How you goin'? Oh, yeah? Sweet as, bro, sweet as. A bit of the NZ lingo there for you.
Yep, finally reached Aotearoa, the land of the Long White Cloud, New Zealand last week, and I have been fairly busy here since starting the Kiwi Experience. The journey from KTM to Auckland was something stupid like 48 hours door to door, with a 24 hour stop in Mumbai (Roasting at 43C). But all the hankering for a bit of cold weather after two months in 34C+ has been battered out of me by the Kiwi Winter. It's been said before but the weather is just like home- just not how it is now. Grey, rainy and wet. Shan't complain though. Though it is fricking freezing what with being accustomed to wearing singlets, shorts and sandels, AND losing my favourite hoodie in the 2nd hostel that I stayed in.
So, as stated before I am travelling with the Kiwi Experience, which is a Hop-on-and-off type tour bus across the whole of NZD. I am on the unapproriately named 'Funky Chicken' tour which incorporates a majority of the country, but the slight downside of it all is that it seems slightly rushed given that I only have a month here. Still, in the past week, I have been to Paihia, the Bay of Islands, north of Auckland, Mercury Bay and now in the Lakeside town of Rotorua. These are all names, I'm sure, so check out the map below.
There's loads to do here. Went kayaking and sand boarding on the bay of islands, biking on the beach at Mercury Bay, and today sledging. The last activity I did this morning and I am knackered. It essentially involves taking a boogie board and hurling yourself into a grade 5 freezing river. The rapids were pretty sweet, and it was all a bit manic. While trying to surf a rapid (positioning your board back into the rapid you just came from), I went under and pretty much stayed under for longer than was desirable, board on top of me, and the water rushing over my helmeted head. It was all good though, the instructors were pretty excited for me and I didn't drown or swallow any water. This is just as well, because it's eel mating season and there's frothy eel sperm all over the place, and you don't want to be caught yawning down a rapid.
The people are cool here, especially the Maori folk, who are more prominent here in the north island. Their distinctive Kiwi accents and use of slang make their jokes even funnier for some reason, but in general they all have a wicked sense of humour. No problems making friends here, and they all seem nice enough. Though, tune in for the next installment for a low down on Hostel life and the people that inhabit them.
Kia Ora, Brothers and Sisters,
Mike x
