Mercury Bay to Taupo: From underground to 15000 ft!

Kia Ora!!
Hello everyone, and welcome to a friendly information update about the wonderful country of NEW ZEALAND! First off, yes, everyone drives on the opposite side of the road and this does make for a bit of a pause until you are absolutely, 100% sure that no cars are coming (and makes you think that 10 year old kids are driving the vehicles until you realize that their parents are driving from the right side of the car...oops). The prices here are incredibly amazing if you are from Canada (among other places). Yes, they are cheap, but what I mean is that if it says $5 for a pint of beer, then yes, it is $5 for a pint of beer!! No tax, no tip, just five WONDERFUL dollars! And, funny enough, there are no pennies or nickels. The lowest form of currency is 10 cents, and the bills are conveniently made of a thin sort of plastic so you can send them through the wash or try your hardest to rip them and they'll be as good as new! (why hasn't north america caught onto this??) There are not really any poisonous or dangerous animals/critters here (I honestly don't know WHY i'm going to Australia after this (home of all species of dangerous animals, or so it seems), but i guess you gotta try it once, right?) I am loving jumping into water or trudging through the grass and not worrying about encountering anything that could choose to eat me :P

A sandal is called a 'Jandal' because it looks like a 'Japanese sandal', you will hear "Sweet as, bro!" more times than you can count in one day, and if someone says, "Yip, yip, yip....naw" then this means " yes, yes, yes...no" and you should only listen to the last answer they give as you have been asking the question....which, in this case, is 'no'. Reststops are surprisingly clean and always full of toilet paper (a miracle in my books!), and although there are plenty of farms and mountains here, I actually find the landscape similar to that of Colombia (go figure!): lush and verdant with a variety of bush and trees; including the fern tree (a palm tree, but with ferns instead of palm fronds....a personal favorite). The views have a plethora of green colours....and these will also change depending on whether the sun is out or if there is cloud cover. It is amazing that these bus trips can be entertaining just from looking out a window! If New Zealand were a person....it would be a beautiful, volumptuous adrenaline junkie :P

Which leads me to my next point....all the activities that there are to do here! Holy frick...I swear that I've spent at least $2500 already...and yes, it is still my first week [insert tear drop here]. But as my new friend Savannah says: "You only regret money that you don't spend!" And so goes the mantra for the kiwi experience bus tour....

Last Wednesday we went to Auckland for a friendly night of $5 personal jugs of beer and poledancing (led by our lovely instructor, Savannah). [note: this led to a small, but tender bruise on the underside of the left, upperthigh....ew]. After some fun dancing (and one excellent strobe light!) we were off the next morning to Mercury Bay via Cathedral Cove. Cathedral Cove is in Coromandel which is home to a national reserve that boasts many a beautiful beach. This cove is no exception. It's famous for those pictures of people standing underneath the great arch of eroded rock....unfortunately the arch has recently been prone to rockfalls and was a little dangerous to walk through, but we still kayaked out there across the ocean, got our arch pictures (wonderful jump shots, mind you) and then had our kayak guides treat us to lattes, cappucinos, and hot chocolates on the beach....how random is that?? Then we headed on the Mercury Bay for a home-cooked meal of spaghetti bolognese [we stayed at Turtle Cove Hostel: $26/night with $7 spaghetti meal....great little hostel, but sadly, no skype]. The next day we were off to Rotorua, home of some tremendous thermal hot spots, but first with stops in the beautiful Karangahake Gorge and Matamata, also known as Hobbiton where the Lord of the Rings was filmed (and of course a cheesy pictures with the Gollum statue, hee hee). The thermal pools in Rotorua were really quite bewildering....even the street grates were leaking thermal smoke from the underground. A strong smell of sulphur permeated the air and you could get away with passing any silent farts that you wanted....not that I did, honestly ;) That night we went to an authentic Maori cultural show and dinner. George, my son for the trip...that will be explained later, was named chief of our tribe (aka the bus) and had to participate in ceremonies and haka dances....makes a mother proud, eh?! The feast we ate was cooked in a covered pit in the ground and was as scrumptious as christmas dinner!! Honestly delicious!

The next day we headed to the Luging on a hill overlooking Rotorua and sped down hills on small un-motorized go karts...controlled by whether you push forward (faster) or pull back (slower) on the handles.....I went rather slow (such a tame person, eh?), while I watched others zoom by and try to crash eachother. I must admit that my timidness may have been due to the story about a girl who was recently on kiwi experience and shaved off a layer of forehead skin when she skidded off her luge while maneuvering a corner. No thank-you!! We then continued the thrills in agroventures where Stine, Kim, Savannah, and I tried out the Freefall extreme. Basically you get suited up in a jump suit and then lay out over net which is positioned over a high-powered fan and you try to float on top of it. A great warm-up for skydiving!! :P

We then headed to Waitomo and the enchanting glow-worm caverns. I suited up for the Black Labrynth...a trek that took us through rocks, into underground caverns, and floating through giant caves on innertubes in a frigid river. Luckily we were completely covered in wetsuits and were able to comfortably enjoy the magic of the tiny 'maggot poo' of the glow-worms twinkling overhead....how romantic ;)

After a night in Waitomo, we ventured on to Taupo where we stopped at the majestic Haku Falls for some picture opportunities, and then off to SKYDIVING!!! I had always wanted to do it, but only recently have I gotten over the fear of spending money and decided to get the dvd of the experience....I was so glad that i did! (NZ $500, which is $375 CND for jump, DVD and T-shirt...not bad!) The jump was fantastic, superb, and out of this world!! The only moment of fear was when I was scooted towards the door and was literally sitting on my tandem partner with all of my limbs dangling out of the plan....situated 15000 ft above Lake Taupo....what a rush!! Then the jump, and then....pure bliss!!! You reach terminal velocity so quickly that all you can think about is: "What dance move did I want to do for the camera??" LOL! After the rush of the freefall for over a minute, the cord was pulled and we floated/spiraled gently to the safety of earth. This experience was not to be missed and I smile everytime that I think back to it!!

Tomorrow I head out to the east coast in an 'add-on' tour called East As. It focuses on Maori Culture, sunrises on the eastern most point to see the sun rise in the morning, and....hot tubs? haha.....perhaps even an International Idol comp thrown in just for good measure! And you KNOW that I'll be on top of that one!!

I've been attempting to keep up with yoga while I'm here, and my good friend Stine is definitely keeping me to it!! It's a great and relaxing way for us to get some extra toning while not breaking a sweat, haha! I've also been dubbed the 'Mum' of the trip as I am one of the oldest girls on the bus, I am 'cultured' (which means that I drink a glass of wine with dinner while everyone else drinks 3 pints of beer), I am not interested in any romantic adventures, and I go to bed whenever I darn well please! (yes, this means earlier, rather than later). The boys on the bus have especially taken to calling me Mum, and Georgie even asks me to do his laundry...how sweet, haha. But it's a great excuse for doing what I want to do (aka: going to bed early), because, as we all know, Mum knows best!! ;P There's a lot of snoring in the dorm rooms, followed by early bus trips (usually before 8 am everyday)....but that is just making me look even more forward to heading to Fiji and relaxation after this whirlwind trip!!

Miss y'all!! And yes, all these activities are expensive, but they are definitely not to be missed while in New Zealand!!
PS- first person to comment on what 'Kia Ora' actually means wins bragging rights!! :)