volcano exhibit, and a pretty cool kids center, 'Weird and Wonderful.' The second floor was appropriately titled, "Scars on the Heart." This was dedicated to all of the wars that New Zealand was involved with. They had a really neat set up with trenches and planes and respectful display wall to all of those who had fallen in battle. The time went fast and we witnessed a lot in three hours.
After the museum we went to walk around the water front looking at all the boats and restaurants. We ate at a Mexican place and then made the long walk back to the hostel because we couldn't figure out which bus we could take.
Day 4:
Andrew and I got up extra early today in order to walk to the pier and hopefully get a seat on a sailboat this afternoon. This is no ordinary sailboat folks, this one actually sailed in the America's Cup in 1995, which is a sailing race and the oldest active trophy in international sports. This prestigious race, also known as the Millionaires Race, began in the UK in 1857. The name was then changed to 'America's Cup' after a boat from the USA, named America, won the first race. The Americans held on to the title of champion until 1983, making it the longest winning streak in sporting history. The particular boat we were on was raced by the Japanese. It's interesting to note that just because the boat is representing a country doesn't mean that's where the crew is from. Anybody can sponsor a boat in the race, (if you have about $80 million extra bucks laying around) and then they put together the best sailors from around the world to sail it. This boat for the Japanese had a crew of 16 men from Australia, New Zealand and Japan. It ultimately made it to the semi-final round in '95.
Since there were only four crew members on our boat all of us passengers got to participate in the sailing process! There were about 25 people on this boat including Andrew and I (who were the youngest) but unfortunately not very many people volunteered. So Andrew and I, and the same six other people ended up doing the majority of the 'grinding.' That means we were frantically 'pedaling a bike with our hands' in order to control the sails. My back is hurting but it was so awesome to participate. I was a little nervous at first, I don't have the strongest stomach for movement..ie: puking over the boat in Thailand, but I was assured that no one has gotten sick before. (I didn't want to be the one to break that streak.) Most of the tourists on the boat were from Australia, one Canadian, a few Germans, some French, and then Andrew and I. There were plenty of America jokes...I particularly liked when the skipper converted the meters to feet and looked and Andrew and I saying, "Those Americans don't understand the meter talk." Haha. The crew was a lot of fun. The day was gorgeous, and really really windy. They said that an America's Cup race wouldn't race in this much wind but it was a good day for us to be out there. The wind was really cold and I was really cold but how many people can say that their first experience on a sail boat was on a racing boat in New Zealand?! It was well worth the time, money, and back pains!
After the boating experience, Andrew and I decided to check out the ice bar along the harbor. All I can say is that thank goodness we had a two for one coupon to get in. It was quite a disappointment. The draw to the bar is that it's called minus 5. You walk in and are given a huge coat and gloves. The bar in freezing cold and everything is made of ice. The bar, the seats, and even the glasses. They had some pretty neat ice sculptures but of course we weren't allowed to take photos. One of the staff members would take you picture and then sell you one for $12...no thanks. The place was neat but it wasn't much of a bar. The whole area was about the size of a medium sized bedroom...and well...it was freezing! I can't complain about the temperature, obviously, but Andrew and I just felt like the whole thing was so hyped up and it was a waste of money. Oh well...it was an experience.
Day 5:
On the road again! Today Andrew and I decided to embark on a short road trip. We rented a car, a mid 90s Nissan Cefiro, and Andrew braved the opposite driving. It might actually have been to his advantage to have not driven for a year because although it was strange, it wasn't terrible. He did a great job! We ventured about three hours south to Rotorua, a city with a population of about 56,000. The main draw to this city for tourists and locals alike are the geysers, bubbling hot mud pools and the hot thermal springs. We only had to stop once for directions which I thought was pretty good considering we didn't know where we were going and I wasn't much help on reading the map to Andrew because I get sick looking at anything while in a moving car. The dive was absolutely stunning and this was the first time we really got to see all the beauty that New Zealand has to offer. From the lakes to the rolling green hills and the trees...it was just gorgeous.
We arrived in Rotorua at about 1pm and decided to see what this place had to offer. We walked the streets a little to stretch our legs before getting back in the car where drove to Sulphur Bay. (Having a car was awesome...mobility is key!) When we got out, the stench hit us like a wall. The sulphur aroma was so strong we both got light headed pretty quickly. It was a little eerie to see that the water was a milky white color and in certain spots it was bubbling and sulphurs steam would rush out. New Zealand has lots of volcanoes and the whole time we were there all I could think about was the movie 'Dante's Peak.' Once the smell got over powering, we decided to check out another site, the Whakarwarewa Forest. We got back in the car, (I love saying that) and drove to the forest. It;s famous for its tall redwood trees, much like the ones in California. The trees were planted in 1902 and have not matured into the tallest and most beautiful trees I have ever seen. There were all sorts of paths you could take depending on if you were walking, biking, horseback riding, or jogging. We decided to take the 30 minute walking trail. It took us a little longer because we were constantly stopping to take pictures. These trees were so beautiful and there were thousands of them!
After the forest walk, we just drove around to look at the scenery. We drove by some beautiful tree covered hills and we pulled over at a look out point overlooking a lake. Again, the scenery was breathtaking. No wonder Rotorua is constantly voted one of the most beautiful cities in New Zealand. Being that it's Springtime here, everything is green and in bloom. I don't think we could have picked a better time to be here.
After the drive, we checked into our hostel and then went to get something to eat. Before finding some food we stopped or gas. $70NZD ($52USD) later, it was just about full!!! We weren't even on empty yet...we could not believe it was that much! We split a sandwich and then called it a day.
Day 6:
The reason for our visit to Rotorua was for two main reasons. To get out of Auckland and see something different, as well as visit the famous Wait0mo Caves about two hours southwest of Rotorua. We had tried to book a black water rafting cave tour that looked really cool, but yesterday we got an email saying that they were now full. We were really bummed but decided to go to the caves anyways, we were already halfway there.
So we got up and left the hostel at about 8:15am. We had no clue where to go, and after trying for a few minutes, we turned around and went to an information center for help. It took longer than expected but we weren't in too much of a hurry and the scenery was just so beautiful it didn't really matter. All this driving gave us a great chance to see the country side. We arrived at the caves and were able to take a 45 minute tour of the famous Glowworm cave. Sadly, no pictures were allowed inside. It's really too bad because it was unbelievable but I can understand that the flashes would probably disturb the glow worms. Our tour guide was great. She was witty and gave us a lot of good background about the caves and the worms. I learned that glowworms aren't really even worms, the are maggots. But they figured glow worm sounds more appealing than glow maggot. We were guided through the cave and then we all got in a boat. It was really dark in the boat and the only light was the glow from the worms. There were thousands of them and they looked like thousands of dim white Christmas lights. It was very cool and I'm glad we took the time to go even though the rafting part didn't work out.
When we left the cave Andrew wanted me to try driving, just for a minute or so. I was really, really nervous but agreed anyways. I think I drove for about two minutes before pulling over. It was a small country road and I couldn't judge how far over I was and it was all so scary. The speed limit was 100KPH and I drove at a comfortable speed of 30KPH while the cars whizzed past me...thank goodness there was a shoulder so I could pull off and let Andrew take the wheel again. I guess i can say I did it though.
The drive back to Auckland was smooth and easy. We stopped in a small town called Hamilton and ate at a local cafe for lunch. It was very cute and nice to get out of the car. The scenery home was awesome and I snapped a few more car pictures.
All in all, renting a car was a great decision and I'm glad we got to get out of Auckland and see another side of New Zealand!
Day 7:
Our flight didn't leave until 7:30pm and we had to be out of the hostel by 10am...which meant we had some time to kill. We started out spending an hour at a coffee shop just because we had nothing better to do. Then we decided to hop on the city bus and drive for a bit until something looked interesting and then we'd get off. About 30 minutes into the ride we got off at a shopping district made up of lots of different little shops. We ended up being able to spend our time here until returning to the hostel to collect our bags and then head to the airport.
Being at the airport was a little surreal. We had been anticipating going home for such a long time that we couldn't believe it was actually here. It was also strange knowing we were leaving at 7:30pm on Oct.5th and after 20 hours of travel time, we would arrive in KC at 9:15pm on Oct. 5th...we basically got to live the same day twice :)
The first flight wasn't terrible, but it wasn't much fun either. I don't sleep well on planes so I ended up watching three movies, a few TV shows and a documentary before landing in San Francisco. I was so giddy to actually be back in the US, I was almost jumping up and down until Andrew told me to calm down a little bit.
Security took us forever to get through and the longest we have had to wait since we left on this trip. After being in the terminal an hour or so, we noticed that our flight still wasn't on the board yet...we got a little worried. Finally we figured out we were in the international terminal, but there was no sign indicating where we were and where we needed to go. Good thing we had plenty of time.
We left San Francisco on time and our three hour flight felt like it took forever! I was so tired but so excited to finally see everyone that I was able to keep my energy up. We arrived and my mom and dad as well as Andrew's parents and a few of Andrew's friends were there to greet us. Everything seemed a bit surreal, (partly because I was in a daze from the lack of sleep). All of our stuff made it and we were so excited to finally be HOME!
......
After 10.5 (We were only in Japan 8 hours) countries in 13 months,
using countless modes of transportation,
hearing 8 different languages,
using 11 different currencies,
eating interesting local delicacies,
seeing several world wonders,
meeting countless amazing people,
hearing plenty of heart wrenching stories,
and experiencing cultures many people only get the chance to read about,
I feel so blessed have been able to run and relish in this opportunity to learn about myself and an entire ancient world. I want to thank those of you who have been following my endeavors and for all of the love and support you have strengthened me with. God Bless :)
No comments:
Post a Comment