Couchsurfing in Motuoapa

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On the bus to Wellington.



Once again, another first: this was my first time using the couchsurfing website as a surfer, not a host, and it has been AMAZING. I stayed with Kicki and Mike in Motuoapa (moe-too-oh-AH-pa), which is a small collection of houses outside Turangi (TOOR-ang-ee) on Lake Taupo? Their house is in a really nice neighborhood up on a hill, with a view of lake Taupo, and the neighborhood is full of kids and parks and open space. The houses are all different styles because the parcels of land were bought up by Aussies who use the place as a vacation spot. In fact, a lot of the houses are all for sale because the place didn't take off like they expected, so now they need to sell it.



I was dropped off at the Motuoapa bus stop around 3pm on Sunday the 29th and walked about 30 minutes through the neighborhood to their place. I was terribly confused when I got there, because 1) all the curtains were drawn, 2) they seemed to have a sliding glass door for a front door and most importantly 3) there was not a doorbell in sight. Apparently, many houses in New Zealand do not have doorbells. I settled for knocking gingerly on the glass and was eventually greeted by a guy in a ball cap who looked a bit confused and as though he did not expect me. As it turns out, Mike--for that was who he was--had indeed forgotten that I was due in that day (Kicki was at work), but he remembered soon enough. He had been playing Black Ops, which was why the curtains were drawn. We started chatting about games and other things and soon enough we'd thawed out and were having a good time. We toddled off to the supermarket to grab some food, and by the time we got back Kicki was off work and I got to meet her as well.



Kicki is a Swedish girl who came to New Zealand after high school as an au pair and ended up staying in New Zealand working various jobs in Rotorua (roh-to-ROO-ah, popular tourist designation with geysers and thermal stuff) she moved to Motuoapa two months ago when Mike got a sweet job offer there, and she now works at a motel talking to guests, cleaning beds, and serving as a fly fishing tour guide on the Tongariro River. (Turns out Lake Taupo is a really popular fishing and hunting vacay spot. The trout actually get pretty large, Mike caught and brought home three decent-sized ones while I was there. I got to filet one and show off my skills. :D )



Couchsuring with Kicki and Mike was amazing because the three of us hit it off pretty well almost from the start. Conversation flowed pretty easily, we talked about drinking, driving, guncontrol, in the three different countries (Sweden, US, New Zealand), how Kicki got into fly fishing, Mike told me about his aluminium welding job and what it was like to be a foreman and training people, so many things we chatted about! They fed me chicken, roast potatoes/sweet potatoes and mushroom risotto that first night, then we had a few beers and played a game of Texas Hold Em while nibbling on Ferro Rochert (I can't remember how to spell it, it's that hazelnut chocolate treat) and strawberries that I had bought at the market.



On Monday I hiked the Tongariro Alpine Crossing (that's in another post!) and got back around 4pm. I availed myself to the shower and laundry, then Mike went fishing while Kicki and I feasted on lamb chops with mint sauce, roast veggies, and garlic bread. We had amazing conversation that night, Kicki and I. She's couchsurfed in Tokyo so I asked her all about that, we talked about what it was like for her here in New Zealand, what she wanted to study in university next year (she'd taken a year off but was going back because it's free in Sweden), Game of Thrones, everything. She then made some Swedish cookies (lots of different names, but one I remember was "knik" cookies), that were just 100 grams of sugar, 100 grams of flour, 100 grams of butter, some syrup (light or golden, ideally not maple), and some salt to taste (I might have mixed up the flour and sugar amounts). You then roll them out into three large and thin cookies, bake them for about 8 minutes, then move them to a cooling rack and slice diagonally. And voila! Deliciousness.



You know, I honestly thought I would lose weight on this trip. That is so, so not going to happen.



So last night Mike got home late with his three tasty trout, he filleted two and I one, we watched the rest of Fast and Furious 6, and then I passed out. This morning I packed all my things and made them toast and scrambled eggs with onion, sausage, and mushrooms. While we were packing Mike remarked that "it's like you're one of the family," which I think sums up how well I got along with Mike and Kicki and how fund it was to hang out with the two of them. It was great staying with them, and I regret needing to move on. But, there is more New Zealand that I need to see!



After packing everything up this morning (they are going to Rotorua for New Years with friends), I snatched a photo and they dropped me off at the bus stop. And now we're out of sight of Lake Taupo, crossing across a volcanic plain and in view of snow-topped volcanoes. I think it's time for me to stare out the window for a little bit...

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