Central Otago

I was able to sleep in a little bit this morning because my wine tour didn’t start until the afternoon, so I decided to go for a run when I woke up. The running path around the lake is beautiful and loops in and out of the trees. Unfortunately, I tripped pretty much immediately after I got to the path and scratched up my phone and cut up my hand, knee, and hip. It really hurts to walk and running in the cold air was making the bleeding worse, so I couldn’t push myself too hard. I kept going though because since I like Queenstown so much, I felt like I needed to run through it.

My wine tour in Central Otago was beautiful. All of the wineries were set at the bases of the mountains. It reminds me of the winery we went to in Italy. I was on the tour with two couples who were both honeymooning. It was kind of weird being with such a small group, but it meant that we got to know each other. We visited Gibbson Valley, Waitiri Creek, Peregrine, and Chard Farm. I didn’t really like any of the wines particularly much, except we did try a fairly sweet Riesling at Chard Farm that was nice, but it cost $38 a bottle L I found out that apparently the sweetness of Rieslings isn’t based on the climate, but instead of how much sugar the maker decides to siphon out of the grape. I must like really sweet grapes because the 7g of sugar wine still wasn’t enough for me. Apparently it can go up to 45g. Even though I didn’t like the wines, it was fun getting to know the couples.

The Central Otago region specializes in pinot noir and pinot gris because of its position on the globe. The 44^th parallel has been determined to be the optimum growing position for the grapes that go into pinot noir. That’s why the wine is so big in Oregon, Central Otago, and Burgundy, France. It’s also starting to get big in Tasmania, which sits on the 42^nd parallel, so it has somewhat similar growing conditions.

Doubtful Sound

I got up at the crack of down this morning, much to the dismay of my roommates who were just crawling into bed, so that I could meet up with my tour coach for the three hour drive to Lake Manapouri. Our group took a leisurely one-hour cruise across the lake to the hiking area on the other side where we were picked up by another coach and driven up and down the mountains to reach Doubtful Sound, one of New Zealand’s many fjords.

I’ve read so much about fjords in Scandinavia that when I started planning this trip to New Zealand, I knew I would need to visit one. Milford Sound is the bigger tourist spot around here, but I discovered Doubtful Sound, which is supposed to be more peaceful than Milford. I was pleasantly surprised that we saw only one other boat on our entire cruise around the sound. We spotted penguins, dolphins, and seals in their natural habitats and the captain even turned off the engine and requested silence from all passengers for a few moments on the sound so that we could hear how peaceful it is out there.

The sea was a little choppy as we got closer to the opening of the sound into the Tasman Sea, but it was beautiful and I’m glad our boat went all the way out to the barrier islands. Even though it made for a very long day, considering I left at 7am and didn’t get back until nearly 8:30, I think it was well worth it. Even after having to put up with a group of annoying Asian tourists and a family from Minnesota that kept trying to adopt me (seriously, the mom came over and asked if I wanted to hang out with them because her daughter was in college too! Gasp!). It seemed like older women flocked to me all day asking me if they could take my picture for me… it was a little weird.

I woke up from my nap on the bus back hungry, so I headed to a cute little diner called Cranky Franky’s that is down the street from my hostel. I ordered the macaroni and cheese and it was like no diner food that I’ve ever seen. It looked gourmet. However, the surroundings were complete fifties diner and they specialized in milkshakes. It’s funny how when I’m on the other side of the world little places like this make me feel at home because they play Grease Lighting and have cheesy décor. The food was fantastic though, albeit rather pricey. But I guess I’m getting used to the cost of eating out down under.

And on to Queenstown...

I didn’t want to spend anymore time in my hostel than necessary today, so when I woke up on my own at 7:30 because of a combination of the noise outside and the couple in my room, I took a shower and packed up.

I ended up getting to the Auckland airport three hours early, which was kind of a bummer because it turns out that they don’t have free wifi in the domestic terminal. I should have just hung out in the city and McDonald’s or something.

My flight to Queenstown was pretty unmentionable. There was quite a bit of turbulence but I slept through it and anything else that might have happened. I caught the Super Shuttle into town for $20, which was more than double what I was expecting for transport here. My hostel is right in the center of town though and it’s very charming. I was given a tour right after checking in around all of the facilties. Minus the fact that they’re shared, the kitchen, bathrooms, and bedroom are all nicer than my place in Sydney and I’m paying less than $30 a night to stay here. There’s also free international calling during reception hours and free wireless internet. It’s like someone realized I needed to hear the word free and decided to indulge me.

I, of course, called Adam right away. I haven’t spoken to him on the phone since Fiji, so it was pretty weird at first. It’s so nice not to have to deal with the issues of skype. I was worried about hogging the phone for too long though, so we didn’t chat for long.

I wasn’t really hungry, even though it was way passed lunch, so I decided to walk around the city and explore. I bought some bread, peanut butter, and apples so that I would have breakfast food in the kitchen and I got a couple of souveneirs from the cute touristy stores. Queenstown seems to be primarily touristic, but that suits me. I could imagine owning a lake house here, set at the foot of the mountains. It’s really beautiful.

I stopped at Patagonia Chocolates for a snack of ice cream. The waffle cone looked burnt but somehow managed to taste amazing with the ice cream in it. The chocolate was a little rich for me though. It started to drizzle and I pretty much walked the whole town including along part of the lakefront, so I headed back to the hostel.

I spent my afternoon reconnecting with the internet before heading out for a late dinner at Fergburger, a well-known burger joint in New Zealand. Luckily for me, there menu includes options for people who don’t eat beef burgers. I settled on the Sweet Julie minus the “salad” plus cheese. It turned out pretty good. There was some kind of chili sauce on it, so it was a little bit spicy, but I really liked the bun and actually ended up eating it like a burger instead of tearing it all apart. I passed out immediately after getting back. Contiki exhausted me.

(Also, I'm out of photo space on my blog, so for photos, check out my facebook!)

End of Contiki

This morning, we got up really early to head back down to Auckland. When we got into Auckland, we waited by the bus for nearly an hour while everyone chatted and some people checked into the hotel that Contiki had organized for those who were willing to pay for it. We decided to all get lunch, but that didn’t end up happening exactly. Instead, I went with a group down the street to check into our hostels and then we went for ice cream.

It seemed like it was going to be difficult to walk around in such a big group and actually do anything, so after saying goodbye to a couple of people heading to the airport, Jacob and I split off from the rest of the group and walked around town.

We tried to find the Victoria Markets but ended up walking way past them to a city on the top of College Hill. It turned out the markets were closed for construction anyways, so we didn’t miss much. We headed back to the city and found a cute little café where I could get some chips for a snack and sat and talked, then we stopped back at my hostel for a little bit so I could show him where I’m staying because he had never been inside a hostel. Finally, we ended up in a mall across the street from the Mercure, where everyone else is staying, and sat and talked for an hour or so. We ended up getting locked in the mall because there was no announcement or anything saying it was closing, the lights just shut off. Luckily, we were able to get out through a restaurant that was still open.

We met up with the rest of the Contiki group still in New Zealand for dinner at O’Hagan’s Irish pub. I had the most amazing steak with mushrooms, barbecue sauce, chips, and a glass of wine. There was no way I could finish it, so I took a doggy bag home for breakfast. While we were waiting for dinner to be ready, we all stood up and said our parting to the group. It was actually a really sweet evening, one that probably maybe the trip for me.

Jacob and I at the Sky Tower -- the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere

Most amazing steak, ever

Parasailing

We were in the Bay of Islands all day today, so I decided to go for a run because of the late rise. Surprisingly, I was able to run right after breakfast and not feel sick. It was a nice run too. Since we were staying pretty close to the beach, it wasn’t as hilly as it would have been elsewhere. I had to keep my run shortish though because I signed up to go kayaking along the coast with a few other people that morning. I ended up sharing a kayak with Ben from Tasmania and we shared life stories. The going wasn’t very rough except for when we had to maneuver through the mangroves.

After kayaking, I took a shower and met up with Jacob before we headed back into town to look at souvenir stores and pick up some ice cream at Movenpick. It had gotten really cold out, so I was freezing by the time we went down to the boat for parasailing.

Parasailing isn’t something that I would really pay to do again. It was okay and the view was nice, but if it had been much windier, I think I would have gotten motion sickness like I do on swings. I was frozen after being on the boat all afternoon, so I put on multiple sweatshirts before we went out with the old group for dinner at an Italian place in honor of our last night on the tour. It was an okay meal, but it took them forever to cook and it was kind of expensive, to me at least. I really don’t like spending more than $10 on a meal and since I always cook in Sydney, I’m still not used to the prices of eating out down here.

Sebastian and I going up

Bay of Islands

This morning came really fast. I was up before 6 and on the bus by 7. Breakfast wasn’t fantastic, so I was happy when I woke up from my bus nap and we were in Auckland. I wandered the streets with Scottie, Sebastion, and Jacob for a little bit. I feel like I have a possie or something. We went and got Burger King, even though it was only 10 in the morning. There wasn’t much else to do. We randomly found the hostel that I’m staying in when we come back to Auckland and I picked up a magnet from the souvenir store.

When we got back on the bus, we were joined by 25 more people on the same tour everyone else has been doing but going in the opposite direction. They got a whole little orientation to Contiki, which kind of made me feel weird about joining in Wellington and not really getting anything special. Then we were en route to the Bay of Islands.

The Bay of Islands is pretty nice. It reminds me of just about any other beachy island town. The group went to dinner at Shippey’s. It was this cute little boat set in the sand next to the ocean. The chicken burger I got with my wine was pretty good, but I ate way too much. 

Auckland as we passed through

Bay of Islands

Sheep and Glow Worms

This morning we were able to sleep in until 8am, which seems like a big deal because I haven’t been getting much sleep. First thing in the morning, we headed to the agrodome and learned about the local sheeps. It seemed very New Zealand, but at the same time, it reminded me of travelling around Ireland. We also watched a sheep shearing demonstration and the feeding of lambs. It would have been really boring except for the hilarity of the MC. Otherwise, I would say my Ireland experience with sheep and sheepdogs was much better.

Agrodome

We spent the rest of the morning driving to Waitomo. We stopped for lunch in a little town and I found a place to get a ham sandwich. Unfortunately, the Asian woman behind the counter didn’t understand me at all and I ended up with a cheese toastie and chocolate milkshake instead. It was alright though. Sebastion ordered way too many fries too and I ate some.

In Waitomo, we moved into our rooms and then Jacob and I went to the caves to see the glow worms. Everyone else went black water rafting, so it was just us in the caves. It was pretty cool though. We had a guided tour that wandered through and looked at the old stalactites and stalagmites that dripped water on us. The coolest part though was taking the boat through the river cave at the end. It was pitch black and the glow worms on the ceiling of the cave looked like the night sky. It was also a little creepy though. It made me think of the 7^th Harry Potter book when they locate the horcrux in the bottom of the well in the cave. Our boat even had a rope attached to it.

Glow Worm Caves

After the caves, we walked back to the hotel and hung out together since everyone else was rafting and the town literally had two little shops and both of them seemed to be closed. We lucked out though that there a playground where we could sit on the swings.

Lake Taupo

My roommates came home on Tuesday night and I was passed out. I remember having a briefish conversation with them, but I don’t really know what was said. I wouldn’t be able to tell you any of their names, for sure. They seemed nice though.

On Wednesday morning, I met up with my tour group for breakfast. It felt kind of awkward because I just wandered in, grabbed some food, and sat down at a table with two girls and this guy. Everyone kind of seemed to know each other already because of the dinner the night before. I later found out though that some of the group has been together for ten days already though. Apparently,, the tour that goes all around New Zealand is also this tour, they just meet up along the way. The only other new guy person who joined up in Wellington was the guy I sat with at breakfast, named Sebastion. It’s funny that I sat down next to him by complete chance. Everyone seems to think we came together though now.

After breakfast, we all got on the bus and headed to Lake Taupo, which was about a five hours drive from Wellington. Along the way, we stopped at a small café called Flat Hills and I picked up a mother. My jet lag was really not helped by my roommates coming home and waking me up, not that I blame them. I did go to bed at 8pm. Behind the café, there was a few corrals with sheep. I also found a baby duckling that looked injured, which was kind of sad. It’s really hilly here and I realized that parts of the  hills look like trees were clear cut from them because they just kind of stop growing in a straight line. I’m not sure why it’s like that, but I feel like it doesn’t have to do with clear cutting, so there must be a reason.

Sheepy in Flat Hills

On the drive to Taupo

Beautiful mountains :)

When we finally got to Taupo, I went straight to the Lake Taupo bungy jump with a few others from the group. The adrenaline was pumping through me long before I took the jump over the river, but I was surprisingly not that nervous. Everyone thought I was nervous though because I wasn’t really talking much. To be fair though, I didn’t feel like I knew any of them. I didn’t touch the water when I jumped because I didn’t want to get wet. It was pretty thrilling though. Jumping straight down wasn’t bad, but the bouncing around after was kind of annoying because I felt like I was going backwards. It also didn’t help that I couldn’t see because my glasses weren’t on. I’m surprised by how easily it was to force myself off the jumping point into the open air. I bought a video of my jump too. Everyone thought I was pretty frozen while I jumped, but I don’t really know what else I was supposed to do. What, am I supposed to wiggle around or something? I would love to go bungy jumping again though, it was really fun.

The jump site

After everyone had jumped, we got a ride from the company back into town and went shopping for our cross dressing costumes for the boat party that night. I lucked out and didn’t need to buy anything because I was able to borrow a tie and beanie and put my hair up in it. Someone donated a mustache to me too, even though I was just going to draw one on. We had dinner on the boat, but it wasn’t very good. It felt like it was just thrown together, which was kind of disappointing since the cruise cost $69.

Wellington

My second flight to Wellington wasn’t too bad. It was on Qantas, so the plane was nicer, and we were served a full lunch because it was an international flight. I got carded when I ordered a vodka and orange with my lunch, probably because I had my hair in pigtails and was watching the Disney channel. I’m doing surprisingly well at staying awake considering I only got about three hours of sleep on the first flight. It was only three hours to Wellington, so I didn’t get any on that one.

I caught the airport shuttle for $20 directly to my hotel because I didn’t realize there were other options until I was already being dropped off. Apparently, there’s a bus that runs nearby too that I could have taken instead. I didn’t really have a moment to think though because the shuttle driver pounced essentially the minute I walked out the door of the airport.

I dropped off my things and, since my three roommates had checked in but weren’t around, I headed out to walk around the city. Wellington isn’t very pretty. Flying in, it looked gorgeous to see the islands. New Zealand is all rolling hills and houses hidden away in the trees. However, on the ground, the city is just kind of dirty. I walked all the way to the other side of the city to check out Katherine Mansfield’s birthplace. I couldn’t go inside because it was already closed, but I took some pictures of the outside. Then I headed back down to the waterfront and checked out the Wellington wharfs. They don’t seem to be nearly as big as wharves in Australia. Granted, I’m not sure where they even go.

Downtown Wellington

Katherine Mansfield's Birthplace

I passed a museum, Te Papa, that I’ve heard a little bit about and sounded interesting, but I got there 15 minutes before closing, so once again, I couldn’t go inside. It’s a bummer because the museum was free except for special exhibits too.

I found the nightlife and pub strip downtown, but I didn’t want to wander into one of the places alone, so I ended  up just getting some McDonald’s so that I could use their free wifi and calling it a night. It wasn’t until I got back to the hotel that I saw someone had posted a sign saying the Contiki group was going out to dinner together. I feel like I missed out on things before I even got here too. It looks like a group of guys went biking today as well and they grabbed dinner together last night too. I didn’t realize that the group would start hanging out before the tour actually started. It’ll be interesting to see what the dynamics are like tomorrow when everyone is together.

Swan Valley

For our final day in Perth, we booked a wine tour through Swan Valley, which is the second oldest wine valley in Australia, beat out only by the Hunter Valley (which I’ve already been to). My mom isn’t huge on wine, especially red, but I still managed to get her to try most of them. Our tour also included cheese and chocolate tastings. In total, we stopped by three wineries, a microbrewery, and a chocolate factory. I think my favorite tasting of the day was the Late Picked Sweet Verdehlo from Houghton Winery. It was just the right kind of sweet. Unfortunately, I couldn’t buy any bottles because I have absolutely no room in my suitcase. It’s going to be interesting if I end up wanting to buy something in New Zealand for sure, but at least that’s the last leg of my trip.

My mom and I at Jarrah Ride Winery

Outside Charlies Estate Winery

After the wine tour, we wandered around the city a bit more. There were a lot fewer people than when we had gotten picked up for the wine tour from the central bus terminal. Perth really seems to be a 9-5 city, which is kind of sad. It makes me wonder where everyone goes for nightlife.

It was getting pretty chilly out though, as the sun went down, so we hopped on the train and headed back to the hostel. We walked down by the ocean one last time before picking up our bags and catching one of two buses to the airport. The bus driver was extremely helpful in telling us where we could get off to catch our transfer and avoid the downpour outside that had started a few moments after we stepped on the bus.

We killed time in the Perth domestic airport (which is actually rather small) until my flight left at 11:45. I said goodbye to my mom. It was fun to have her visit, but now it’s time for me to venture on to Wellington.

I slept for most of my flight to Sydney and woke up just in time to see the landing, which really is quite spectacular. Since the Sydney airport sits right on the ocean, it looks like you’re about to land in the sea. It was only a four hour flight though, so I was quite tired as I bored the airport transfer bus to the international terminal (which costs $5.50!). At the check-in counter for my connection to Wellington, they requested proof of a departure ticket from New Zealand. I hadn’t realized I needed one, but, thankfully, the Qantas counter was able to look up my flight information and print it off for me in case I need it again. I rechecked my bag and then had to go through customs in order to leave the country. It was really quite peculiar. It’s like they’re keeping tabs on everyone’s movements; they even stamped my passport.

I have a three-hour layover, so I stopped at bought a ham and cheese toastie from Krispy Kremes that I found for cheap. My eating and sleeping schedule is going to be completely screwed up by the time I get back from New Zealand because I doubt that I’ll eat at regular times there.

Test Time

Women can drive here! For a second, we weren’t sure. But they definitely can.

Today was our exam day. We were given the questions ahead of time and instructed to write about 2 pages or 400 words for each of the four questions. It wasn’t actually that bad because they were all sort of opinionated and I read the articles they were on, so I didn’t actually have to study. I was one of the few people who took the exam seriously, which is ironic because I’m one of the few who won’t be getting credit for it. I just figured I had nothing else to do, so I might as well apply myself. I found some of the material interesting anyways.

After the exam, I wandered around campus by myself for a bit. It was nice to be alone and not feel like I needed to be a part of the group – the same feeling I got from running yesterday. Some might think it’s weird that I’m so independent and need so much alone time, but I definitely do. It’s just natural to me. And traveling in groups can overwhelm. That’s why New Zealand will be exciting. I’m going to be completely on my own.

We were picked up shortly after my wandering. In fact, I ran into our host father on my way to the pick-up spot. Biscuits and rolls were waiting for us when we got home. They were so good. I really do love their biscuits here. We filled up on them though so when dinner was ready about ninety minutes later, we barely had room for pasta with lamb sauce and chicken curry.

Fiji Facts

This morning we had peanut butter sandwiches! I was so excited. I’ve been eating so much bread the last few days too because I feel like it’s been lacking since we’ve been here. It doesn’t hurt that Sanjita’s rolls are amazing and she’s been serving them at every meal since she found out we like them so much.

Our bus was over an hour late this morning to take us to a museum in town. I thought it was ridiculous, but everyone said it was running on “Fijian time,” which sounds like the biggest crock ever. When we finally got to the museum, we realized it was ridiculously small. It took us like ten minutes to wander through and the rest of our time was spent in the small gift shop. I bought a souvenir bottle opener, which I realize I probably should have brought with me because even things like wine coolers in other countries aren’t twist-offs.

View outside the history museum

A traditional boat in the history museum

After the history museum, we went to the other side of town to visit the prison. Apparently, Fijian prisoners who have served most of their sentence are encouraged to develop a talent while in jail. They are put in a separate area with house-like structures where they are able to roam free. They said not many try to escape, which sounds bizarre to me. There wasn’t even a barbed-wire fence keeping them in the area, just the open road. But that’s beside the point, these men are encouraged to try artistic pursuits. And they’re amazing! There was a bunch of beautiful paintings and mosaics in the small art gallery attached to the prison. We were encouraged to purchase something (the money goes to the families of the prisoners), but there was no way I would be able to get any of the mosaics I liked home. They were super heavy.

On the way back to campus, we stopped at the town theater so that a couple of our group members could purchase tickets to the late showing (8:30 is their latest!) of the new Batman or Superman, whichever, movie. Someone told me it isn’t even out in the states yet. Tickets were only $5 Fijian though, so that’s a really good deal.

The town cinema

View of Suva

Freighters on the coast

We had lunch on campus, nothing notable, after returning and were left to our own devices for the afternoon to “study” for our exam tomorrow. I wandered around campus with two girls for a little while before we went to McDonald’s to use the internet. Even though we were promised internet access on campus, we haven’t been able to get the wifi to work, so McDonald’s (which has no plugs) was our last resort. Anyways, not much studying got done. I went for a run up a pretty big hill after my laptop died. I only ran for 24 minutes, but I was impressed with myself because it’s much hillier and muggier here than I’m used to.

Litter Please :)

Dinner was more rolls :) and lamb stew with some kind of baked potato concoction. It was alright. We spent the rest of our night trying to figure out who the random people were that kept wandering in and out of our host families house. It’s possibly the equivalent of Thursday poker night, with kava? We’re not quite clear. There was a man from New Zealand here though that tried to bring up some uncomfortable controversial subjects with us though.

I bought a notebook today so I could record some of the random Fijian things that I’ve learned:

·         Fiji is ruled by a strict military regime with limited freedom of speech and jail as a repercussion

·         Only men appear to drive here

·         It’s illegal for women to run away with a man (without permission) before 21

·         Illegal for students and those under 18 to smoke (marijuana is completely illegal)

·         21 is the voting age, but this is switching to 18 in the next election

·         You are to remove your shoes before entering one’s house

·         Clubs are open until 5am and do not admit native students

·         Girls must wear their hair up and cannot wear fingernail polish to school

·         Citizens are not always able to get visas to travel due to some citizens staying past their allotted stay

·         Peanut butter is common :)

·         All apples are imported (and hard to find)

·         Motorcycles are uncommon except amongst Europeans on the North Island (we’re on the South)

·         There is only one national park in the whole country

·         Many stores and products suffer from heavy inflation due to the popularity of imported goods

·         Television subscribers have only about 13 channel options

·         Following primary school (the equivalent of elementary), there is a semester fee of about $50-70 to attend grammar school and an additional fee for year-end exams

·         Kava, the national drink, is made from a natural muscle relaxing root and tastes like dirt-filled water

·         Bugs are out constantly! (which explains my many bug bites)

·         Fiji water is much cheaper in Fiji

·         Animals are rarely kept in homes

Bon Voyage

Well, the day is here. It's time to leave. My emotios are so messed up. I'm incredibly excited to have the opportunity to travel again, to know that in the coming months I'll be island hopping from Fiji to Australia to New Zealand. Yet, at the same time, I'm going to miss seeing my friends and family all of the time. The summer so far has almost been TOO good to me.

I shall survive though. I have 200 texts to last me through Fiji and whenever I have wifi, I wil be reachable on my textplus number via phone or text (e-mail me if you would like the number). With the internet, you're never far from home.

After I finished packing up my luggage this morning, I stopped at Qdoba for one last dose of mexican food before heading to the airport. AIFS, the organization that I'm travelling with, has me routed through Dallas to LAX where I'll catch a flight to Fiji with the other students on my trip.

I'm just glad that I was able to check two bags through my global carrier, Qantas, so I won't have to drag my just-barely-a-carry-on suitcase through numerous airports.

I believe my flight is boarding though, so I guess this is bon voyage.

It's official

I'm going to New Zealand. [And Australia. And Fiji. For those of you who haven't heard.]

I just have one more plane ticket to book from Perth to Wellington and everything will be set in stone. I'll be travelling the North Island on a Contiki tour and visiting Queenstown in the South Island to do some wine touring and fjord cruising. The most impressive part, I feel though, is that I'm going to be doing it all by myself.

Granted, I'll be spending half a month in Fiji and two months in Sydney before that on my own (because I got in the AIFS program, yay!!), but this feels different somehow. I mean, I actually purchased the airfare myself, with my own money. And I called the Contiki people for my tour. And I asked questions. And I got answers. I feel like I should be expecting some kind of revelation from my solo travelling. I guess we'll see.

I say bon voyage (to myself, I guess) on September 17 after a brief visit in Perth with my mother. Should be interesting.