Aussie McBlog: January 2006

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Wednesday, November 9, 2005: Paihia to Cape Reinga

Have spilled too many words elsewhere this evening, so I'll speak of today through pictures.

(hahaha seagull bum!)

Friday, January 06, 2006

Tuesday, November 8, 2005: Auckland to Paihia

Up up up we were, bright and early and out the door. After storing our luggage with the hostel (“Ve’ll be back!!!!”), we stumbled sleepily out-of-doors and into the morning chill.

(pic by Lucy Black)

A large green bus was already waiting, a somewhat crazy man waiting to accept our luggage. He introduced himself as our driver, and insisted that his name was K-9. Again, crazy. But I think one must be a bit crazy to drive a tour bus for KiwiExperience.

The bus was not at all crowded, and the general consensus was that we were tired. There were a couple of Germans (there are always Germans), a few Americans, and handful of Poms and Aussies, and I think one Kiwi couple. Though the ride took about 5 hours, we started before 7. Stops included, we arrived in Paihia (also known as the Bay of Islands because there are 144 islands in the bay) about half twelve. After having seen New Zealand country side in abundance, let me clarify one thing: there are many, many sheep. It was a lovely little journey, especially since I spent the bulk of it dozing and looking out of the window, both of which feature high on my list of “favorite things to do while in a moving vehicle”.

We checked into the Pipi Patch, a kitschy little hostel with a pub that looks as though it’s been transported from the set of Gilligan’s Island. Afterwards, we wandered to pay for a boat tour and took in the scenery for the better part of an hour. Paihia reminds me a bit of a hybrid: the touristy attractions of White Rock Beach, but when you cross the street, it suddenly becomes much homier and you feel like you’re at Crescent Beach. Only different. Yeah… the same but different.

A more about this boat tour. This is not any boat, it’s the Excitor Boat. WOOOOOOOO. We’re talking a 1600 horsepower boat with an entire ocean of track; a water roller coaster not recommended for the weak of heart. One must remember that New Zealand is the place if you want to get flung off something, flung through something, or [as in our case], flung across something. The Bay of Islands, that is.

We arrived at their office and immediately got suited up in giant red rubber gear, complete with little waterproof bags for our cameras. I’ll be honest with you. I looked hot. Karana looked hot. We looked HOT. After being warned that the experience would be increasingly turbulent as you moved up the boat, Karana and I took the very front seats, the ones with the extra seat-beltage and guard rails. Eeee!!!

There was screaming. There was shrieking. There was laughter. Best roller coaster ever! And every time we hit a wave we would go flying out of our seats only to come back with a nice BUMP! Thundering across the water like a giant I-don’t-know-what off into the deep of the wine-dark sea [I lifted that term from Fagles, who makes me shiver with his brilliance], we stopped at The Hole in the Rock, which is a… hole in the rock, which we WENT THROUGH.

Gah!!!! The we were delightfully scared out of our wits by the captain’s tales of shark attacks. Oh those silly Kiwis.

My biggest mistake was wearing shoes. They were so full of water by the time we pulled back to the dock that they were actually sloshing with every step I took. It was only amusing for about a minute, then it annoyed me.

Back the Pipi Patch, I set my shoes out to dry, and we did what everyone in Paihia apparently does. We slummed and relaxed and enjoyed a quiet afternoon and evening of simple existence.

Then, after dinner *shudder*, we watched *shudder shudder* 8mm with Nicolas Cage. Pretty much the most disturbing movie I have seen in a long time. I actually thought it was going to give me nightmares, but thankfully I managed to calm down before we called it a night.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Monday, November 7, 2005: Around Auckland

“So… what do you want to do?”

“I dunno, what do you want to do?”

“No, what do YOU want to do?”

“Um, I don’t really care.”

“Yeah, me neither.”

“Well, whatever you want to do is fine.”

“I’d be cool with pretty much anything. I’m easy.”

The problem with me and Karana is that both of us turned out to be pretty laid back when it comes to traveling. I’m so easily amused that sitting and looking at things is good enough for me. And Karana, well, she calls it laziness, but I think she’s just low maintenance. And then there's all that Hawaiian in her.

We ended up settling on an exploration of Auckland. After a marvelous sleep-in thanks to those gorgeous Egyptian cotton sheets, we had a rather late start, but neither of us seemed to care much. Umm, vacation! HELLO?!

It was sprinkling with rain as we zigzagged our way down to the wharf and then zigzagged into a mall to buy a duffel bag and then zigzagged up and down some streets, picking up small souvenirs here and there. I often wonder how effective zigzagging is, especially when one (or two) does/do not have any sort of game plan whatsoever aside from “find Base Backpackers before it gets dark.”

And find it we did. We were both feeling a bit “meh” despite being in a pretty city that was not too hot, not too cold (just right, actually; like I said, it reminded me of Vancouver). I think… no, I KNOW that it was because we were both feeling a bit of separation anxiety after having just left Campus East. After a few more stops (including a stint in the local Starbucks, where they messed my drink up not once, not even twice, but thrice), we were back at the hostel in the late afternoon and remained there, reading and relaxing in preparation for an early start the next morning on the big green bus... DUN DUN DUN!

[ps - note the zigzagging in the map above]

Monday, January 02, 2006

Sunday, November 6, 2005: Wollongong - Auckland

My clock radio was the last thing to be packed, and it sounded the alarm at something sick like 6 in the morning. My last final exam had been the previous day, so packing hadn’t begun until I returned to my room. Oh, and then I had to go see Hayley at the North Wollongong Hotel one more time before I took off. Needless to say, I was up until 4:30 am, packing my life into not-so-neat-and-tidy bags and boxes.

Adrenaline and sadness kicked in soon, however, and I was alert with anticipation as I did a final survey of my home for the last four-and-a-half months. I didn’t blow kisses, but I DID leave several large and unpleasant bags sitting on my bed, waiting to be tucked into storage by the manly men who work in maintenance for Campus East. Yay that.

Karana’s expression mirrored mine as I bustled past to place my alarm clock in a box of things for donation to the next round of exchange students. We said goodbye to remaining friends, and the ever-faithful Monique walked us to the end of the field. From there, we had only the flies to keep us company as we trudged towards the train station. Ha. Reminds me of that line from Aladdin: “AND ONLY YOUR FLEAS WILL MOURN YOU.” I was sad to be leaving, although sometimes I think I tend to over-dramatize (see below).

The train ride was uneventful. Karana let me snooze in between train changes, and we arrived at Sydney Kingsford with plenty of time to spare. And then it was time to board a place destined for Auckland, New Zealand! I must digress for a moment to say that Air New Zealand is the best ever. Personal TVs with movies and games and heaps of leg room. Woot!!!

When we arrived in Auckland, we grabbed our things and changed our money. The Aussie dollar has a slight advantage over the New Zealand dollar, so it appeared that we had more money than we had started with, which is always good when you’re a delusional student trying to pinch pennies like your wonderful and squeaky Scottish father has tried to teach you (and you’ve mostly ignored).

Auckland immediately reminded me of Vancouver. And what’s the best part about living in Vancouver? What’s that? The rain, you say? Why yes! Yes, it WAS raining, and I was delighted. We hailed a cab (Actually, we got into a shuttle, but doesn’t “hailed a cab” sound more dramatic? Yes, I thought so too.) and were on our way to Base Backpackers. The driver was piping Yanni through the speakers, and after a short ride, during which the rain stopped, I was ready for a nap.

Base is brilliant. Great location, nice rooms, plus, we opted to stay on a girls-only floor (prevents spread of cooties) called Sanctuary, and so we got Egyptian cotton bed linen and free shampoo. Sometimes being a girl has its advantages.

The rest of my evening--and in truth, Karana’s as well--was spent lying on giant throw-pillows watching TV in the common room. TV was such a rare treat at Campus East, and a novelty for the nomad, as I would soon discover.

Sweet dreams soon followed…

Sunday, January 01, 2006

"What a Year for a New Year"

From the Go Global Handbook:

Some common feelings/experiences associated with re-adjusting to life at
home includes:

Depression, uncertainty, confusion
Changing goals and priorities
Reverse homesickness
Desire to be alone

How well they know us.

I've been home for nearly two days now, and I'm not so sure how I'm feeling, or how to feel for that matter. It's nice to see people--no, it's wonderful to see people--but I'm grumpy.

Now, I think that since I skipped such huge chunks of blogging my travels (since I was too busy enjoying every moment of them), I'm going to relive them a bit on here. A tale a day, perhaps, and some pictures. Maybe it will be therapeutic. Or maybe it will be absolutely tortuous and drive me slowly mad! Only time will tell. Mwuahahaha.

Aussie McBlog