Mid Tri Break: The Final Part.

   Friday was the most amazing day I’ve had in a while. Once I got over my mixup of the morning that is. I had planned to take the ferry over to Waiheke Island to go on a zip line adventure, but I went to the wrong ferry terminal in the morning! Ooops! I felt so defeated after having run all the way to the terminal so as to not be late, and to find out I had made such a big mistake. It was an easy fix though – I walked over to another wharf downtown, and got on a different ferry. My day wasn’t ruined after all! I got on the Fullers ferry to Waiheke at 8:15, and we were on the island by 8:50. It was a short trip indeed.

Goodbye Auckland!

   The Ecozip Adventure Company picked me up at the terminal, and we had a ‘mini tour’ on the way to the zip line site. The driver told us some cool facts and stories about the island, and we saw some spectacular views. I’m convinced that Waiheke Island is paradise! Only 8,000 people inhabit the island. It’s about 20 km long. The climate is warmer and drier than Auckland, even though it’s so close to the mainland. It’s known as The Island of Wine, because there are several award winning wineries on the island. The climate and location make it an ideal vineyard spot! Don’t worry, I went to a lot of vineyards to taste the wine and make sure it was good.

Welcome to Waiheke!

   Anyways, the Ecozip site was on top of Trig Hill, so once we got up there, we could see most of the island. I can’t even describe how amazing the view was! The group I was in all got situated, put our belongings in lockers, and went up to the first tower. We put on our harnesses and helmets up there with help from our 2 guides, and we were almost ready to go! We got a safety briefing, and watched one of the guides go down before us. He had to be on the other side to catch us, but it was nice to see how fast he went, and what the first line would be like.

Lookin' good and ready to go!

The top of the first zip line.

   There were two zip lines side by side, so we went down in pairs. There were 3 different lines in total. The group went down the first line in pairs, then we all met up at the bottom. The first line went over a little vineyard, and was relatively slow. It was a nice way to ease into it! We all walked down to the start of the second zip line, and went down in pairs again. This line was a little more intense! It went faster, and it was on top of the native bush. I took a video of this one, check it out!!

   Once again, we all met at the end of the second line to walk down to the third. The walks between each line were pretty short. The third line was the fastest and tallest. We were 55 metres from the forest floor! This line started out in the trees, then it opened up and it felt like I was flying. It was so so so much fun.

The top of the second line.

The top of the third line.

   After we had all come down 2 by 2, we met up at the end of the third line and loosened our harnesses. It felt so good to loosen all the tight straps and take off my helmet! The group started out on our bush walk back to the Ecozip headquarters. It took about a half hour. We were walking through dense native bush, and we stopped along the way to hear some info from the guides. It was really neat to see and hear all about it!

Our native bush walk back to HQ.

   The Ecozip company shuttle took me back to the ferry terminal after I was all done there. I rented a car, because I figured that would be the easiest and fastest way to get around the island. It’s big and hilly, and I wouldn’t get far if I was trying to walk!

Motorin'

I’m a little out of practice driving, but it was a piece of cake once I got used to it. Driving on the other side of the road isn’t so bad! I mostly drove around to wineries on the island. First, I went to a winery called Goldie. The wine was delicious, and the vineyard was set on a little hill overlooking the sea. Beautiful!

Wine for days!

I then went to Wild on Waiheke, which makes beer and wine on the island. I tried their beers, which included a ginger beer and a cider. Yum! This island really knows what they’re doing!

My yummy lunch and beer sampler.

I also went to the Poderi Crisci Italian winery. It was decent, but not as good as the first! I was not ready to leave the island after all the wineries had closed down. Since I had the car for the rest of the day, I drove around and explored. I did a big loop of the island. I probably said “oh my god” a thousand times that day. The views of the island were incredible. It may be the most beautiful place I have ever been. After being there for just one day, I already want to live there! However, most of the real estate costs around a million dollars, so I’ll have to get rich first…

Even the farmland on Waiheke was beautiful.

   I drove around the island past sunset, and watched a beautiful full moon come up. I had to pull over a lot to take pictures. I can’t even believe how stunning the whole island was, day and night. After I finished my loop of the island, I went to Oneroa village and had dinner at a cute little restaurant called Vino Vino. I also had wine, because I had to! I’m on the Island of Wine after all! I drove back to the ferry terminal, dropped the car off, and discovered I still had an hour till the next sailing back to Auckland. So, I went to the bar next door and had a beer. What better way to kill time? The ferry departed at 9:30 pm, meaning I had spent over 12 hours on Waiheke. It was so beautiful, and such a good day. It sounds like I drank all day, but it was spread out, and I really didn’t drink all that much! Anyways, it was incredible, and I’m sure that Waiheke is paradise. I would absolutely love to go back again!

Look at that parallel parking job! On the wrong side of the car and the street!

The full moon out over one of the beaches.

   I have had such a busy week! Saturday morning I spent in bed, relaxing, and it felt so good after being on the run so much. I had some plans for the day, but nothing to rigorous as it was my last day in Auckland, and I didn’t want to exhaust myself too much further. I bussed/walked to the Auckland Museum again. I really wanted to see the Maori Cultural performance they have, but when I went on Thursday, it was closed down for ANZAC Day. The performance was really cool, but it was too short! I would have loved to see more! The performers collected those of us who wanted to see the show, and brought us into the auditorium. They chanted, welcomed us, sang a welcome song, and introduced themselves. They were in Maori dress, which is not a lot of clothing. The performers showed us some past time activities, weapons, dance, and the haka, which is like a traditional war cry. I am so fascinated by Maori culture, so I loved the performance.

The lovely performers.

   After the performance, I headed downtown for the Voyager Maritime Museum. I stopped at a little café called The Chocolate Boutique on the way. There was chocolate everywhere.. I was in heaven! It was so so disappointing though! I got a brownie and butterscotch hot chocolate. Sounds good right? Wrong. It was gross. Bummer.

It looked so good! I don't know how it was so bad.

   The Maritime Museum definitely made up for how bad my chocolate experience was. I spent a few hours looking around, but I could have spent all day there. Dad, you would have liked it, and I know you probably would have read everything there! There was so much naval history there, and it was so cool to all kinds of different boats from the Pacific Islands. I wish I could go back, because there’s no way I could absorb everything with just one visit!

There were tons of old canoes from nearby islands, like these two.

Heaps of sailboats!

   It was about dinner time when I left the museum, so I wandered around downtown looking for a place to eat. I settled on the cleverly named Mexican Café, which was such a good choice. I had two of the most delicious tacos I think I have ever eaten. It was the perfect end to my vacation in Auckland!

   I took the bus home after dinner, to pack and prepare for my 6AM flight. I woke up Sunday morning around 3:15 when one of my roommates came home after a night out. How convenient! I would have woken up at 3:30 anyways. I got up, got ready, and finished packing up. I left the hostel at like 4, and walked to the bus stop. It was a little creepy at that hour, but not as bad as I would have expected. I caught the bus to the airport, checked in, and waited till my flight. We took off at 9:05ish and landed around 9:50. Another quick flight! It seemed like we were beginning our descent as soon as we had reached cruising altitude!

The beginning of the flight. The sun is just starting to come up.

Back in Wellington! This was the most beautiful flight I've ever been on.

   Overall, this trip was SO amazing. I had a couple snafus along the way, but nothing major. I had a lot of fun, and I would definitely go to Auckland again. I know I’ve said this a million times, but I am so lucky to be here!

Mid Tri Break: Part 2.

   Oh my goodness, have I had an amazing break! I am totally in awe of New Zealand, yet again. This country is so amazing. I am so lucky to be here!

   Wednesday did not go as I had planned. The weather here has not been the best.. it’s been raining off and on all week. I wanted to walk up Mt. Eden, which is right next to my backpackers. It’s a little volcano outside of the city, and is the 2 highest natural point in Auckland. However, I got a few steps out of the hostel and it started POURING. So I walked back to the hostel after my thwarted attempted. I got soaked!

   I decided to change my plans completely for Wednesday, because the rain did not look like it was going to hold up. I walked to the bus stop (in the rain, of course) and took the bus to Onehunga, a suburb of Auckland. There’s a huge, underground, outlet mall there, so I shopped all day! It was a lot of fun, and I didn’t spend too much money! I’m so proud of myself. While I was shopping, I kept finding clothes with American flags on them. I see them everywhere here! I don’t know what the fascination with our flag is over here, but it is so funny to me!

   After I got done shopping, I took the bus back to the CBD and walked around downtown. I also walked around Prince’s Wharf. I love that Auckland’s CBD is right next to the ocean. On Prince’s Wharf, I went to a place called Freddy’s Ice House. It’s exactly what it sounds like – a bar made out of ice! It was sooo cool – literally! They gave me gloves and a warm jacket, and the bartender and I headed into the cooler where he made me 3 scrumptious drinks. I kept ordering drinks cause I wanted to stay in the bar longer! It was a lot of fun, even though it was just the bartender and I there! There were no photos allowed in the bar, so I only have a few that the bartender took and put on facebook. I had to pay for them, but it was so worth it!

   I couldn’t top Freddy’s Ice House, so I just went back to the hostel afterwards. It was getting late, and I was exhausted! I relaxed for a bit, chatted with some people in the hostel, and went to bed.

   Thursday turned out to be a beautiful day with no rain. I walked to Mt. Eden early in the morning, and it was incredible. As you are walking up, you can see little glimpses of the city through the trees. And when you get to the top, you get a 360°  view of Auckland. Absolutely breathtaking! The path at the top of Mt. Eden surrounded the crater, so in addition to being able to see the city, I was also thisclose to a huge volcanic crater. It was amazing.

The view of Auckland from atop Mt. Eden.

   Not much can top what I’ve already done here in Auckland, but somehow the Auckland Museum did! I took the bus partway there, and walked the rest. Thursday was ANZAC Day, which is basically a day of remembrance for Australians and Kiwis who served in war. There was a huge celebration at the museum, and there were tons of people. I wandered around for a couple hours, and I saw a lot. There was so much to see, and a lot of different topics! The museum had exhibits on volcanoes, the ocean, Maori culture, Pacific Islands culture, New Zealand wars, etc. I definitely could have spent all day in there!

A beautiful day at the museum! 

The Pacific Islands.
There was so much culture from this area in the museum, and it was all so fascinating!

No thank you.

A Pompeii victim.

A real Egyptian mummy! I had such a weird feeling being around her.

   After the museum, I went to nearby Parnell Village and walked around. It’s a cute little street with shopping and cafes, but since it was ANZAC day, a lot was closed. Which is a bummer, because I really wanted to look around the village! Anyways, I took the bus to the CBD in the afternoon. I got a Snapper card in Wellington, which makes taking the bus so easy! All I do is tag on and tag off, and it automatically pays the fare. It’s much better than having to fumble with change whenever I get on the bus!

   At this point in the day, and in my vacation, my feet were killing me! I have been walking non-stop (except for when I take the bus) every day. It’s worth it though, because I’m getting to see and do a lot of amazing things!

   Remember the French guy I met on the plane? Well we made plans to meet up Thursday night. He is soo nice! We got drinks and talked for a while. It was nice to be able to have a conversation with someone. I've either been alone, or spoke to people in the hostel. All hostel conversations are the same. "Where are you from? How long have you been in New Zealand?" etc. It's nice to hear all about people from far away, but it does get a bit repetitive. Anyways, it was a nice evening.

Mid Trimester Break: Part 1.

   It’s only the second day of my holiday, but man have I done a lot! I’m exhausted already, and it’s only Tuesday.

   I flew into Auckland Monday night. I was nervous getting to the airport and doing everything by myself, but it wasn’t so bad. I caught the bus, I got to the airport, I checked in, I waited (typical), and I went through security. They stopped me in security and checked my bag. I really didn’t like watching them dig through all my stuff! But apparently my tweezers looked like a blade on the x-ray. Better safe than sorry.

   Anyways, the flight was short and easy. We left Wellington at about 8:10 and landed in Auckland at 8:55. There was hardly any turbulence. I met a really cool French guy on the plane and we chatted the whole time, so it flew by (no pun intended). When we landed, we had to take the stairs off the plane, and walk across the tarmac, cool! I don’t know what I was so nervous about.

   Everything in the airport was closed when I got there, so I wandered around a little bit before getting on a bus to take me to the backpackers I’m staying at. It was after 10 pm by the time I finally got in.. ugh! And I ended up staying awake until 12:30 so I could sign up for classes at Wells. With the time change, it was so inconvenient! But I got to plan out my day Tuesday while I waited.

Just like in the movies!

   I woke up bright and early Tuesday morning to get going into town. I had to stop by the backpacker office, since they were closed by the time I had arrived the night before. The guy that was working showed me how to get to town, and some cool things to do. Before long, I started walking into town. It only took about a half hour, and I saw a lot on my way! I found out there are Dunkin’ Donuts’ here in Auckland, so of course I had to stop by one once I got into the CBD (Central Business District. There’s one in Wellington, too. It’s just the heart of the city). It was similar to the US, but not the same. I still thoroughly enjoyed it!

Oh Dunkin, I've missed you...

My favorite thing about Auckland: When the crosswalk signal comes on,
people swarm the streets and cross every which way!

   Afterwards, I just started to roam around the city. There’s a major street, Queen Street, that runs through the CBD down to the water, so I walked along there and went to some shops. I found the coolest little records store that had a vintage shop in the back. I also walked along Karangahape Road, or K Road. It had a lot of fun, quirky shops. On my way back to the CBD after K Road, I got suckered into donating money to the NZ Paralympics. I didn’t mean to, but the very handsome man totally sweet talked me! A lot! And besides, Paralympics is a good cause. I don’t feel that bad about it..

The view from the verrrryyyy bottom.

   Once back in the CBD, I headed towards the Auckland Sky Tower. It is massive – the tallest building in Auckland. You can see it from all over the city. I bought my ticket and travelled upwards! It has 50-something floors, but it only takes like 40 seconds to get to the top. The elevator had glass panels in the floor and part of the way looking out the elevator door, so you could see the ground zipping away from you. It didn’t freak me out like I thought it would! The first elevator you get on takes you to the main observation deck, which is 186 metres high. There’s another elevator that goes up to the sky deck, which is 220 metres! There are also other floors that have base jumping, tower walking, a restaurant, and a cafe. Once I had had my fill of the view (which was like an hour!) I went back down to ground level and made a reservation for the restaurant. It’s a revolving restaurant, I couldn’t pass it up!

The elevator - on the ground. 

The elevator - 186 metres up!

What I saw when I walked out of the elevator on the main observation deck. Wow!

What a huge city!

The Auckland Harbour Bridge.

They have these glass panels all around the observation deck. Scary! 

Tourists always know how to take the best pictures...

The view from the sky deck, 220 metres.

   I still had heaps of time before it was time to eat dinner, so I went to the Auckland Art Museum for a couple hours. There was so much to see there! It was all amazing artwork. I was so amazed at all of it. There was a lot of variety, which I really liked. There were Victorian paintings, Grecian sculptures, Maori portraits and wood carvings, NZ contemporary art, and the list goes on. It was overwhelming to try to take it all in!

"The Simplest Surrealist Act"

"Lake Wakatipu with Mount Earnslaw, Middle Island, New Zealand"

   The museum closed just as I finished up there, so I walked back over to the Sky Tower for dinner. I still had a little bit of time to wait, so I went back up to the observation deck. Luckily I bought the ticket that allows you to go up as many times as you want per day! When 6:30 finally rolled around, I took the elevator to Orbit, the revolving restaurant. It was so swanky! I felt underdressed. But I was soon distracted by how amazing the food was. I got Tuki Tuki Chardonnay, a huhu ciabatta loaf with an herb butter and sea salt spread, and a capsicum and goat cheese spread, and for my main, grilled hapuka (fish) with smashed peas and ginger risotto. It was so so so good! I definitely deserved a good meal after how much walking I did today!

Yes, I ate dinner alone!

The wharfs and the Auckland Harbour.

The Sky Tower and the moon.

   I inadvertently treated myself to a me-date tonight. I went to the movies after dinner! I didn’t really want to go back to the hostel and be bored, so I bought a ticket to see The Avengers in 3D. It was at 9pm, and I was pretty exhausted by that point, but it was worth it. The movie was so good! However, I lost one contact halfway through the movie, so that was pretty annoying. I had to close one eye the rest of the time! It is so strange to only wear one contact. Plus wear 3D glasses. I would not recommend it. Despite that, I still really liked the movie.

   I was really nervous leaving the movie theatre, because I had to try to get home without being able to see well! I resolved to take a cab, even though I didn’t want to. I found one quickly, and I got home without a problem, so it was a really good idea.

   My first day in Auckland was amazing, and I can't wait to see more of the city!

Auckland Bound!

   I'm leaving for Auckland tonight... how exciting! I'm nervous to fly alone, but the flight is only an hour long. Piece o' cake.

   Anyways, let me back track and tell you about my weekend. It was awesome! Friday evening, I took the bus to Brooklyn, which is a suburb of Wellington. I went to my friend Alice's house to hang out with her and her flatmates and friends. It was just the weekend I needed! Friday night, we made absolutely delicious pizza. The dough was homemade whole wheat, and we put roasted pumpkin (cut up and roasted that night, of course), spinach, tomato, olives, sausage (from Alice's cow), and cheese on top. It was so so so amazing! The pizza was so homemade, and I think that made it taste even better.

Okay, so the leftovers don't look as good.
But it still looks pretty good, doesn't it?!

   After eating as much pizza as we possibly could, we all got in our pjs and got cozy. We watched 10 Things I Hate About You, and somehow ate tons of junk food. What a perfect girl's night in!
   I spent the night in Brooklyn, and the next morning, we started all over again with our feast! Homemade pancakes, banana soft serve, berry compote, cinnamon, and maple syrup were on the menu for breakfast. It was so divine! Can I live there?
   I bussed home later that day, and then spent all day watching movies and eating in my pjs. After being on the move so much, and always having something to do or somewhere to go, it felt so good to do nothing. Sunday was just as lazy, and it was exactly the weekend I had been craving.

   Today, Monday, is the day I leave for Auckland. My flight is at 8 tonight, so I've had all day to get ready. I've been pretty productive! I packed, went to the bank, went to campus, and did some other errands today. I went to campus to hang up flyers for Spanish tutoring - I think it might be the only way for me to make some money over here since my visa doesn't allow me to work. Hopefully some students are interested!
   I've never flown alone before, so this should be interesting. I have to get myself to the airport and then figure out what to do. I'm a little nervous, but I can do it! In 5 short hours I'll be in Auckland, and I can't wait to explore!

My Mundane Week So Far.

   This week has been pretty low key. Are you guys bored yet? I haven’t been having many adventures! That will all change next week, as I’m heading to Auckland for a week. Our mid-trimester break begins 22 April, and I’ll have another week off. It should be heaps of fun exploring a new city!

   Although I haven’t been out exploring much, I have done a few cool things in the past week. Monday was the day of my “pinstrosity.” Pinterest told me that eggs and bananas would give you pancakes, but this is not the case!! I have never failed so terribly at cooking before.

What the pancakes were supposed to look like.

What they really looked like...

   After that fiasco, I walked over to Archives New Zealand, which is only a couple minutes from my flat. There, I saw the Treaty of Waitangi, the founding document of New Zealand. It was amazing to see such a vital part of history! The treaty was stored in a dimly lit room that had a huge vault door. It was a little disconcerting to walk in there alone!

   Monday night, I made up for my banana pancake catastrophe by making the most delicious pasta salad. I had to prove to myself that I am capable of making good food!

   Tuesday and Wednesday were rather routine – class as normal – except that I had exams both days. I had my first exam at Victoria was in my Topics in Environmental Science paper, and it was multiple choice! I couldn’t believe a 300-level paper would have such an easy exam! Overall the schooling here seems much easier though. My other exam was in Spanish, and since I’ve studied Spanish for so long, it was a piece of cake. I’m getting to like university here!

   Since I've had a lot of free time on my hands, I've been noticing my surroundings, and my belief that this country is stuck in the past has been confirmed multiple times. So, here's a short list of some things I see every day that make me think I'm still in the '90s.

• razr scooters. small children, uni students, businessmen and women all ride razr scooters. everywhere.
• high top converse. it's an epidemic.
• old cars. since Wellington doesn't really have a winter, the cars here last longer.
•  mullets and rat tails. why is this okay? when did this become cool again? or in the first place?
•  music. some of it is new stuff, but for the most part we're a little behind when it comes to new releases..
• clothing. Wellington is such a hipster city, people are wearing ridiculous vintage clothing.

An Art-Filled Weekend.

   I feel like I’ve been slacking with my sightseeing lately. So this weekend I tried to do as much as I could in Wellington. I’ve been working on a list of 100 free things to do in Wellington, and I got to cross off a lot on Saturday alone!

   I heard about a protest that was going on Saturday afternoon at Parliament concerning public schooling. I didn’t know too much about the cause, but I went anyways, and it was awesome! I learned a lot while I was there. The government is trying to do a lot of crazy things about the public schools here. New Zealand has one of the best public schooling systems in the world, and the government is trying to introduce charter schools, increase class size, employ unqualified teachers, rank schools on student performance, decrease or delete special education, and the list goes on. All of New Zealand is really against it, so there were protests all over the country today. It was so amazing to be part of a group of people that are so dedicated to what they believe in!

One of many chants.

There were so many of us. 

The main speaker, a principal from a local school.

   Other things I did Saturday include: Old St. Paul’s historic church, the NZ Portrait Gallery, the City Gallery Wellington, and a movie! Old St. Paul’s was absolutely breathtaking.

Can you believe this was all done by hand? Amazing!

   It’s a gothic inspired church built in the 1860s entirely out of native NZ timber. The architecture is beautiful, and it’s hard to imagine it being built by hand so long ago!

Look at those pipes!

Old St. Paul's apparently has an alliance with the US Marines.

   The Portrait Gallery was featuring the paintings of Marianne Muggeridge. There were paintings spanning her 30-40 year career. It was really cool to see the progression of her style.

The gallery. So artsy.

My favorite painting.

   The City Gallery had artwork from a number of different artists, but my favorite was definitely Len Lye. His exhibit, “Kaleidoscope,” had some of his kinetic sculptures as well as films. They were amazing! Cameras weren’t allowed in the gallery, so I couldn’t get any photos. I also heard the curator talk about some of the pieces. It was neat to get an inside perspective and hear some stories about the artwork. After the curator’s presentation, there was a Len Lye movie screening accompanied by live jazz music. Since the bulk of his films were produced around the 30s, they either didn’t have sound or had music. It was so cool, I wanna see more!


Here's one of Len Lye's videos. He made it in 1958 by scratching marks onto small black film strips.

   Saturday night, some friends and I went to see Jack the Giant Slayer. It was so good! We really just went for the popcorn though!

   I didn’t accomplish as much sightseeing as I had hoped Sunday. My foot has been hurting a lot lately, but I have to walk everywhere, so I can’t very well stay off it. I rested Sunday, so hopefully it gets better!