And the Award for Most Popular Nationality of People Visiting New Zealand Goes To..

The Magic Bus stops at a winery in between Picton and Nelson that offers a wine tasting for only $2. You get to try 5 different wines, which is such a good deal that you really can't turn it down. Nearly everyone on our bus headed in for a taste. The woman who poured the wine tried making conversation with all 28 of us, and asked, “So where are you from? Well, all over I guess, eh?”

A guy in the back responded, “Yup, all over Germany.”

Accurate joke was accurate.

Wellington, Again

Because it was Danna's first time in Wellington, I took her around to a lot of the same sights I had been to on my first weekend in the city. This was fine with me since it is a beautiful city with the great vibe. The first evening we had a free dinner in the hostel followed by a walk down Cuba street, took advantage of happy hour in our hostel bar, and then went out to Courtney Place for a few drinks. We were still exhausted from canoeing the day before though, so we went to bed early. The next day, we slept in (glorious!) and then went to the free national museum, Te Papa. When we were done, we stumbled on a Hare Krishna festival happening on the waterfront, so we got free henna tattoos and free curry for lunch! After that, we went up the cable car, wandered around the botanical gardens, and then went back to the hostel where I had my first nap in a long time. That evening we went out to watch fireworks over the waterfront for Chinese New Year. I think Wellington is my favourite city in New Zealand. I'm a bit sad to be leaving.

Whanganui Canoe Safari

After working our legs out so much on the Tongariro crossing, Danna and I felt that our arms needed some attention as well, so we booked ourselves into a Canoe Safaris adventure on the Whanganui River. I had purchased a GrabOne (similar to a Groupon deal) for this which got us a hotel room in Ohakune for a night and a full day out on the river, which is just west of Tongariro National Park. I didn't entirely know what the trip would be, but I was expecting more of a leisurely float down a river. Instead, we ended up on a 22km trek over rapids and constantly had to avoid shallow rocks. It was hard work.

I took the back seat to act as the steering captain. The last time I was in a canoe was in August when I went to Jasper with my family. We went out onto Pyramid Lake, and my brother was in the back doing all the work while I lazily paddled every once in a while, thinking I was helping to move us around the lake. Not so much this time. I am so sorry I was such a tool, Robert. Now I understand.

It took me about a kilometre to get used to steering, and then whenever I felt tired or got distracted by our beautiful surroundings, our canoe steered itself into the side of the river where low tree branches grow and spiders like to hang out. We fell to the back of the group of five other canoes, and so we were never able to stop paddling because we were constantly playing catch up. Then again, at one of corners with more intense rapids, I steered us through while two other canoes tipped over. So we weren't that bad!

Just when I thought I couldn't paddle much farther, we came to our lunch stop: the Lavender Fields Cafe. True to its name, a small wooden cabin surrounded by lavender in full bloom welcomed us in to sit in the shade and rest our weary arms. After that, a short 30 minute ride took us to the pick up point, where I jumped into the river to cool off, and then had a relaxing nap on the hour long drive back to Ohakune.

My arms are dead. But tickets for the gun show go on sale tomorrow at 10AM.

Happy? Hippie. Happy Hippie!

When we went for dinner at the pub in Taupo, there were about three tables full of people from the Magic Bus. As the night went on, numbers started to dwindle and Danna went to join another table as I was deep in conversation with a couple from England. Ruth and Frank decided to head back to the backpackers around 10, and I went to the bathroom. When Danna noticed our table was empty, she became concerned, so she asked Russ, another Magic Bus driver, if he had seen me. He responded in a thick Kiwi accent, and the conversation went like this:

Russ: Does she have a nose ring?

Danna: Yes!

Russ: Is she wearing a green knit sweater?

Danna: Yes!!!

Russ: Is she a happy?

Danna: Is she happy? Yes?

Russ: No, is she a hap-pie?

Danna: Yeah, she's happy.

Russ: Is she a HIP-PAY?

Danna: OH!! Sure..

When I got back to the table, everyone shouted “Heyyy! Hippie!!!” And made room for me to sit down. I really didn't understand where the nickname came from, but I was referred to only as 'Hippie' for the rest of the night. I have always joked that I am a hippie, but I thought I was the only one who thought so. The backstory didn't come out until I asked Danna the next day. My wonderful dirty backpacker lifestyle has finally made my the hippie I know inside become visible on the outside. I'm kind of proud.

Tongariro'd

One of the most famous day hikes in New Zealand is the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, which is known to be a strenuous 19 km hike over the volcanos in Tongariro National Park. If the weather is bad, the shuttle buses do not operate since the trek can be seriously dangerous in the rain. Prospective hikers are warned that this is not a leisurely stroll, and that proper attire and hiking footwear are necessary. The shuttle drops people off at one end of the trail at 7:30AM and picks them up 8 hours later, so you need to make sure you are capable of walking fast enough to meet the bus at the end. I was a bit concerned over this, because I am as slow as a turtle when I climb up hills, but I decided to take the risk. We woke up Tuesday morning to a blue sky and the promises of a great day.

The trail is absolutely beautiful, and begins with a few kilometres of flat ground that were carved out by a glacier thousands of years ago. All the people on our bus blew past Danna and I, making us worry about the increased fitness level of the rest of our group. We went at our own pace though, and reached the Devil's Staircase, which brought us up 300 metres higher. At the top was the turn off to the summit of Mt Ngauruhoe, or what I like to call Mt Doom since it was where Frodo destroyed the ring in the Lord of the Rings films. To climb to the summit of Ngauruhoe, you need to be 'super fit', and it adds about 3 hours to your hike. I skipped it, as did everyone else on our bus. Mt Doom from afar is good enough for me.

From there, we walked across the Southern crater to the turn off for the optional hike to the summit of Tongariro. I had a lot of energy still, and was 2 hours ahead of the schedule the guides had given me so I decided to walk up to the summit of Tongariro, which added an extra 3km to my hike. Danna decided to skip it, so I went on my own with plans to meet her at a later rest stop. It was a fairly easy trek, and showed views to the Northwest of the farmland down below and Mt Taranaki far off in the distance. As I was returning to the main trail, I met up with a lot of people from my bus. Even though they raced down the trail for the first stretch, everyone seemed to slow down once the incline started, and I was comforted to know I wasn't falling behind. As the trail continued, I reached the peak of the hike at 1886m that gave great views into the Red Crater. It was really impossible to forget you were climbing volcanos and not just mountains. From there, there was a long, steep scree slope going downhill filled with loose rocks and a lot of dirt. People were tentatively finding their way down, but it was actually my favourite part of the hike. I felt like I was running down a sand hill. Flex your feet, swing your arms, and strut like a giant! That was my motto, and it brought me down to the Emerald Lakes which are surrounded by steam vents. When I climbed Mt Vesuvius in Italy, there was snow on top of the volcano which was a pretty convincing indicator that it wouldn't explode with me on it. On the other hand, the volcano range I was on here was still active and has erupted in my lifetime. There are signposts that give information on what to do a volcano does erupt, but the underlying message there is that you're screwed. Luckily, the lava stayed inside the volcanos, and after a relaxing lunch Danna and I kept going. We ended up walking with a man named Frank who was on our bus who made the conversation interesting as we trekked along the final stretch. The last 6km were down the other side of the range with a wonderful view of Lake Taupo, and then through the cool forest to the carpark. It wasn't until the last kilometre that my legs started to wobble.

Overall I did 22.4km, which is the second longest hike I've done. I finished with half an hour to spare, so I have to say it was a bit overhyped, but just helped to boost my self esteem. Part of me also wants to recognize the energy drink I brought along, which I purchased because I needed another water bottle. This “Loaded Sport Assassin” boasts about having 50% more electrolytes than anything other drink in New Zealand, which makes it responsible for enhancing output in high performance sports. I just got it because it was on sale. Then again, I am also privileged to have grown up hiking in the Rocky Mountains, and that experience definitely helped. Apart from being tired, I escaped with only 4 blisters, which really isn't too bad for such a long walk. Overall, it was a wonderful day in the outdoors amongst the barren landscape of lava scarred mountains.

Rotorua and Taupo: Take Two

The first time I went to Rotorua, I spent the afternoon in Hobbiton, the evening at the Tamaki Cultural Village, and the following morning at the Wai-o-Tapu Geothermal Reserve. It made for a very exciting 24 hours, but I really didn't get to see the town itself. It wasn't until my return to Rotorua yesterday that I even realized the town is cradled by a lake.

Rotorua is the hub of New Zealand's geothermal activity, so the main park in the town is full of fenced off hot pools, steaming lakes, and boiling mud. The drains in the street have a constant flow of steam coming out of them, which reminds me of the unbearably cold days at home when the water vapours in the sewers condense as fog. The smell of sulphur lingers in the air and every once in a while a breeze blows that pungent rotten egg scent towards you. After we Ogo-ed, Danna and I went for a walk to check out these natural wonders, and then came back to the hostel to soak in the geothermally heated hot tub. Awesome.

During my first day in Taupo, I went skydiving, bee-lined it to town for a much needed dinner, then ended up in Mulligans Irish Pub and stayed there for the rest of the evening. On the way back north, our bus broke down and so we didn't get into Taupo until 7:30, at which time we went for a much needed dinner then ended up in Mulligans for the rest of the evening. This time, I was determined to see more of the town than just the pub. We arrived in Taupo, and Matt, our bus driver, offered us a ride to the thermal pools outside of town. There's a natural hot spot that releases boiling water into the Waikato River, which is freezing cold. Normally, the river is quite high, so if you jump into this unique little spot, you have a nice warm pool to splash around in. Apparently, the river was about a metre lower than normal, which meant we were reduced to sitting down in about 10 centimetres of water, trying to avoid the waves of frigid water that came in from the river. According to Matt, the springs were not showing their best, but I still really enjoyed it. In the evening, Danna wanted to go to Mulligans for the backpacker's special (beer and a burger for 12 dollars). My resolve to see more of Taupo was apparently not that strong, so I joined the group from the Magic Bus and headed to Mulligans where I stayed for the rest of the night. I really don't understand what it is about this pub. It just sucks me in.

Ogo

One thing the Kiwis have invented here in this secluded little corner of the world is the sport of rolling down a hill in a giant inflatable plastic ball. The inventors originally called the enterprise 'Zorbing', but when their business relationship went sour, one of the partners cut his losses, went to another part of town, and made a longer, better track with better plastic balls and called it 'Ogo'. Danna and I were sold after hearing “giant plastic ball”.

We got to the hill, and opted for the water filled ball on the curvy track. We were driven to the top of the hill, and the employee filled up our ball with about 2 litres of water, and told us to run and dive into the small hole (which was probably about 60cm in diameter). I went first with about as much grace as a fish out of water, and Danna quickly followed me in with a similar lack of dignity. As the employee zipped up that little hole, she told us to stand up and walk as far as possible to gain momentum. So we stood up, and within two steps, we were both on our backs as the hill took over the task of rolling us down. Danna immediately erupted into semi-hysterical giggles that lasted all the way down the 5 minute track. Rolling down the hill felt like a mix of being on a water slide and being in a washing machine. To start, we were laying next to each other with our heads comfortably above our feet. Within the first minute, the ball flipped us around so we were rolling down head first. I thought that was bad, but then the track really took over and we lost all control. One turn and we were facing each other, another and Danna's knee connected with my head. At one point I somehow had Danna pinned underneath me. We finally rolled down to the bottom and Danna's peals of laughter continued as the employees came over to unzip us and told us to climb on out. I heard an explanation of Ogo once that said exiting the ball is like coming out of a birth canal, and I really can't give you any better description than that. The sealed ball really heated up on the way down, and so I dropped out of the ball, wet and dripping, dizzy and a bit disoriented, onto the beautifully cool grass.

I love you, you crazy Kiwis. So much fun.

Rangitoto

One thing you may not know about Auckland is that the city is surrounded by about 50 volcanos that are visible around the city as hills and islands in the harbour. The youngest volcano is about 600 years old. It's called Rangitoto, and is accessible by ferry for day hikes. I managed to drag my lazy ass out of bed and onto the first ferry at 9:15, which put me on the island just before ten. Perfect for a day of exploring the volcano!

Near the harbour are small little houses called 'bachs' that were built in the early 20^th century. Some have been demolished, but others still show evidence of being lived in. They're cute little cottages, and other than the waves of tourists who come to explore the island every day, it would be a nice 'away from it all' place to live that is still really close to the conveniences of Auckland. I took the long route up to the top of the crater, which led me along the shores of the island on a path surrounded by black volcanic rock, through a gorgeous grove of Pohutukawa trees, and past a lighthouse. It also had great views of the Auckland CBD. Eventually, the path turned inland and I started to climb up. Near the top were the lava caves, which are natural tunnels that somehow developed out of the molten lava back when the volcano was still visibly active. The caves were cool because they were just long enough that you could be in the dark while still being able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

From the caves, I headed up to the top of the crater, which has an absolutely spectacular 360 degree view. I had a quick picnic lunch, ran out of water (it was a very hot and humid day), and decided to continue on since I had to be back for the last ferry at 3:30. I wanted to check out the bay on the opposite side of the island, but sadly I didn't have enough time. I took a longer route back to the wharf so I could see something different, but halfway to the ferry I was hit with a wave of dehydrated exhaustion. It turns out I went on about a 13 km hike around the island, so no wonder I was tired.

When I got back to my hostel, I had a grand reunion with water and rested in my bed. About an hour later, it became apparent that the sunscreen I had put on my shoulders had rubbed off and the sunscreen I neglected to put on my arms was coming back to teach me a lesson. Sun burn. My poor, poor red arms. I'll never learn.

Tell me and I will forget, show me and I will remember, involve me and I will understand.

One additional option for travellers when visiting Hokianga is the Footprints Experience, where you are led on a guided tour through the Waipoa forest at night with a local Maori guide. The tour is also listed as one of Lonely Planet's top “Code Green” Eco-tours in the world, so I didn't really feel like it was something I should miss.

Our guide, Koro, brought us through the forest and his stories blended scientific explanations of forest life with Maori legends. We approached Te Matua Ngahere just as the sun was setting. Te Matua Ngahere is the oldest living Kauri tree in the world. The forest vegetation is short in between the viewing platform and the tree, and so the light hits the trunk directly rather than through the regular canopy of leaves throughout the rest of the forest. This made Te Matua Ngahere seem illuminated and slightly ethereal. As we silently looked up at the tree in awe, a Morepork flew over our heads and landed in the branches of a tree closest to where we were standing. The Morepork (what an unfortunate name) is the only owl indigenous to New Zealand. Seeing the owl was the first sign of the approaching night as the bird is nocturnal.

We walked back to the trail head in the twilight, and when we arrived at Tane Mahuta, the largest Kauri tree in the world, it was dark. Tane Mahuta is Maori for “Lord of the Forest”, and is named after the god who successfully separated his parents who were locked in an eternal embrace. By separating his parents, he brought light to the world and life began. Once again, this is a badly summarized “Danielle verison” of the Maori creation story. I encourage you to read it for yourself.

As Koro shared these stories under Tane Mahuta, I was looking up to take in the whole tree. When Koro stopped talking to let his words sink in, we were engulfed in silence. You may remember just two weeks ago when I hiked up to the Sunrise Hut and was literally blown over by the force of the wind. The Waipoa forest is huge and full of leaves and branches ready to catch a breeze, but nothing was moving. Excuse me as I get a bit touchy-feely here, but the accentuated stillness of the forest compared to the intense juxtaposition of my last windy encounter with nature rooted me to my immediate surroundings and to the absolute present state of my being. My mind is constantly buzzing as to 'what will come next' – from my plans for tomorrow, a month from now, or even a year. I even dream about it. At that moment though, all of that fell away. Even though I was with 5 others, a silence as intense as the one we shared is hard to come by. In Edmonton, the noises from the city are always present. In the backpackers I have been frequenting for the past two months, there is always someone wandering around at any time of day. Even in the forest during the day, there is the crunching of the leaves underneath your feet, the calling of birds, and the sound of the wind in the trees.

But the Waipoa was in a state of absolute tranquil, unmoving stillness.

Koro broke the silence with a prayer to end our evening, but halfway through, he stopped himself and shouted “Kiwi!” For a full minute we listened to the call of a nearby endangered Kiwi bird before saying goodbye to the forest and each other to head back into the world.

“We are only said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”

Hammock in Hokianga

Mostly to avoid staying longer in Auckland than I have to, I booked myself into the last place the Magic Bus stops on its tour of the North. The towns closest to where I am staying are Omapere and Opononi, but the entire bay area is known as Hokianga, which is on the west coast of the Northland. The backpackers I am staying at is called Globe Trekkers, and is owned by Mike and Sue. Similar to the one in Whangerei, the place is family owned and operated and feels more like a house than a backpackers which I really have come to appreciate. They have a English man named John who stays here for 6 months of the year, and spends the other 6 months enjoying his summers in England. He is an interesting and slightly eccentric old guy who is always up for a long conversation where he does most of the talking. Yesterday he told me explicitly that my English Degree is useless, but today he said he would like to figure out what makes a novel 'the best' instead of just 'good'. Well John, English degree over here can help you figure that one out.

This place has a great view of the ocean, lots of hiking trails, and really has that “away from it all” feeling. There isn't even an ATM here. But I mainly love it for the hammock that is hanging out by the patio. I plan to spend all of my time in it, reading my book and enjoying the sunshine in peace and quiet before I head to Auckland for a week. Lethargy, thy name is Danielle.

My Foot Hurts. Oh and I went to Russell

On my last day in the Bay of Islands, I wanted to do a 10 km hike, check out the town across the bay called Russell, go for a swim, and read my book. As it happened, that cut on the bottom of my foot that I got at Big Day Out did not like the sand exfoliation I gave it yesterday at Cape Reinga, and it was hurting more than ever. I also had my cell phone glued to my hand since I was waiting for a phone call from a potential employer (which never came). So I didn't manage to make the 10 km walk or go for a swim, but I had a great day nonetheless.

I got on a ferry over to Russell before noon, and had a good time wandering around exploring the town. When the Europeans settled in the area, Russell was known as the hell-hole of New Zealand because of all the drinking and prostitution that went on there. That time is long gone, and now Russell is just a quaint little beach village. On the other side of the peninsula from the ferry docks is Long Beach, which is a beautiful bay area with blue sparkly water and golden sand. I didn't have my swim suit and didn't want to miss the call, so I admired the water from afar and worked on my tan. Let me tell you, it was a challenge to not jump in the water.

I had been texting Chantal during the day, and she scolded me for not telling Omi I was in town. (Omi is from Christchurch, and she met Chantal when they worked in Fiji together seven years ago. We met up with her and her husband Ben when we visited Christchurch. Omi and Ben moved to Keri Keri in the Bay of Islands from Christchurch a week before I got there). I didn't necessarily feel like bothering Chantal's friend when Chantal wasn't there anymore, but I sent Omi a text anyways praising her beautiful choice of a place to live. This was automatically responded with “Are you here? Do you need a place to stay? Do you want to come over for dinner?” Canadians really need to pick up on this hospitality thing that Kiwi's have going on. Omi, Ben, and I ended up meeting in Paihia for pizza on the waterfront, which was a lovely way to spend my last night in the Bay of Islands with a few friends.

Kauri Trees – Sandboarding – Lunchtime Swim in Paradise – Cape Reinga – 90 Mile Beach

No visit to the Bay of Islands is complete without a day trip up to Cape Reinga, the northernmost point of New Zealand. In Maori tradition, when people die their departed souls walk north to Cape Reinga. When they arrive here, they turn to face south, wave goodbye to their home and loved ones, and then drop down over the rocky cliffs which is the entrance to Hawaiki, the afterlife. That's a summarized “Danielle” version, but I had to record it here because I find it such a beautiful way to say goodbye to life and greet death. Cape Reinga was at the end of the day though, and I need to start at the beginning.

The bus took off bright and early, leaving the backpackers before 7:30. Full day ahead! Our first stop was the Manginangina, a Kauri tree forest that had Kauri trees a lot older than the ones in Whangerei. There was one tree that you would easily need 10 people joining hands to reach all the way around the trunk. I can't get over how beautiful the forests are here. I've wandered through some great urban forested parks in Europe, but those ones always feel very influenced by civilization – carved stone steps here, a perfectly straight line of trees there.. In New Zealand you really get back to the rugged design of mother nature. I suppose it's the same in Canada, but the forests are greener on the other side (literally actually, New Zealand is mainly rainforest).

From Manginangina, we continued north to our next stop at the sand dunes. The bus drove through a stream and right onto the hard sand at the base of the dunes, and then our driver Spike opened up the bus luggage area to reveal 30 body boards for us to run up the hill with, and then zoom down on again. I had been on sand dunes in September when I went to the Oregon Coast with Trish, Jill, Patrice, and John. So I had fresh memories of how annoying it is to climb a mountain made of sand. As usual, taking the slow and steady method helped me make it up to the top of the hill eventually. Spike explained the technique we were supposed to be using, and he helped by giving everyone a good push as they took off. Rachel, my bus seat buddy, was a bit nervous. I tried calming her down by saying “It's just like toboganning!” But the poor English girl had never been tobogganning. Eventually, it was my turn. No one had crashed yet, but I felt I would be the one since I am incredibly uncoordinated with things like this (read: skateboard = broken ankle, toboggan + tree = destroyed knee, etc) and was mentally preparing for the worst. As Spike pushed me down, 20 odd years of tobogganning experience took over and I made it down the hill without a problem – I even slid all the way down to the stream! After my first walk up, I was positive that it would be my last. I could not be bothered to climb the damn hill again. But the first ride down was so exhilarating that I quickly scurried up the hill again – this time with my camera, and Spike followed me down on his own board, recording me the whole way down. If I could find decent internet, I might even be able to post it.

The sand dunes were gorgeous, but Spike managed to one up them by bringing us to our lunch stop at Taputaputa Bay. This is a small beach on the Pacific Ocean with golden sand, crystal clear water, and waves high enough to make body surfing fun. I jumped right in for a lunch time swim, wishing I could just live there.

Sadly, we had to continue on, and took the final stretch of highway north to Cape Reinga. The car park is about a 20 minute walk from the top of the country, but the scenery along the way is so gorgeous that I didn't even notice. When I signed up for this tour, the brochure boasted that I would be able to see “the clash of the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean as they cross over”. This sounds like a load of poetic bull shit. Oceans are human concepts, water doesn't care where an imaginary line is drawn, it's just water. Right? Wrong. There was an area of the sea that was quite choppy, and on a closer look, I could see two distinct sides with waves crashing in opposite directions. It was so cool. Brochure, you keep up that beautiful poetic bullshit. Show me more. Other than that, the Cape had a cool lighthouse and a signpost showing the directions and distances to various famous cities around the world. True to the Maori culture steeped in the land, the area was peaceful and calm, and felt very sacred. I could have stayed much longer.

But we needed to get back to Paihia for the night, so we started the long trek back down south. This was made shorter by driving along 90 Mile Beach. Yup, we drove right on the sand. At low tide, the sand is hard enough that any vehicle can drive down it. Apparently it's recognized as a New Zealand highway, so you can even get a ticket on the beach if you're driving like an idiot or going over the 100km/h speed limit. We stopped for pictures at one point and I ran into the water, just so I can say I've swam in two oceans in one day. Check!

The day was closed out by a trip to the Ancient Kauri kingdom, which is a gift shop and showroom made of Kauri tree objects. The only thing worth mentioning is that the store is built around a Kauri tree trunk that has been turned into a staircase. As in you walk up inside the tree. The trunk is so thick that they literally just carved out a spiral staircase into it. I felt a bit childish as my only thought was “I want one”. Our last stop was in Mangonui for some fish and chips, which was a perfect way to end the day. After the sun, sand, and climbing, I'm exhausted and ready for a solid sleep. In sum: perfect day.

The internet for tourists in this country really does not lend itself to uploading pictures – check back and I'll see if I can add some photographs to my entries when I have some solid bandwidth!

Abbey Caves

The Abbey Caves just outside of Whangerei are open for the public to explore as they wish – and they're free. If you want to go, you need solid close-toed shoes, a torch (in North America we call these flashlights), and it is highly recommended that you wear a helmet. So naturally, I went in without head gear in my bare feet sharing the 'flashlight app' on my phone with two other people. You go girl.

The Waitomo Caves are the popular ones in New Zealand, you may remember when I went there. That adventure cost around $100, but we got two tour guides, a wet suit, and an inner tube – not to mention the whole amazing tour. Basically, well worth the price of admission. There are a few other glow worm caves throughout New Zealand, including the ones here in Whangerei. The Abbey Caves are about 9km away from my backpackers, and with the current open wound on the bottom of my foot, I expected to miss them. Considering I've been to the world famous Waitomo Caves, I didn't really care. But when the guy at the carpark offered to drive us there, I really couldn't turn down the offer.

To get to the cave entrance, we walked through a beautiful farmers field, and then paused to re-assess. Do we really wanted to crawl into this dark, wet hole with inadequate gear? Well, we've made it this far already. So we hid our bags and shoes behind a rock, and slid down the first set of stones into the cave. The glow worms were not far from the entrance. I wish I could do these little phosphorescent bugs more justice than to simply describe them as little points of light above you. Even saying that to look up at them is like staring up at the milky way doesn't feel like it's enough. You really need to go into these caves yourselves. We walked in to the caves for about half an hour, splashing in shallow water, climbing over boulders, and wading through pools of water that were higher than my waist. We climbed up mini waterfalls and walked through some kind of grassy weeds that I don't want to think about for too long. I don't want to think about it because other than the glow worms, there is no light in the caves – so how are these plants be growing?! I also tried not thinking about the other things I had heard about, like the cave eels or weta bugs. Luckily, I didn't encounter either.

On the entire way in, I had my phone in my hand, trying to shine the light so everyone could use it. Minna and Elsa didn't complain at all. On the way back, Minna held the light for a while and I was able to fully appreciate how well these girls stumbled through the caves in the dark. You just have to trust that your foot will land where it is supposed to. The cave walk probably would have been a lot easier if I hadn't have brought my expensive, non-waterproof camera in with me. But I did get a cool picture of the glowworms!

My Day in Whangerei

I woke up this morning to overcast skies and a forecast for rain, so I curled up on the porch with a cup of tea and my book.  Sure enough, it started to rain so I spent the morning with my book.  By afternoon, I was restless and ready for action.  My roommates, Minna and Elsa, were also up for adventure so we headed out together to hike to the Whangerei Falls.  It was overcast when we left, but as soon as we got on the trail the clouds disappeared and the sun came out.  Probably should have worn sun screen. Whoops. 

The trail to the falls led us along the Hatea River Walk and through a canopy walk with Kauri trees. The Kauri is one of the most famous of New Zealand trees, and I was excited to finally see one.  We were told that these trees were only 500 year old babies, but considering how that's older than the European discovery of my country, I had a hard time wrapping my mind around how these trees could be young.  When we got to the Kauri part of the hike, we saw trees as thick as the biggest ones in British Columbia.  This is why they're just 'babies'.  There is a Kauri tree elsewhere in the Northland called Tane Mahuta that is 2000 years old and has a 13 metre girth.  I cannot picture this, but I will be seeing Tane in about a week, so I guess I can try to put it into words then.

Further along the trail was the Whangerei Falls.  Now I've seen a lot of waterfalls, but these ones were gorgeous - they're about 26 metres high.  We all just sat down and looked at the water rushing down for a good ten minutes before heading up to the car park area.  While we met a few people along the trail, that was nothing compared to how busy it was up at the park above the falls.  The river gets quite deep right before the waterfall, so kids were running and jumping into the water, swinging from ropes on trees, and even climbing high into this one tree beside the riverbank, creeping down the branches, and jumping down into the water.  This was right next to a sign that said "Danger: shallow rocks".
All that was nothing compared to the guy who started wading through the river to the edge of the waterfall.  Was he going to jump? Yes!  My morbid curiosity was about as strong as everyone else's in the park as we all ran to the viewing platform to watch him jump.  Everyone waited with baited breath as he leaned over to look down to the water below.  Remember me saying the falls are 26 metres high?  And then he jumped. 

I couldn't take my eyes off the water until he surfaced, alive and well.  I heard a lady saying she had watched him do it yesterday too.  I later found out that 3 people have died in the past from jumping off the falls.  Scary.

When we left the backpackers, Elsa had plans to walk to the waterfall and then hitchhike to the Abbey Caves or back to the hostel since it was a good 9 km each way.  I didn't have a lot of confidence in that plan, so I was ready for the walk back.  When we got up the the carpark for the falls, we started chatting with some volunteers who spend the day there, offering information, water, and sunscreen.  I asked the man how hard it was to walk to the caves, and he disappeared into his car to find a map.  While he was there, his wife convinced him to give us a ride to the caves.  Score!  The caves are a whole other adventure though, which you can read about here.

When we got out of the caves, we prepared ourselves for the 9 km walk back to the hostel.  After what felt like a long ten minute walk, Elsa's thumb proved useful and a wonderful local guy picked us up and drove us downtown.  The ten minute drive easily cut an hour off our walking time.  Yay for first hitchhike!  I finished the day off with leftovers from my Swiss friends and a glass of wine from Elsa and Minna. I don't think I've ever had such an inexpensive travelling day.  I only paid for my bed!

The Friendly Traveller

Apart from napping, I spent first day in Whangerei with three new friends I met in the backpackers: Katie, Matt, and Johnny.  We played boardgames, discussed school, and they taught me how to feed birds by throwing seeds at them.

My new friends were 10, 8, and 6 - the grandkids of the owners who came to visit for the weekend from Auckland.  My willingness to jump around the sitting area playing Hulabaloo made me a fast favourite, so when evening came I was invited along to a dark walk through the forest to see glow worms.  Noell, the owner/grandma, was a great guide for us.  She pointed out a bunch of things to look at, including the Weta bug that lives in the caves.  Apparently these things can jump up to five metres.  It was only a baby, but still disgusting.

My new friends weren't quite as adventurous as I was though, and got a bit unnerved in the dark so we had to head back early.  This was okay with me since I was still running low on sleep after Big Day Out, and was ready to curl up in bed for a solid 10 hours (or forever).

When we got back, I headed into the kitchen where a group of Swiss travellers were finishing dinner.  They made too much, and asked if
I wanted a plate.  Free pasta and schnitzel? Yes please!  When I finished, they still had leftovers, but not enough to feed all four of them the next day so they insisted I take the food for tomorrow. 

Free night walk to see glowworms and two free dinners. I love travelling.

Exhausted in Whangerei

Standing outside all day while dancing harder than anyone really should in public without eating very much is enough to exhaust anyone.  So in retrospect, I probably shouldn't have booked myself onto a Magic Bus tour of the Bay of Islands where I had to be picked up at 7:30 the morning after Big Day Out.  After about 5 hours of sleep, I dragged myself out of bed, packed up all of my overwhelming shit, and headed out.  (I really need to ditch some stuff in my backpack.) 
I decided to jump off the Magic Bus at Whangerei, which is a launching point for some world class diving.  I have no interest in diving, but some of the walking trails around town seemed cool, so I booked myself a room at the Bunkdown Lodge Backpackers.  The backpackers is a 100 year old Kauri Villa that was  originally used as a doctor's office and surgery, but 13 years ago the present owners renovated it into the backpackers.  You can see the care that has gone into the place from the hand carved baseboards to the upkeep today.  It is a very refreshing place to come after staying in the massive commercial hostel in Auckland (and nice to be in a house after a month in prison).
Because I arrived so early, my room wasn't ready.  I felt a bit delirious with lack of sleep, and felt awkward about sleeping on a couch in the backpackers (this was probably due to the lack of sleep. Normally I can sleep anywhere).  Anyways, I headed into town and contemplated finding a park somewhere to pass out in.  Instead, I stumbled upon the Town Basin, which is where the Whangerei townsite started.  There's a marina, restaurants, boutiques, and cool museums along the basin and the charm of the place made me forget how tired I was for a while.  It didn't last long though, so after a quick pit stop at the supermarket I headed back.  The walk should have only taken around twenty minutes, but I dragged my feet so much I think the time doubled.  My room was ready when I got back, but I started to watch a movie in the sitting area and just passed out on the couch for a solid two hours.  Glorious nap was glorious.  Hello world, I'm ready to deal with you again.

Franz Josef to Wanaka

On the North Island, our bus would drive through roads cut into the hills, but the sides of the hills grew over with thick grasses. The same thing happens on the South Island, but the vegetation is so much thicker thanks to increased rainfall that it feels downright claustrophobic at times to drive through these narrow roads that almost feel like grass tunnels.

The drive from Franz Josef was interesting, as we passed over some mountain ranges and Allen pointed out how within a matter of minutes of cresting the highest peak, the vegetation changed completely. We stopped a number of times throughout the day to go on short walks along the bus route: Lake Matheson, Blue Pools, and a bunch of little waterfalls.

We arrived in Wanaka after driving around the huge, beautiful lakes of Wanaka and Hawea. Chantal and I opted to go to Puzzling World, which was made by a guy named Stuart Landsborough who loved puzzles and optical illusions so much that he made his living off of them. The complex has a huge maze (that we couldn't even finish-there's 1.5 km of passage ways!), a room full of famous 3D "following" faces, and an "Ames Room" where the lines of the floor and ceiling make the room seem normal, but really one side is much shorter than the other so you are a giant while your friend is dwarfed in the opposite corner. They used the technique to film Lord of the Rings with the hobbits.


After Puzzling World, we headed to Wanaka townsite. It is a beautiful little mountain town that sits along the base of Lake Wanaka with huge mountains surrounding it. It's a ski town in the winter, but we were there on a gorgeous summer evening. A bunch of Magic Bus members got together and decided to have a group Barbeque. Everyone bought something for the dinner, then we cooked up a delicious dinner with steak, grilled Portobello mushrooms, potatoes, and salad. We finished the meal off with a classic Kiwi desert- Hokey Pokey ice cream. Since the weather was so amazing, we were able to eat outside in the fresh mountain air. I didn't really see anything else in Wanaka other than the grocery store and the Lakefront, but that was fine. People always talk about how fantastic it is to meet and make the briefest of connections with people while you travel. This was one of those evenings. I was very much alive with energies of my fellow travellers.

An Afternoon Off

I'm currently sitting in a hammock on the deck of my hostel, catching up on all the 'sweet as' activities I've been up to over the past week and a half. When I left Edmonton just over a week ago, my hometown was experiencing its first blizzard of the season. I drove around the city to say goodbye to a few friends even though my car tires could barely grip on the roads. Now, I'm getting a sun tan in November next to an out of place Santa Clause who is out as a Christmas decoration. Life is strange, but beautiful.

My tour bus is all up on Franz Josef glacier, but I have opted out because I'd like to come back with more time to do a full day tour of the glacier. I think deep down I'm not quite ready to be around snow again. Also, I don't really want to do everything touristy there is to do in New Zealand all at once when I have a whole year to visit everything (well, I hope so anyways).

So for today, I'm going to sit back and relax on my hammock and soak in some sunshine. I am a happy camper.

The West Coast

The West Coast on the South Island of New Zealand has a culture all to its own. It kind of reminds me of redneck hicks you'd find in Southern Alberta, or maybe Texas. Is that rude? Oh well. Our morning stop was at a random cafe in the middle of nowhere that was also a history museum from the days when brave New Zealand souls caught deer by jumping out of helicopters and wrangling them to the ground. I shit you not.

For 2 dollars, we got to go into the museum area and see artifacts from the days of deer trapping as well as watch a documentary about the era. I kept waiting for someone to say "GOTCHA!" but it never came. 80 people actually lost their lives jumping out of helicopters. The idea behind the whole thing was that deer were introduced to New Zealand in 1861, and over the next 100 years, they bred like crazy and started to take over the south island, so much so that their presence was negatively impacting the natural landscape and native animals. So, deer hunters were hired by the government to kill up to 60 000 deer each year. This went on until they hit a peak in 1967 of 110 000 deer being exported for their meat, but at that point, deer populations began to decline and their monetary value could not be ignored. The only natural thing to do was trap the deer and bring them to farms where the animals could be raised for their venison. By jumping on them from helicopters. ...

Regardless, deer farming is now a multi-million dollar industry in New Zealand.

The building was full of clever little signs and insults mocking other parts of the world and Auckland. They mocked drinks like latte's (we only have coffee here!) and had a huge area devoted to the evils of 1080 poison which is used in New Zealand to kill off other introduced pests like possums and stoats. A large portion of the rest of the world has banned 1080, since it can be really bad for humans if used improperly. The cafe seemed to be anti possum, but they did have 2 as pets in cages in the back so I'm not really sure what the idea was there. Strange folk on the west coast.

Greymouth

Allen's answer as to why we had to stop overnight in Greymouth was because the driver can only go so far each day, legally speaking. It actually seems like the only reason you would stop there. Greymouth is, however, home to the Monteith's brewery, which is my second favourite New Zealand beer. Normally, the brewery is open to the public for tours. However, it's currently under renovations, so they bring in guests to watch a video on the beer making process, and then have a taste of everything. I had no desire to pay money to watch a video, so I convinced Chantal to just go to a pub and drink beer- this way we could have our own taste test and avoid the lighter beers that neither of us enjoys anyways.

We wandered around Greymouth, trying to see if there was anything cool, but for some reason New Zealand was having a national holiday and everything was closed. This was okay in Nelson, not so much in Greymouth. It was worse when you consider the fact that everything was shrouded in fog so the town seemed quite desolate.

Our wanderings brought us to the pub that the brewery tour would end up at, and there was a random Kiwi guy standing outside who told us to come in for a beer. We were going to go in anyways, but we didn't want him to think he was the reason, so we looked around the outside of the building before heading in. The guy was standing at the bar and immediately said "Atta girls!" He was wearing tall white rain boots and kind of looked like a hobbit. Still, he was quite friendly and engaged us in conversation while we ordered beers. When we sat down at a table, he came and sat down next to us. It was interesting to hear about his life as a fisherman, and he had a lot of friends in the bar who came and sat with us. I felt like I was getting a lesson in Greymouth 101. At one point, he invited us back to his boat for some fresh cooked fish. He claimed he was just being friendly, but Chantal shrugged off the invitation easily enough. We were out of beer, so I headed to the bar to grab the next round. When I went to pay, the bartender grabbed my hand and warned me about the character of the fisherman we were talking to. Sketchy. When I came back, I tried to tell Chantal but she didn't quite understand my mumblings. Lucky for us, we decided to order dinner from the bar (only 15 dollars for 3 salads and a delicious burger) so the fisherman couldn't keep pushing us to come with him. When Chantal went up to get more beer, the bartender warned her away from our new friend too. After a while he got distracted by the VLTS in the bar though, and left us to chat with his young employee who left school when he was 13 to make his riches on a fishing boat. I think he had an IQ close to a boot, poor guy. He kept trying to explain how unfair it was that he did all the work and his boss got all the money (.. yup, that's how the world goes round!)

Our Magic Bus friends showed up when we were eating and headed into the restaurant area for dinner. When our young fisherman disappeared into the toilets, we ran away and stayed with our travelling buddies for the rest of the night, partly to avoid the sketchy fisherman, but mostly to get away from the ridiculously boring young employee.

Going to a pub on a Monday night to get a taste of what a town is about is probably not the best way to get a good impression, but it did make for quite an entertaining evening.