Wednesday, 30 December 2015

Summer of adventure

Monday morning I checked out before the hostel before woke up. I had a drive ahead of me to get to Waitomo in time for a caving tour I had booked. Even though I was not short on time I must have rushed out of the door, because I can't remember seeing my cap since then.

Waitomo Caves
In Waitomo I met up with 5 others and our guide, Tom. We had a quick introduction and then I was in the air. Rappelling down 30 meters to the cave floor. Immersed into the cave. Cool feeling. Nice view.  Terrible photo.



We walked upstream first. Deep in the cave we were met with an impressive sight. Thousands of glow worms covered the ceiling. We turned off our flashlights and in the darkness it looked like a sky full of stars. Then we got up close and saw how ugly they really are. And we met a cave weta too. Not scary. Not even nasty. Kinda cool in his own way.


The light comes from the body of the worm


Still without lights we sat down on rubber rings and floated back down the cave. We passed through the entrance and continued onwards into the depths of the cave. The darkness got more intense, but the glow worms and the current kept leading us further in to the cave.


We stopped at a conveniently placed dam. Right next to a small picnic spot. A hot drink and a chocolate bar made it feel much less dark and damp for a minute. Then we pushed on through some tight squeezes. I almost got stuck, but that's the point, right?



We finished the tour by climbing out of the hole. It wasn't the hardest of climbs, but I'm glad we had the safety line. Slippery rocks and a long fall. Real sense of achievement.

Glow worms are beautiful from this distance



Rotorua
Hours later, wearing a Kiwi Cave Rafting t-shirt, I drove to Rotorua. It was a long drive and I was tired, so I stopped to have a pie. Twice. The drive really wasn't that long, but the pies were good.

I didn't know what to do once I got to Rotorua at all. My plans didn't extend that far. Should probably have booked a hostel already. Everything was booked up. When I asked, the receptionist remembered an extra bed in one of the dorms, so I got that one.

Not sleeping in my car today. Good choice.


The place was smelly I thought, until I realized it wasn't the hostel, but the city itself. Or more precisely the sulphur below the city. It smells like rotten eggs. Charming.

The next morning I went to Rainbow Springs to see a Kiwi for the first time! Awesomeness. Kiwis are hatched there to improve their survival rates. In the wild their awful parents put so much effort into the laying and incubation of the egg that they can't be bothered to do any more when the chick is hatched. But the chick is cool as. Self raised from day 1. Independent like a New Zealander.

Whakatane
I made a plan to go to Rythm and Vines for New Years. To get there without too much of a drive in one day, I went to Whakatane first. I didn't know what was there, but the town looked big enough to not be boring.

My low expectations were put to shame when I arrived and found my favorite city of the summer so far. The tourism is not so intense there, but there is still plenty to do. Especially on a beautiful summer day, when all you want is to be by the sea.


I got on a tour to Moutohora (whale island). It was an incredible nature experience. We saw lots of saddlebacks, parakeets and fur seals. A couple of things made the experience complete: "finding" a wild Kiwi egg, swimming in a bay next to a mini hot water beach and our passionate (and hot) guide, Gaia.

How many fur seals do you see


Gisborne
Right now I am sitting on a beach in Gisborne. I've spent the night here, because I finally got what I had coming. Of course I should have booked ahead, but I'm not sure how much better that would have been. This view is priceless, toilets are close by and my car is pretty comfortable when you lay down the back seats and use the trunk for the feet. Beats last night's thin, short mattress that's for sure.

Ok, I'm off for a morning bath in the sea.



Saturday, 26 December 2015

Summer holidays

Christmas was yesterday. Today it is summer. Tomorrow it will be New Year's Eve. Or at least that's how it feels.

Christmas was great. The office party started at noon on our last day of work and lasted until a little after midnight. Such fun. 

On Christmas Eve I didn't do much - the important day is Christmas Day. That's when you unwrap the presents and have a family party. Of course my family is back in Denmark, but I was kindly invited by Leon, a flatmate, to share the celebration with his family. We shared a Christmas lunch with way too much good food and chocolate fudge. Later we played a hilarious game of Cards Against Humanity. You have to know the game to get just how funny that is to play when you have three generations at the table.

The time difference allowed me to Skype with my family when we all opened our presents at the appropriate time (Christmas Eve in Denmark). That was really nice. Can't wait to see them in a months time.

Now I'm in Raglan. A very summerly town. There is almost nothing here except surf hire shops and hostels. The place I'm staying tonight is both.

Tuesday, 22 December 2015

New flatmates!

I've been so busy this month. It feels like we have been celebrating every day since our new flatmates moved in. Bruno from Quebec, Jordan from New Zealand, and Yadira from Mexico all arrived two weeks ago.

Bruno is a couchsurfing engineer, who gets to take very long vacations during the Canadian winter. We helped him buy a motorbike so he can start travelling New Zealand.

Happy as
Bruno with his new bike

Jordan is a Maori who will be living with us for three months. He is teaching us the real way to pronounce the names of the places. A lot of places have Maori names and most often English pronunciation is so wrong.

Yadira is a fun, energetic girl. She has already made Mexican food for us twice, taken us to dance salsa and made sure we know how tequila is supposed to taste.

We're getting sushi while Bruno negotiates the price of the bike

West coast fascination
Perhaps I've talked too much about the West Coast of New Zealand already, so I'll just show you the pictures.

Gannet colony at Muriwai
Gannets need upwinds to fly, because they are fat birds


Santa
Tomorrow I'll be playing Santa at the office. I have been told, that it involves me handing out the presents from our secret Santa game and also that people will have their pictures taken while sitting on my lap. It sounds kinda weird to me, but I'm sure it will be fun and not awkward...

Tuesday, 8 December 2015

Christmas in summer

Christmas will come to New Zealand. Even if the snow won't.

Summer Christmas feels strange to me. The traditions are almost the same as back home. They just don't really fit. Santa wears a heavy, red robe and large boots. Little children sit on his lap wearing jandals, shorts and t-shirts. Houses are decorated with beautiful lights, that you can see clearly when the sun sets late in the evening. That's all right though. You can take a late night walk and see the Christmas lights. It'll still be above 15 degrees at midnight.

Christmas spirit from home
I am blessed with an amazing family. All the way from Denmark, they have sent me Christmas presents, advent gifts and decorations that remind me of childhood. Every day in December, they send me pictures of life and preparations for Christmas at home.

Snowflake from Denmark
Packing presents to send back the other way

No more mussels for me
I hate to admit it, but I might be allergic to green lip mussels. I'm going to have to stay away from them at least until I get an allergy test. Pretty much lost another day due to them this weekend.

Sooo tasty :(