North Island - Sweet as Bro

Kia Ora! Look who finally got to updating the blog. I guess it goes to show that Ive been trying to soak in all the loveliness that is New Zealand. It also goes to show that the wifi situation is a bit rubbish, but lets go with the first reason.

I arrived in Auckland on a Wednesday afternoon. That was a tough day. It just all hit me that I was by myself in a new place, not really sure what to do. I walked in to the hostel and just felt isolated like the first day of school when youre trying to figure out who to sit with in the cafeteria. All I really wanted was a hug from my mom and a wulipants kiss. To top it off, it was raining which just put a bit of a damper on things. It wasnt until the next morning when I met a dutch girl  that things were looking up. We hiked Mt.Eden in the pouring rain and discussed the dangers and excitement of opal mining, which had been her job for the last 10 months. That night I was also able to celebrate the fact that I was now in an 18 year old drinking country so we continued our conversation over some very cheap Tuis. After meeting up with some other people at the bar I was finally able to get over my weird shlump and embrace all the amazement that is travelling solo.

The next day I caught the Kiwi Experience bus which has been my life for the last week. One of the guys on the bus had a ukele to which I commented, "wow how cool! Im thinking jam sesh" to which he handed me an egg shaker and we now travel the country performing bangers to all the backpackers. Just Kidding. We actually ended up chatting and because of this I made friends with a whole bunch of lovely people including my 4 buds who have been with me the last week.

The bus is mainly backpackers between 18 to 30 so its a nice place to meet a lot of outgoing people who you can join in with and see the sights of New zealand. Quick shoutout to Dallas for being the best driver. You're sweet as bro! The first place we went was Hot Water Beach which was a beautiful beach featuring lovely cliffs and a place to dig in the sand to find hot water on the beach. The next day we made our way down to Waitomo. Waitomo is known for these large series of caves that have these little maggots or glowworms that light up in the cave. To see them we had to absail down into the cave and then float down the river while watching them up above. Absolutely amazing! After Waitomo we continued to make our way down to the big tourist spot in New zealand, Rotorua. I already forgot what the name means but I feel like its got to have something to do with the smell of farts that consume the town. It comes from the hot water springs found throughout the town that have sulphur in them. The first night in Rotorua I spent staying in the Tameki Maori overnight stay. I loved this for several reason. First off, it was the first night in a while where I was able to sleep with two pillows. Whatta treat. Second, the stay included a feast of food that wasnt ramen or peanut butter which I took serious advantage of. Third and most important reason I loved it was learning about the Maori culture. The Maori are extremely proud of where they come from and their culture. They showcase this mostly through carvings such as on wood and their bodies, but also through storytelling since they dont have a written language. They also seem to be a very sentimental gorup of family, always putting their family's first. What was fascinating to me was how willing they were to share their culture. There doesnt seem to be as huge of a divide between the indigenous groups of New Zealand and the European descendants than per say in America or Australia. Obviously I cant make too much of an assumption, but the guide seemed to agree with this mostly. It was a beautiful thing feeling so welcome to learn about another people's culture because sometimes it can feel a bit awkward.

After Rotorua was Lake Taupo. Taupo is known for the adventure activity like skydiving and what not. I was after the Tongariro Alpine Crossing. It is apparently THE hike in New Zealand, although they have amazing hikes everywhere. Fun fact they actually just call them walks. I love how a 20km trek up a volcano and a stroll around a lake are both just "walks". The crossing was superb with beautiful views over the cloud line and of the emerald lakes. I had a very lane moment when I finished the hike about an hour earlier than the roughly suggested time. Taupe was definitely my favorite place so far in New Zealand because of the hike but also because I spent an afternoon walking along the river where it felt like I was nowhere near town. I also just had a casual swim in the lake which is so rare in so many places of the world. It's tough finding isolation.

The last stop in our tour of the South Island was Wellington, the funky windy capital of New Zealand.  Another fun fact for you is that Auckland use to be the capital of New Zealand but there talk of the South Island wanting to become an independent nation so they picked a more central city between the two islands. Anyway, Friday night in Wellington is all I have to say, which led me to missing the ferry the next morning. It actually ended up being the best thing because I had a delightful stroll along the harbor slurping away at an ice cream cone and watching the sailboats. I also got to spend another night with my mates (you can already tell I've spent too much time with brits).

After some goodbyes I made my way to the little town of Blenheim where I am currently writing to you all while I wait for the wwoofing farmers to pick me up. To recap, the last week spent busing around the North Island has been a delight. New Zealand so far is beautiful geographically and culturally. Now on to the next adventure! #Alexthesheepfarmer