Last Memories....

Kia Ora! I realized I needed to take a moment to go over the things my dad and I did when we returned to Wellington. I'm also going to recap how things have been here, ever since the end has approached. Almost all of my abroad friends are gone, and after my final tomorrow, I'll be leaving Tuesday for a stop over in the Cook Islands, and then I'll be heading home.

While my dad was still in Wellington, we of course went to the All Blacks game. They kicked Ireland's butt, as was expected. Unfortunately, it was pouring out and my dad and I weren't quite in the covered seating area (in fact, we were underneath where the speakers were hanging, so they dripped on us). My dad and I also attempting to figure out the rules of rugby, which I'm ashamed to say I'm still unclear on. All in all, it was still an enjoyable (and essential) kiwi experience.





I also took him to the Botanical Gardens and the Te Papa museum:



On my dad's last full day, we drove to Greymouth, the original location of Schoc original chocolates, and we bought a bunch of delicious chocolate (including their best seller, Lime Chili), and then we headed to Martinborough for some wine tasting. Not all of the wineries were open, but those that were had delicious wines, and we bought a few bottles. The weather was uncharacteristically beautiful, and the sun came out while we were eating a really nice lunch at the Alana Estate (I had the salmon and my dad the beef filet).


We also went to my flatmate Will's play, Spring Awakening, which was great (and dealt with pretty radical sexual issues considering it was written in Germany in 1893). I'm almost positive my dad liked it here, although you might have to ask him yourself : ) Not long after he took off, my friends started leaving, including cousin Nikki and my flatmate Jake, which made Wellington feel a lot lonelier. Goodbyes are never easy. They always feel awkward, insufficient.

My flatmates and I had a last dinner together before parting ways (Hannah cooked a roast!), and the night before Jake left we baked the best carrot cake I've ever eaten in my life. We even made the frosting from scratch. It was a nice way to top off my increased culinary experience this semester.


This week has been tough. Not many people are left, and spending time with those who are only serves to remind me how little time I've been able to dedicate to some incredible people. I've met people who I think I could learn a lot from, but a semester just isn't enough time. I guess I'm lucky in some ways, as my friend Giorgi (from the nation of Georgia!) reminded me; he's been living and studying here for a few years, and he has to make all new friends every semester and then watch them leave. At least I'm not the person always being left behind.

So other than spending time with the friends who remain, I've been studying. I have one more final tomorrow, and then the next day I'm taking off for Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. I'll be sharing a beach chalet with four of my friends, and in spite of the reluctance to leave, I'm starting to get excited about spending a few days relaxing in a tropical paradise!

Traveling The Northland With Dad

I just returned yesterday from the road trip with my dad around the North Island, and we're both enjoying relaxing in my flat for a few days.
I took off to Auckland on Saturday May 31st, and my my dad at the airport. We stayed in a hostel in Auckland our first night, and then took off for the Northland. As you can see in the map on the left, it's the uppermost portion of the North Island. It's very rural, and had a lot of lovely empty beaches.

We stopped in a fairly large city called Wangarei, where we went on two hikes before heading North. One was a hike right up a mountain, the second was a short canopy walk through a nature reserve.


The Bay of Islands was a nice bayside town with a few small islands nestled close to shore; Dad said the atmosphere reminded him of Orlando, Florida. We had some huge burgers and saw a really good cover band in the popular local bar, where my dad tried his first taste of New Zealand-brewed Monteiths Ale. In the morning we had breakfast by the water:


We continued north and stopped at several beaches along the way, including Matauri Bay, which the owner of the Peppertree Lodge in the Bay of Islands highly recommended. He warned us not to stare at the beach when driving down the hill, because lots of people were so mesmerized by their first glance of the bay that they ended up going off the edge of the cliff. It was indeed lovely, although we managed to avoid rolling off the side of the mountain on the way there.



We found a little cove where there were tons of untouched seashells, and we collected some as mementos. A few of the other beaches we stopped at were just as beautiful, such as the one that had riverstones instead of sand:


We then noticed the time and sped around the top of the northland so we could make it to the Waipoua Forest, where the oldest tree in New Zealand was growing (it was 2000 years old- up there with Jesus on the age scale!), and then drove in the dark down to Dargaville to sleep.

The next day we took off for the west coast, to the city of Taraunga, where we went kayaking to a glowworm canyon. The service was really nice; it was only me, my dad, and our kayaking guide Blair. We started the evening with some wine, cheese and fruit by the riverside, and then slipped into the water and kayaked down the river to a canyon that was covered in glowworms. It was pretty visually stunning because the canyon was open to the stars above us, so I could see the stars contrasted with the starlike quality of the glowworms on the cliffside.

The next day we headed to Rotorua, where we rode a gondola to the top of a nearby mountain, we both went luging and I flew on a "skyswing" (a huge bungy-like swing). Then my dad was brave enough to try zorbing! He said it felt like he was going through a washing machine, but it was definitely fun:





The next day we headed over to Lake Taupo. It was too cold for watersports, but we did a walk called the Craters of the Moon, that had a lot of steamy thermal activity, and saw an incredibly blue waterfall called Huka falls.


Afterwards we took a long drive to Mount Taranaki in Edgemont National Park, through a long and windy highway called the Forgotten World Highway. There were a bunch of historic stop points, including a quaint historical town, and in the traditional New Zealand fashion a TON of sheep. On the way to Mount Taranaki we came across at least 6 different rainbows...


We had a bit of a nightmare finding housing near Taranaki. After a long drive we ended up in a miserable town called Stratford where we couldn't find decent accommodation or food. Eventually, we ended up in a very lovely bed and breakfast with a nice old couple, who let us stay in large single rooms with queen-size beds for the price of a twin-bed double room. We were rested and refreshed for our hike up at Mount Taranaki, where we tramped up to Dawson Falls, and enjoyed the thick rainforest surrounding us.




Afterwards we drove around the national park along Surf Highway 45 looking for somewhere to hang ten, but the winds were horrible for waves. So we took off down the coast, and ended up in Wellington around 7pm.

Since we've been here, we've watched an All Blacks rugby game (they kicked Ireland's butt by 10 points!), and went to see my flatmate's play at a local playhouse. I also hope to take him to Te Papa museum, and then on a day trip to a fancy winery in Wairarapa, and to Schoc chocolates.