No Sleep till Auckland

Finally the day is upon us.

The much anticipated Auckland trip.
A chance to get out of the increasingly sleepy town of Raglan and spend a weekend in the big bad city.
Kellen and his school friends were on break and had planned a little New Zealand jaunt and Jordan and I were to join them.

~~~

Jordan and I stop in Hamilton on the way and hit up the auto wreckers in search of a new rim for our slowly deflating tire.  We are unsuccessful, become frustrated and go out for Mexican food instead.
We get into Auckland and go straight to the airport to pick up Kellen et al.
He finally emerges from customs along with his amazing companions: his cousin Nicole and classmate Ken.
When we finally locate the van, we all pile in and we're off.  It's slightly nerve wracking as I'm driving through Auckland on an expired WOF and with three people crammed in the back without seat belts, or even real seats for that matter.
Getting to the hotel is a hassle in itself: I have no data and Kellen's Google Maps is majorly lagging.  After several wrong turns (my fault) and some misdirection (Kellen's fault) we come into view of the hotel (hurray!) and then pass it (boo!)  The Waldorf is under some serious construction and we can not figure out where to pull in, or even where to go to check in.  We loop around the block over and over again in confusion before finally deciding to pull over on the street and walk towards the lobby.  Easier said than done.  We do eventually find a spot some four odd blocks away and at the top of a steep windey hill that leads to nothing.  We get into the hotel and attempt to check-in.  They don't have our reservation.  It's not under Kellen's name, it's not under Nicole's name.  Kellen explains that he booked it online.
"Did you get a confirmation email?" asks the unimpressed gentleman at the desk.
"Umm... no...?"
We're all at a loss and can't find any shred of evidence to support our claim.  He suggests we walk down the street to the other Waldorf location and enquire there.
We do.  They also have no record of our booking.  We all stand out on the sidewalk laughing at the absurdity of it all.  Kellen eventually books something else at a cheaper rate and Nicole prays that her credit card won't get charged for the first booking.

After getting lost several more times we roll up to the next hotel and check-in.
Apparently, the hotel parking lot is full.  Fine.  Street parking is free, but there are no spots nearby.  There is a private parkade across the street, at full price.  Whatever.
I somehow manage to squeeze the van through the crowded and awkwardly laid-out lot.  I go to pay, the machine is malfunctioning.  Attendants arrive and manage to sort it out, but my card still won't work.  Finally, I realize that I have been inserting my credit card in the wrong way.  We all breathe a sigh of relief that we've finally made it.  Except for the fact that we can't enter our room for another 20 minutes while they are cleaning it.  Luckily, we've wasted 10 of those minutes trying to park so we decide to get some booze and take away food.
Every restaurant on the black is Asian and none of us are in the mood for oriental food.  We spot "Al's Deli" across the road and wander in to check it out.
Happiest coincidence ever.  The menu has CAESARS!  Not a Bloody Mary, but a real true caesar with clamato!  And a multitude of garnishes!  Poutine and bagels are also on the menu along with a variety of Canadian beers.  Clearly, Al is one of us and God Bless him.
We all agree that we have to indulge in a caesar while we wait for our take-out food.
I can't describe to you the satisfaction I felt from that first sip.  Sure, it was not nearly muddy enough and obviously I could make a way meaner one if I had the supplies, but it was a caesar and it tasted like home.

We return to the hotel.  The Bianco is in stark contrast to the Waldorf.  It is clearly a party hotel.  The parallel alley is lined with massage parlours and smoke shops, our suite has 5 single beds and is sparsely decorated, we spot numerous questionable stains on the floor and walls.
We start mixing drinks and playing drinking games.
The night starts to slip away from us so we leave to meet up with the rest of Kellen and Ken's school friends.
They're at a cool pub overlooking the harbour.  Introductions are made and the night begins.  We go from bar to bar, never staying in one spot for longer than a couple drinks.  I talk to everyone, a lot.
All I want to do is go dancing and I express this loudly and frequently throughout the evening.  At one bar, I drag an unwilling participant through hoards of people towards, what I assume is a dance floor.  Turns out it's just a weird courtyard full of people.  It slightly resembles a mosh pit and no one is dancing.  I decide to dance on a table until a bouncer kindly asks me to step down.
At the bar, a kerfuffle ensues when a random guy grabs a $20 note out of the hand of one of crew members.  He is not happy.  A couple guys intervene and try to calmly discuss the matter.  Jordan suddenly wants to take it upon herself to dish out some justice.  Nicole and I insist she not get involved, but Jordan is heated.  "I just want to talk to him!" she insists, "For feminists everywhere!"
In the end the money is returned and the antagonist ends up inviting the guys to go cray fishing in the morning.  The perks of partying with future lawyers of Canada.
We wander back to the hotel to pass out.  Kellen swears that he has set an alarm for 8 am so that one of us can run down and move the van.

I wake up suddenly and immediately know that it's not going to be a good day.  I feel like garbage and it's 8:45.  I move as quickly as my body will allow, only to find that I already have a parking ticket.  Cool.  It's for $65.  Even better.
I feed the meter and return to bed.
Then begins my wonderful hungover tradition of vomiting bile precisely every 10 minutes.  Jordan is in similar shape so at least I'm not alone.  Misery really does love company.
The other kids want to go get food but Jordan and I opt to stay in bed.  I decide a shower might help and lay on the tiles letting the water fall over me.  I try to wash my hair, but the hotel shampoo smells like a cocktail and causes me to gag.  When I finish, I realize the shower perimeters are non-existent and rather than drain into the floor, the water has flooded through the entire bathroom and there are no towels left to mop it up.  Excellent.

The rest return with kebabs and fries in hand.  I eat a few fries in the hopes of improving my bleak situation.  They don't help.  In fact, they make things worst.  I can feel the colour drain from my face and I excuse myself to chunder.  Jordan's greatly improved and they all want to go to Al's for more caesars, but my hangover is getting worst by the minute.  Kellen calls me a wuss, but it's my body that's forsaking me, not my mind.  They leave and I go back to bed.
I'm awoken by my door opening to reveal an embarrassed and apologetic house keeper.
"I didn't know anyone was in here."  He certainly did not expect to find someone sleeping at 3 in the afternoon.
I try to respond, but my words are gibberish.
"Go back to bed," he coos, "I'll just tidy up out here."
Thank you kind sir for removing the plethora of stinking empty beer bottles from the vicinity.
I wake up when the others return and feel greatly improved.  We go out for Korean food and I even manage a beer.  Nicole gets hit with a paralyzing migraine and retreats to the hotel.
The rest of us meet the other guys at the casino.  I feel slightly sheepish as Kellen's friends all seem to know a lot about me and I consider it a victory that I remember most of their names.  Someone brings up that I was an English major, the other references my time living in Calgary.  Jesus, did I announce my life story last night?  On top of that, they're all drunk, rowdy and gambling, while I'm stone sober, don't gamble and am struggling to finish my beer.
We head over to a little Irish bar.  Ken and I make up alternate identities and then pretend to be spies. Over the raucous I hear a loud "THUMP."  Kellen has fallen off his stool and is sprawled across the floor.  He is promptly kicked out so we all finish our drinks and call it a night.

I wake up in the morning and the sun is shining and I feel GREAT!  Life is good!  We go out for breakfast and do some site-seeing.  A very enjoyable day with one hilarious highlight:
We pass a costume shop and I exclaim, "Ooh!  I want a fur coat!"
To which Kellen replies, "Well, you can put a pig in a dress..."
This is the nature of our friendship, rude comments.  Nothing he says ever offends me.  What Kellen doesn't anticipate was the woman standing right behind him who says, "Let me guess.  You're American" then precedes to ream him out.  She probably thinks Kellen is my abusive boyfriend.  I play up the part of the victim by pouting, "He's just always so mean to me!"
I want so badly to high five my girl-power champion.  We spend the day wandering, snacking and exploring.  Night falls and Jordan and I reluctantly gather our things and begin the drive back to Raglan, but of course, we stop at the Huntley McDonalds on the way.
We have the wonderful task of moving the next day.

An incredible weekend with a bunch of beauties.  Back to reality, for now, anyway.

Gifts From Home

Recently, I've come to a rather harsh realization: It's fall.
Yes, autumn has come to New Zealand.
Sure, I knew we were headed there: it's been raining heaps,  the temperature has dropped, the clocks changed, but I finally felt it.

It was one of those sunny, crisp fall days where the leaves are beginning to scatter the ground and there is the constant smell of damp earth and chimney smoke.  It's rather lovely.
It's strange, I get a whiff of that autumn scent and I'm flooded with images of past falls and it's as if I'm suddenly transported back to those times, spaces, situations.  Only usually fall is in October and not April.

I was so, so happy to see Graeme and Monica, my wonderful friends from the lodge who are currently teaching in Australia.  The kids were on school break so they decided to visit New Zealand and spontaneously come to Raglan.  We grabbed a coffee and then decided to take advantage of the sunshine and hike Mount Karioi.
The hike felt way faster and easier this time around (the fact it wasn't 30 degrees probably helped.)
I took on Sebastian's role by constantly tripping and actually slid into the splits at one point on our descent (as Graeme said, it wasn't a good splits) yet during all my stumbles I managed not to completely face plant into the mud.
We reached the peak and the wind started whipping hard at our clothing.  The instant we stepped onto the helicopter pad, we began to get pelted with hail.
Needless to say, we snapped a few pics and hauled ass down the mountain.
As we hiked our conversation just flowed, it was as if no time had passed at all.  It was one of those conversations when you have so much to say that you get off topic and onto a whole new discussion, but it's so good you just keep going with it.  Perhaps the good conversation accounted for the ease of the hike.  We talked education, social constructs, marriage, happiness and always about Tofino.  So much reminiscing.  I felt that little twinge of homesickness when we all wondered aloud if we'd ever all be there together again.  Even though I'm convinced we will, we were together in that moment, laughing and chatting on the other side of the world and that's all that mattered.

It was so uplifting to be in the presence of two beautiful people with so much positivity and who love each other so much.  I'm so grateful for their friendship.  You guys are inspiring!

When we got back to town we stopped for groceries and were all shivering in the store.  I got home and took the longest, most scalding shower, put on all my warmest clothes, wrapped myself in a duvet and still couldn't warm up.  Winter is on it's way, I guess I couldn't avoid it forever...

The next night, we all met at the pub to harass Jordan and play a game of pool.  Graeme got rather cocky and bet that even if Monica and I played on a team and took back to back shots for his one turn, that he would still win.  I am proud to say that we did win one game (even if it was on a technicality.)

The following day the two of them and Jordan came into my work to grab a coffee and so we could say our goodbyes.

It's so amazing and surreal to connect with friends in other countries, I really cherish these little visits.

It was great to see you lovelies!  The next time we meet it'll be in Australia and you two can show us the ropes.

More Everyday Adventures

The desire to keep travelling, the need to keep moving, leads us to a weekend camping trip.

We drive south to a free campsite we've discovered.  It's on the lake and so picturesque, it even has a cafe and a playground, I can hardly believe it's free.
The next morning we want to hike the Tongariro Volcanic Crossing so we head to the nearest iSite to arrange a shuttle from the end of the track back to our car.  We're off to a bit of a late start and the woman at the iSite seems nervous for us.  It's 11 am and the last shuttle is at 5.
"We recommend giving yourself 8 hours to complete the track, do you think you can do it in 6?"
Despite her intensity, we're convinced that we can.  The estimated time for these hikes are always grossly overblown anyway.  We pay $30 each for the shuttle.  Robbery, I tell you.
We get onto the track and start hustling, our fear driving us quickly up the steep incline.  We pass old people and tailgate lollygaggers* all the while heaving and dripping sweat.  We allocate an extremely limited amount of time for photo snapping and eat our lunch as we walk.
We arrive at the peak and it's as if we've landed on another planet.  Glowing blue lakes of sulphur sit beneath red mountain tops.  An eerie mist hovers over the entire park.  We truly feel like two hobbits, off to Mordor.  As we begin our decline we realize we're making really good time.  It's just after 2 and we're nearly at the end.  Encouraged by our surprisingly high stamina, we continue on at our brisk pace.  That's when we approach the 100+ elementary school kids, slowly meandering down the narrow path.  Luckily for us they're cool kids and as soon as we appear behind them they all start yelling, "LEFT!" and moving to let us pass.  We arrive at the end with all the other tourists and immediately start stretching out.  We both nearly pass out in the overly warm shuttle.

*On a side note- when did I become a 65 year old?

We head to Lake Taupo and stay at another incredible (and free!) campsite directly on the river.  I wish all New Zealand municipalities would take a page out of Taupo's book, these free sites promote tourism while keeping the freedom campers out of sight and out of mind.  But I digress...
We're exhausted so we both pass out before the sun even sets and don't get to explore the lovely reserve.
In the morning we go check out Huka Falls.  It's underwhelming and too touristy compared to what we've seen.  I'm still unsure if there is a better place to view them, maybe someone can shed some light on this?

Yeah, I guess it's alright.  More of a giant river than a waterfall.

Inspired by our amazing hike we decide to hike Mt. Karioi when we return to Raglan.  I invite along my friend Sebastian who has expressed interest in partaking.
Right away, we realize this hike is going to be a challenge.  It's mid-afternoon and insanely hot, the hills are steep, the bugs are swarming and it's becoming obvious that we have not brought enough water.  Jordan and I are still feeling high off our Tongariro time so we hoof up the hill at a steady pace.  6 hour suggested walking time be damned! Sebastian comments on how quiet and focused we are and tries to distract us with small talk.  We all keep tripping, especially the tall and gangly German.  At one point, Jordan tries to hand him her water bottle and it ends up careening down a cliff.  Sebastian tries to retrieve it and almost dies in the process.  We are now officially out of water, but nearly at the top.
We finally reach the summit, a helicopter pad, and, as always, it's worth the trouble.  At over 1000 m above sea-level we are on top of the world.  We revel in the awesome beauty and take some photos.  A helicopter actually flies right up beside us and we excitedly wave to the pilot.
We descend the hill and Sebastian falls about 10 more times.  It actually takes us the entire 6 hours to complete the hike.  At the bottom, we head straight to the beach where we run directly into the surf and frolic in the cool waves as the sun disappears behind the bend.

Back at home, Jordan and I dig into the incredible seafood given to us by the lovely Jess.  Smoked marlin, a giant crayfish and some rice.  Life is good.  And I'm reminded that there is always an adventure to be had and beautiful sights to see, especially in your own backyard.