Rotorua, NZ

Wow, Rotorua, which is about an hour and a half Southeast of Raglan, is an awesome place. They have bungie jumping, zorbing (where you get in a big plastic ball and roll down a hill), dirt biking, a big swing, fishing, a gondola ride, Maori cultural shows and food, and luging.

Yesterday, Cardiff and I narrowed that list down to the Maori show, the gondola ride, and luging. We had heard from a couple people that the luging was a must-do activity in Rotorua so we gave it a shot. After the gondola ride up to the luging area, we strapped on our helmets and rode those little carts for about two hours. To get a picture of what we were doing, it was like taking a mini bobsled with no side walls down a 1 kilometer cement track down the side of a mountain--a track that didn't exactly have any side rails. We started off on the intermediate track to get a handle on it and then spend the rest of the day on the advanced run, which had not one, but TWO jumps in it. Cardiff and I raced down every time, and I must admit, I think he won all but one of them. Still, it was awesome. And lucky for us, two people gave us their tickets for three more rides down when we got there, because they were too cold. Works for me.

After that adrenaline rush, we headed to the Maori cultural show and dinner. It started at about 6:30 at night and lasted until about 10:30. We stared off by sitting down and shouting out which countries we were from before the speaker asked if one of us wanted to act as our group's "chief." I think my hand was up before he finished the question, so I was chosen. It was pretty cool. They had me act like I was a visiting chief who accepted the host tribe's peace token and gave a little speech of thanks for their welcoming us. (This was all very carefully rehearsed beforehand). As a part of the show, we saw a Maori canoe go upstream, watched some traditional dances, and at night, see some glowworms and their sacred spring. It was all pretty interesting. They also showed us a fern whose leaves were silver on the underside, which is the country's symbol. If you've seen an All-Blacks jersey, you know what I'm talking about.

The dinner they provided was tasty too. It was all cooked in a hangi, which is an underground hot-stone oven and takes 5 hours to cook. We had chicken, lamb, and a bunch of side dishes. They definitely gave us enough good food because when the dinner was over, Cardiff and I were pretty stuffed and tired.

Today, we are headed to Taupo, which is another outdoorsy place, and we hope to get in some climbing in the next two days. I'm hoping to do some fishing, too, because at the Auckland hostel, one of the people staying there gave me a fishing pole, complete with bait and tackle, because he was leaving the country. We'll see if any trout decide to take a nibble.

I'll try to add some pictures soon. Talk to you later.

Andy

Raglan and Auckland, New Zealand

Helllloooooo!!!

Well, today was awesome. After three days of rain and sometimes gale-force winds spread between Auckland and Raglan, the sun showed it's beautiful face this morning. I didn't realize how much I needed to get outside, run around, and get some sun on my face until I woke up to clear blue skies.
Cardiff and I are staying at the Raglan Backpacker's hostel right now, and it's basically paradise. We are 30 feet from an inlet that we can kayak on, less than a block from a grocery store (rather than an uphill, rainy walk away from a little corner store like we were in Auckland), and a five minute drive from some SWEET surf. Not to mention the people here are friendly, the beds are comfy, and they have hammocks that are perfect for lying back and reading a book. In between kayaking, bike riding to a dump to try and find a cheap rash guard (unsuccessful), surfing, and general relaxation, I've made some serious headway in "The Cider House Rules."
Around 12 today, we headed out to the beach with our rented surfboards and, dare I say--frolicked in the waves? It was so much fun I didn't want to leave. Taking the biggest board they had, which makes getting up on a wave easier, was definitely a good choise. I stood up just about every time I caught a wave--a far cry from the one and only time I stood up the last time I tried surfing. I did catch the fin of my board in the ribs in the first few minutes, so I'm hoping for a cool bruise.
Basically, today made up for three days of sitting in the Lantana Lodge in Auckland, eating PB&J's, reading, and surfing the internet with Cardiff while it rained constantly. We did go on a somewhat eventful trek to the Auckland Museum one day. It involved a wrong left turn that took us in the exact opposite direction of where we were headed, but did give us a good view of the white-capped water of the bay, not to mention a test for our rainwear. When we did get to the museum, we saw a wide variety of Maori woodwork, which was impressive, and some exhibits of New Zealand wildlife. There used to be a bird on these islands that was 9 FEET TALL. Very impressive. Kiwi birds were also spread about the museum.
Well, my time on the internet just ran out so the screen went black. Here's hoping that what I'm typing is still going through.

Till next time.

Andy

Sydney, Australia!!

I made it!!
(Attempt #2 at this entry after somehow deleting the first one)

Quantas has officially become my favorite airline. The flight was almost 2 hours shorter than expected, there were TV sets on the backs of everyone's seats, the fish entree was good, and all of the steward(ess)s were very friendly. Not to mention the movies, music, and tv shows on demand for everyone. Never before did watching three movies with a four hour nap in the middle feel so good.

Right when I arrived at the hostel and set down my bags, I set out to see the Opera House and Harbor Bridge. I headed out the wrong direction. Luckily, my mistake led me directly to the Sydney Aquarium, which was amazing. I saw my first platypus in person and was suprised at how small it was (only about as long as my forearm) and how much it looked like all of the stuffed animal platypuses (platypi?) I've seen. Sadly, it successfully thwarted my attempts at taking its picture. The 8-foot shark in the walk-through aquarium was not so successful.
















After a good two hours of staring at cool water creatures, I decided it was time to head to the Opera House, wherever it was. Here's how it turned out--


















One $3 water bottle later (food is expensive despite the favorable exchange rate) and another experience of being slightly lost, I made it back to the hostel to decompress before dinner. All in all, a pretty great first 20-something hours.

Hope everybody's doing well at home.

Andy

T-Minus 28 Hours

Well, I'm heading out of SFO in a little more than a day now and just trying to get everything ready to go.
Tickets--check
Hostels for the first two nights--check
All of the clothes and climbing gear I own spread out across the floor of my room--check

Still need to do:
get a thermarest
figure out my phone situation

So, it looks like I'm more than halfway done, which is nice. I think I'm going to watch some Seinfeld with my mom as a part of my farewell to America and get ready for a nice, long flight tomorrow night.

Hopefully my next post will be a little bit more interesting.

Andy