Today was my second day in this beautiful country of New Zealand, so I’d love to share all. I woke up at 8:30 after being so jetlagged yesterday. I washed up and went up to the restaurant for breakfast, which was included in my stay. I had bacon, tater tots, pears (a lot of them), cereal, apple juice, and a cup of hot cocoa. Free food is always good! I also noticed they have Vegemite here, which they also have in Australia. I had no tours planned so I wasn’t sure what to do. I walked down to the tour place and checked out what they had. I started thinking. I wanted to visit the kiwi sanctuary in Otorohanga but it was about a three hour drive and there were no more buses going there today. Then, I asked about night-canyoning at Piha Beach, which has black sand. However, there weren’t enough people for that tour to happen. So, today was a gaping hole! However, I found out about the tour of Rangitoto Island, so, I was in luck! New Zealand is my first time visiting an island. The Rangitoto tour was $47. I bought a ticket, ran over to the wharf and then waited for the ferry. I got on, and realized the ferries are much like those at Sydney Harbour. On the ferry, I got some nice photos of the Harbour, and I talked to this family who was from America. The ferry ride was about half hour long and as soon as we arrived at RangitotoIsland, I realized I had made a great choice. It was beautiful; like a rainforest. When I got off the ferry, I took pictures of aa, which is roughly cooled lava. Then, I got on the coach to head up the volcano. The driver of the coach pointed out several of the various kinds of plants, such as the kidney fern. It’s hard to believe that the island is only about 1,000 years old. We started driving up to the top and the ride was bumpy. It is entirely volcanic. On the way up, I was talking to this couple from South Africa about the apartheid. I never understood what it was. We got off the coach a few hundred meters from the top, in which we had to walk the rest of the way. On the way up, I stopped at the lookout and looked down into the crater. It was so huge! I continued my way up to the top, and stopped at the crater again. I looked down into the volcanic crater and took a photo. After about 15 minutes of walking, I made it. I was at the highest point of RangitotoIsland. What beautiful scenery it is up there! I also saw MotutapuIsland, which is right next to RangitotoIsland. “Rangitoto” comes from the Maori word meaning “bleeding sky.” Up at the top, I got several pictures of the landscape and of downtown Auckland. I kind of felt dumb because I wore one of my Australia shirts, but oh well. I’m like totally in love with this place and I’ve only been here two days. We stayed at the top for about a half hour, and I gathered a few rocks. When we walked back down, we took the coach on a different route. I even saw a fish jump out of the water. We stopped to take some more pictures and I got a picture of me standing on the volcanic rocks, which kind of look like coal. After getting off, I visited a bach, which is an old holiday house. I was shocked to find that RangitotoIsland has no sewerage or electricity, so bach life wasn’t easy. I also took some pictures of the volcanic rocks. The ferry came at 3:30 and picked us up. WaitemataHarbour is just incredible. I just love this place! My day started off boring, but, then I discovered RangitotoIsland. I feel so marvelously blessed to be here. At my young age of 21, I’ve been to my two favorite countries. After getting off the ferry, I went to see if the tour of PihaBeach was going to happen, but, I found out it wasn’t. I really wanted to do that tour. However, I told the girl how much I enjoyed the RangitotoIsland tour. So, I walked around the streets of Auckland and then got McDonald’s for dinner and stopped at the internet café. I emailed everyone telling them how my adventure is, and I also talked to T.C., but she didn’t seem to be doing well. I’ll pray for her though. I called my mom and told her about walking up to the crater. Later, I bought a hand-carved Maori weapon called a Tai’aha. It had a piece of jade in the front, and it was $170. It will probably be the only big souvenir I can get, at least for now. I walked some more and went down to the Harbour and got some great pictures of the sunset. While there, I talked to this young couple about my travels. They were from Auckland. I also talked to this young man who has been to the South Island and Australia. He told me he was gay and invited me to his place, but of course I wasn’t interested. So, tomorrow, I start the big tour, the New Zealand grandeur! I’m really excited! I learned earlier that much of Auckland is built on an isthmus. I bought some postcards and some stamps at the souvenir shop. There was one postcard of the spherical boulders at Moeraki, which I hope to see next week, maybe. I went back to the internet café and checked my email. Mr. Hanley wrote to me. I also saw that Kobe scored 50. The Lakers are 2-0 since I left. After leaving the café, I stopped at Esquires Coffee House and got a hot cocoa. During that time, I relaxed for awhile. I went back to my room and took a nice hot bath. Guess what, it’s late, so I have to go to sleep. I’m very excited about going to the Bay of Islands tomorrow. Tell ye about it then. Good Night.
