Pack your bags, we're going to the Coromandel Penninsula

From Coromandel Penninsula

I arrived exhausted back on Queen street on Friday around 5:30pm having skipped lunch for a long as meeting. Half delirious and ravaged with stomach pains, i get this txt message from Hector "stop by alternative car rentals after work and put your name on the driver list so that you can drive to Coromandel. they close at 6. we are waiting for you." After cleaning out my inbox of old messages, I then got the bombardment of the last 15 text messages from Hector, G, and Becky that had been clogged up for the past few hours bc of my silly 90 dollar Nokia. After a quick kebab i sprinted to alternative, scurrying into the garage at 5:59. After getting my name on the list I skipped sweaty but smiling back up to my room in Unilodge- through a weekend's worth of belongings into a bag and then we were off!

The Coromandel Penninsula! I had been waiting for this for months! Ever since the fantastic stories of the first group's venture up the pinnacles and to the many gorgeous beaches I had been dreaming about going. This was much better than the two-day long library stay I had planned. School and work can wait- I'm in New Zealand!

Hector, G, Becky, Janice and I piled into the car and pulled out around 7pm, jammin and screaching along with Mariah Carey....

From Coromandel Penninsula

It was great to talk with Janice on the way up because I don't get to see her as often as I would like. And I even felt usefula as i offered my hand (litterally) to G to wrap her knitting yarn around. Once night fell and the roads got dark Becky asked me to drive and I enjoyed winding through the mountains and navigating around the pot holes as we reached the gravel roads that took us into the depths of new zealand back woods. I even did my service to the environment and hit my first possum! They are an extremely overpopulated species, and their massive numbers are hazardous to the environment.

We arrived that the campsite and visitor centere around 10pm and ate dinner on the porch of the visitor centre. The giant wooden porch reminded me summers at reedy creek and learning all about north carolina wilderness at nature camp. Then, deciding to head to bed, we drove 20 minutes to get to the campsite that was actually only 5 minutes from where we started. We pitched our tent, which Becky, Hex and G slept in, while Janie and I took the car.

From Coromandel Penninsula

It was an early 3am wake up call when Hex tapped on my passenger side window. We packed up and drove to the trail head, arriving around 3:30am. Loaded up with just our water and torches (flashlights), we headed up to the pinnacles in hopes of catching a beautiful sunrise. I must admit I have never done a 3 hour hike up rocks in the dark before, but it really is a lot like you would imagine it. The path started out flat then morphed into a slight rocky incline. As the stars began to dim and the sky started to get lighter, we had to pick up our pace (which is hard to do when you end up walking faster than your eyes can register what your torch is illuminating).

Then came the stairs- flight after flight of them. Then there were real ladders, and then to rock ladders, then there were these strange ones that looked like upside down bicycle handlebars stuck into the rocks. These got a bit tricky at times with one hand occupied with a flashlight.

From Coromandel Penninsula

From Coromandel Penninsula

Luckily, Hector, Becky, and I reached the summit just as light touched the horizen. We met some nice students and a teacher there, who all greeted us as we climbed on top of the wooden platform. From there, we scrambled around the rocks, trying to find the best views. All the while, we huddled and cuddled for warmth as the brisk early morning breeze whipped around the rocks, stinging any exposed skin or areas with only thin garments. We snapped tons of pictures and wondered a bit where Janice and G disappeared off to.

From Coromandel Penninsula

The sunrise was beautiful- reds and blues mixed in the clouds that lay caught in the harbor. Mist blended greens and greys on the mountains, but as it burned off and the sun rose, light revealed details and the crisp edges of steep rocks and plentiful branches.

From Coromandel Penninsula

Afterwards, we hiked back down to the nearby hut to eat a snack and as the warden if he had seen a small indian girl and a slight less small asian girl. Nope. Starting to get a little worried, we headed back to the carpark, hoping to find G and Janice on the way. We passed the time on the hike back by continuing our tradition of telling life stories. This time it was my turn. My story was probably about 2 hours and lasted most of the rest of the hike back. At one point we ran into some older kiwis, who were impressed with how "keen" we were to do the hike in the dark, and one of the ladies commented to her friend that that she had pants like mine. Once again, proof. Mom pants.

When we got back we found G and Janice. We were relieved they were alright, but sad that they were unable to complete the hike becuase they took a wrong turn and had gotten lost. Regardless, we were all glad to be back in the car and heading to breakfast in Thames. After some delicious paninis and sausage wraps (links in plain white bread- a big kiwi thing- sooo delicious), we headed to Cathedral Cove.

From Coromandel Penninsula

Cathedral Cove is one of the MOST BEAUTIFUL BEACHES I have ever seen! It was even used in the filming of The Chronicles of Narnia. I spent the afternoon climbing on rocks, swimming around the coves and caves, and taking lots of pictures. We ran into another group of BU people on the beach and enjoyed catching up and catching some rays with them. We decided to swim out to this big rock out a ways from shore, but it took a little pump up to get us all in the cold water. I started a long ramble of why we needed to just throw ourselves into the water to Caroline as we stood a few yards from the water, after a few minutes of rapid talking she just grabbed my wrist and started running and we dove screaming into the water. It was actually really refreshing.

From Coromandel Penninsula

After some rock jumping, Steph and I swam to some caves on the other side of the beach. It was good exercise and the water felt sooo amazing. It was so clear you could see the sand several feet below you. We swam back into this one cave and the waves washed us up and down, getting quite close to the cavern ceiling and then threatening to wash us back out to sea. One giant wave came in and we rode it all the way onto the inner shore. Sitting inside the cave, the view was really misty but we could see out to the rocks outside and could see more people jumping out into the water. It was so unreal, like a book or a movie. After sititng in disbelief for a while, we swam out again riding up and down on the waves as if we had been dropped into the wave tank at discovery place. I was obsessed with that tank when I was a kid- who ever thought I would be able to live it ha ha.

Later, we swam around the edge of the caves and out to the point where we climbed up some rocks and over some rock drops over the ocean. It was a bit scary, but totally exhilerating. On the point we could see miles of ocean in a complete 200 degree view. We also saw these cool as birds, black with huge orange beaks. They looked as if they had pecked at a giant children's crayon and gotten their beak stuck in it. The were so strange, but definitely cool yo.

After we had finished exploring we found a cool little waterfall from a small fresh water spring and we stood under it to rinse off. Some more old women giggled at us as we squealed and shivered under the freezing cold but oh so clean water. It was the moment in the weekend when I felt so alive and completly free, as if all worries or stress just washed away. An analogy for this whole semester.

From Coromandel Penninsula

After we gawked at Hector's awesome sketch of the cove, we hiked back up to he car and headed for Hot Water Beach. There we warmed up by burying our legs in the sand. It was so neat. Some areas of sand were just normal, but in other areas you could dig your feet down and feel the sand engulf your ankles, hot sand squeezing like lava between your toes. It was almost scorching in some places! But then the waves from the ocean would wash up around you and cool you down.

We set up our tent and car as soon as the sun went down. A giant house party near the beach provided some party music before we headed to sleep at 9pm. And we woke up several times to fireworks exploding over the carpark and ocean. The next day we took a scenic drive around the penninsula and got lunch and some nice cold L&P, a classic kiwi soda, in Paeroa.

From Coromandel Penninsula

From Coromandel Penninsula

We rolled back into Auckland just around dusk on Sunday, which game G and me time to shower and get prettied up for dinner with Cait, her parents, and her bros. It was an enjoyable evening and some of the best food I've had since I have been here. All in all, it was a good weekend, one I needed after a full few weeks of adjusting to school and work. It has been hard to come back to class today!

Feeling like a local

After being here 2 and a half months, I am finally starting to feel like a local. Between the powhiri(official welcome), I received this weekend from the Maori community at the Noho Marae and learning the public transport system I'm starting to feel as if I finally am a part the community and this country.

Playing the stick game at Noho Marae

The International Student weekend at the Noho Marae was an amazing experience! Through out the weekend I learned a lot about Maori customs and traditions and enjoyed singing, dancing, and playing traditional games. But beyond the pohwhiri and teachings, I felt a warm reception and feeling of acceptance into the Maori whanau (family). And all of my fellow international students were incredible! I have never seen a livelier bunch of energetic, passionate, and generally friendly individuals. I admire each and every one of them. The last night of drinking, singing, and merriness was a night I will never forget. And the guys' performance of the Haka, a traditional maori performance initially intended for intimidation, was AWESOME.


Noho Marae Haka from Allison Young on Vimeo.

Last Thursday G, Cait, Andrew, and I had drinks with Philip and his friends. It was great to get to know my co-workers out of the office and to introduce my friends to Philip. I enjoyed a good conversation with Nicola about her sign language class and a guy she was doing her class presentation on. It was fascinating. And did you know sign language is different in every country? I mean, it makes perfect sense, but I have never really thought about it. For example, interpreters are needed for international conferences if the presenter is signing in New Zealand signing vs American signing. Interesting.

I finally went to my first climbing session this semester at the university climbing wall with G. It was her first time, but she did really well! I am excited about climbing in the next few weeks! Other than that, my work out schedule has been a bit of a bust haha. Oh and by the way, for those of you who may not have heard, I will be doing an Outward Bound Course this summer for 28 days in the NC Mountains! I'm pretty excited about it.

Okay, so here is this week in review at my internship:
Meetings Attended: promotional planning for philip's comedy show, mentoring session for fellow comedian, ADL (Auckland Disability Law), Diversityworks Trust project meeting, TBI website meeting, meeting with disability council rep
Projects worked on: reading and research on creative thinking, research for web content, some website building/designing, brainstorming for promotional teasers for Philip's show, reading project proposals and communications between Philip and key relations
Tangible learning experiences: experience with planning a comedy show, exposure to project proposals which include project objectives, structure and timelines, need analysis, benefits/risk/and impact, and financial models
Intangible lessons learned: understanding the intricacy of population politics and programs, greater coalition thinking- wider than just population specific thinking (bonding groups together through common experience rather than focusing on unique experience), philosophical thinking on creativity, for example thinking about how there are two worlds: one that exists with or with out you, and the world that exists in your interpretation, or thinking about the relationship between individual creativity and the environment which generates it, which speaks to the importance of maintaining a teaching environment which allows for and generates creativity not only in schools, but in working with different populations

Cool Quotes on creativity from Ken Robinson's book Out of our Minds:

"Thinking and feeling are not simply about seeing the world as it is, but of having ideas about it, of interpreting experience to give it meaning"...essentially, we create the worlds we live in

"Creative insights often occur by making connections between ideas or experiences that were previously unconnected" ...could be a way of looking about how the disabled sector can work together with Maori and other populations to achieve common goals...coalition thinking!

More of Ken Robinson's thoughts on creativity and schools: click here

New perspectives and new opportunities

So at this point my blog will begin to take on a secondary role. In addition to simply recording my experiences and thoughts, I will also begin recording the happenings and things that I learn in my internship. The bi-weekly entries I write will become a part of my final portfolio, but will also help me think about and analyze what I am doing at work from week to week.

I started my internship with Diversityworks last Thursday morning. Like a professional, I arrived 35 minutes late, slightly winded, and sweaty. A GREAT first impression. (Note to any new interns, account for everything that could possibly go wrong when estimating time, and then double it. )

About Diversityworks:
Diversityworks is a New Zealand-based enterprise whose business arm provides specialist services in managing diversity and change, and whose not-for-profit arm works to improve diversity and professional participation in the arts.

Diversityworks Group, the business arm, is an eclectic mix of entrepreneurial leadership, consulting and performing. Managing Director Philip Patston is a New Zealand Social Entrepreneur Fellow, consultant, mentor, coach, team facilitator and motivational speaker for hire. He has also been a social worker, a counsellor, a Winston Churchill Fellow, a human rights activist, an award-winning comedian, a soap opera actor on Shortland Street, a columnist, a trainer and even New Zealand’s inaugural Queer of the Year as voted by TV show Queer Nation.

Diversityworks Trust, established in 2005, promotes community development and economic participation, with an emphasis on artistic and creative processes. The trust’s current strategic objectives consist of promoting diversity in the creative sector, assisting people to gain confidence & skills in order to fulfill their potential, and creating connections, networks and income sources to develop the business of the trust.

The Trust’s first major project was Momentum’09, an international creative diversity symposium to held in Auckland in February 2009. The Trust also intends projects to support families of high-risk young people who are failing in mainstream education; and to improve relationships between disabled people and those upon whom they rely for their basic and well-being needs. The trust is made up of trustees Carol Waterman (chair), Ronelle Baker, Wharetatao King, Jeanine Gribbin, Jeremy Patston, and Philip Patston.



About my internship:
I will be working closely with Philip Patston for the duration of my internship. I will be working from his home in addition to shadowing him as he attends various meetings and tends to various clients.

My daily duties will be determined as we go, but some tasks could include: doing research, forming marketing strategies, reading up on important concepts and tutorials on creative thinking, attending meetings, giving feedback on project language and public communications. Internship projects could include research, program development, creative thinking, and innovative marketing for Diversityworks and its programs. Areas of focus may include exploring the relationship between spirituality and entrepreneurship, marketing social diversity to a mainstream audience in new ways, designing a different language to sell to the media which will replace the emotional language currently used to “sell” news involving individuals with disabilities, and helping work to develop a virtual movement of creative diversity with the intent and purpose of creating social change (for example, developments with website and blog design).

My favorite part of the discussion Philip and I had was the discussion of how my work will be evaluated. Together, we decided that my performance (and the internship’s structure) will be evaluated through a developmental evaluation process, which is a method I will be researching more thoroughly as one of my tasks. One of my goals to achieve by the end of the internship will be to develop my own “big idea,” or mission, which articulates what interests me in entrepreneurship and under which all my efforts fall.

My first impressions:
Despite my embarrassing start, I had a fantastic first day. I met some of the people Philip works with and we discussed my internship. On Friday, I attended a meeting for the Presbyterian Support Northern Quality Council. It was really fascinating. The group is made up of both internal members of PSN and external representatives of each of the populations PSN serves (Maori, pacific islanders, individuals with disabilities, the elderly, etc). The group meets twice a year to talk about PSN’s service quality and how to evaluate and improve its services.

One of the most interesting parts for me was a discussion on how PSN could better serve the Maori population, and a movement it is making in relations to its identity as an organization. Previously, the company called itself a “bi-cultural” organization. Recently, it has changed its position because they said they are not bi-cultural, but offer bi-cultural services. In order to be a truly bi-cultural organization, the company would have to be co-owned by both Pakeha (new Zealanders of European descent) and the Maori, which it is not.

Joe, PSN’s Maori representative and a member of their leadership team, made valid and insightful observations on the importance of developing relationships with iwi social services in the area, as opposed to recruiting Maori to “look the part.” He said that the transition and discussion PSN is having about its identity is a new conversation and that people, both non maori and maori are excited about it.

It is amazing what just a name or the phrasing in a contract can mean. It goes back to the Treaty of Waitangi and how much emphasis is put on the interpretation of that document. But at the heart, it is about more than a title, it is about “what does this title mean?” and breaking it down, because that is when you can really get to the heart of an identity. And understanding personal identity is vital before developing successful relations with others.

After that meeting, Philip, Anna (a co worker who I watched jump from the sky tower on Saturday!), and I all went to see a comedian, Tim Minchen , speak at an arts festival. He was pretty awesome. Philip saw his full show and said he was wonderful.

Philip is an amazing person and already an inspiration to me. He cares deeply about his work and bringing about social change through innovative approaches. And he has an uncanny way of putting people at ease. A meeting I attended with him and a co-worker who was feeling stressed about her position showed me how Philip is able to instill confidence in those he works with and how he can clearly communicate what is important so as to remove unnecessary worries. I look forward to learning more from him over the next few months.

Other things this week:
Starting classes and my internship were the most exciting things that happened this week. I did meet my new kiwi friends at the beach on Saturday, and then later for drink and to go out saturday night. That was a lot of fun. Then today after a long day in the library, I headed out to Albert Park to do a bit of dancing at one of the summer concerts in the park events. I met some pretty cool spanish and japanese raggae fans, they were awesome. Yea, more later.

Interim Break Fantastic

From Interim Break

So it has been a while since I last posted! And this is even longer than my ridiculously long posts, so I've broken them into chapters haha. If you don't want to sift through all the text- just skype me! and then you can get the stories first hand :)

I just got back this weekend from an amazing road trip that I took to the South Island with two of my roommates, Cait and Geetali, and friends Hector and Eric. We drove all the way from Auckland to Stewart Island and back over 12 days. During our travels we stopped in Picton, Fox Glacier, Franz Joseph, Te Anau and Manapouri, Queenstown, Invercargill, Stewart Island, Dunedin and the Otago Penninsula, and
Christchurch.



THE LONG DRIVE

We headed out on Tuesday February 17th, after Eric finished his summer school exam and drove 9 hours to the ferry in Wellington. We spent the car ride listening to the “sweet as” and “choice” mixes of a vast variety of music that we had each mixed on CDs, 5 each, which lasted most of the trip. On the way down we tried to stop in Wanganui for dinner, but apparently restaurant operating hours of 10am-late means the place closes at 8pm in Wanganui. It is a cute town, but completely dead on a Tuesday night. We finally found a take-away place, and we were content.

On the drive down, I learned how to drive on the left side of the road!! My friends only had to endure a little off-roading and a couple over the curb bumps on the first day, and only a few minor panic attacks through round abouts. However it took me the full two weeks to stop hitting the windshield wipers every time I wanted to signal a turn. The drive down was exhausting. I drove the last 6 of the 9 hours until we finally got on the Ferry at 2:30am. On the ferry, I’m pretty sure I nearly caught hypothermia because I was wearing shorts and it had to be at most 32 degrees on that flippin boat. I’m only slightly bitter; they wouldn’t let me go get my sleeping bag out of the car. So, I slept on the floor curled up in the fetal position attempting to cover my legs with my jacket. Hector laughed at me when he found me. As you can imagine, it was a glamorous site.

When we rolled off the ferry in Picton at about 5:30am, all we wanted to do was sleep, so we pulled into an abandoned parking lot and passed out in the car. When we woke up around 10am, the parking lot was no longer so abandoned. Apparently we had parked right next to the trailer that made all of the tourist bookings in Picton. Buses full of tourists were parting seas around our car. Old ladies did double takes when they caught sight of the steamed up windows, peering closer, they motioned to their husbands and pointed at the five college students piled on top of each other in sleeping bags, all crammed into a tiny Toyota corolla. It was mildly embarrassing, but mostly entertaining.

A GOOD START

From Interim Break

In Picton, we checked into the CUTEST hostle, The Villa Backpackers. It was adorable. They had a hot tub, tree-house, and lots of beautiful shrubbery and flowers. That afternoon, we hiked out along a day trail to a nearby beach and took some wine to chill out. We sat on the shore and shared deep dark secrets. It was nice to get to know some of my friends better. And Eric taught me a few cords on his ukulele!

Later that day, we took out the hostel bikes and taught Hector and G how to ride a bike! It was hilarious, and a good time. Hex caught on really quickly. It took G a bit longer, but she was persistent and got it by night fall. I was proud. It was a day of firsts actually, because I also taught G to skip rocks on the water, and Hex tried his first PB and honey sandwich.

At one point in the afternoon, we ran into some of our friends from Auckland and ran screaming across the street into a giant embrace. We got more stares from the distant café. We will be the talk the town amongst little old ladies for weeks I am sure. It was fun to see Kelly, Susan, Janice, and Becky though, and we all cooked dinner together and hung out in the hot tub that night. It was a great start to the trip.

THE SCENERY…AND GLACIERS!

From Interim Break

A lot of the next day was spent in the car, where we observed the wildlife. There were a ton of magpies that tended to escape the barreling car just seconds before impact. I don’t know what the American magpies look like exactly, but the ones here are like giant crows that flew too close to wet paint, splattering their feathers with white blotches. I also saw a beautiful female peacock perched on a fence, and then a sheep chasing a small ground bird, which looked a bit ridiculous. The afternoon was scattered with cat naps and games of “HORSE” (to be said in slow and low monotone voice). You would have to see the New Zealand film, Shark vs whale, to capture the true beauty of this game. Hector drove on the second day, and that provided a few hours of endless entertainment- especially his square turns.

The mountains were so beautiful, blue like misty coal. There was moss everywhere! Even the mountains themselves looked as if they were moss-covered. Between the dense dark parts, lighter green grass peeped through like emerald gems. The porous spaces between trees looked like brain coral in the ocean, or those rock garden kits I used to grow in an aquarium as a child. I imagined that if a giant were to place his hand into the mountain forest, the soft tree tops would sink in like moss pillows.

As we passed over a particularly long bridge I looked down at the crystal blue river. It was so mesmerizing! I almost missed the snow-capped and jagged mountains that rose high above the clouds in the background. It was all breathtaking. I felt rejuvenated. Finally, I had regained my thirst for knowledge and felt free of the stresses of everyday life. With a clear mind, I felt the energy to discover and learn. It seems weird that I had to leave school, my beloved Carolina, to feel this way.

From Interim Break

We stopped that afternoon at Franz Joseph Glacier. I had never seen a glacier before, and the sight surpassed my wildest imagination. The ice was frozen motion. Deep blues and greens studded the crevices and peaks. Hiking across a ton of cool rocks we took lots of pictures and dipped our toes in the FREEZING cold water. We didn’t get too close to that glacier. There were about 18 signs of different ways we could die, so we didn’t cross over the tiny wire fence. We got a bit closer to Fox Glacier as we got more daring, but then we got yelled out by a tour man and Eric got hit by a large pebble, so we peaced out of there.

From Interim Break

Eric being hit by a rock

That night we didn’t have any accommodation booked so we drove around Fox Glacier looking for a hostel at 9pm. We finally found an awesome cabin that we had all to ourselves in one of the Holiday Parks. There were 2 bunks and one big bed. So, naturally, we had a cuddlefest in the one bed. After a good night of pillow talk and giggling we headed out for another long drive to queenstown.

LITTLE PARADISE

From Interim Break

Again, we had trouble finding accommodation in Queenstown, but happened along this unbelievable place just outside the city, called Little Paradise, which is exactly what it was! The owner, Thomas, decorated the entire place by himself. The Cabin was indescribable- you will have to see the pictures. The place took Thomas 16 years to create. He was from Switzerland and when he first came to New Zealand he traveled on horseback through the islands for 11 months and met locals. He was a really cool guy. Amazingly, his cottage is exactly the same distance to the equator as it is the South Pole. His yard was covered with signs describing the cabins distance and spacial relation to other countries. It was a really neat way to recognize the uniqueness of the location as well as the way new Zealand relates to the rest of the world.

Inside, all the cabinet and door handles were made of driftwood, and our bathroom was stepping into legit nature. Cait came and found me at one point and said “ You have to come look at our toilet,” having seen the rest of the house, I was intrigued. But I didn’t really expect what I found. I walk in to see a normal toilet, but above it is a giant fish aquarium. It was hilarious. In the yard, there were beautiful gardens and lots of birds- peacocks, gees, ducks, turkeys. FYI, don’t get too close to mama turkeys. G broke a flip-flop being chased by the whole flock. And they definitely angrily squawked at Hex and me.

From Interim Break

I THOUGHT I MIGHT DIE

The next day in Queenstown was the day of the BUNGY. I was soooo nervous. There was a 45 min drive up to the mountain from the bungy shop, and they played pump up music the whole way. The bus was filled with nervous laughter and giddiness. And apparently Duke kids stalk me when I go on vacations. Like the zip line in Costa rica, I met a guy that went to Duke in our bungy bus. We also met a cool guy from Isreal. After being pulled over the canyon in a gondola to the launching booth, we all sat/danced nervously together as we watched people in our group plummet into the canyon one by one. I joked saying it was good that it was cold and rainy because it hid the shaking and tears ha ha.

I have a video of the whole ordeal that I will try to post. As the strapped me to the cord, my face is completely white, I was soo nervous and my heart was racing. On the way over to the platform (we had to penguin walk up to it bc our feet were strapped together), I clinged onto the man helping me. I thought I was going to fall for sure. But on the countdown I jumped out- I can’t believe I did. As I flew off the ledge, there was a moment of shear panic before I was like, well, too late to back out now. The rain flew up around me and the first thing I noticed was the silence. After 3 hours of pump up music, nerves, and giggling, there was suddenly nothing but the sound of my jacket rustling in the wind. The first bounce back up was the best part- I just floated in a soundless abyss, surrounded by rain and brown mountains, as if drifting in space. After I released my feet on the second bounce, I just stretched out my arms and legs and screamed. It felt incredible.

Afterwards, we all felt completely drained, but managed to talk about the jump the entire ride back to town. This jump is the 3rd largest one in the world. I def want to do the biggest one in China someday. After lunch at Fergburger in Queenstown we headed back to Little Paradise. There my roomies and I had a fantastic night of girl talk and a second snugglefest.

In Manapouri we unfortunately did not get to go kayaking, but the girls and I went horseback riding in Te Anaue, which was really fun. The guides were really nice and Cait and G even trotted and cantered! It poured and we got soaked, but we all enjoyed it regardless.

COUCH SURFING ADVENTURES

In Invercargill we stayed with some students who were going to school for music. Sarah was studying voice and talked about how she wanted to do her research paper on the benefits of music therapy for individuals with learning disabilities. So cool. Beamer, her flatmate, is from South Africa and playes bass in a band. He wants to do his paper on the impact and betterment that results from the playing of rhythmic drums. He was involved with an awesome non-profit in South Africa called 20,000 drums, where students in “rough” schools would be given drums and would they would all have a giant jam session, just to have fun and encourage betterment and a brighter future. It sounded amazing. There were also two other couch surfers there from Canada who were about to embark on the same 3 day hike that we were going to do on Stewart Island. Then there was the punk kid, Alex, who sat on the couch on his computer for 12 hours a day with his emo hair and listened to his headphones. Lastly, there was Gary, a creepy old man who offered me his jacket when I was discussing the cold weather on Stewart Island. He basically forced me to take it. It is very warm though! I was thankful.

STEWART ISLAND

From Interim Break

The ferry to Stewart Island was ridiculous. It was like riding a frickin rollercoaster! You would look out the window to see ocean and then sky, we had to hold on to our seats to keep from flying out of them. I got some complimentary coffee and didn’t even have to sip it. I would just put my mouth over the lid and the hot liquid would magically levitate into my mouth.

After waterproofing our bags from the pouring rain, we headed out on the first leg of the Rakiura Track. If you want incredible sights, do the Tongariro Hike. If you love to listen to the sounds of nature, feel the brisk air and rain- visit Stewart Island. There were beautiful birds and plants. G even saw a kiwi! We normally made it back to the huts much earlier than at Tongariro, so we had time to nap and eat a leisurely and hot meal (I brought a stove and pot this time).

From Interim Break

The coastal views were beautiful, and there were some really cool swing bridges over some streams. The hikes were- MUDDY, but refreshing. At first we were daunted, but quickly learned to shimmy, hop, jump, slide, and hobble our way through the maze of mud and roots. But after some half a dozen hours or so we moved on to plodding, squishing, and slopping straight through it.

From Interim Break

PARTY AND PENGUINS

From Interim Break

Dunedin was the next stop on our tour of the south island. Some PULSE 90’s roller rink jams got us pumped to go out on the town. The drive there was almost entirely sheep. I knew there were a lot of sheep in New Zealand, but these covered the shoulders of hills like dandruff. There were so many! White sheep, black sheep, wooly sheep, bald sheep, big sheep, little sheep, light bum sheep, dark bum sheep, brave sheep, skittish sheep, EVERYWHERE.

In Dunedin we met a local, James, and he showed us around town. He introduced us to Liggy at Toast, the COOLEST bartender on the planet- for real. He was a one man show. After a few drinks we headed to the Liberty Lounge dance club- which was so cool. There were strobe lights and dance floors and loud music. The black lights were fun and though we were all dead tired we enjoyed a night of dancing, laughs and poster-kicking? Don’t ask ha ha. And then we ran into Jeff and Peter! We surprised some other people in our group with a group breakfast in the morning, which was fun.
We stayed on a farm stay on the Otago Penninsula and saw tons of sheep. I tried to touch one but they ran away from me. We saw some penguins too! It was kinda dark, but we definitely saw them, and heard them too! They kinda bark like puppies. We saw albatrosses too, and some beautiful hawks. We tried to see seals at the kaikora seal colony, but they were the smart ones and stayed out of the freezing cold rain and wind. We did see some sweet Boulders though.

From Interim Break

In Christchurch I met up with Kyle, my tour guide from when Dad and I went to Australia, and I chatted with him for a long evening. And he surprised me with a 7’6” surfboard, which he is lending me for the next few months!

A CRAZY NIGHT DRIVE

The drive back to Auckland was crazy. We took the 6pm ferry and started driving back up the North Island around 9:30pm. Eric and I drove straight through until 7am the next morning. During the drive, we managed to hit one possum, see a decapitated sheep’s head in the road, get nearly get hit by a deer ( I woke up to intensifying profanities erupting from eric as I saw a deer head 3 feet from my window.), and then saw a blazing car on the side of the road. It was like we were straight out of a tv show or movie or something. I was glad to hit the sack as soon as we got home.

We had the car for an extra day after our trip so I got to try out my surfboard Monday morning before class! I drove an hour out to the west coast beaches of Karekare and Piha. The surf was terrible, but the beaches were beautiful and I was just glad to get into the water! And now I can say I have surfed before class!

Okay, if any of you are still reading this, the bottom line is that the trip was awesome and I can’t wait to do some more exploration on my next trip to the south island with Dad and Annie in April!