The Hang Over(s)

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To the surprise of nobody, closing a bar with some Scotsmen gave me a bit of a hangover. Not a horrible one, but one of those where you just don’t feel quite right all day. I had managed to forget about the blister on my foot last night, but I was abruptly reminded when I jumped down from the top bunk in the morning.

Our journey today would take us to Wellington, New Zealand’s capital and a renowned “party city”. It was no coincidence we were staying here on a Friday. On the way we had a quick stop in Bulls. Not sure why they’d call the place that. A more apt name would be “Sheep” but that probably would have been a cliché. Also en route was the town of Taihape, which hosts an annual boot throwing competition. Because of course they do. I shouldn’t laugh because back home I bet there is probably like a moose wrestling or maple syrup chugging competition in some backwoods town. I was truly amazed however at the sheer variety of scenery this country had to offer and was happy to sit back and enjoy the view.

We arrived in the mid-afternoon so we had some time to wander around downtown. A contingency of our group went down to the waterfront and the “Te Papa” museum. It had a display about the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps’ (ANZAC’s) role in the 1915 invasion of Gallipoli and included large-scale wax figures of real people who participated in the battle. These were some of the most amazing sculptures I had ever seen. The detail was unbelievable. Sweat on their brows, scrapes on their arms, tears in their eyes. It truly captured the raw emotion of those affected by war and you couldn’t help but feel some of those emotions yourself. It had to be one of the best war exhibits in the world.

After the museum we stopped for a pint on the waterfront where a cannonball competition was happening. Or least that’s what the signs said. There was a distinct lack of cannonball-ing being demonstrated by the university age lads lining up on the jump platform. After the “hot-tub incident” I was encouraged to show everyone how it’s done. We then walked over to a street food market where I had $6 butter chicken. And it tasted like $6 butter chicken. I don’t know why I expected more. The $1.50 samosas were of similar quality. I think I was just so excited to see something reasonably priced for once. At least I didn’t get sick. If that was going to happen it would be later this evening.

The night was... rowdy let’s say. Beer, shots, yelling, dancing, horrible club music. Speaking of, the Friend’s theme song came on, much to everyone’s delight. We all belted out the first few lines and chorus as only a drunk mass of 18 to 30-somethings could. I must admit that I sang along to “Love Shack” by the B-52’s, a song at the top of my list of guilty pleasures. Another highlight was watching one of the Scotsmen, Lewis, demonstrate far better dance floor moves then I could ever hope to achieve in my lifetime. While walking to the second bar I somehow picked up a Scottish accent, which I’m sure was horrible to listen to but at the time was HILARIOUS to everyone who had been drinking as much as we had. I think. Dave picked the accent up as well so of course we had to take a video for future blackmailing purposes. It took all of Dave, Jacob, and my brain power to figure out how to get back to the hotel only a few blocks away. We made it safely, though Jacob decided he needed to run for a burger before heading back to his room. I crashed on the bed after providing Dave from sage advice on how best to pray to porcelain Gods. Then, somehow, I found myself standing in the hallway in the middle of the night, not really sure how I got there. I suspect I subconsciously tried to get up to use the washroom and went for the wrong door, and only snapped to when it closed behind me. I started to walk down the hall but remembered my professor’s number one rule of mining engineering, “Don’t embarrass yourself”. Thankfully Mike was awake enough to let me back in when I knocked on the door. I have no idea how I stumbled through the dark without tripping over anything in the small, cramped room. Or how I didn’t step on Dave who was enjoying a restful sleep on the cold bathroom floor. You can probably guess how we were all going to feel in the morning.

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Photos

Wellington
No, we drove most of the way up this hill

Te Papa Museum- WWI Display
One of the awe-inspiring wax figures of the Gallipoli exhibit.

Pre-Drink
This tasted awful but it was 11% and had a bad ass label.

Token "Out Partying" Selfie
Me, Mike, Jacob