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harley-wanders · 8 years ago

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Oh hi there part deux - see below for part un

Alright so then in the morning (my birthday 🎂 yay 🙌) Olivia left for her ice-climbing adventure. I was fairly certain mine wouldn't go ahead since it was scheduled for 11 (the weather was supposed to get worse throughout the day) but I got up and made breakfast and tea. Marie was doing horseback riding along with Marcus, Niki, and some others. I went over to check in for the heli-hike (hiking on the glacier with helicopter transfer). As predicted it wasn't going forward due to weather....apparently this a very common thing. Anyway Su-Mae was supposed to do it to but since it was cancelled her and I checked out some of the shops and walked around. We did some jade carving in the afternoon which Marie met ip with us for too. It was a cool experience.

That night we all went out for dinner. I felt bad because some people were concerned about how much they've been spending and the restaurant Summer suggested (Snakebite) was quite pricey (although, to be fair - so is everwhere here). I got the veggie burger - oh my lanta, so good! - and while we waited for our food, Marie and I ran over to the convenience store to buy some drinks (bars are expensive too, even at happy hour, and all the stores sell beer, wine, and cider). Summer ran out too and when she came back she brought party hats, tiny drink umbrellas, and a "happy birthday" sash for me. Gahhh she's a peach.

After dinner Marie, Olivia, Isabel, Marcus, Jon, and I went back to our room to play Piccolo again (no running around like a chicken that round, although there were some very interesting dares). Then we went to the bar (same one as the night before only they had removed the cash from around the lemon so my dollar slipped right off this time...no free tequila). So we drank and danced and had a grand ol' time. The bar was called Monsoon bar and its slogan was "it rains, we pour" ha ha).

The next day we were on the road to Queenstown. Marie needed to make an impromptu bathroom stop at a random farm so I have a lovely video of her running back from behind a tree far away in the pouring rain.

I feel I should mention that the bus tunes are the best tunes. We all (or most of us?) Sing along the whole time and it's lovely.

Queenstown!!! My lanta. It is a beautiful place. Our first night there marie, olivia, and I got Erik's Fish and Chips - oh my gosh, so good. If you're ever in Queenstown your visit won't be complete without stopping there for food. Then we walked down and watch the sunset at the beach (absolutely stunning!).

The next day Marie and I did Via Ferrata (rock climbing via metal rungs placed into the rock....not really like a ladder but similar is some parts). It was upto 300m high over 7 courses. We even passed a heli-pad where they do training exercises with the helicopter. On the way down we ziplined and then walked through the forest. It was so much fun!

We grabbed ice cream sandwhiches from CookieTime (a NZ craze) and then dinner at Devil Burger before heading to the beach to climb a tree and sit and chat for a bit.

On our way back into our hostel the guy at reception who checked us in the day before tried to intice us into doing a barcrawl....after mentioning the ice bar we said yes which gave us 15 minutes to change and grab our passports (ID).

We went to 4 bars and each gabe you a shot upon entry and then a game or two were played. The first bar was Bungalow with a boho vibe. I beat a kid at connect4 (hell yes) and then we all tried to limbo....i did alright but the kiwi couple we met (the girl Rochelle, was shorter than me but even she couldn't go past the 3rd) did even better with the guy, Andre winning it...i still don't understand how.

The second bar was Minus 5 - an ice bar. We were all given big jackets and gloves and then a blue shot. I did the ice luge there. All their cups were made of ice and if you got a refill instead of getting a new ice cup you saved 2-3 dollars. Really cool little place. The game was where they have 3 groups of two people and they have to switch clothes....uh huh. I didn't play that round haha.

The third bar we went to was Loco Cantina at base hostel and we got free pizza (you're thinking, how can you eat a giant ice cream sandwhich, a burger, AND pizza all in one evening? Well my friends, I don't know but I wouldn't recommend it. We played musical chairs there.

The final bar we went to was Rhino's Ski Shack. It played underground rap and such which was odd. Olivia and Marie had made friends with one of the guys I beat at connect4 and his friend so I hung around with Rochelle and Matt (USA) and Menco (Swiss) from our group. I called it a night about half an hour into it though as I had to wake up early for my bungy jump the next morning.

Alright, so I woke up at 630am and got ready to get to the mweting place for the bungy jump. Mike (Sweden) was the only other one from my group who was going. He had already went skydiving twice on this trip and did the Nevis bungy the previous day. He wanted to check them all off the list.

After getting weighed twice and checked in we boarded a bus for the Kawarau bridge. It was a picture-perfect day. Sunshine, green plants/trees, unreal blue river - I think that helped calm my nerves haha. Once you get there they weigh you once more before giving you your harness. I met a girl named Cheryl from Hong Kong who was on holiday. When it was my turn they had me sit down with my legs raised while they wrapped a towel around each calf and inbetween and then stapped me all in. It was 2 Aussies on my platform and two Kiwis on the other. They were counting how many each had been able to do a water-touch. They asked if I wanted to and I said hell yeah...although it's apparently a tough science to get it just right and we were the first couple of the day so he couldn't guarantee. Anyway they told me it was time so I stood up and shimmied to the edge...except I was told to go a little further as my toes were just a little far from the edge. Then you have to stand up straight....it's so much easier to lean back haha.

They have you wave to each camera, countdown from 3 and then you just have to go. I closed my eyes until I felt the initial tug and then I looked all around and cheered. Apparently I wanted to do a flip (as you'll see in the video). I didn't get to touch the water but I definitely want to do it again - this time to touch the water and to keep my eyes open the whole time.

After I got back, Cheryl and I went for a coffee and chatted. She was really interesting and I'm happy to have met her. Marie and I met for lunch after that at a veggie bowl place (enough of ice cream sandwhiches and burgers haha) and then went canyoning (through the same company as via ferrata - our guide, Pirate, was saying you save $70 if you do the combo so we signed up for it once we were back).

Canyoning was fun. We got wetsuit socks, pants, jacket, and rubber boats, helmet, and a harness. Then we walk about 10 minutes through a forest path before dipping in the water (so refereshing after the heat) and started with two ziplines. Then we abseiled downa. Rock edge before making our way down the river through the canyon. I did a 6 metre jump and then we did a combo of zipline/abseil/fall into the water. After that we did a few more jumps and abseils before eventually reaching the end. Hot coffee and tea along with hot showers were waiting for us when we got back to the wetsuit depot area.

We had to leave the next morning at 630 so we all had an early night. I missed out of the gondola and luge due to timing of everything but I still did so much (via ferrata, bar crawl, bungy, canyoning, sunset watching!).

After Queenstown we drove to Milford Sound and Te Anau/fiordland. We did a cruise in Milford Sound where we saw wild dolphins - even babies, seals sunning themselves on rocks, and unending beauty as far as the eye could see.

After the cruise we came back to our accomodation in Te Anau (Te Anau Lakeview Kiwi Holiday Park) which was campground style but we were in dorms. Marie, Olivia, and I went across the road for a quick swim (made quicker by the rough rocks and the. Squishy/seaweedy floor).

The next morning we took a water taxi (in the sunshine!!) Across the lake and walked part of the Kepler Track. Then we had lunch and boarded the bus (Goose the boose) for Wedderburn. I was sick the last few days (I blame the bar crawl/lack of sleep before an early morning) s'all good now though, and even so, it was only a head cold...not like in Greece, yeesh.

We stopped at Devil's Staircase to take panoramic group pics and then checked inti our accomodation - Mt Ida Shearers Quarters. It was a neat place exceot hella creepy to use the washroom at night (you had to walk out from where you were staying and go in yhe back of the kitchen building....it reminded me of the movie The Visit....i ran on the way back after peeing hahah). Have you heard of the Shamel? Half sheep/half camel? Totally a real thing :p

We had dinner made for us already when we got there and in the morning we biked 35km of the Otago rail trail. It was really nice and there were two tunnels which our measly light did little to light our way. Anyway, I was still recovering from my cold and kept stopping to admire/take pics/try to coerce sheeps and cows to come over and let me pet them. 19km in was a restaurant so I made some lunch, topped up my water, and stretched. Some people chose to go back with Summer at that point but despite my slowness, I wasn't going to give up.

Nad was a peach and would stop every now and then to let me catch up (I don't think he wanted me biking by myself). When we got back a few people went to curling (nope, not me!) And then we all went to Blue Lake in St. Bathans (we stopped on the way to our accomodation the first night too). It was so beautiful and so nice to swim in.

Oh yeah, at one point on the bike rode two sheep crossed in front of me. I didn't think they'd be out and about but they were. Unfortunately they didn't want to come say hi.

That night we made homemade pizzas and salad along with some kiwi treats (hokey pokey cholates and icecream, rockyroad chocolate, and jaffas - orange coated dark chocolate candies). In the words of Jurgen - it was good!

The next day we had a fairly long drive to Christchurch. We stopped at the Moeraki boulders which had the most stunning beach. We only spent about 20 minutes there but I could have easily spent a day...or week. I'm definitely looking forward to yoga teacher training - east coast beach that's pretty well private. My sunscreen won't last long!

We stayed at a prison hostel in Christchurch. It was such a cool place. Christchurch has a strange vibe though. Since the earthquake it hasn't really been the same and it's just a little eerie in some parts.

Nad, Menco, Olivia, Marie, Isabel, Marcus, Jon, and I all went for sushi before stopping at BK for some cheap ice cream. That's where the rest of the group came in from all the other dinner places they went. Apparently we all think alike!

After Christchurch we drove to Picton but stopped in Kaikoura (where the road has onky been open for 3 months off and on since the earthquake in 2016). There were different activities but Summer, Su-Mae, Marcus, Menco, Nad, Niki, and I all swam with seals! Again that meant wetsuit socks, pants, jacket, plus a hood this time, and goggles/mask/flippers.

On the way to where we swam with them we saw a seal eating an octopus 🐙! Part of one leg was stuck to the back of it.

Swimming with seals is a really neat experience. They kind of bob in the water upside-down and you can see their big eyes. Then they roll around and swim around you. It was cool how close they get!

On the way back to the transfer from there we came across a seagul that looked unwell. Upon closer look we found it had a plastic bag wrapped around its wing.

One of our guides had to jump in the water to get it off and even needed a knife ti cut it free. In the plastic bag was an empty bag of chips. I hope it was an accident and not intentional but my goodness people! Don't litter!

We drove along the highway that was washed out after the earthquake (anyone else remember the national geographic slide-your-mouse-over before and after pics?) And checked into The Villa, our hostel in Picton. It was really funky. We all went for thai food down the road - i had pineapple-fried rice curry with shrimp....mmmm so good!

We checked our of our accomodation and walked around Picton, stopping at the bakery for lunch and something sweet before boarding the ferry for Wellington.

Once in Wellington we said hello to Gus the bus for one final 5 minutes ride back to Nomads. Hit me baby one more time was naturally our final song.

We showered, had a couple drinks, and met everyone for our final dinner. Then we did what we did last time, what we do best - win against the other G team! 🙌

We played the same two games as last time (flip cup and balloon pop) plus "heads or tails" where you touch your head or your tail and someone flips a coin. Marie had to leave at 3:30am so she didn't stay for much of the drinks and games.

The bar closed at midnight and we all closed it out again, dancing and singing our hearts out on the middle bar. Then a bunch of us hugged and said our goodbyes.

In the morning it was so quiet and weird not seeing everyone and no breakfast box to get food from. No more toasted PB, nutella, and banana sandwhiches :( oh well, my body will probably thank me for that haha.

I will finish that up and write about my inbetween days later but right now this cat has gotta sleep! I have to be up early tomorrow to get things ready and take 3 buses to my yoga teacher training.

Sweet dreams to you all (or good morning for many).

Sunshine, rainbows and love! 🌈🌞💜

Harley

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harley-wanders · 8 years ago

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Oh, hi there!

My apologies for the lack of posting. Tumblr only wants to work when the internet is good (spotty wifi doesn't lend itself well to it).

After the ferry from Wellington to Picton (no, not PEC area, there's no black river cheese factory or Waupoos winery around the Picton and Wellington here....and the ferry is 3 hours, not 15 minutes). There is, however, a delightful bakery in Picton that we stopped at. I bought some of the "world's best carrot cake" (which I could only eat half of...and...oh well, stay tuned for what happened to the other half).

So we took the Ferry to Picton and then drove to Abel Tasman. Once we got there we jumped on a water taxi to a house boat (it was pissing rain by this point but somehow Marie and I managed to grab a seat at the front so we were under the tarp/cover).

The water taxi was SUPER bumpy (and a hell of a lot of fun. We giggled and couldn't stop smiling the whole 30 mins...at least us in the front, whoops - sorry backseaters). When we arrived to the house boat the rain had died out to a drizzle.

Marie, Olivia, and I all got the room on the main floor....it only had a double bed but we agreed we could cuddle haha. The rest of the group were in the bunks down below (which, for the record, looked super cool. I'm just happy I didn't have to climb up and down when. i needed to use the washroom in the middle of the night). Anyway, after we out our stuff away we all went for a swim.

Most of us, me included, jumped off the top of the house boat (~4 metres) into the water. It was beautiful and a really nice swim. We took some pics with my underwater camera (to be uploaded once I'm home) - by the way, for all the pictures go to my facebook. I may try again to load them here but I can only do 10 at a time and it glitches a lot.

After the swim we ate a great meal (and didn't have to do dishes - yay 🙌) and played Mafia (thanks Marcus - it's such a fun game!).

I got the right side of the bed, Marie was in the middle, and Olivia was on her left. It was definitely a tight squeeze but we managed to fall asleep. Marie did end up going to one of the bunk closer to morning because it was too hot in the middle haha.

In the morning we ate breakfast (pancakes ftw!) and got the call that due to the massive amount of rainfall, our canyoning was cancelled. Bummer. Oh well, that means we can do that 12.5 km hike afterall 🙌 .....sounds fun right? Yeah, it would have been if it weren't for the torrrential downpours.

We had a short water taxi ride over to the shore in the rain (we were all wet by now) and then dried our feet and out our socks and shoes on. Summer tomd us most of the track was covered by the forest canopy so we weren't in too bad of spirits. I think by this point we still found our luck with houseboats and beautiful places funny.

The track wasn't covered...and when you're csrrying ~40lbs of (dry) stuff it's not so much fun. At some points the water was up to my knee! I was just hella happy that I packed using ziplock bags as compression things as it kept all my important stuff dry.

After 12.5km we reached the end of the track. We walked another km to our accomodation - Old Macdonalds Farm and met Summer at the reception. Wifi was $5 and towrls were $2. Easy decision as the towel i brought was soaked and there wouldn't be much to do. Olivia dropped something when paying for hers and I bent down to pick it up and then RRRRRRIIIIIIPPPPP....there goes my pants hahaha.

Anyway, we got our room (it was a camping site thing so literally a small room with a bunk and single bed it in....not much room). Summer drove us all up to the communal showers to wash and warm up before putting on dry clothes. Oh, and the trailer we had (new bus and trailer in the south island...goodbye Gus!) Leaked. So not only were the belongings we were carrying soaked, but many peoples' big packs were as well. Again, I'm thankful for my ziplocks... It was just my other travel towel and a couple pther things in the bottom that were wet. Unfortunately Olivia's entire pack was drenched....including her passport. A few peoples' passports, actually.

Summer gave us change to use the dryers and found a big outdoor propane heater that we hung things up around to dry them...we even took the soles out of our shoes and held them up.

It was a really shitty thing but again, we had the best group because we mostly laughed it off (aside from a little initial crying for some). I found it hilarious and counted myself lucky that my passport and phones were okay.

That night we had a bug family supper (stir fry) and played a few games (two truths and a lie, as well as where you have a name on your forehead and you have to guess whobyou are by asking questions). It was a good night after all the stress of the day. Oh, at one point Marie, Olivia, and I went to the cafe and on the way back we saw an eel in the culvert - that shows you how much rain we got!

The next day we were en route to Westport (no...not the Westport north of Kingston). A cafe we stopped at had adorable ceramic salt and pepper shakers that was a hippie van and camper - in blue and purple of all colours. I had to resist the urge to buy them.

Then we went to Kilkenny lookout and Cape Foulwind where we saw a seal colony (including baby seals!!!) It was awesome!

Our accomodation that night was Tripinn Hostel. It had good wifi and comfortable beds (with lots of room). The grounds were beautiful and some of us did yoga on the grass to stretch out after the last couple days (I led it but I madr sure everyone knew I was not a certified teacher yet and to only do what was comfortable).

That night we had a wine tasting (many bought a bottle of wine each and we tried some of all of them) and a family dinner - mexican this time. We watched peoples' skydive videos and Summer's canyon swing vid.

The next day we stopped in Punakaiki where I carved a necklace out of beef bone with a lady named Karen. I made a koru and I love it! It's really cool to be able to say I made it myself. She works out of her home (or rather her workshop/shed out back). It was a beautiful little walk through forest to get there. On the way back to wait for the bus she asked if anyone wanted to milk a goat (she has dogs, goats, chickens, and other wildlife). No one raised their hand so naturally, I did. You don't turn down the offer to milk a goat when one presents itself. It was interesting. The goat was mounting/shedding so I only did a bit - you can't really drink milk when there's goat hair in it. Then Niki and I pet some horses down the road while the guys chatted. Summer picked us up to meet with the rest of the group (they did a walk) and we were able to scoot down and see the "pancake rocks." They were really cool.

After that we made our way to Franz Josef where (surprise) Oliva, Marie, and I shared a room again. This one had a king bed and a bunk bed....we all shared the king lol.

For dinner that night we had a veggie or pork option but they ran out of pork so we were able to choose whether we wanted to stick with veggie or have all you can eat pizza, garlic bread, fries, and 1 alcoholic bevvy. Marie, Olivia, and I stuck with salads (Olivia can't have any milk products and Marie and I had eaten way too many baked goods at all those cafe stops) :p when they brought our the fries we all grabbed a couple and then one of the (power-hungry) waitresses yelled at us and said if we didn't get the all-you-can-eat and ate any of the pizza/fries/garlic bread that we'd be kicked out. .....then they proceeded to put the first pizza (veggie) right in front of us....we regretted our decision. And then we got our salad....literally a side salad portion of mixed greens, a slice of beetroot, a couple cubes of pumpkin, and some feta. We were very creative with sneaking food after that hahaha. The boys all felt bad so they were giving us a fry or tiny piece of garlic bread under the table.

We were having a few drinks too and there was a pitcher with some money and a lemon that said if you can balance a dollar coin on the lemon you get a free shot of tequila. Worth a shot, right? Luckily there were some bills along the side and it was no problem getting that loonie (sorry, dollar) to stay on the lemon as the bills kind of kept it in place. Yay free tequila! Then we played Piccolo (which is a drinking game app) and one kf the guys, Matt, had to run around the room flapping his arms like a chicken. Nad, who is completely deaf, was really amused by this.

We called it a fairly early night as we had heli-hike and ice climbing the next day.

I'm going to post this in case tumblr glitches so I don't lose it and I'll pick right back up...

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harley-wanders · 8 years ago

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After leaving Raglan we went to Waitomo (on route to Rotorua) and quite a few of us did Haggas Honking Holes - caving/abseiling. It was hilarious and all kinds of incredible. We abseiled down a 20m drop first and then worked our way through the caves before abseiling a few more times. We were on our hands and knees quite often and at one point we had to wriggle on our stomach through a very small opening. While we were doing thst we saw a crayfish. Later in the cave we saw " cave coral." There was a bit of rock climbing and ladder climbing in spots before we drabk some water right from the cave. Oh, did I mention the glow worms?! No? Well there were glow worms. It was really neat to see them so close up. We learned about their life cycle and such. Our guides Iain and Kenny were awesome. We all had such a great time.

Getting the wetsuits on and off was a challenge though lol. Olivia, Marie, and I all helped peel the wetsuits off each other after. Great bonding experience, amiright?!

Then we collected the rest of the group and made our way to Rotorua. Once there we met with Shaloh whose family has lived in yhat spot for something crazy like 50 generations. He gave us a good history of Rotorua and some Maori history as well. We played some games like Pukana (sp?) and then we went to a marae and took part in a powhiri (welcoming ceremony) where we also did the hangi (touching of foreheads/breath of life/sharing of thoughts and such) before all going to Shaloh's back yard for a dinner of Fish & Chips. We chatted and he answered questions. His brother, Nick was there too and taught us some of the haka. It was a really lovely experience (and now I know who to go to to get a good maori inspired tattoo - not cultural appropriation people, s'all good).

We listened to a kiwi playlist which was sweet - I'll have some new songs to add to my spotify playlists now.

In Rotorua the next day I went to Hell's gate with Caroline, Doetre, Jon, and Marcus. We learned all about the geothermal activity and saw "land coral" - seeing all sorts of coral now. It's pretty wild though - most of the pools were 100 degrees Celsius (one was 120!) and all were quite acidic (one was pH level of 1!) - Mafia's dream, eh?

After the walk/tour we went in the mud baths and enjoyed a nice soak before jumping in the plunge pool and rinsing off. We all smelled like sulpher for a good 2 days after hahaha. So worth it.

In the afternoon some of us went zorbing (invented in New Zeland, basically running down hills in a giant inflatable hamster ball) with a bit of water in it. Summer (our guide) and I went in one together. We did the sidewinder (350m) course. I took my camera inside so when I'm home I'll hopefully be able to upload the video on here - it's a whole lot of limbs flying around and copious amounts of giggling. It was a blast and I highly recommend it! I would do it again in a heartbeat 💜 you have to "superman" into it and then when you get out it's like being birthed....really flattering hahah.

Then we headed to Taupo and all went out for Indian food for dinner. Marie, Olivia, and I grabbed something sweet and took some pics at the "#lovetaupo" sign at the waterfront.

Yesterday was a travel day - 5ish hours to Wellington from Taupo. Absolutely stunning views though. We pulled over to take pics of 3 mountains (tongariro, mt doom - not the pfficial name of course, and one other that was snow capped and beautiful).

In Wellington we had 2 more people join our group (Becky from Souix Lookout of all places, and a deaf man named Nad - he doesn't speak any sign language but he reads lips very well). 3 people were leaving (the bro/sis and Caroline fron switzerland). There are many trips you can do through GAdventures and this one is all of them byt people who are doing just one leg of the overall journey will join and end at different times. There's about 16-17 of us who are in it for the full 24 days.

We all had dinner next door at Blend and after we competed in drinking games against another tour that was just finishing. We won at both games we played - flip cup and the one where you try and pop a balloon between 2 people. It was so much fun. It was also Summer's birthday 🎂

Then we danced like fools (even getting up on the middle bar/table thing) to dance (and sing!!) to such golden hits as "500 miles", "YMCA", "thw Macarena" and others. Then we just broke it down on the dance floor. It was a beautifully sloppy night. Our wake up call this morning was for 545 as we had to leave at 630 to get the 8am ferry. Thank goodness for rehydrating tablets - I actually feel great today.

The ferry is about 3.5 hours long and then we have a 3 hour drive to Abel Tasman and a 30-45min water taxi to the house boat for tonight. We're in for rough weather again apparently. Not the best luck with weather on boats lol.

New Zealand. My goodness. I never want to leave. 💃🏃🚐🚣✌💜

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harley-wanders · 8 years ago

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Following the last post we got back to Auckland and said goodbye to Lauren, Connie, and Liz :( it was sad. 3 more were added to the group - Jonathan from the UK and then Reece & Kristie (brother and sister and the only non-solo travellers).

Instead of going for pizza I met up with David Somerset. His father, Allan had done military training in Picton (from England though) for WW2 and through a mishap met my my step-father's grandfather and grandmother. Allan kept in touch and spent time over there while he did his training. My step-grandma was only 10 at the time and he was 20. When he left he gave her his RAF wings which I was able to return to his son (David), who lives in Tauranga NZ, on this trip (at Barb - my step-grandma's request). It was really nice to meet him and very special. We're planning on getting together again before I head back to Canada (unless I decide to never leave here muahaha). I also met one of his 5 sons (he also has 1 daughter), Aaron and his girlfriend, Jess. They were so lovely. We went for a drive up Mount Albert which had phenomenal views of Auckland.

The next day we left for Raglan (💜💜💜). We passed through some small towns inckuding Huntley (home of the Top Twins and the late Billy T. James). Then we went through Taupiri whoch had a tiered Maori cemetery where Maori were buried on different levels based on their mana (power) within the Maori community. Then we went through Ngarawhahia before stopping at an animal conservation/farm.

At the farm we got to hang out with llamas, goats, donkies, sheep, cats, ducks, fish, eels, and a dog named Minty. We got to feed eels raw beef (equal parts neat and terrifying). We also had macadamias from the trees there and fresh scones with honey and feijoa jam from the farm as well. Really good experience.

Once in Raglan we boarded the Wahine Moa for a little lunch cruise where we learned how to properly use and execute "sweet as, bro!"

Then we went sea kayaking through tight passages through limestone covered in pretty vegetation. Our accomodation for 2 nights (we got to relax a little) was the Lava Lounge - absolutely beautiful!!! We made a communal pasta dinner and I had a chocolate fish (chocolate covered strawberry marshmallow in the shape of a fish). After dinner Olivia, Marie, and I took a walk down to the beach to watch the sunset and drink some wine. There was still some people out surfing so we had a bit of a show too.

The next morning we did a surfing lesson - oh my lanta!! I wish I could surf every day, so much fun. I was surprised as how easily I got up (although my form may not have been perfect - butt needs to be lower rather than out hahah). It is such a cool feeling when your board catches the wave. We had some lunch at a place called The Shack and then did a yoga class with a girl that our guide, Summer knows. It was sooooo good after surfing and all the walking we've done.

After that we did the Karioi loop track at our accomodation - not sure how long but half was entirely uphill through the forest. Sooooo great haha. At parts we had to go over and under fallen trees. At the end we had some beautiful views of the water framed by silver ferns and the sky.

Then we all played Mafia (a card game Marcus recommended).

Anyway I'm going to end this here and create another entry in a few minutes (we're on the ferry to the South Island so I have some time).

Love, peace, and rainbows 😘✌🌈

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harley-wanders · 8 years ago

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Wahine Moe boat cruise and lunch in Raglan. Loads of fun with totally unbelievable views. Uncle B was the coolest. Sweet as bro!

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harley-wanders · 8 years ago

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From the conservation farm. Hung out with llamas, goats, sheep, donkeys, fish, a couple cats and a dog named Minty (as well as some fish and eels - which you see me feeding raw beef haha). Had homemade scones with feijoa jam, honey, and jam all from the conservation area. Oh and fresh macadamia nuts too! (When we were en route to Raglan).

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harley-wanders · 8 years ago

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Photo dump. Room at Nomads Auckland, sunset in Paihia and views of Mt. Albert.

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harley-wanders · 8 years ago

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harley-wanders · 8 years ago

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harley-wanders · 8 years ago

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Hold up on the pics

Raglan is the bees knees. It is G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S. We had a surfing lesson this morning and now heading to a yoga class. Pics and more writing to come. Only get a moment for wifi. 💃🌈💜

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harley-wanders · 8 years ago

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A little catch up

Kia Ora! So day one of GAdventure we met up at Nomads Auckland hostel and went out for thai and then to Giapo for ice cream 🍦 (look at the previous pics of ice cream and chocolate squid/sky tower/other amazing creations. Sooo good. My roomies for the first night were Olivia (Sweden), Su-Mae (London), and Doerte (Germany).

The next day we got up and hopped in the bus🚐 to head up to Bay of Islands. We stopped to see an 800 year old Kauri tree (pics) 🌳, Waitangi waterfalls, and were supposed to snorkel at Goat Island Marine Reserve but due to the weather we couldn’t snorkel. It was still stunningly beautiful and we got lots of pics. New Zealand driving is phenomenal. Totally unreal. I’m in awe every single day.

We were supposed to stay on the Rock boat out at sea but due to the weather we caught the ferry over to Russell and they took us to the moored Rock boat in a little dingy. Very wet but lots of laughs from everyone.

Bay of Islands was hit by a big storm so our night on the Rock boat was very rocky…ha.ha.ha. 🌊🌊 To access the bathroom downstairs we had to take a tiny spiral staircase down in the rain. We had some NZ cider, introduced ourselves again, did some fishing (some people caught a few things but had to toss them back due to them being too small to eat). We shot a decoy duck with a paintball gun, played Jenga (on a rocky boat it adds another level - i totally didn’t lose one game though - all that practice at the Waterfront in Napanee paid off haha). The next day we took the dingy back to Russell (sea spray the whole time. Drenched and loving it!) Bought some NZ chocolate (peanut slab FTW) and headed to Paihia.

Once there we checked out the Waitangi Treaty Grounds for a free tour, lunch, and show (due to limited activities from prev weather - thanks GAdventures!).

Then we checked into Bay Adventurer hostel. In my room I had Olivia again, Marie (Germany), Connie (Scotland), Liz, and Lauren. We all went for a run along Paihia’s waterfront (5k) in the rain and then went for a swim in the bay 🏃👟🌊 On the way back to our hostel Liz and I both stepped in a bit of glass (don’t worry - my supersized first aid kit totally had us covered) and then took advantage of the shower facilities then enjoyed a glass of sparkling wine. 🍷

For dinner we all went to thirty30 and made it in time for happy hour before our reservation at 7. There was live music (a girl from the south island with an amazing voice, skilled at rhe guitar who played covers of great songs including No Diggity. Oh yeah!).

Our room was like a sleep away camp as we all chatted and made jokes about some dodgy parts of the accommodations. There was a solid hour of random laughing for no reason. Perfect day and night for sure. I am so grateful for my time and experiences here so far.

This morning we got up and did our respective activities (dolphin watching/swim, parasailing, or skydiving - Mike was the only one that skydived. Most of us did the dolphin watching).

On the dolphin watching tour we saw a pod pf dolphins including a 3 week old little guy named Flash. 🐬 It was incredible!! Due to the baby we couldn’t swim with them (we were told they feed 20x/hour or about once every 3 minutes and there’s a risk that we could distract the baby or the mom which would result in the baby dolphin’s death - needless to say, we were quite thrilled about being that close to them). I have lots of pics and videos but they’re on my waterproof camera so you’ll have to wait until I’m home to see those :p patience haha).

After that we grabbed some sushi from a little place in Paihia (sooo good) and got back on the bus to get back to Auckland.

There you go! All caught up now :) I’ll post pictures separately. Tumblr only allows 10/time so I may do several postings.

New Zealand has totally captured my heart. I am so happy to be here. 🙌💜💙💚💛❤🌈💃

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