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Published: January 28th 2008
Hello everyone who is wanting to hear about my travels (about the parts I'm going to tell anyway!)
Well I guess I'll start from the beginning since this is the first time I've had a chance to write (Mike you smart ass). Well I will start with the flight, It was pretty brutal, The fly from Calgary to LA was a sinch and the flight from LA to Tokyo was alright too. It was not a full plane so we could move around and find other seating. Then we got to Tokyo and refulled then reboarded and that was shitty cause there were more people and I was crammed in the middle of Kevin and some old guy. After a few hours of that I said screw that and I jacked some guys cozy spot (he had three seats to himself) so I jacked him for one of them, but even after that I had not much sleep. We arrived in Singapore and some army official came up to Me and asked for my passport and ticket, there were three of them All with assult rifles, Didn't want to mess with them! After that we flew from Singapore to Auckland which was ok , I sat beside an old couple, but ended up chatting with them and the guy gave me his card and wants me to tell him how I managed, Hes from England. Ok....then we arrived in Auckland at like 230am and went to the hostel in a cab cause we thought we would be reembursed, it cost $65 and I only got $35 reembursed, it was crap that I don't really wasnt to get into. From the beginning it was bad, somehow our bookings didnt get sent to the hostel so after 30hrs of flying, at 3 in the morning we had to stand there and wait for this all to get sorted out. Then we went to bed and got woke up 20mins later, then again in the morning at 630am (by the way I havent slept in once since I got here). I could go on and on about the complaints I have for the first hostel but I'll just move on instead.
After the first two free nights in the hostel, we went over to Waiheke Island and spent three nights in a hostel over there, It was a really cool place, the first day there I went swimming in a spot where I shoudn't have and stepped on some rocks that cut my feet so I fell back and cut my hands, not to mention the rocks got embedded in my skin so I was digging little shards out of my flesh for half and hour.
The next day we rented bikes and rode to the other side of the Island to a beautiful beach, but the track had so many hills it kicked my ass, but we went swimming and relaxed for a while, then headed back. The next day we had to ride the bikes back to the rental which I really didn't want to do, but after that I just relaxed all day, I was wiped, Kinda that night we had a bit of a party and had a good time, an Austrian girl made me a necklace, and we made some contacts in the south Island with a Mauri Guy and a Christchurch couple. Also after that we left with a Canadian girl, Karen and an English guy, Mark and rented a car for 4days.
We travelled up north with the car and went to Cape Regina and saw the very top of New Zealand, It was pretty beautiful. Our base for a couple nights was the Hone Heke Lodge in KeriKeri, that place was flooded with Asians, so Kev fit right in.
The next day we took the car up to go see Tane Mahuta, a giant kauri tree that is about 51meters tall, It was pretty big, but I couldnt stand next to it cause its roots are so fragile. After that we went and checked out some more forest lower down, I dont remember what it was called at the moment but It was pretty nice also.
The next day we moved on to Paihia in the Bay of Islands, and It is beautiful there, I kinda regret not staying longer, but It was the long weekend here so It was hard to stay. In Paihia we stayed at The Mouse Trap, which was a really nice hostel, and only $19 a night. That night we went out to the bar and had a good time and went to a bar we maybe shouldn't have cause a few people had been stabbed and such there, but I'm it was provoked, rather than random, and I didn't do anything to piss anyone off so It was fine, Although Kevin had some fun on the dance floor with a few randoms, but thats alright. The next day was a beautiful day, but I just relaxed and went swimming for most of the day. That pretty much brought an end to my time In the Bay of Islands area, but I'm gonna plan to go back at some point because there is much more to do up there.
After Paihia, Karen decided to stay cause she got a job offer as a waitress at a bar, and Mark drove us to Auckland, and he stayed there for the weekend. Kevin and I went down to the Bay of Plenty area where we currently are. We took a bus from Auckland to Mount Maunganui, and we had only one night stay in the first hostel, which was good cause that place sucked. We got there at 10pm and the owner, almost didnt let us use the kitchen cause it was "too late" however he allowed us to use it. The rooms were really crammed at this hostel; it was called Pacific Coast Lodge and backpackers, and there was 3 bunks crammed in a sardin can. Anyways the next morning, the cleaners came in aswell as the owner and started cleaning up at 930am even though checkout is 10am. In a room that size, you get up pretty quick and out of the room. So we checked out, and the owner 'joked' with me that it was 10:10 so I wasn't getting my deposit back, I almost punched him in the face. But he gave it to me, it wasn't funny and we took off to a hostel in Tauranga called Apple Cottage Backpackers, this is where I currently am staying. We almost walked from Mount Maunganui which is a rediculously long walk with a heavy bag, but an English guy saw us wandering around a few times so he gave us a ride to the hostel.
We have been at this hostel now for two nights and it is pretty much a house and it is the remains of what was once probably a nice place, It is pretty run down It has a pool and hot tub out of order and the t.v lounge was dripping last night ( not much of a lounge as a shack). Its pretty ghetto. A couple just moved in next to us and we share a room with a Mauri named Joseph. There is a guy who lives in a shed that we call Hippie, and he talks to himself, and the family now living in the main house are pretty trailered out. When the land lady came by she said she was taken out of Lonely Planet, but somehow got back in. Its more of a renters place now. Its got a different vibe to it. However, yesterday Joseph took us up the Mount and he seems really keen on sharing info on his culture with us so thats a positive. Today we went fishing and I caught my first NZ fish, not very big but whatever. I don't know if I want to rough it at this place for too much longer but we will see, It is only $50 each for a week (as oppose to $25 for only the first night) so It is enticing to stay. But I'm staying there tonight then I'll decide from there, the people are really nice even though they are kinda ify. Well I've brought you up to speed with my trip so far so I'm glad that is out of the way. Love you all who ever you may be and I'll talk to some of you soon and some of you not so soon. Goodbye for now. Is this a good entry Uncle Mike??
Sean
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Wendy and Kyle
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Hey!!!
Great to read your updated. Kyle and I thoroughly enjoyed it - and we are jealous. Sounds like you are having a good time with lots of little adventures. It's minus 41 here and we'd love to trade places with you. We will make sure Uncle Mike reads your post tomorrow!!!