Ah, today we're goin on a trup down the river!

Where else in the world can you sit in a pub and watch the world championship of sheep shearing!? Sure, it wasn’t my first choice of programming. But by the time I was done chowing down on my New Zealand lamb burger complete with beetroot relish, I can honestly say I was thoroughly entertained by the sight of these poor sheep being shaved of all of their wool.

New Zealand is my next stop on this journey where I get to spend 28 full days! That’s more time spent here than in any other country I have ever visited before.  I’ll be splitting my New Zealand blog entry into two parts, North Island and South Island.

My visit to New Zealand begins in the North Island, in the city of Auckland. I’ve heard many an opinion about this bustling city in the land of the Kiwis. Most Americans I’ve spoken to said they hated it, it lacked substance … yaddi yadda … and some even said, there’s simply nothing to do. But, alas, I know someone who lives in Auckland … no surprise there.

Let me preface this by saying, James and Cheryl are by far one of the best hosts I’ve ever had. I’ve never felt so spoiled and so comfortable at anybody’s house than when I stayed with them. Cheryl is a cousin of my first cousin, Jay, whom I met in New York when she was over for Jay’s graduation from university. In Filipino terms, we are family, despite not being actually related. Fast forward two years, and there I was meeting up with Cheryl and James in the Sky tower lobby in the heart of the CBD. It felt a bit like the amazing race – catching public transport to the city, getting a text to meet in the Sky tower, and making my way on foot from the pier with my two packs in tow.

After a short drive from the CBD, we arrived at home base in Mount Albert, one of the fifty or so dormant volcanoes around the city. I got settled in and we headed on out to Devenport for dinner on the north shore of Auckland. Before getting to dinner, we stopped by Mt. Victoria, another crater, and took in the sweeping view of the city skyline all lit up against the sunset. It felt a bit like Boston actually - the hills, the water, and the ships - I definitely felt at home. Onto dinner …

Cheryl and James picked Manuka, a restaurant in the Devenport, just across the harbor from Auckland CBD, reachable usually by ferry. As soon as I saw lamb on the menu, I knew what I wanted. I didn’t plan much before coming to NZ, but if there was one thing I knew, it was that they have good meat. We talked about my plans for NZ and they gave me ideas of what to do in Auckland.

 One of the highlights of the trip so far, is definitely the island of Waiheke. Set in the gulf next to Auckland, Waiheke is easily accessible by ferry. Beaches, hills, and vineyards, what more could you ask for? I spent a full day on this island, taking in the views, the sea breeze and the rolling hills dotted with a number of boutique wineries. After I hopped off the 2 hour island explorer, I made my way via bus to the middle of the island where I went vineyard hopping … on foot. I thought it was funny really. There I was rubbing shoulders against the jet set, sniffing their way through expensive tasting pours of wine and careful not to spill anything on their white pressed shirts as I sniffed and swirled away with my day pack and heading off on foot.

Stoneyard Ridge Vineyard - view from the deck

 I found quite a gem at Stoneyard Ridge vineyard. Little did I know that it was one of the best vineyards on the island. I got my two tasters of wine, both red, a malbec and a cab sauv/merlot blend. I took my glasses and I sat on this deck overlooking their vines. It was one of those moments where I was reminded just how lucky I am.

After returning from Waiheke, I met up with a buddy of one of my college friends from Boston. Ian had been traveling the world for about 9 months now and just happened to be also in New Zealand. We met up for a beer and I invited him to a BBQ back at Cheryl’s.

Cheryl and James hosted this amazing bbq and invited a few friends to come over. Khristina, Kay Anne, Joey, Meg, and Bakla are all good people. The BBQ was a lot of fun and was meat-heavy to say the least. I think I can speak for both Ian and myself when I say how happy I was to be eating a feast. As a backpacker on a budget, you never really know when you’re going to give in again and have some meat. The bbq was capped with a traditional Kiwi dessert, the Pavlova, a light merengue sort of cake topped with whipped cream, cherries (and sometimes berries) and shaved chocolate.

The following day, I met some of the same people again when we headed off to Eden Park to catch some Rugby! James did an excellent  job with the seats and got us four rows back from the pitch. The game between the Auckland Blues and Wellington hurricanes was phenomenal. The match was close with the last try being  scored by the Wellington captain, Conrad, with 10 seconds left to the clock. The 2 point conversion kick at the end took the Hurricanes past the Blues by one point, 26-25! The Hurricanes fans went wild, much to the chagrin of the crowd. Birdie, a friend of James’, and myself were the only two rooting for the ‘canes in our group.

My visit to Auckland ended with an awesome Yum Cha lunch with the rest of the Auckland family. And I must say, despite all the detractors, Auckland is “O for Awesome”.

From Auckland, I headed off to Rotorua, land of geothermal vents. Some call it Rotovegas, I call it Stink-o-rua (Thanks Cheryl!). As soon as you wake up, the smell of rotten eggs overtakes you. It doesn’t matter if you’re sleeping indoors

After a bed mix-up in the middle of the night with a traveler from New Caledonia, I woke up to a full day in Rotorua. Let me save you the trouble of looking that country up – it’s a pacific island between NZ and Australia and it’s language is French, not hand gestures and  a series of “tsks” and “tsups”, despite my first experience with the latter. Right … back to my first day in Rotorua. I explored around and found some geothermal vents in the center of town. They were cool but I had booked a tour of the Wai-O-Tapu geothermal wonderland. They were not lying about the wonderland bit.

Devil's Bath, Wai-O-Tapu

Rotovegas

Boiling mud, mineral pools in every shade, and steam vents from everywhere, they were not lying about it when they named the place. I had two hours to explore and I ran to complete all 3 tracks and see all the features. It was hot, I was sweating, and I couldn't get my camera settings fast enough but it was fun. I was also trying to work out an appetite for what's to come for dinner. My favorite was definitely the Champagne pool and Devil's bath. 

After working up an appetite running around geothermal features, I went to a feast at a Maori village - a hangi. It was a good opportunity to learn more about the native Maori culture and also get some good feed. The hangi started off with a little cultural experience; witnessing the hongi - the traditional Maori greeting - or sharing of one breathe, learning the haka, seeing a pa or a pre-European Maori village and the best part, eating a lot of damn food! 

It's like a luau really, food is cooked in the ground over hot volcanic stones for hours and you devour it. Roasted lamb, chicken, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots ... fish, mussels, beet root. It was fantastic. I hadn't eaten so much in a long time. I was savoring it then as I knew my diet and eating habits would shortly change for budget reasons.

At dinner, I joined Mike and Mo, a couple from Vancouver. They were apprehensive at first when I sat down, quickly asking if I was American. I guess the Boston t-shirt was a dead give-away. After finding out they were from Vancouver, I assured them that I am not really a hockey fan. With that sorted, we had a great time over dinner. Mike and Mo have been doing the working and travel gig for quite some time and they gave me hope that yes, the lifestyle that I want, is possible and people do it.

Rafting over a waterfall

The next day I did a whitewater rafting trip. I've gone rafting before but I was really excited for this one. We got to raft down a 7m waterfall, the highest commercially rafted waterfall. There were 2 waterfalls on that ride, a 1m practice then the big kahuna. It was pretty awesome and made me feel that the trip was really starting. 

After Rotorua, I headed off to Wellington. The bus ride was a long 8 hours but it felt quite short. It was really scenic with the landscape switching from thermal vents steaming in the sunrise, to the central plateau farmlands down to Lake Taupo and views of volcanoes. 

Wellington was pretty nice but I wasn't really feeling too good about being in a city. I went to Te Papa museum and saw the giant squid that was caught off Antarctica a few years ago that was heavily publicizd on TV as it's the only giant squid to ever be caught alive. It's now preserved and is the centerpiece at Te Papa museum. 

It's a giant sea monster, measuring in at nearly 4 feet long, equipped with a beak and rotating hooks on it's tentacles. It's eyeballs are the size soccer balls. Scientists still don't know why the creature decided not to let go of it's prey when the tuna started getting pulled up. 

Wellington Harbour

I also went to a soccer semifinal match between the Wellington Phoenix and Sydney FC. And I must admit, I am disappointed by the lame chants of the crowd. I had that awkward moment when the ref made a bad call ... terrible call really ... and I started chanting "bullshit". And all I got were blank stares before the crowd turned their heads forward and chanted "you don't know what you're doing". And I thought, really?! That's the best you could do?!?!

Aside from those two, I pretty much took it easy in Wellington and took in the great views of the city. I went for a run each day; down the coast and up Mt. Victoria. I enjoyed North Island, I was really starting to look forward to South Island.