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Published: March 8th 2007
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New Plymouth at Night
Sweet as! ...Sorry, just some NZ lingo for ya! Ahoy there, maties! Hope you're all doing well. It's amazing how quick things can change: I didn't have much to write about on my last blog, and now I've got too much! A lot has happened the past little while, some expected, some not. I experienced some of New Zealand's amazing natural wonders, had a taste of "Americarna" in the city of New Plymouth, and said goodbye to a friend.
I'm currently in Wellington, but have spent most of the past 1 ½ - 2 weeks in Rotorua, Taupo and New Plymouth. These are some of the more famous volcanic areas in the country, and are home to some of the best and most diverse landscapes in the world, if I do say so myself. It's amazing to see how much the scenery can change, and how quickly it changes!
The best example I can give of this is the Tongariro Crossing. Located near Taupo, it is the most popular one-day hike in the country, and it doesn't take long to find out why. You start off in what looks like a regular mountain scene, but it quickly transforms to a desolate alien landscape before finally changing to a
Adios, Amigo!
In the words of Patches O'Hoolihan, "Bye-bye!" lush forest. This all happens in a span of 6-7 hours. And there's so much to see there too! Champagne pools, a mountainous, countryside backdrop, and a giant red crater in the side of the earth, for starters. Oh, and its also home of the dreaded Mt. Doom. For those that don't know (I'm looking at you,
Lord Of The Rings fans), the real name of the mountain is Ngauruhoe (NAIR-OO-HOE-EE). Personally though, I like the name Doom better. Doom. DOOM. DOOOOOOOOMMMMMM! See what I mean?
Hiking up Mt. Doom is quite a trek! It only takes about 1-½ hours to get up to the peak, but it’s an incredibly hard 1-½ hours! The mountain is steep and made up of mostly loose rocks and gravel; hiking up it is like some sort of twisted tango - two steps forward, one step back. Totally worth it though, the view is spectacular! I could actually see Mt. Taranaki from up there, which is about 200 km to the west! Also, the volcano (which is actually a vent from Mt. Tongariro, according to the
Te Papa museum in Wellington) is active, so if you're lucky you can actually see some seismic
Ouch!
Fell going down Mt. Doom and cut my knee up pretty good. That's what happens when you run down gravel! activity going on up there. I got lucky - there was steam pouring out one of the edges of the crater! That’s the kind of shit you want to see when you’re climbing up a volcano!
"Americarna" in New Zealand?
Sounds hokey, doesn't it? But it's true - it's damn true! I spent some time in New Plymouth to check out Mt. Taranaki, and ended up getting a slice of Americana instead. Did I say Americana? I meant
Americarna. Whatever, it's kinda the same thing.
Americarna celebrates, "every aspect of US culture, ranging from classic cars, movies, music, comic book superheroes, the Wild West, sports and marching bands" (
americarna.co.nz). It was the first festival of it's kind in the city, and was a smashing success! I got there on a Friday and got to see the bulk of it. Classic american cars were parading down the streets and bands were playing country, jazz, and rock. A country fair going on too, complete with semi-truck rides, mechanical bull riding, jets flying above, and a Nascar pit-crew challenge. Even Elvis was there, renewing couples' wedding vows! About the only thing I didn't see was apple pie, and I'm pretty
She's Gonna Blow!
Steam coming off the peak of Mt. Ngauruhoe - AKA Mt. Doom. Awesome! sure they sold that at the concession stands. They definitely had Budwieser and MGD though, and they even sold Jim Bean and Coke by the can! YEE-HAW!
It's funny, I never thought the USA had culture. I've always felt that not having a culture was its culture. But
Americarna has shown me the light. OK, this festival was obviously a little trailer-trashesque (hey, I just made a new word!), but in some ways it represented the wholesome traits of the USA. Think about it: Apple Pie, Elvis, American-Made... these are the images and phrases that come to mind when I think about The Land of the Free or The American Dream - at least they are when I put politics aside. How true this is is certainly up for debate, but for all the negative things you hear about the US of A (read: Bush Administration), it's important to realize there's a lot of great things about the country too.
As a Canadian though, I have to wonder: what represents our culture? What's the Canadian Dream? Is there one? I imagine celebrating canadian culture, and I just don't see much. I see maple syrup and the Mounted Police.
Maybe a beaver or moose and Molson Canadian and Labatts. But these images don't represent any ideologies about Canada - at least not compared to America. They're just stuff you associate with the country. Maybe carving our own identity is something we need to work on as a nation. Or not. Maybe it's just me.
And Then There Was One...
You may have noticed by now that I haven't made much mention of Rob. That's because we had to go our separate ways. No arguments or anything like that. The fact of the matter is, his well was running dry and he decided to go home sooner so he wouldn't be broke. This means he has to tear ass through the country fairly quickly if he wants to get to Christchurch in time for his return flight. As for me, well I'll be staying here for a while yet, so it made sense for the Lonely Rangers to split.
Rob asked me to tell everyone, "how great it was travelling with him!" Well, that's Rob in a nutshell. I can already tell you he'd reply, "No, this is me in a nutshell: Help! I'm in a nutshell! How
did I get into this bloody great big nutshell?" He has an amazing ability to remember just about every funny line in a movie after seeing it just once, whereas I have to look up the quotes on the internet to make sure I get them right. Bastard!
The point is, Rob's extremely funny and quick on the draw - just ask him about Tex in Bangkok sometime, and you'll get my drift. And he'll sleep forever if you let him - in Tokyo he once slept for 16 hours - from 7:00 pm to 11:00 am!!! Not even the obnoxious old guy in our dorm, whose snoring could wake the dead and who made no effort to be quiet when he was up, could wake him. That's commitment people!
Rob's a very experienced traveller, having been to many places. He's also one of the smartest people I know (if not the smartest), and definitely the most motivated. Who else would read physics textbooks for enjoyment? These traits make him a great asset to travel with, and I've learned a lot from him.
Sadly, it's his big brain and motivation that lead to his misery. The man
has so many ideas going through his mind that he wants to work on, but he can't do that while backpacking. This battle of wanting to see the world vs. not being, "constructive," makes it difficult for him to travel any longer than a couple of months. Frankly I'm surprised his head hasn't exploded from sheer frustration already!
So Rob, thanks for being such a great travel partner, I hope you had as much fun with me as I did with you! It's funny, we had a couple of moments of frustration with each other during this trip like anybody would, but to think how well we got along over the past four months is truly amazing!
I wish you all the best on the remainder of your journey. Say hello to your mom & brothers for me when you get home, and hell, say hello to mine too. I look forward to seeing all the neat shit you're doing when I get back, and by that time we should actually have something to talk about! In the meantime, don't touch my stuff and KILL WHITEY!
As for me, well I look forward to hitting the road
Geyser
Wheeeee! myself and doing my own thing. If anyone wants to talk to Rob and oh, I don't know,
FLOOD HIS E-MAIL (HA HA HA!), you can reach him at: rejentq3r@hotmail.com
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Michelle
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I love a good landscape.
You and your pictures. You'll have to make some posters when you get back, Mt. Taranaki and Sunset at New Plymouth are some sweet pics. Wow traveling alone, I could never do that I'd get lonely and talk to strangers... oh wait...I already talk to strangers... nevermind.