Flying Solo

Arriving in Picton on the early ferry

Night 2 of sleeping in my car.  I can afford a $30 bed at a youth hostel, I have a tent in the trunk, and yet, for the last two nights I have opted for the third choice, sleeping in my car.  Maybe it’s because I want to prove that I can, that I’m not too old to do it.  After waking up both mornings with stiff muscles and sore joints, I’m not really sure who is winning this bet against myself.  Tonight I pick up my dad from the airport, tonight I sleep in my own bed.

Highlights of my trip so far:

Seal colony outside Kaikoura

• Stopping at a winery in the Marlborough region for a tasting and to purchase a bottle of Gertz (not what the region is known for but one I like). 
• Lazy naps in the sun by the ocean on my slow drive down the coast
• Visiting a seal colony long enough to take the obligatory photos and nearly trip over a seal that was resting in the grass.  It’s unbelievable how docile these animals are. 
• A nice dinner by myself in a Kaikoura bar before sneaking off to find a safe but out-of-the-way place for me to park my car and sleep for the night. 
• Waking up unsure of where I was (it took me a good 2 minutes to figure out what country I was in let alone what city…which is an unnerving feeling, and a bad sign considering my travels have just begun)
• Detours taken by choice to see the coast and walk the beach before making myself a PB&J sandwich. 
• Walking around Akaroa, a French influenced colony on the coastal peninsula near Christchurch, and enjoying another nice dinner with a glass of wine.

Akaroa Harbour, Banks Peninsula

I was hoping to take a harbor cruise today to see the Akaroa region a bit better.  However, it’s been raining for the last three hours so I may have to hold off on it for now.  I’ve enjoyed my time alone going where I want, and doing what I want, but it will be nice to have others to share the experiences.

NZI Sevens: Rugby, Drinking, General Mayhem

Wow, the Sevens weekend in Wellington.  Where do I begin to describe the mayhem that I have now had the privilege of experiencing.  Not since college have I had such a full weekend of sports, camaraderie, drinking, shenanigans and randomness.

First I should explain a bit about the sports side of it:  The sevens is an abbreviated rugby game (20 min long) played in several cities across the world, including Las Vegas.  International teams compete in a two-day tournament to be the winner.  It's a great two days of games but most of them aren't watched by the ticket holders...in Wellington it's just one big party.

Second, I should note here the obsession that Kiwis have with dressing up.  They don’t celebrate Halloween to the same extent that we do in the States but they spend the rest of the year making up for it with non-stop fancy dress parties.  The Wellington Sevens is the biggest of them all.  31,000 people packed the stands and I think only four people weren’t dressed in costume (this isn’t an exaggeration – everyone dresses up).

Kiwis have an unbiased sense of humour

Costumes range from simple to really elaborate (box of crayons, police officers, sports players, cavemen, railroad crossing signals complete with lights and bells) and others were more trendy (LOTS of Katy Perry outfits and Black Swan ballerinas).  Some of the best were good purely because of their sheer numbers:  A group of about 30 guys dressed as trolls (the kind with the jewel in their bellies from the 90s).

The games started on Friday afternoon and so we made our way through the masses of costume clad people to the stadium (milling about when there were people jumping off of a pier into the water – costume and all) or when an entire bar waited in apprehension as girl after girl was asked to flash an on-looking crowd…and many did it.  It was sensory overload.  Costumes, drinking, partying, people, drinking…. Too many places to look!

The stadium was equally as intense.  Although we had tickets we never actually sat in our assigned seats…in fact, I’m not sure that anyone did, but the games take such a back seat to the partying that it didn’t matter.  Each section was supposed to support one of the countries at the tournament.  We started in the American section (by chance) and ended up spending 90% of our time in the Canadian one.  But I’m not sure that anyone in any of the sections really was from the country they were supporting.  The Kiwis took it all on board and cheered loudly anyway.

Giving high-fives to the US Team

Saturday had the better games as we reached the final rounds of the match.  But the costumes were a bit worse for the wear as they tried to make it through two days of partying.  By the end of the night the stands were fully packed for the last few games.  The US took third, which was awesome (I gave high-fives to all of the players as they walked by).  But the best part was when New Zealand won the entire tournament.  The stands went nuts.  The team went around the stadium and performed the Haka over and over again.  The energy was contagious!

As we all piled back out onto the streets we again followed the mobs into the city where they closed the roads down turning it into a street party.  Costume pieces were now laying abandoned across the city, people were wandering and swaggering around everywhere into the wee hours of the morning.

Sunday was a good day for different reasons.  The masses had dispersed and everyone walked around in a bit of a sleep-deprived, hungover coma state.  Every once in awhile someone in our group would perk up and say “remember when…” as the images and memories slowly made their way back into our minds.

• Convincing a guy sitting next to us to streak across the field (he made it about half way before the security guards smashed him into the ground
• G chucking an entire hotdog (bun, ketchup, mustard and all) at someone only after he smashed into her
• Watching the racewalkers race right into the water without stopping…then watching them shiver for the next three hours as they tried to dry off again
• Bumping into a fellow Chicagoan, who was sitting in the Canadian section waving an American flag.  He lives 1/2 mile from my old apartment in Lakeview
• People making out with random strangers

And now I’m off, on my way to the South Island with the rest of the tourists carrying a Lonely Planet NZ book and a backpack.  Still feeling a bit sleep deprived, with a sore throat that makes it difficult to even talk let alone eat or drink.  I probably won’t have another weekend like the one I just had in a long time, maybe that’s not a bad thing, but right now the fun memories are still fresh.

Thanks to the girls and the racewalkers for such a memorable and great weekend – you know who you are.

No shirt, No Shoes, No Problem

Everywhere I go people are barefoot  in New Zealand.  When I first arrived, I was shocked to see people barefoot in the city, in the shops, in take away restaurants and even in the supermarket.  But I get it now, it's just part of Kiwiana.  It represents the attitude and the carefree life.  I have welcomed this summer more than I've welcomed most and I'm trying to take advantage of it as much as possible. It hasn't taken much time off of work and in the sun for my feet to look like they belong on a New Zealand beach.  Here's a recap of my busy but wonderful holiday break:

- Christmas Eve was spent in my old flat so that I could wake up with people around and was surprised when I actually had something to open on Christmas morning (thanks to my flatmate, Meagan).  Christmas Dinner was a BBQ with my friend, Amanda, and her family where I was treated to some nice dishes that I've never tried before (including Christmas pudding).

Tent in Pauanui, Coromandel

- On Boxing Day Amanda and I packed up the car and drove to the Coromandel peninsula which is about a 2 hour drive east of Auckland.  The peninsula is lined with beautiful beaches and beach communities.  We camped on a plot of land hired out by Amanda's brother and his friends.  It has a small building just large enough to fit a kitchen on one side and bathroom on the other and the rest of the plot has space for tents and a few camper vans which we used to keep our food in.

Daniel, Olivia, Carl, Amanda

- After a few days in the Coromandel we went back north through Auckland to the west coast of the north island.  We met up with our friends in Opononi (which is just south of 90-mile beach).  There were about 13 of us (not including the 7 children) camping outside of a bach (which is basically a rustic cabin on the ocean).  We had did some sandboarding, ate BBQ, set up a campfire, sang songs, drank and played games.  It was a perfect way to bring in the new year. 

- On Jan 2, Amanda and I packed up our tent once again and headed directly east to the other coast to see the Bay of Islands.  We stayed in a hostel that night and after the bars closed we kept it going by ending the night drinking warm Reisling from the bottle, sitting on the beach, with some of the guys we met at the bar.  It tasted disgusting but I enjoyed every minute of it.

- The next day we were heading out to Urupukapuka Island and Amanda tripped and although there was some blood the most damage was to her knee which quickly swelled up and couldn't take any weight.  It was a bad way to start off the most physical part of our trip (we had everything with us for two nights of camping including all of our food and water that we needed to carry up a steep path over a mountain to the other bay where we would camp).  It made things a bit tough but we were fortunate to have beautiful weather for our time there and we caught a concert on the island featuring Jordan Luck, formally a lead singer in a Kiwi band, The Exponents.

Mangawhai Heads tent site

- We got back to the mainland and stayed another night in Paihia at the hostel and had Amanda's knee checked out before heading south to Mangawhai Heads about 2 hours north of Auckland.  Another small beach town, this time we set up our tent at a site directly in front of the beach.  We took in another concert on Friday night (Fat Freddy's Drop, another Kiwi Band) and then lounged around the next morning, slowly coming to terms with the fact that the vacation was over.

Flight around Auckland

- The Sunday after we returned we closed out the vacation with a voucher I purchased to fly around Auckland in a small prop plane.  As we taxied to the runway I nervously asked the pilot how long he had been flying.  With three years under his belt and the plane already lined up to takeoff, I decided I didn't have much of a choice but to stay calm.  I was happy I did.  It was an amazing experience and I even got to fly the plane a few times.  Of course, I noticed he always checked to see that it could basically fly itself before handing over the controls, but I actually appreciated that over the alternative of plummeting to the earth under my control.

I spent two full weeks on the road.  Have become quite tan for the first time in years.  Cherished spending time with all of my friends here.  And absolutely LOVED spending time in New Zealand without the stress of a job.  Throughout the entire trip I had trouble remembering why I wanted to go back to the United States.  It's such a wonderful country and I have made awesome friends.  I can already feel the melancholy trying to take hold.  It's amazing how my mind changes as soon as the end comes nearer.

Technology Free and Loving It

Today is my first touch with technology in over a week.  No television, mostly no cell phone service, no internet and no computers.  After camping for the last week, it's been a pleasure to bury myself in books and activities that don't involve glaring screens in front of me.  Today I'm breaking the trend long enough to let everyone know I'm still alive.  Later, I'm hopping on a ferry and heading to an island for a concert and a few nights of camping in the middle of the Bay of Islands.  The weather forecast looks good and the island campsites are fully booked out - should be a good party.