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Published: November 12th 2006
How ya goin?? (is what everyone says here)
So, I was talked into a bus trip the minute I walked into my first hostel in Aukland. I signed up because "Jen" the girl behind the counter, said I couldnt go wrong....the prob was that Matty B was not arriving till the next morning, but prices were "apparently" going up 30% over night and the offices closed @ 7pm that night...it was 6:51pm....so, if I made this decision in the next 9 minutes I would have to pay Matts fare as well...not even being 100% sure that the man was going to make it over...anyways, I did..as did he.
The trip would take us from the Northern part of the island down and around to the south island and back up halfway to the south island. The drive down is spectacular...you'd think they filmed Lord of the Rings here or something....with rolling mountain tops and valleys that are actually huge fault lines where our bus veers far too close to the edge far too often, sometimes your breath is literally taken away from you. The roads here are super narrow and the middle line is used by our bus driver, only as a "guide". Its quite easy to find yourself lost and in a hypnotic state when looking out the window at such a beautiful country. Each kilometer is more unique than the one that it precedes. While looking out the window and listening to Enya "only time", I found myself hypnotized by the beauty New Zealand presents. Its easy to forget the rest of the world when the words "traffic jam" consist of a few stubborn sheep taking their time crossing the road...I quickly snapped out of it, as soon as Notorious B.I.G's " I love it when you call me big poppa" came onto the IPOD.
Anyways...we stopped in Waitomo where there are a bunch of caves and we elected to go black water rafting. It consists of hopping on an intertube and going thru a cave on it. It was pretty cool and we got to see a bunch of things called Glow Worms. While the name is quite self explanatory their lives are interesting. They hang on the ceilings of these caves and light themselves up to attract bugs that think that they're heading towards and EXIT. The brighter the worms light, the hungrier they are. They catch them, because they've dropped little fish lines that act like webs. After a few months of being glow worms they roll themselves into a coccoon and then come out of it without a mouth and survive for 7 days. For these 7 days, they cannot eat and their sole purpose is to procreate...so they die hungry....but Happy...I think i have a few friends/relatives who would take this tradeoff.
My biggest regret to this point of the trip is not taking a pic of our Cave guide...the man was qute possibly the largest man in the southern Hemisphere...which is the standard down here....everything is rated as the "BEST".....in the Southern Hemisphere...the "southern Hemisphere" part, is usually found in the fine print. Anyways, this guy had 3 teeth and was wearing a similar outfit to the one Andre the Giant did....seriously, this man would be a dentists dream...and would tower over most offensivelinemen in the CFL.
Anyways....I'm about a week behind way behind here, but times up.
Quick note: The possum is the number one pest here in NZ. It eats over 1 tonne of natural raw vegetation each day and is hunted religiously. The bus drivers actually swerve out of their way to try and hit these guys. Today MAtty B and I indulged in a Possum pie (hopefully hunted, and not roadkill)..which tasted just like a chicken pot pie...I hate possums more than anything in the world, so I figured I would "save the rainforest and eat a possum"....oh, the things you do when you're travelling....
I'm also thinking about jumping off New Zealands biggest bridge in New Zealand in Queenstown in a few days, via a bungy cord...to be continued....
Cheers
(which is what absolutely everyone says here...yesterday, I was talking to two locals and I think they were actually playing the New Zealand equivalent of the "MEOW" game from Super Troopers on me.
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Mom
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black water rafting
Hi ya down under! I'm glad you'rehaving fun! The black water rafting sounds kind of dangerous so I hope you were careful. I can't believe you ate possum pie... I think that's what they eat in the hillbilly hills of Kentucky! Well I am glad you are enjoying the wildlife. Last night I almost ran over a fox on Donnybrooke Drive and he was a beautiful one and boy could he leap!! I hope the hike goes well for 3 days on your own. Are you sleeping under the stars or did you find someone with a tent? It's too bad about the camera. I guess you'll have to take it in for repairs to a camera shop and stay in that city until the repairs are finished( 3 days or so). Bye handsome!