Mid-Semester Break

Alright here comes the long post. I've been pretty busy the last couple of weeks, as we just had our Mid-Semester/Fall break. One of my friends, Chris, and I had tried to figure out plans to travel to an island out in the Pacific, but that never really materialized due to cost. We ended up hooking up with several other of our friends to combine forces to go on a huge road trip all over New Zealand, covering mostly the north island (since it's harder to get to). So Chris, Garrett, Anna, Kristin, Angela, Adam (another Adam Z. nonetheless) and I roughly planned what we'd do on our trip, and mapped everything out. Adam, Angela, and Anna all already owned a car together, so the week before we shipped out Chris, Garrett, and I bought a used 1991 Nissan Pulsar to use for the rest of our time here. Not a bad deal, taking into account that we'll be able to sell it back when we leave for a pretty good amount as well.

Anyway, the seven of us left somewhere around 4 o'clock on the afternoon of Thursday the 9th (break started Friday for Good Friday), and the start-off plan was pretty much "drive north." We made it a pretty good ways away, and our car being ahead of the other, found a campsite at Motunau Beach. We literally had to drive up and down a huge hill next to the beach to get reception on one of our phones so that we could tell the other car where we were camping. It was freezing camping that night, but Garrett and I were so tired that we didn't even set up a tent. The town that we were in was pretty far from actual civilization, so we just slept under the clear sky on a tarpe outside.

The next morning we had to wake up fairly early at our campsite to make it to Picton, where we had booked spots on the ferry to Wellington on the north island. You're able to drive your car right onto the ferry, which went pretty smoothly. Before leaving we split up, some of us to grab groceries and the rest to get some information at the information center in town. Loading everything onto the ferry, we lucked out with getting a beautiful day to hang out on the deck outside and take pictures and take in all the scenery. We even actually ran into a kid on the ferry who lives in the flat right next to mine in Dunedin. The ferry itself was pretty nice, and equipped with a cafeteria, bar, tons of comfortable seating, and even a movie theater.

Once we were in Wellington, we debated trying to get a hostel for the night. After realizing that none of the hostels were going to have room for seven people in that short of notice, we decided just to keep moving north. It also didn't help that it was Good Friday, and the entire country wasn't selling alcohol anywhere. We wouldn't have been able to go out that night to check out Wellington anyway. The next day we had planned on doing a long hike anyway, so to make it easier we camped literally right next to the trailhead. The hut at the trailhead was called Mangatepopo Hut, and we slept right under the awning to make sure we didn't get wet. This ended up proving to be a little backwards, since the dew on the roof started dripping on us at about 5am and we had to move.

That morning, though, we woke up and cooked up a big batch of oatmeal for the seven of us, and after moving one of the cars to the end of the trail, we started on our journey. The trail is called the Tongariro River Crossing, and as a part of it there is an optional split-off that climbs up Mt. Ngauruhoe... or better known as Mt. Doom (from Lord of the Rings). The trail is a 19.4 km hike, excluding climbing Mt. Ngauruhoe, which is 7,520 feet tall. It was a great sunny day for the hike, and ended up being one of the craziest and hardest hikes I've ever done. At the splitoff for Mt. Ngauruhoe we all stopped to make sandwiches for lunch. Chris and Angela decided not to attempt the climb, though, and began on the second half of the hike while the rest of us began Mt. Doom. After only a few minutes, Anna and Kristin turned back and finished the second part of the hike instead as well, leaving just the three of us.

Climbing to the top was one of the most amazing things I've ever done. It was so steep that we literally had to grab onto rocks and ice as we went, since there was almost no traction at all as the ground was almost entirely gravel. The scenery was some of the most beautiful that I've ever seen... a clear day overlooking snowy mountains, lakes, and hot springs. We pretty much ran down the mountain because of how steep it was, and finished the rest of the hike. A good portion of the second half smelled awful because of the hot springs, but the sun was going down and we had plenty to look at, including Lake Taupo. We got to the end and met up with the others, and continued driving for a little while, this time towards Taupo. Again we didn't really have a plan of anywhere to stay for that night, so after unsuccessfully trying to find hostels in Taupo and Rotorua (since it's on the way going north), we kept driving towards Tauranga. Garrett, Chris, and I ended up sleeping in a grassy field literally on the side of the highway, too tired to even pitch a tent.

The next morning (now Sunday) we drove into the next small town to meet up with the other car for gas and breakfast, before heading out and driving toward Whenuakite and Hahei. We had booked a hostel in Hahei and were all set getting checked in and everything, when a woman who worked at the hostel happened to walk by and notice that we had five more people in the room than there should have been. Whoops... We got kicked out of the hostel, but didn't let it ruin our day. We headed to Hot Water Beach nearby, which was one of the coolest beaches I've ever been to. The beach is nearby to many hot springs, which filter up through the sand. You're supposed to dig a small hole, which then fills with the hot water... too hot to sit in. After mixing it with some ocean water, you've got your own little hot tub to hang out in.

After relaxing in our mini hot tub for a while, we took one of our first showers in a few days at the rinse-off showers at the beach. We grabbed some burgers and fish and chips there before heading out to Coromandel to look for another spot to camp. We stopped along the way to make some burritos, and hang out and play with my glow-in-the-dark frisbee that I got in Queenstown. We ended up finding a more foresty area to camp in and were just about all set up, when a cop pulled over next to our site. Rather than telling us we couldn't camp there, he had stopped to recommend an even better spot to camp overlooking a lake just 15 more minutes up the road. He said we probably weren't supposed to camp at either spot, but if anyone called to complain he said that he'd be the one getting the call, and he didn't care at all. Thanks New Zealand police! We camped there that night, and were somehow much warmer than most of the other nights so far. Good day.

The next morning we woke up and went into Coromandel for breakfast and gas again, and to go to the information center to use internet. After checking email real quick, we piled back into the car to head towards Waiau. We went to check out a place called Waiau Waterworks, which was similar to Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton for anyone reading this who knows what that is. There were many sculptures around the site, a lot of which had some type of water contraption moving them around or flowing through them. It also had some more kiddie-geared things which we all had fun playing on anyway, like a few ziplines and a human-sized wooden hamster wheel type thing that ended in most of us with brushburns all over. After getting some 'banana-berry' ice cream there, we headed back to the car. An Indian family was picnicking right next to our car, and promptly invited all of us to try their food, which was delicious. Some of the best food I'd had on our trip by far.

We drove to one of the nearest beaches to hang out for the rest of the day afterwards, Whangapoua, and relaxed there before driving to our hostel that we had booked for the night in Thames. At the 'Sunkist Backpacker,' the seven of us made pasta with veggies together and were actually able to sit down at a table for a meal together... who knew. Once we were all cleaned up and showered, we hung out in the lounge of the hostel for a pretty chilled out night. We drank some beers and played some pool, scrabble, and darts. We passed out at a pretty reasonable time, again without a plan of anything to do the next day.

After breakfast the next morning, we used the internet at the hostel to try to figure out plans for what to do that day. The girls decided that they were going to go horseback riding in Rotorua, so the guys decided to go 'sledging/river surfing' in Hell's Gate instead. Sledging is basically the same thing as whitewater rafting, except instead of a raft you have a 'sledge,' this being almost the same concept as a boogie board but instead it's made out of hard plastic and has handles to hold onto. We got all suited up with flippers, a life jacket, and wetsuit, and were off to the rapids. Doing that was a fun change of pace again, as our guide was pretty crazy and constantly throwing us into the rapids. That night we met up with the girls in Napier to grab some food before again looking for a campsite. We drove off the main drag and into the country, and found an unbuilt housing property that was perfect for us to pitch our tents on.

Wednesday we woke up and drove down to Taradale relatively early to begin our activity of the day... a biking wine tour. We found the company pretty easily (Bike D'Vine... haha..) and got all geared up to go with maps and lunch and all. Everyone had a solo bike except Anna and I, since we wanted to try riding a 2-person tandem. After getting used to it, our bike ended up being pretty fun to ride. We switched off with others a couple times along the way, but rode it for the majority of the time. There were 5 wineries on the way, as well as one brewery and one chocolate factory. All in all it was a great day... plenty of exercise, fresh air, alcohol, chocolate... The only thing that dampered us a little bit was getting lost and having to ask for directions at a fruit stand, which we all chocked up to simply getting more exercise! We returned the bikes and picked up some beer before heading to the beach to set up camp for the night. We actually arrived at the beach around dinner time, and had a good time hanging out there building a fire and listening to the ocean.

The next day we had a hostel booked already in Wellington, and drove down there to hang out for the day and check out the city. I was able to hang out with a family friend of mine, Diane, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, while the others went to the Te Papa Museum to check out some Monet exhibit that was on display there. I walked around and got coffee with Diane and her kids Maddie and Jess, and she showed me around parts of Wellington. We walked down to the harbor, and then to get a quick drink with her husband. It was refreshing to be able to relax for a while rather than running around like we had been, and Wellington was definitely a city that I could see myself visiting again... very welcoming.

That night after I'd said goodbye to Diane, we all met up at our hostel to shower and get ready to go out for the night. I grabbed some Indian food and checked my email while waiting for everyone else to get ready. We ended up starting the night in the hostel's Basement Bar, before heading out on the town to several other sports bars. At one more club-type bar we actually ran into another group of kids from our program in Dunedin, and had fun exchanging stories with them about how our breaks had been going. After a long, but fun night, we all ended up back at the hostel together to pass out... 7 people in a room meant for 3.

Friday morning we had to be on the ferry at 7:30am, so naturally most of us didn't do much on the ferry but read or sleep. Luckily it wasn't as bumpy as a ride as the first ferry was, and we were able to get back into Picton quite uneventfully. Once there we decided to drive to Nelson to check out the town, having heard that it had much to offer. We walked around there for a little while, the girls shopping. It was a nice town, but as a general consensus we all felt like lying on a beach and sleeping all day. So... we drove to Kaiteriteri nearby to do just that. There was a camper van site near the beach with kitchen and shower facilities there, so we utilized them, cooking spaghetti for dinner. After dinner we all went to what was pretty much the only bar in town, The Beached Whale, to hang out and listen to music. We took to the kiwi way of buying "shouts," or rounds, of jugs (pictchers) of beer for us all, and hung out having a pretty relaxed night.

The next morning we woke up to get our day started at Abel Tasman National Park. We had booked kayaks for the seven of us in Marahau, and after grabbing some coffee we were out on the ocean! Chris and I manned a kayak together, and had a great time paddling around several different islands and checking out the clear water on an almost perfect day. We were told that one island often had seals hanging out on the rocks around the other side, and we all got to see tons of fur seals laying out and enjoying the sun. We weren't supposed to get too close to the seals, but as we got closer to one of the islands, about 6 or 7 baby seals began swimming and playing all around our kayaks. They literally were playing with our boats, chewing on our oars, and jumping around all over the place. It was one of the coolest things I've ever seen... I was even able to reach out and pet a couple of them.

We stopped on a random island to hang out, have a lunch of wine/cheese/apples, and throw around a frisbee. Although I sliced open my finger while cutting up an apple, nothing could stop me from having a great day. After we had to head back and return the kayaks, we all grabbed some burgers before finding another campsite on a beach. We built a fire and hung around there for a while as we had several nights before, and passed out from exhaustion soon after.

Sunday was our last day of break, and pretty much the day to drive home. Anna and Kristin were doing a dolphin encounter in Kaikoura, but it was a somewhat foggy day and no one went to join them. We had a long day of driving ahead of us, now with five people in our car, but we split up the drive pretty well and had a good day cruising down the south island. We stopped at a large CookieTime store that we had seen when passing through Christchurch, to buy tons of cookies for our ride and pick up some funny tee-shirts. Making it back to Dunedin pretty uneventfully, we said goodbye to the last of our break.

Quick Update

I know I haven't updated in a while... my bad. I'm currently on my mid-semester break, road tripping with 6 other friends from Otago. I don't really have time for a long update since I'm at a hostel right now and have to check out pretty soon, but I'm having an awesome time. I've been writing down notes of everything I'm doing, so expect a longer update sometime soon. I'm in Thames right now (north island) and have another hostel booked for Thursday in Wellington, so we should be able to have comptuer access there.

Anyway, everything's going great... leave comments or email me or whatever to keep in touch! Updates soon.