Day Unknown - New Zealand Catchup

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Ok, so I've fallen off the radar a little of late but here's a little round up of recent events...

Thursday 1st Dec Woke up at 6.30 panicking at the sound of a bus outside, feeling like I had missed the stray bus. I hadn't. It was late. Very late. I boarded around 8.30am after meeting a Canadian called Andrew outside of the hostel. As the bus was running late, I ran up Ponsonby Rdand grabbed an apple and blueberry giant muffin from the deli bakery which was delicious.The bus headed to the stray office for orientation and then off towards Thames. I faffed for an hour in the supermarket, completely forgetting that I still needed to get a New Zealand phone and a power converter so I ran in record time to the big red shed and managed to get back to the bus just in time. Arrived at Hahei around 3pm, got settled in and the rest of the group bar one or two went with the bus to Cathedral Cove, got dropped off and made their way back along the hour and a half track back to the resort. I chilled out. It had been a fairly full on few weeks in the states so I was happy to take it easy.We had a BBQ and I got to know some of the people on the bus. Unfortunately, most of them left the following day. I met a really sweet couple from Petersfield called Rachel and Adam. Adam broke my brand new converter whilst trying to get it working and Rachel and I talked all night about all sorts.

Friday 2nd Dec Woke up early when the rest of the stray travelers left, dozed back off but was awoken again but the sound of tables being scraped along the floor and what sounded like the smashing of plates. The cleaners had arrived in the kitchen. Had an easy morning then hooked up with Andrew from Canada and Anne from Holland. We headed off for Cathedral Cove, an hour and a half away by track. Two minutes after we started out it began to rain. Fail. But after taking some shelter beneath a tree on Hahei beach, we got some some guts and took the track over to Cathedral Cove which reminded me of how horribly unfit I am. I need to do some serious training if I'm going to get up Franz Jo!! The views were spectacular. And when we arrived through the woods and onto the beach it was magical. It was like something out of a movie. Then it occurred to me that it was something out of a movie. Narnia was filmed here! The whole vision was so awe inspiringly beautiful that it seemed somehow unreal. We spent a very chilled few hours taking in the scenery, basking in the sun and enjoying some time doing as little as possible.

Saturday 4th Dec Got up late. Walked to the beach (1mins walk). Did absolutely nothing else until they next round of Stray travelers arrived. Our world of peace, calm and tranquility was shaken by another 20 or so passengers who disembarked the big orange bus. They each rushed to grab a dorm bunk as we sat and watched the chaos and confusion. Andrew, Anne and myself decided to escape the invaders by wandering up to the shop to get an ice cream. The most energetic part of our day. Unfortunately, when we returned, the invaders were still there. So we each geared ourselves up for the same round of conversation as had been so prevalent on the previous bus. Where are you from? How long are you traveling? How long have you been traveling? Where have you been and where are you going? To this procedure we have become well rehearsed as have our new stray mates. Nobody from this bus stays at Hahei for more than one night and so we all move on to Raglan together. We make every effort to get to know the new people but find it exhausting already. The idea that we will have to go through this same process several times over in the next few weeks is disheartening. Meeting new people, some that we will never see again but others that we may make endless bonds with. But just as quickly as they wander into our lives they are gone. The constant goodbyes will be bitter sweet endings for the new friendships made. We had a second BBQ with this group and I met Adam from St Louis in the States. We talked about thanksgiving and my cynicism bubbles furiously to the surface. He respectfully deflects my strong opinions. A Brit named Pete sits opposite me, mourning a frozen beer that spent too long in the freezer and is no longer drinkable.

Sunday 5th Dec No more lie ins for a while, had to get up early and left Hahei at 7.45am en route to Raglan, the internationally famous surf town on the East coast. We were to stop at Bridal Veil Falls on the way but it doesn't happen, probably because of the miserable weather. Unlike the previous days when the clouds cleared up later in the day, today the grey gloom looms above as if it is here to stay. We make a few stops at a service stop for breakfast and at a Pak n Save for supplies and get to Raglan eventually around 2.30pm. The hostel is miles out of Raglan, in the middle of nowhere but it is fantastic! It's in the middle of a rainforest but only ten mins walk from the ocean. There is a great bush walk that I had planned to do through the forest but the rain has made it trecherous. Three American girls managed to return just about in one piece but caked in mud. It may not be a good idea to do alone so I wander down to the sea but meet with a fellow stray bus buddy on the way having just returned from inspiration point looking very uninspired. Judy, a teacher from Switzerland, accompanies me to the beach in the rain. I love the small unexpected surprises that traveling in this way has to offer. Tonight I saw hundreds of glow worms in the bush near the hostel. Tomorrow I go to Waitomo caves and expect to see many, many more.

Monday 6th December We leave Raglan in the rain and head for Waitomo caves. Most of the stray bus opt for the adventure tour trips which are fairly adrenaline packed but budgetary restraints and a small phobia of crawling through tight spaces where spiders live prevent me from doing them so I chose the Spellbound option that provides a walk through the caves and a boat trip down an underground stream where glow worms live in their hundreds of thousands. It's fantastic. It's very, very dark. Or guide gathered us around to see the fishing lines dangling beneath the glow worms just inches above our heads and asks, enthusiastically if anyone is afraid of spiders. Me and Nikau (one of my fellow Strays) are about to answer but before we get the chance he's angled his torch upwards highlighting a giant spider just inches from our heads. Nikau and I almost hit the deck and are on tender hooks for the entire rest of the tour into the darkness. Afterwards I better get to know the small group who also came into the caves. Mark and Maive from London, Nikau and Sarah from Australia and realize that I could really enjoy spending time with these people. Maive is an actress and drama teacher, Mark a graphic designer. Nikau and Sarah have just finished Uni. We get picked up and head on to Maketu where the is an evening of 'cultural entertainment' planned for us. I'm skeptical about the whole thing and assume it will be horribly artificial. However, when the evening kicks off I'm really pleasantly surprised. Uncle Boy runs the Marae (traditional Maori meeting house) as he s the chief of his tribe. He gives us a fairly stern lecture about the rules of engagement between our 'tribe' and his and he etiquette involved in the meeting or peoples. The guys in our tribe learn the haka and put on a very convincing performance. The ladies learn a dance and song with poi and deliver a slightly less convincing performance but it was fun to get involved. We all sleep on the floor of the Marae and I'm reminded and school trips as a child. I find the Maori culture fascinating.

Tuesday 7th Nov We leave the Marae early, again, and head to Rotorua. Some people have signed up for zorbing and a small number for skydiving. I wish I had it in me (and my bank account) to do a skydive but I chicken out and go for a visit to the geothermal village in Rotorua instead, finding myself with the same group as in the caves at Waitomo. A great surprise. Whakarewarewa is an incredible place. A tourist trap, granted, but also very interesting. It's an inhabited village that every 2-3m has active geysers and hot pools...some really hot pools that reach up to 340degrees Celsius. Steam rises up through the streets and swirls around the houses. We get to eat some corn, cooked in the hot pools. Unfortunately we didn't get to see too much of Rotorua as this truly is a whistle stop tour of New Zealand and so we don't really have enough time to get a real feel for anywhere. Stray just tends to drop us off at expensive activity centers along the way so that's often all we see. We head to Taupo and to the Urban Retreat hostel. I like Taupo instantly. It's a fairly large town by New Zealand standards but is right on the edge of the lake Taupo which, as I understand it, is bigger than Singapore! Taupo has a very chilled feel to it. There are very few people. Nikau and Sarah, from Australia, offer to spend another night in Taupo with me to keep me company. The

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