Hello everyone!
I know the blog has been mostly pictures lately, so it is time for me to sit down and actually write a bit about what has been going on.
I tend to write and say too much in my stories, so I will try not to make this crazy...but I will start quickly from the VERY beginning.
I met Jacob when I arrived at A1 Backpackers in Hastings, NZ on October 3rd...over 2 months ago now. Jacob and Iris were the first people I had dinner w/ at the hostel. The next day Jacob and I found out we had work together on an apple orchard, and since then Jacob, Iris, and I have completely connected. We have become some of the closest people at the hostel. So, when the opportunity for this trip came up I was excited and 100% in!
Our trip began on December 5, and at about 10:30 in the morning we stopped to say goodbye to Iris at the bakery where she works, and then Jacob and I were off to a peninsula Jacob heard was beautiful where Mahia and Mahunga Beach are in the pictures. On the beach this random dog was following us everywhere. We named it Peninsula. Then we met these people on the beach who said their neighbors owned the dog, but it never stops running around and meeting people on the beach. It’s real name was Arthur, so from then on he was known as our new dog, Arthur Peninsula.
Now it was time to find a place to camp. There was no camping on the beach, and this peninsula was very quiet and small. We drove up into the mountains, mostly because we were a bit lost, and ended up asking this farmer man if he knew of anywhere we could camp. His reaction was, “Well, uh...just open my gate up there. Just open it and drive up into the hills. Follow the path, and there will be a little lake on the other side.” Jacob and I were confused, was this a campground? Jacob kept saying, “Should I really open his gate?” And there was no visible path to be seen. The man ended up saying, “This isn’t my land, it is my brother’s, but I watch it for him. The safest place is up there in the hills. Just go sleep with my cows” ----or something along those lines. So, that is exactly what we did. Jacob and I spent a night on a beautiful mountain with the sea in the distance, however it was probably the worst sleep I have ever had. Between the cold, THE WIND, and the music of the cows and sheep ALL NIGHT LONG...I think I slept an hour or two at most.
The next morning we packed up our tent, and were on our way to Lake Waikaremoana. There is not much to say about Day Two besides I slept a bit in the car, and the whole road was very very windy. Oh, and we did stop to swim because we had to not showered. There was a river by the side of the road. However, after Jacob was in the river for less than a minute he got bitten by an eel. This is not a joke. I saw the eel. It was long and ugly. I have never seen someone jump out of water so quickly. So, there was no more swimming there. Later that night we pitched our tent, and slept by the lake.
The next morning was day #3. There were walking trails that lasted from 2 hours to 12 hours, or to walk around the whole lake takes 3-4 days. We decided to do the 2 hour track, because that meant 2 hours to come back, 4 hours in total, and really Jacob and I together are the slowest people ever. We walked and saw the beautiful lake, but mostly I was really impressed by the forest we walked through. and all the silver ferns we saw. When we left that night for Rotorua I was not upset. The campground was filled was busloads of high school boys who were obviously on some kind of summer or school trip, and it felt like we were stuck in the middle of a summer camp...so we were ready to leave.
That night we arrived in Rotorua quite late. The i-site was closed, so Jacob decided to stay with me at a backpacker called, “Planet Backpackers.” It was too cold, so I decided no more camping for me since I do not have a sleeping bag here. We found a tiny place that has hamburgers and hot dogs, and they were the best I have ever had.
Now we are on Day 4 where Jacob and I woke up in a sauna at this backpacker, it was SO HOT THAT MORNING in the room. We literally had to go stand in the hall. Not to mention there were bugs in that place, so we were out of there. On this day we went to the local parks where you could see the thermal activity on some of the ponds, and some boiling mud pools. It was very cool. Later that day I was really upset because I had been trying to get my phone to work for a few days, but whenever I made a call I couldn’t hear anything. I told Jacob we had to go to the Vodaphone store. The guy at the store kept telling me there was NOTHING wrong with my phone. I kept telling him, “No, there is. You don’t understand.” Finally I made him make a call to see what I meant, and well...it turns out my phone was on silent. Silly me.
That night we went to the night market which was awesome! They had great music, and from the pictures, you can see I ate “The Longest Dog in the World!” That night I was out of “Planet Backpackers” and into “Cactus Jacks.” “Cactus Jacks” claims to be the only “themed” backpacker in Rotorua, and as you can see from the pictures it is DECKED out to be what became known as “the Mexican Hostel.” It was so great. That night I stayed there while Jacob camped.
Now we move on to December 9, day #5. So, the thermal activity in the park we saw the day before was just a small, tiny baby compared to what we were about to see this day. Today we actually had to pay to enter, go on a tour, and so forth. We spent the day on a 1 hour tour, and the rest of the time exploring ourselves. We saw the natural geysers in Rotorua, the volcanoes, and mud pools, and even a photo shoot of some Maori people. We had an amazing day, and the geysers were completely awesome. We have some great pictures that I will put up soon. That night it was back to Cactus Jacks for me, and Jacob stayed with me as well.
Okay, so now we are on DAY 6 where Jacob and I made the drive to the Coromandel Peninsula. We drove through Tauranga and then the Coromandel Forest Park which was pretty cool, and then saw a sign for Hahei where some of the hot water beaches are. We decided to stay there instead of going all the way to the Coromandel Town that night. We got to Hahei and all backpackers were full, and there was a mysterious motel we couldn’t find. We ended up staying in this fancy cottage at a church, that cost way too much...but believe me, after everything we tried--this was our last option. We were in luxury for one night.
We spent Day 7 on the peninsula and went to it’s most famous place, “Cathedral Cove.” We hiked up and down more stairs than I care to remember, and Jacob and I spent most of the time saying, “goodbye muscles.” (This is a phrase Jacob started saying after I got out of the car after work one day and said that my butt muscles hurt because of walking up & down the ladder so much from apple thinning. For some reason Jacob found this to be hilarious, and ever since the saying, “Goodbye muscles” has come about). That day I really did say goodbye to my muscles. Most of the way there I decided I hated hiking, and walking, and moving all together, until we arrived--and then Jacob and I spent an afternoon on one of the most gorgeous beaches I have ever seen. It was definitely worth the walk. Jacob and I even fell asleep for about 2 hours on the sand by the water. This was when I got my first NZ sunburn. I put sunscreen on my face, but I forgot my chest because originally I had on a jacket. I did not notice until later when I realized I had an imprint of the ship the Titanic on my chest from a necklace my grandmother gave me a long time ago. It was pretty funny.
After we hiked back out of the cove we went to the famous hot water beaches. We dug and dug in the sand, and so did other people. We only had 30 minutes of low tide left, and we were disappointed to think we weren’t going to experience it...or, that the people at the i-site were just over exaggerating how hot the water actually was...because we felt warm water, but not BOILING HOT! Then the people next to us struck gold. These people were serious. I mean, they had made a wall of sand so when the higher tides did come, their digging area was blocked off. They dug and dug till the cows came home, and then they came across the sand actually bubbling. The tide was coming up and most people had given up, but Jacob and I were still there and got to experience it. When you stepped in the sand next to the bubbles or on the bubbles you literally could only stand it 5 seconds or less because it was SO HOT! The sand was bubbling because it was boiling. It was unbelievable how hot it was. The tide was coming up more and more, but we could not seem to tear ourselves away. I mean, for some reason it was just so shocking. Finally we left, and about an hour or two away we found a tiny place called “Beach House Backpackers.” We spent the night there where we met this kind of wild and unorganized lady who ran the place, and still seemed to be fired up by the fact that 26 boys from the Solomon Islands who stayed @ the backpacker did a tribal dance for her for her 60th birthday years ago. She also liked to talk to me about Michael Moore, she was very cool :)
We are getting close to the end of our journey, which is not quite as exciting as the beginning...but that is okay. The next day, day #8, we drove to Taupo. On the way there we got lost quite a few times, and we were so out in nowhere there was NO ONE to ask for help. Not to mention we were running out of gas. Jacob was very nervous because he said he ABSOLUTELY HAD to take the right way or else we would be out of gas all the way out here in the country. Finally we found a place to stop and ask, and we made it to the next town just before we ran out of gas. It was amazing how far we went with NO GAS STATION!
The weather suddenly got bad, and was raining like crazy. We made it to Taupo and checked into “The Rainbow Lodge Backpacker.” This is where they told us all outdoor activities were canceled, and also all trips to hike the Tongariro Alpine Crossing for the next few days (which is something we REALLY wanted to do). Taupo is the capital for all outdoor activities from sky diving, bungy jumping, four wheeling, mountain biking, white water rafting, and everything else. If we couldn’t do any of those, we hated to think it...but our best choice was to go back to Hastings. We spent the night at the Rainbow Lodge where our roommate was from Norway, and she was very nice.
Our last day, December 13, we checked out of the Rainbow Lodge, walked all over Taupo and around the town center, and visited Lake Taupo which was huge, flat, and gorgeous. We then went to the “Huka Falls,” visited a prawn fishing place, and began our journey back to Hastings. On the way we stopped at one last scenic detour where we saw a waterfall in the distance among the forest, and it was peaceful and lovely. We spent a nice time there remembering our journey, and wishing it didn’t have to end so early. We hope to go back and do the Tongariro Crossing before Christmas. We just couldn’t go because if we did we would not have seen anything, and the weather and wind conditions made it dangerous.
On day number 9 we arrived back in Hastings where only half of our original “family” was left. All the others left while we were gone to continue their travels, go home, or meet their families in NZ for the holidays. The original people yelled and cheered when we came back, there were lots of hugs and talks about the trip, but it felt weird to walk into my home of 2 months in NZ and not know half the people there. I hate to say it, but the glorious experience I had here is, and already has in a way, come to an end.
However, I will never forget the time I spent in Hastings...or the trip I took with Jacob. On the way back Jacob and I skimmed passed Auckland which neither of us were really that interested in seeing anyway. So, if you look at a map we pretty much covered the WHOLE North island besides Bay of Islands and Cape Reigna which are more beaches. Considering I started in Wellington, I did a full circle all the way up to Auckland, and back...so I am fulfilled and very happy with everything.
I believe I will stay in Hastings with the remaining gang through Christmas, and then head back to Wellington and then the South Island. It is still a little too soon to know.
This is so long, but it is the “short” story of the trip. I know it’s a lot, but I hope you all enjoy it and are doing well!
Hi Georgia -
ReplyDeleteGood to get an update on your doings down there. Last year I read a remarkable book called "Eels: An Exploration, from New Zealand to the Sargasso, of the World's Most Mysterious Fish" by James Prosek. It told as much about New Zealand as about eels, and I considered sending it to you to read before you went down there. But then I thought you'd probably read enough for awhile and instead needed to just be down there experiencing the place. But now that you've had this brush with one of the most iconic beings in Maori culture, you might consider reading it.
We're doing fine, looking forward to a quiet holiday, since both my girls are elsewhere this time. We'll get through somehow. :)
I'm sorry I've not been in touch more—keeping up with blogs and Facebook, not to mention everything else, has been a bit overwhelming. But you're sure doing your part, and I'm delighted you're rolling on through all these adventures, meeting people, escaping eels, and so on!
love,
ph
IT IS JANUARY 4TH TODAY HERE IN THE STATES, AND THAT MEANS IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteHAPPY BIRTHDAY MY LOVELY COUSIN!!
I LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU AND CANT WAIT TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR ADVENTURES IN PERSON!