Arrived in Papeete at last! I've wanted to come here for like 20 years. We got in at 4am and layed in a cement alley until the pension opened. I was awoken in the night not once but THREE times by a creepy old french man with a foot fetish. He was tickling, stroking and generally touching my toes without permission. Luckily I speak fluent body language and communicated that if he did it again I would kick him in the neck.
On a brighter note, we had great luck hitching around Papeete - the first car stopped about 7 seconds after the thumbs went up. Got a ride to the music festival in Arue. French rap, Brazilian bateria, super good time. Also saw angelic church singing the next night at the cathedral. Went out dancing and managed to woo a couple Tahitian boys despite the language barrier, they were fun, but ended up being COPS! yipes a roo.....
Took off for Moorea where we camped, drank Hinano, hung out with our new Swiss and Italian buddies, swam, played gin rummy, snorkeled to a tiny island and napped. It was really stressful. We also watched a dance troupe practice every night. Currently reading: The Constant Gardener
Back to Tahiti Nui to get groceries, cold Hinano and flowers to make welcome leis for Seren and Belle. They turned out nice and we added shells. Took them to Faa'a at 5am and was really really happy to see two of my beautiful sisters. We had a mellow day in the city walkin around, browsing music, eating, visiting the Pearl museum to see the largest pearl in the world and watching the canoe races. Slept soundly at Chez Myrna despite Belle's cockroach screams.
The next day I rented a car for us to see the whole circumference of Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti. It took most of the day and was a good time. Met the Knights, relatives of the Koenigs, picked up our peanut butter ; ) and watched Step Brothers, aka Demi Freres. TeeHEE! Rent it.
The next day we had a delightful breakfast with lattes and pain au chocolat, and hitched to the airport to fly to Fakarava, courtesy of Seren. Thanks didi! We joined a family on their sail boat for about 5 days - Sofie, Didier, Chloe, Nino and his friend David. Immediately went snorkeling - when we got back there were 6 hot sailors from Brazil and Denmark on our boat! We partied all night on several vessels, went for a night swim and drank far too much rum. The rest of our stay involved eating, scuba diving, paddle boarding, seeing sharks while we snorkeled in the most epic coral reefs in the world, fresh fish 24/7, cocktails, good books and island romps. It was so pretty here it looked like a mirage - one of those posters with turquoise water, white sand and a leaning palm.
After visiting a pearl farm we went back to Tahiti where Kavika kindly took us in for a couple days. He drove us up to a valley to play in the river with Manoa and Hanalei, his kiddos. Very pristine place to have a picnic. Ran into our sailor boyz back in the city and a long tipsy lunch with them at our favorite brewery, Le Trois Brasseurs. Went to their boat, Destino Canela, for Hinanos and giggles, and back again that night for more partying. These guys are funny as.
Went back to Moorea to stay at a family friends home in gorgeous Opunohu Bay. Prettiest place I've ever seen. We made friends with some Marquesan workers who were cutting trees and partied with them the whole time. Our host Georgina was weird and delightful. Went swimming and kayaking, bbq'd and relaxed.
Sad to see the girls go but we had a great last night at the Brewery - the waitress knows our order by now. I ran into my old Tahitian dance teacher JoAnn! That was a trip. She was here for Heiva also, the big dance festival we went to for our last night all together. It was incredible choreography and costumes, and the drumming was beyond amazing.
After the girls left Koos and me went back Moorea again and stayed on Kavikas other property. Hung out with the grounds keeper Jimmy, who used to roll with Marlon Brando. Funny man. Rode bikes around, snorkeled and saw lion fish! Threw some sea cukes at Koos' head. Just for a laugh. Soaked up the relaxation before heading back to Papeete for one more night of eating, drinking and flirting at the brewery.
After a loooong flight we got to LA and had a burrito right away. Then we caught up on our goss with the celeb mags. I can't believe Jon and Kate plus 8 broke up. And RIP MJ. It was a grand adventure, this trip. Learned a lot, made friends and bonded with the one and only Koos even more. Can't wait to see everyone I missed at the reunion party! I'm home and settling down and starting to work again. Next up: Eurotrip 2010! Thank you Boondoggle Gods, for blessing us once again.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Koalamania
Reporting from the super awesome city of Melbourne, Victoria. Apparently there are quite a few people here with swine flu so we're dodging that as best we can.... Since I last wrote we have been pretty busy. We spent a week working for Leon, a crazy racist nevernude. Like most old Aussie men, Leon wears incredibly short jean shorts. To their credit, they have pretty nice legs, but its still awkward. Two other peeps worked with us - Teresa and Laszlo from Germany who we got on with really well. Leon took us on two sailing trips, one to Dunk Island and one to Kimana. They're both really small. Dunk has a resort and we had a great time shell hunting and swinging from palm trees. Kimana only has one resident. We caught crab illegally and ate it right in the water, dipping it in the ocean for saltiness. Fresh and delicious! I was very stoked being somewhere no one I know has been. While in Hull Heads we saw wallabies and the very poisonous taipan, which I touched, not knowing they can twist around and strike 2x the length of their body. So that was stupid, and I'm happy I'm still alive.
The four of us drove up to Cairns, a beautiful tropical town in the north. Me and Koos visited Laura and Charlie, buddies from the Fraser Island trip. Laura's Jamaican roomie Trudy has a stripper pole in the living room. It's a great way to pre-game, but I got really really sore in the armpit region. Went out dancing and spent the whole next day snorkeling irie. Saw turtles, huge parrot fish, giant clams and amazing coral reefs. My fave was the bubbles from the scuba divers. They're like mercury jellyfish and its really trippy when they break over your face mask. An unforgettable adventure. Laura took us to a party where you couldn't wear clothes, so I wore a dress made out of balloons. A guy popped about half of them and the rest fell off. Good times.
Had one last beach day in Port Douglas before driving inland and south. Passed through many towns I don't care to remember. The weather dropped about a million degrees, ice on the tent in the morning, painful to breathe etc. Squatted at a place with hot mineral baths which was heaven. We both have back pain from driving so much.
Spent 2 weeks in Torquay, a cute surf town not unlike home. Went to Bell's Beach where they filmed Point Break. Alas, Keanu and Patrick Swayze were not there :( Got a sweet wwoof gig house sitting for a lady. Had to feed the cat and do a little yard work. Heaven is having a fireplace, fridge, bed and video rental card. It had been a long time. Rented our faves - The Office, Dexter, SVU and so on. Sold our car to our new Danish buddy Allan. Our last drive was along the Great Ocean Road. The coastline is like Big Sur. Saw the 12 Apostles, huge rocks in the ocean. Best of all, saw about 20 koalas in the wild! We have been waiting months for this. They were chillin in the trees, napping and munching leaves, and pooping frequently. Allan told us they are the stoners of the animal world. Eucalyptus leaves get them high and they sometimes fall our of their trees while sleeping it off. More people here die from a falling koala than lightning. Amazing. Went out dancing, sooo sick of techno music, but I met a cute 1/2 Papua New Guinean boy with green eyes and an afro who spoke Spanish. Nice.
Got some sad news from Laura that Charlie died. He hit his head rock climbing and drowned. He was a really funny guy and we have good memories, especially of exploring and partying on Fraser. Makes me want to be very safe so I make it home to my framily. Thinking about Charlie a lot these days.
Now we are in our last week of Oz. Its freezing and we're almost out of money, so we can't wait for Tahiti, espcially since Belle and Serena are meeting us there. And I just heard my cousin AJ and his girlfriend Renee had their baby girl Amelie and I want to hug her! Missing you all and sending love.
Stayed at the Ferg, a house full of funny 18 year old boys who chain smoke and eat a lot of junk. They were kind enough to take us in and befriend us, plus they had a gnome. It was meant to be. Koos and me walked around the city a lot, taking pictures of graffiti, centaur statues and people with swine flu face masks on. Met up with our old friend Mareen from the Lemon Tree Cafe and had the blingest sushi dinner ever. Thanks Australia, its been real :)
The four of us drove up to Cairns, a beautiful tropical town in the north. Me and Koos visited Laura and Charlie, buddies from the Fraser Island trip. Laura's Jamaican roomie Trudy has a stripper pole in the living room. It's a great way to pre-game, but I got really really sore in the armpit region. Went out dancing and spent the whole next day snorkeling irie. Saw turtles, huge parrot fish, giant clams and amazing coral reefs. My fave was the bubbles from the scuba divers. They're like mercury jellyfish and its really trippy when they break over your face mask. An unforgettable adventure. Laura took us to a party where you couldn't wear clothes, so I wore a dress made out of balloons. A guy popped about half of them and the rest fell off. Good times.
Had one last beach day in Port Douglas before driving inland and south. Passed through many towns I don't care to remember. The weather dropped about a million degrees, ice on the tent in the morning, painful to breathe etc. Squatted at a place with hot mineral baths which was heaven. We both have back pain from driving so much.
Spent 2 weeks in Torquay, a cute surf town not unlike home. Went to Bell's Beach where they filmed Point Break. Alas, Keanu and Patrick Swayze were not there :( Got a sweet wwoof gig house sitting for a lady. Had to feed the cat and do a little yard work. Heaven is having a fireplace, fridge, bed and video rental card. It had been a long time. Rented our faves - The Office, Dexter, SVU and so on. Sold our car to our new Danish buddy Allan. Our last drive was along the Great Ocean Road. The coastline is like Big Sur. Saw the 12 Apostles, huge rocks in the ocean. Best of all, saw about 20 koalas in the wild! We have been waiting months for this. They were chillin in the trees, napping and munching leaves, and pooping frequently. Allan told us they are the stoners of the animal world. Eucalyptus leaves get them high and they sometimes fall our of their trees while sleeping it off. More people here die from a falling koala than lightning. Amazing. Went out dancing, sooo sick of techno music, but I met a cute 1/2 Papua New Guinean boy with green eyes and an afro who spoke Spanish. Nice.
Got some sad news from Laura that Charlie died. He hit his head rock climbing and drowned. He was a really funny guy and we have good memories, especially of exploring and partying on Fraser. Makes me want to be very safe so I make it home to my framily. Thinking about Charlie a lot these days.
Now we are in our last week of Oz. Its freezing and we're almost out of money, so we can't wait for Tahiti, espcially since Belle and Serena are meeting us there. And I just heard my cousin AJ and his girlfriend Renee had their baby girl Amelie and I want to hug her! Missing you all and sending love.
Stayed at the Ferg, a house full of funny 18 year old boys who chain smoke and eat a lot of junk. They were kind enough to take us in and befriend us, plus they had a gnome. It was meant to be. Koos and me walked around the city a lot, taking pictures of graffiti, centaur statues and people with swine flu face masks on. Met up with our old friend Mareen from the Lemon Tree Cafe and had the blingest sushi dinner ever. Thanks Australia, its been real :)
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
The Land of OZ
Country #3! Had a few beers at the airport in Christchurch to celebrate our departure, though we will miss NZ and treasure our memories. Landed in Sydney not knowing where to go or anything. Took a free shuttle to what ended up being a shady hostel with free mold and rats. but we were right in the city centre and had a funny roomie so we stayed. One thing I didn't know about Sydney - there are tons of bats! Makes for a great vibe when the clock tower bell tolls at dusk. We went out the first night and I dropped the camera, which broke and therefore added to our camera woes. Took care of biznass for a few days, finding a car and going for health check ups. But we also managed to bus/subway/ferry it to many lovely and famous beaches like Manly and Bondi. Even found a proper burrito and flipped out. Stayed for about a week and got a good feel of the city. Its one of my faves. Beautiful old buildings, the opera house all lit up at night, crazy animals everywhere, lots to do and dare I say the folks are even friendlier than NZ, girls in particular which is nice. Got the camera fixed and drove our new car north. The first time we pulled over we saw a huge goanna lizard! Then on a jog we saw a herd of kangaroos!! Very stoked. Everywhere you look theres tropical birds, bushtail possums, pythons even!
Our car broke down right away (of course) so we left it at the shop and our new boss picked us up - he is a chain smoking old grizzly bear with tons of chest hair over flowing his collar. Stayed a week on his alpaca farm with his wife Jackie, a firefighter and milf, their funny kids Em and Kai and another wwoofer, Joe from Canada, who became our buddy and came with us to Byron for beach days. Byron Bay is really pretty with tons of young travelers. Mostly cuz of the rain, we liked staying home taking advantage of comforters, Harry Potter books and movies, TV, apples, tea, etc :) Helped by sanding a lot, weeding, feeding alpacas and so on. Sad to leave but the car was resurrected and we drove to our second Aussie wwoof job in Nimbin, where we stayed for a few days with Tomaso and Pritam, a couple of old hippies. It was dirty and we got attacked by leeches while weeding in the pouring rain. They inject you with an anti-coagulate so you bleed a lot, and we still have the marks a month and a half later. YUCK! Nimbin is a crazy town brimming with drugs and weirdos. Went to see the Irish Cat Stevens perform one night. As Raj told us, there is an unusual amount of interpretive dancing in public here, and we loved every minute of it! Said goodbye to our hosts and the best misty magical view ever and headed back to Byron to celebrate my 25th birthday with a Jason Mraz concert, beach day/beer with Joe and Indian food. Pouring rain still but a great time nonetheless.
Since then we have been driving north, lounging on all the beaches we can find (tons). One highlight was Fraser Island where we sped around in Jeeps, partied with our group, swam in lakes, hiked and ate a lot. Woke up covered in feathers after a Dingo bit holes in Koos' sleeping bag. She sewed it up, shes handy like that. Bought snorkel gear, a huge plus since we're poor and cant do much else but be professional beach bums!
Continuing up the coast one of our favorite spots was Workmans Beach in Agnes Water. It was almost empty and we had a fantastic few days reading, sleeping, laughing at kookaburras, eating popsicles. Lifes tough but not right now, eh?
Oz is beautiful, but we've seen our fair share of ugly towns - namely Bundaberg, Rockhampton and Tannum Sands. Nothing but gas stations, blistering heat and statues of cows. ??? Saving money by practicing the ancient art of squatting, only been caught once! Just when we were really starting to miss TV after several weeks without, we met a guy next to our campsite with all 3 seasons of Arrested Development. Jackpot!
Currently we are in Airlie, near the beautiful Whitsundays. Went out to Paddy's Shennanigans and Mama Africa, ran into a friend from Fraser and danced our booties off. On a typical night out, its common to see people in costume for no reason. Its also common to see Koos get hit on by undesireables due to her permagrin. I rescue her sometimes, and sometimes I like to just watch her struggle, its pretty funny.
Just spent a couple days working on a peaceful bamboo farm with our host Bruce and 3 crazy dogs. About to explore the Whitsundays and head north again! Missing you all but loving the world. Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Our car broke down right away (of course) so we left it at the shop and our new boss picked us up - he is a chain smoking old grizzly bear with tons of chest hair over flowing his collar. Stayed a week on his alpaca farm with his wife Jackie, a firefighter and milf, their funny kids Em and Kai and another wwoofer, Joe from Canada, who became our buddy and came with us to Byron for beach days. Byron Bay is really pretty with tons of young travelers. Mostly cuz of the rain, we liked staying home taking advantage of comforters, Harry Potter books and movies, TV, apples, tea, etc :) Helped by sanding a lot, weeding, feeding alpacas and so on. Sad to leave but the car was resurrected and we drove to our second Aussie wwoof job in Nimbin, where we stayed for a few days with Tomaso and Pritam, a couple of old hippies. It was dirty and we got attacked by leeches while weeding in the pouring rain. They inject you with an anti-coagulate so you bleed a lot, and we still have the marks a month and a half later. YUCK! Nimbin is a crazy town brimming with drugs and weirdos. Went to see the Irish Cat Stevens perform one night. As Raj told us, there is an unusual amount of interpretive dancing in public here, and we loved every minute of it! Said goodbye to our hosts and the best misty magical view ever and headed back to Byron to celebrate my 25th birthday with a Jason Mraz concert, beach day/beer with Joe and Indian food. Pouring rain still but a great time nonetheless.
Since then we have been driving north, lounging on all the beaches we can find (tons). One highlight was Fraser Island where we sped around in Jeeps, partied with our group, swam in lakes, hiked and ate a lot. Woke up covered in feathers after a Dingo bit holes in Koos' sleeping bag. She sewed it up, shes handy like that. Bought snorkel gear, a huge plus since we're poor and cant do much else but be professional beach bums!
Continuing up the coast one of our favorite spots was Workmans Beach in Agnes Water. It was almost empty and we had a fantastic few days reading, sleeping, laughing at kookaburras, eating popsicles. Lifes tough but not right now, eh?
Oz is beautiful, but we've seen our fair share of ugly towns - namely Bundaberg, Rockhampton and Tannum Sands. Nothing but gas stations, blistering heat and statues of cows. ??? Saving money by practicing the ancient art of squatting, only been caught once! Just when we were really starting to miss TV after several weeks without, we met a guy next to our campsite with all 3 seasons of Arrested Development. Jackpot!
Currently we are in Airlie, near the beautiful Whitsundays. Went out to Paddy's Shennanigans and Mama Africa, ran into a friend from Fraser and danced our booties off. On a typical night out, its common to see people in costume for no reason. Its also common to see Koos get hit on by undesireables due to her permagrin. I rescue her sometimes, and sometimes I like to just watch her struggle, its pretty funny.
Just spent a couple days working on a peaceful bamboo farm with our host Bruce and 3 crazy dogs. About to explore the Whitsundays and head north again! Missing you all but loving the world. Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Roughin It
Queenstown is a little fancy for us but we enjoyed it, found our first Amanita Muscaria (awesome red mushies with white spots). Went to Milford Sound and kayaked for hours, wearing our gnome hats in the rain. Some Brits thought they were Santa hats...wtf....... Started the Routeburn Track and tried to keep up with Koos as we trekked along with our huge heavy backpacks. Right away we saw a little owl and were, needless to say, very stoked. The scenery was misty, magical, green and lovely, with waterfalls every 5 minutes or so. Almost got sick of em. One was like 150 meters long. My feet and shoulders and hips started to hurt from the pack but I felt like a bad ass so it was worth it. The snowy peaks, lakes, mushrooms and mountain flowers were very peaceful. We were moved to yodel and got caught by some other hikers twice. It was a trial not to shower for 3 days, and it was so cold at night it almost hurt to breathe in.
Back in Queenstown we made a friend who had a safety mtgs and Mighty Boosh, where we got hooked on "The Moon", our fave character. Youtube it right now.
Left for Lawrence, a tiny old gold mining town, to work at the Lemon Tree Cafe for a week. Spectacularly decorated German food, funny German bosses, nice coworkers and HEAPS of amanitas for us to stare at. We cut out pastry leaves, washed dishes and served customers. Edith Piaf CDs were a perfect soundtrack. We even had 2 days off, although there is nothing to do in this town. Relaxed and watched DVDs (one of our bosses has a Brad Pitt obsession too and has most of his movies). Went to the only pub in town with our coworkers for karaoke, where I unleashed some "forever in blue jeans", Michael Jackson, Poison and Abba. Believe it. Natalie really wanted to sing her favorite song, Heal the World by MJ and I did it with her after much pestering even though I had no idea how it went. It...... sounded ok. I figured out the chorus and everyone was drunk enough to not notice, or simply ignore the new version. The German girls and Robert sang a German techno ballad and got boos, it was pretty funny.
Natalie gave us a lift to Dunedin, and after settling in we went for a run in the park. Koos immediately got flashed by a pervert (glad I kept my head forward and missed it) and we laughed about that warm welcome for awhile. Our Lemon Tree crew met up with us for St Paddys, we all shook our butts and had a great time. Star of the County Down, my fave Irish song, was being rocked by the band right when we walked into the first pub! Koos was encouraged by a new friend to flirt with her boyfriend...... uhhh....... no....... thank you..... but all in all one of my best St. Pats to date.
Ended our NZ travels with a few days in Christchurch, where we finally found life sized gnomes. A dream come true for anyone, right? Yep. Feel very lucky and happy to have spent time here getting to know this rad country. We'll miss it, and Kit, Olly and Jill (who just got engaged!) and all the moments, good and tiring, that made up our experience of Aotearoa. And away we go!
Back in Queenstown we made a friend who had a safety mtgs and Mighty Boosh, where we got hooked on "The Moon", our fave character. Youtube it right now.
Left for Lawrence, a tiny old gold mining town, to work at the Lemon Tree Cafe for a week. Spectacularly decorated German food, funny German bosses, nice coworkers and HEAPS of amanitas for us to stare at. We cut out pastry leaves, washed dishes and served customers. Edith Piaf CDs were a perfect soundtrack. We even had 2 days off, although there is nothing to do in this town. Relaxed and watched DVDs (one of our bosses has a Brad Pitt obsession too and has most of his movies). Went to the only pub in town with our coworkers for karaoke, where I unleashed some "forever in blue jeans", Michael Jackson, Poison and Abba. Believe it. Natalie really wanted to sing her favorite song, Heal the World by MJ and I did it with her after much pestering even though I had no idea how it went. It...... sounded ok. I figured out the chorus and everyone was drunk enough to not notice, or simply ignore the new version. The German girls and Robert sang a German techno ballad and got boos, it was pretty funny.
Natalie gave us a lift to Dunedin, and after settling in we went for a run in the park. Koos immediately got flashed by a pervert (glad I kept my head forward and missed it) and we laughed about that warm welcome for awhile. Our Lemon Tree crew met up with us for St Paddys, we all shook our butts and had a great time. Star of the County Down, my fave Irish song, was being rocked by the band right when we walked into the first pub! Koos was encouraged by a new friend to flirt with her boyfriend...... uhhh....... no....... thank you..... but all in all one of my best St. Pats to date.
Ended our NZ travels with a few days in Christchurch, where we finally found life sized gnomes. A dream come true for anyone, right? Yep. Feel very lucky and happy to have spent time here getting to know this rad country. We'll miss it, and Kit, Olly and Jill (who just got engaged!) and all the moments, good and tiring, that made up our experience of Aotearoa. And away we go!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Wellywood
Our last stop on the south island was Wellington, capital city of NZ. We rolled in on Waitangi Day and immediately assumed that was why everyone was wearing crazy costumes - ie drag queens, smurfs, reno 911... but actually we simply had the best luck ever to be in Wellywood for the 7's, a rugby tourney gone wild. It was one of the highlights of the entire trip so far - for visual explanation see facebook pics. We partied our jandals off.
Took the ferry over to the south island and drove around beautiful Abel Tasman. On a sour note I got another staph infection on my elbow, and Koos had the tremendous good fortune to lance and drain it with a tack we burned. State of the art med care. We went to our next wwoof job, Nikau Gardens, which was like MMC/home. Angel cards, prayer flags, no shoes, organic veg food, ganesh and shiva statuettes, meditation room, the works! Takaka was a cool hippie town and we spent our days mulching, harvesting, weeding and caulking inside on rainy days. It was great to have a big bed with a comforter. On Valentines Day we drove to Rosy Glow Chocolates for homemade truffles and then to Wharariki beach, which is one of the raddest ones ever. Our mate described it as Dali on acid. Tunnels, arches, sand dunes, caves were abundant.
From there we drove down the entire West Coast checkin out the wonders along the Tasman Sea. In Franz Josef I saw my first Glacier, and we spent a rainy afternoon at the hot mineral baths drinkin wine. Ahhhhh. However, to end this relaxing time I ran back into town for the clothes I left air drying at the laundromat (possibly the first time I've been away from Koos) and the car decided to explode. Big bang, heaps of smoke, had to walk 2 hrs back to our campsite at night in freezing Glacier country. HELL. It would have cost 2x what we paid for it to fix it so we had to ditch our wheels and try to keep our chins up as we hopped on a bus to Queenstown. Can't win 'em all, but hey.... at least it wasn't a broken leg. (Thats always how we look at the silver lining.... not sure what we'll change that to in the event we really do break a leg).
Took the ferry over to the south island and drove around beautiful Abel Tasman. On a sour note I got another staph infection on my elbow, and Koos had the tremendous good fortune to lance and drain it with a tack we burned. State of the art med care. We went to our next wwoof job, Nikau Gardens, which was like MMC/home. Angel cards, prayer flags, no shoes, organic veg food, ganesh and shiva statuettes, meditation room, the works! Takaka was a cool hippie town and we spent our days mulching, harvesting, weeding and caulking inside on rainy days. It was great to have a big bed with a comforter. On Valentines Day we drove to Rosy Glow Chocolates for homemade truffles and then to Wharariki beach, which is one of the raddest ones ever. Our mate described it as Dali on acid. Tunnels, arches, sand dunes, caves were abundant.
From there we drove down the entire West Coast checkin out the wonders along the Tasman Sea. In Franz Josef I saw my first Glacier, and we spent a rainy afternoon at the hot mineral baths drinkin wine. Ahhhhh. However, to end this relaxing time I ran back into town for the clothes I left air drying at the laundromat (possibly the first time I've been away from Koos) and the car decided to explode. Big bang, heaps of smoke, had to walk 2 hrs back to our campsite at night in freezing Glacier country. HELL. It would have cost 2x what we paid for it to fix it so we had to ditch our wheels and try to keep our chins up as we hopped on a bus to Queenstown. Can't win 'em all, but hey.... at least it wasn't a broken leg. (Thats always how we look at the silver lining.... not sure what we'll change that to in the event we really do break a leg).
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
I just spoke to the people in the Bowie van....
Currently reading: my first naughty romance novel, Pagan Voyager. It is endlessly entertaining and follows the adventures of Vesuvio and his ever present half bone. We are now in the town of Taupo, relaxing by the lake with cold beer and chilly bin courtesy of the Triggs. There are black swans swimming everywhere, snowy peaks in the distance. Met some really weird local boys, and enjoyed frollicking about. Did an all-day hike, the Tongariro Crossing. It passed through some Lord of the Rings movie locales, namely Mt. Doom aka Ngauruhoe. Got some nice lesbians from England to pose in our gnome hats. Saw gorgeous emerald lakes and amazing volcanic areas, steam vents and all. Huka Falls was also a highlight of Taupo - the cleanest, most blue water I have ever seen. The Craters of the Moon were neat too - geothermal steam vents galore, and boiling mud to boot!
Drove up to Rotorua - it really does smell like sulphur everywhere. We thought people were exaggerating when they said the whole place stinks. Oh well, it was pretty. We chilled by the lake, met some Danish sailors, soaked in the mineral tubs and watched the Goblet of Fire on TV. Doesn't get much better than that. Except I was sick. Koos and me are both hooked on the Twilight Series now, and voraciously reading all four books. Do it. Now.
Whizzed through Napier, an art deco city that is adorable. Saw our first kiwis and tuataras at the aquarium, not to mention pregnant male seahorses! Went wine tasting in Hastings and crashed in our car/tried out our stove for the first time, in a rural neighborhood. Really reppin the hoodrat lifestyle. Ahhh, its good to be poor........ Currently reading: Once Were Warriors, story about modern day problems of the Maori.
Drove up to Rotorua - it really does smell like sulphur everywhere. We thought people were exaggerating when they said the whole place stinks. Oh well, it was pretty. We chilled by the lake, met some Danish sailors, soaked in the mineral tubs and watched the Goblet of Fire on TV. Doesn't get much better than that. Except I was sick. Koos and me are both hooked on the Twilight Series now, and voraciously reading all four books. Do it. Now.
Whizzed through Napier, an art deco city that is adorable. Saw our first kiwis and tuataras at the aquarium, not to mention pregnant male seahorses! Went wine tasting in Hastings and crashed in our car/tried out our stove for the first time, in a rural neighborhood. Really reppin the hoodrat lifestyle. Ahhh, its good to be poor........ Currently reading: Once Were Warriors, story about modern day problems of the Maori.
From Palangi to Pakeha
Well, back on the mainland with a touch of culture shock. Currently reading: Falling Leaves. Got used to being called "whitey" aka palangi in Samoa, and learned that we are now Pakehas in te reo Maori, though nobody here calls you that to your face in our experience. One of my favorite things about being in another country is just a nice cold reality check called "not everyone does things your way America!" Especially funny to learn different names for things in a fellow English-speaking country. Some of my faves: chilly bin (cooler), lollies (candy), gone off (moldy), sweet as (cool), pissed (drunk), hard out (tough).
Met a funny German man who told us his favorite German word is tuhuvaluhu (roughly means, a mess made by a child). Naturally we decided to assign this word as the glorious name for our new travel deity. If you wish to think of him in avatar form, think of Chris Farley in a banana hammock. Works for us. Tuhu helps us through the hard parts on the road. For example, finding a car. Bought "Banjida" from Jimenez in Auckland and hit the road after bidding farewell to Kit and the Colonial Rd crew, Jill and Olly and the fundus. Just a couple of hours outside the city we got a flat tire and had to replace 3 of them. On the bright side, the cute Maori mechanic Joey helped us get some safety equipment. We in turn gave him a ride home as he told us about life in Huntley and how hard it sucks. He adorably made us a cuppa and introduced us to the plastic fantastic. Thanks mate!
Continued to Waitomo, one of my fave spots. Here we were constantly delighted by caves, epic waterfalls, hanging bridges, tunnels and karst topography. Celebrated the inaugeration of Barrack Hussein Obama (yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhh) by channeling our inner Indiana Jones and spelunking/abseiling/caving at Rua Kuri (two dogs). We jumped off ledges with inner tubes around our bums, making resounding slap sounds, we saw glow worms (carniverous cannibalistic maggots with shiny shit), caverns, eels, we climbed up a waterfall, we zip lined in total darkness doing battle cries or action themes. It was a spectacular time.
Stopped at the 3 sisters beach, one of the prettiest I've ever seen. Unforunately we also saw a dead goat covered in maggots. Ya win some, ya lose some. Hiked Mt. Taranaki and checked out some of the most magical mossy trees. Climbed over 7,000 stairs round trip. Crippling soreness descends on our calf muscles. Had to turn around when we couldnt see anything but fog and I kept falling on the volcanic rock (no path) and it was freezing. Good times.
Wwoof job #2 White Cliffs Brewery in Urenui, run by the Trigg family of South Africa. Jill is the mom, she was supacool. Her in-laws were Mike, a delightful old man who let us play our music while we helped with bottling the organic brew. "Are they saying down here at the porn shop?" -his response to Sublime. "Sounds like a love sick moose!" -response to Bob Dylan. His wife Ren was scary and racist, and we avoided her as much as possible. The property was lovely and we stayed in an avocado orchard. Saw our first hedgie! Hedgehogs are rad and they eat anything and let you touch them. Not much nightlife here, thought we did stumble upon Scottish music in the park. Sad to leave the free beer, Jill, Dylan and Mike, but not the Trigg family squabbles. On the road again!
Met a funny German man who told us his favorite German word is tuhuvaluhu (roughly means, a mess made by a child). Naturally we decided to assign this word as the glorious name for our new travel deity. If you wish to think of him in avatar form, think of Chris Farley in a banana hammock. Works for us. Tuhu helps us through the hard parts on the road. For example, finding a car. Bought "Banjida" from Jimenez in Auckland and hit the road after bidding farewell to Kit and the Colonial Rd crew, Jill and Olly and the fundus. Just a couple of hours outside the city we got a flat tire and had to replace 3 of them. On the bright side, the cute Maori mechanic Joey helped us get some safety equipment. We in turn gave him a ride home as he told us about life in Huntley and how hard it sucks. He adorably made us a cuppa and introduced us to the plastic fantastic. Thanks mate!
Continued to Waitomo, one of my fave spots. Here we were constantly delighted by caves, epic waterfalls, hanging bridges, tunnels and karst topography. Celebrated the inaugeration of Barrack Hussein Obama (yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhh) by channeling our inner Indiana Jones and spelunking/abseiling/caving at Rua Kuri (two dogs). We jumped off ledges with inner tubes around our bums, making resounding slap sounds, we saw glow worms (carniverous cannibalistic maggots with shiny shit), caverns, eels, we climbed up a waterfall, we zip lined in total darkness doing battle cries or action themes. It was a spectacular time.
Stopped at the 3 sisters beach, one of the prettiest I've ever seen. Unforunately we also saw a dead goat covered in maggots. Ya win some, ya lose some. Hiked Mt. Taranaki and checked out some of the most magical mossy trees. Climbed over 7,000 stairs round trip. Crippling soreness descends on our calf muscles. Had to turn around when we couldnt see anything but fog and I kept falling on the volcanic rock (no path) and it was freezing. Good times.
Wwoof job #2 White Cliffs Brewery in Urenui, run by the Trigg family of South Africa. Jill is the mom, she was supacool. Her in-laws were Mike, a delightful old man who let us play our music while we helped with bottling the organic brew. "Are they saying down here at the porn shop?" -his response to Sublime. "Sounds like a love sick moose!" -response to Bob Dylan. His wife Ren was scary and racist, and we avoided her as much as possible. The property was lovely and we stayed in an avocado orchard. Saw our first hedgie! Hedgehogs are rad and they eat anything and let you touch them. Not much nightlife here, thought we did stumble upon Scottish music in the park. Sad to leave the free beer, Jill, Dylan and Mike, but not the Trigg family squabbles. On the road again!
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