One of the best parts about staying in hostels is being able
to get that “homey” feeling away from home.
The last night I spent at the Brown Kiwi my friends and I had a movie
night! Just a few girls cozy on the
couch with pizza, a bottle of wine, some ice cream and “Knocked Up” on the tv. You can’t get that in a hotel! The next day I went to the Auckland museum
with my roommate. Some of the Maori art
combined with their history is pretty incredible. The colorful Paua shell is used frequently in
the eyes of some of their carvings and is also popular in a lot of the jewelry
in New Zealand.
That night I went on a lovely date with a nice English
gentleman who happens to live in Sydney so perhaps I will see him when I go for
New Years! Always nice to have a meal
out between peanut butter sandwich lunches and spaghetti dinners!
I decided to book the “Kiwi Experience” a hop on hop off bus
that goes around New Zealand. It’s good
for a year so at least I have some sort of direction now and another great way
to meet people! So the next day I got up
bright and early to hop on the Kiwi Experience for my first destination,
Paihia. Paihia is in the Bay of Islands,
a beautiful area north of Auckland with wonderful beaches and 144 islands to
explore!
My first night I
stayed at the YHA which was an interesting experience…they put me in a cabin
apart from the rest of the hostel that slept 6 with its own bathroom. That could sound nice but the bunk beds were
arranged in a way that if you were on the bottom bunk you felt like you were in
a coffin and if you were on the top you couldn’t sit up because the roof was
slanted. It was very close quarters to
say the least! It also turns out that having
our own bathroom rather than a communal one was really a disadvantage. The cabin became a waiting room for the
bathroom so when you came out there everyone was watching the door, waiting their
turn. I decided to stay one night and
cancelled the remaining 2 I had booked. While
my first night’s sleeping arrangements in Paihia may not have been fantastic I
did have a great night! I went to get a
burger and fries in town and ended up meeting a nice Irish guy. We ate together, went for some drinks and
then ended up back at a backpacker bar where I ran into a guy I met on the bus. We all had a good time before I headed back
to my crowded cabin!
The next morning I headed to the Saltwater Lodge which was
fantastic. Each ensuite room slept 4 (one
bunk bed, 2 single beds), with individual lockers, a tv, mini fridge and night
tables. The lounge was next to the
kitchen with comfy couches and a fireplace.
The rooms all opened onto a deck as well with tables and chairs with a
view of the ocean. After checking in I
decided to take the ferry over to Russel, a cute town which was the first
capitol of New Zealand! After having a
nice lunch I went to a Maori Crafts museum and then took the Ferry back to
Paihia.
Before heading back to the bar to meet up with my friends I
met an American in my hostel! He
actually plays Rugby back home, so was here for the World Cup. Definitely one of the few Americans here and
definitely one of the few who has a clue about rugby! We all had a great time at the bar and I even
managed to have my face painted.
The next day the weather was beautiful! I had breakfast with a wonderful English
gentleman at my favorite café right on the water and soaked up the sun with a
walk along the beach. I had gotten used
to the clouds and spotty showers, so wasn’t prepared for all the sun. This resulted in my first Kiwi sunburn…oops! I spent the rest of the day happily sleeping
on the beach!
That weekend there was a wonderful food and wine festival
featuring the popular New Zealand band “The Feelers.”
It was another perfect sunny day and I got lucky by meeting
some great locals. One of the girls I met
introduced me to her boss at a local café where I might be able to work in
December! One of the guys I met has his
own boat so I spent the next 2 days on the water with my new local friends
fishing and exploring all the islands! My
kind “tour guides” took me to the popular tour spot “the hole in the rock,”
the "pregnant lady in the rock"
showed me an amazing look out from the top of Roberston Island,
caught some
fish and went diving for some delicious scallops, mussels and sea urchins (or
Kina as the Maori call them). We ate
them all right out of the sea! The best
part of the scallops, as well as the kina, are the eggs…yum!
We also saw some seals and a couple Dolphins
came to play! While sitting on the front of the boat the Dolphins came on
either side of the front and got a nice ride!
By meeting these wonderful locals I also had the opportunity
to watch the New Zealand All Blacks win the World Cup with true Kiwis at an
authentic Kiwi Barbeque! It was great
watching these men almost come to tears when the All Blacks won! The BBQ was in a gorgeous house on the top of a
hill above Paihia so when New Zealand won we could hear the entire town below
us erupt into cheers! We immediately
walked down the hill, into Paihia to celebrate with the crowds! Truly a once in a lifetime experience I was
happy to be here for!
The best decision I made while in Paihia was to spend a
night on “The Rock,” a floating hostel!
Check it out here: http://www.rocktheboat.co.nz/
If you ever make it to New Zealand please do not miss this! I boarded the Rock around 5pm and got ready
to spend the next 24 hours out at sea! The hostel was 2 levels, rooms on top and on the
first level; a pool table, piano and bar! Have you ever found yourself alone, smiling
simply because you are completely happy? It is an incredible feeling and found myself
in one of these moments while standing in front of my room looking out onto a
beautiful ocean full of islands.
My roommates happened to be some of the most entertaining
people I have ever met; 2 guys from
England with a zest for life and fantastic sense of humor. So I was lucky to spend the rest of the night
laughing with them! Everyone tried
fishing off the boat and someone managed to catch a small shark! We also had a wonderful buffet meal with
steak and sausages. Later we got to go
night kayaking which was truly the highlight of the evening. We got lucky by having a perfectly clear
night with what looked like a million stars in the sky. Once in the water, the real show began! There are algae in the sea which when
disturbed light up, making the water glow! It looked as if there were stars in the
sea! We all lay back in our kayaks for a
while watching shooting stars and playing with the glowing water…quite possibly
one of the most amazing experiences of my life.
Once back on the boat I played the piano and sang for some
of the people on the boat! We also got
to roast marshmallows before going to bed!
The next morning, after breakfast some brave people went snorkeling in
the very freezing water. I made it just
off the boat before making the decision that my blood may turn to ice if I
stayed in any longer. When the brave ones
returned we made our way to Motorua Island.
I kayaked to the shore and hiked up to the top for more amazing
views. I managed to leave my shoes on
the boat though so the trip up felt rather special on the bottoms of my
feet. I looked at it as a true New
Zealand experience and tried imagining I had hobbit feet. I believe after the journey up and down it’s
possible that now I do!
Once back at the beach some boys threw around a rugby ball and
I laid in the sunshine loving my life. After
an hour or so we got back on the boat and headed back to town. On the ride back we played a game where two
people hold two intertwined ropes and try to escape. It kept us all occupied for a very long time!
I pretty much had to force myself to leave this perfect
beach town while telling myself there is still an entire country to
explore. So back on the Kiwi bus I
went! I’m back at the Brown Kiwi in
Auckland now, catching up with some friends I met a week ago, and will be
getting back on the bus to Hot Water Beach tomorrow! Phew, ok think I’m all
caught up! Till next time!
