Quit Dreaming and Go Somewhere

Click here to see a map of my route in the North Island.

Here is my route in the South Island.

BEST: The drive from Te Anau to Milford Sound, and the cruise there. Driving in the south island in general!
Also, the sale at Kathmandu!
Also, the fight over the TV at the hostel in Christchurch.

WORST: Driving in Whangarei…ugh, all-day traffic jams in a tiny town are just unecessary.
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The next morning was the Saturday Market in Rarotonga. I was very excited. It turned out to be pretty good, too. Jim got a fish and chicken kebab and a steak sandwich. I got a gross egg and ham sandwich. We both got coconut buns that were delicious. Then we got a coconut that the lady put a straw in. It actually tasted kind of gross, plain coconut juice. We ended up throwing it out after we took pictures with it. We both had fun. There was music and it didn’t seem disgustingly touristy.

It was also the first sunny and hot day and I wanted to go in the water, but we had to get on our flight to Aitutaki!

Zee plane!

We hitched a ride to the airport and got on the tiny tiny plane, only three seats across! It was a 40 min flight and when we first took off, I almost freaked out, because it was such a tiny plane and we were flying right over water…it was just weird! I had to force myself to breathe and calm down. I honestly felt a tiny panic attack coming on, but it went away.

View from the airplane!
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The road in Rarotonga is basically, well, just one road and it goes around the perimeter of the island. It takes about 40 minutes to drive around the whole thing. Lots of people ride motorbikes.

We rode the motorbike to opposite the Fruits of Rarotonga store, where there is supposed to be great snorkeling. It was still overcast so Jim went in and said the visibility wasn’t great. However, when I was standing there I saw like 30 silver fish jump out of the water at the same time in the distance. That was cool.

Crabs everywhere!
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We arrived in Rarotonga at 1 AM from Auckland and the Backpacker place had a van there to pick us up. Lots of us packed into the crappy van and drove to the hostel, and I noticed lots of stray dogs in the streets. Finally we got to our room and it was nasty. We killed some mosquitos and I dropped something and it rolled under the bed and when I got it, it was covered with grossness. The window screen was full of holes and was patched many times over, poorly.
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Click here to see a map of where the Cook Islands are.

Kia Orana!

I only have a second, but I wanted to say that Rarotonga is beautiful and we also spent a few days in Aitutaki, another island here. I’ll be home in Michigan in a week!!

See you later!

We leave for Rarotonga tonight, so it may be a while until you guys hear from me again! After there we go to Tahiti for a day and then I think we are in LA around June 8. I am also hoping to stop home in Michigan before going back to New York.

We ate Oporto again last night and for lunch today. It is THAT GOOD!

In the guidebook it says there are so many avocados and coconuts in Rarotonga that they feed them to pigs. Awesome!

See you later!!!

A pic to remember NZ by! (I think this is outside Taupo)

Still stuck in Auckland. We call every day to try to get on an earlier flight, but they are booked.

So now we really are leaving tomorrow at around 7 pm. I am excited to go to a new place, and Rarotonga will be awesome. (I found a neat website. www.virtualtourist.com.)

So…yesterday we planed to take a short ferry to the volcano island, but it was pouring rain all day. So we got a day pass for the bus and went to Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic something or other. It had a replica of the explorer Scott’s hut and a walk-under aquarium. The one in Sydney was MUCH better so we weren’t impressed, unfortunately. The best part was when a little ride (A Snow Cat, like they use in the Arctic) goes thru their penguin enclosure. The penguins were awesome! But other than that, it wasn’t that great.

So we rode back and ate Oporto chicken burgers again. (For the third time. God, it is good.) I don’t even remember what else we did. Went back to the hostel, did laundry for probably the last time….

Then today we went to the wharf to cruise to the volcano, but it didn’t really sound that interesting. Sounded like it didn’t even look or feel like a volcano once you got there. So we took a very short ferry to the north shore (included on the day bus pass) and walked around for a while then came back and ate at a food court. They have great food courts here and they are everywhere and you know there will be Chinese, Japanese, Fish & Chips, Indian, Thai and more represented. They are great for us since Jim loves sushi and I hate it and I love Indian and Jim is sick of it.

So that’s about it, not much interesting to say.

In Rarotonga, there won’t be much net access and it will be expensive, so don’t expect much from me, unfortunately. Just hope I don’t get killed by a falling coconut (don’t laugh-it’s a real danger!)

See you later alligators!

Jim and I decided we were ready to leave Auckland tomorrow for Rarotonga and we called Air NZ to change the tickets and they said nothing is available any sooner. So we are stuck here for TWO MORE DAYS!! We were already bored of it here after one day. And it kills me to think that we are wasting time HERE that we could be spending in tropical paradise, OR that we could have spent MORE days someone else in NZ. ANYwhere else in NZ would have been better than here, almost. It’s just a regular big city. The only perk is cheap internet!! $2 an hour baby!

So anyway, yesterday we got here and ate the Oporto like I mentioned before. Then we paid to go to the top of the big tower that overlooks the city. It was neat. The best part was when this guy bungy-jumped off it. We were all inside and a flashing sign said, “Jumper in 5 minutes” and all the people inside the tower waited, and suddenly a guy on a string popped in front of our window, dangling a zillion feet above the earth! (I think it is the longest bungy in the world from a building or tower or something.) Then his cord released and he went down. It was cool.

View from the top. See the volcano in the background.

On the way out I bought some Manuka honey face scrub. I lost my face wash (AND my trusty cheap plastic watch from Thailand!) in the last hostel. I have to admit, the honey stuff is neat and makes my skin feel soft.

After that I don’t remember what we did but it was probably boring. That night we ate lamb kebabs (I forgot to tell you, I found another meat that I like. Lamb. To me it is like beef flavored and beef colored, but the texture is way less fatty.)

Today we ate Oporto for an early lunch again. I think we are done with Oporto. It made my stomach hurt. Then, since we know we have so much time here, Jim went to a movie and I took the bus to an outlet shopping mall. It turned out to be crappy, but there was some cheap Adidas stuff there and I got a super cheap t-shirt and shorts. I came home and then went to a jewelry store and finally bought my mom’s present. Woohoo, it is so pretty but I can’t say any more. Then I caved and bought these awesome black Tahitian pearl dangly earrings for 50% off, $60 NZ (like $35 US).

I forgot to mention, we went to a used book store and found the Rarotonga book immediately. I was so pumped that we didn’t have to buy it new! So I’ve been pouring over that and getting more excited. It seems pretty cheap and the book just goes on and on about how stunning and gorgeous it is!

Argh, again frustrated at the lack of internet access (sometimes it is just Jim not letting me go. Heh.)

So we got to Rotorua, Jim went on his rafting trip, and the rest of the day we took it easy. That night we went to a nice restaurant because Jim wanted some good seafood. He got scallops or something and said it was great. I wasn’t even that hungry and just got some chicken salad thing and it was SO delicious!

The next day we went and did the Zorb! We decided to do the wet version with both of us together. (I was glad I found a 10% off coupon. I love that.) You can go alone and strapped in, or alone with water or with another person or two. We put on our swim suits and they took us to the top of the hill. Jim and I both noticed little jerk bugs biting us on the ankles and actually drawing blood!! They itch like crazy and are all over our feet. Anyway, it was our turn and you jump headfirst into the clear plastic ball and then the guy sprays in a bunch of really hot water. It was crazy being in there!! Then they zip shut the opening and it was SO hot from the hot hot water!
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Last night we went to a quiz night at a local pub and there was a quiz on famous faces–name them and split $150 with your team. Jim and I kicked butt and knew every person except 3 rugby sports guys, and then the British guy on our team somehow got the sports guys names and we were set….we had all of them! I was pumped. Then the announcer said only one team got them all right, and he said another team’s name!!! I was like, what??? How??? Then the British guy n our team said one of our rugby guy’s first names was wrong!!!!!!! I was so mad, we had it in the bag, and he screwed up. It was his responsibility!

Anyway, aside from losing $75…..

The next morning we started the drive to Rotorua, and I was excited to go to see thermal areas, eat Hangi food (Maori food cooked in the ground) and lie in mud and hot springs. And Jim is going to Zorb.

Before we got there, we stopped at Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland. It was really neat!! First we went to Lady Knox geyser, which erupts every day at 10:15. It was still going when we got there and was neat to see. My first geyser!

The geyser.

Then we drove to the mud pools, and they were awesome!! Just imagine what dozens of thick mud bubbles sound like. Ha ha. It was neat.

The rest of the park was great too. First of all, it all stinks so bad like eggs (sulfur). You walk around and see big craters with hissing steam coming out and water and mud bubbling in the bottom. There is tons of yellow, orange, green, and red colors everywhere because of the minerals. It was indescribable!! All sorts of weird formations and waterfalls and bodies of water and steam and stuff! Weird!

Us making shadows on a yellow sulfury crater.

I saw the most un-natural color I have ever seen in nature in this pool of water. It was like the color of the slime they always used on Nickelodeon. It looked un-real!

Pic: This is a shallow pool with steam and weird colors.

After that, we got to town and went to the hostel and Jim asked the lady if there was Grade V white water rafting here, and at that moment there was a guy there pciking up another person to go and do it! So Jim grabbed his swim trunks and he is there now.

See you later!