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Published: March 8th 2008
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Ok still not getting the hang of this whole updating travel blog in a timely fashion concept. Oh well. So from where I left off, I departed on a 4 day trip to the East Cape, which was still with the Kiwi Experience, but very different. I think it was probably my best experience thus far on the Kiwi bus. It was a much smaller group, only 11 of us, including the driver and the driver's boyfriend's moms, aka "the moms" who were awesome as far as moms go. There was in fact another American, a rare breed I've found, named Suzanna who indeed had a banjo on her knee (tattoo...clever). So the first night we stayed at a homestay right on the rocky coast, and that night was spent entirely in the hot tub which overlooked the ocean. I tried to go for a jog with a couple of the guys, and remembered why I don't run with guys. It was especially pathetic because they'd already had a few beers and I was still dying to keep up.
The next day we went to the town where Whale Rider was filmed and visited a Marae (Maori house of worship)
which no independent visiters can view, and learned all about the legend of the whale rider. The Maoris have a legend for pretty much everything. Some might call it a little silly. Not me of course.
Next we went and parked ourselves at a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, where I had the best horse ride ever. We were matched with horses according to our ability, and were able to go at our own speed. I had a fast horse, and we went galloping along the shoreline, with 2 foals and 3 farm dogs running alongside us. These dogs were the most energetic animals I've ever seen, and taunted just about any other animal they encountered. I literally laughed out loud watching one of the dogs try to play a game of tag with a cow. The cow was not having it. The next morning we got up at the crack, hiked up a hill, and were the first people in the world to watch the sunrise that morning.
The last stop was a beach house just outside of a town called Gisborne, where we did some wine tasting, fed wild stingrays, and had a pretty rowdy
BBQ night. I'd say playing "Never Have I Ever" with a couple moms was definitely a highlight. The next morning we went surfing, but the waves were pretty crap. Everyone else decided to stay extra at the beach house because it was such an awesome setup, and also really cheap, but I had already planned on meeting back in Taupo for this road trip.
So yep back in Taupo I had my fist official pub quiz, and my team came in 2nd! I can't be too proud because we cheated on like half the questions, but still. I met up with the two English lads Ben and Paul, and the next day we piled in their renal car (named Mary White), and headed out to New Plymoth on the west coast, mainly just because it sounded interesting in the book. After a few hours of creative car games, we arrived and I was greeted by American flags, balloons, and colors everywhere. Just for me! Apparently we had chosen to come for "Americarna" weekend, which is dedicated to classic American cars. These cars are pretty cool, I'll give them that, but they literally dedicated 3 whole days to standing there
staring at them. I think day 1 was watching the cars circle around about 50 times, day 2 was watching those same cars sit parked, and who knows what they did on day 3. Needless to say, not the most happening of towns. But it was still definitely a good time. The weekend was so busy though, that we lucked out and got the absolute last sleeping accomodations in town, which was 3 spots on couches in the TV room of a hostel for $10.
After a couple nights there, we made the long drive to Wellington, which is a pretty great city as far as big cities in NZ go. It's right on the bay, surrounded by lots of hills...slightly San Franciscan one might say. We checked out the cable car, botanic gardens, saw a couple movies (don't see "Jumper"), went for a nice jog along the water, etc. The last day I forced the boys to embark on a wild goose chase to find this Chocolate Fish Cafe, which allegedly had marzipan chocolate fish. It turned into a gorgeous drive through the residential areas around the bay...until a kind lady informed us that the cafe had been
shut down, but directed us to the related Chocolate Frog Cafe. We finally found it, only to discover that they serve chocolate marshmallow fish. Which I hate. Bummer.
We crossed between the two islands in the evening, which was a really gorgeous time to take in the scenery and sunset, and arrived late in Nelson, getting once again the last 3 spots in town. We switched hostels the next day to one that had a pool, spa, free breakfast, hammocks, and was just plain cool. Definitely the best so far. I would have liked to have spent more time there, but boys are...well boys, and 'twas time for me to get back on the Kiwi bus.
Ugh, the day I left Nelson was probably the worst so far. Little sleep, bad hangover, wounded ego, and no friends. I eventually forced myself to be social and start a fresh and ended up joining up with a few fun girls, two English and one American who was this cool artistic director in New York and just up and quit her job to live in Australia. I've kind of breezed through the stops on the South Island up till now, as
there's been a few lackluster ones. I did an 8hr Franz Josef glacier climb which was quite a unique experience, and especially so because it's one of the few glaciers found in a rainforest climate.
My favorite town so far has been Wanaka, which is one of the first small tows with character. Its situated by a lake, surrounded by mountains (but I guess everything is here), and has that quaintness about it. We went to see Kite Runner at movie theatre there which has couches and lounge chairs for seating, allows you to bring in beer & wine, and serves these infamous fresh baked ginormous chocolate chip cookies at intermission. Oh and they have intermission. So good.
Now I'm in Queenstown, which has been extremely hyped up by everyone so far. Nevis, the largest bungy in the world is here, and call me a wuss, but you will not find my throwing myself off it. I've reunited with some of my pals from my previous travels, including a regretful run-in with the road trip boys last night. We're going on some big hike today and I leave tomorrow for a week-long loop trip down to the very
south.
Right now I'm really conflicted. I'm almost done w/ the Kiwi bus, do I keep traveling elsewhere, or do I stay put somewhere and work? Tell me what to do!!!
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