After six months living in the southern hemisphere I have now arrived home to snow. Ironically enough, the first snow in Boston started to drift down right as I arrived home from the airport after many many hours of travel. Arriving home to winter and America has been quite a culture shock and my body has still not adjusted to the cold, the dark or the time zone, but I am so glad to be home. It is lovely to see my family, friends, dog and home city and country. I am so pleased with every moment I spent abroad and feel like I am coming home a new person. I look forward to keeping in touch with everyone I met while in New Zealand and to bring the adventuring spirit into the United States and wherever else I’m lucky enough to go in the future.
December 14, 2008
So after realizing that housewifing isn’t my dream (at least not in the situation I was in at my WWOOF stay) I decided to put all my Women’s Studies knowledge to good use and emancipate myself by leaving early and heading out into the Coromandel.
I took the intercity bus up to Whitianga. The route was quite windy and I felt a bit sick but the bus driver was very nice and appeased to all the tourists by giving us ample breaks for photographs. There was also an adorable elderly local couple in the van who gave us a rundown of all the local gossip.
I stayed at The Cat’s Pyjamas which was an adorable and cozy backpackers on the main drag with incredibly nice staff and backpackers. I immediately felt at home and after a three hour nap met these two blokes who I then hung out with for the next two days I was there. On my first full day I got a ride with a french woman who was staying at the backpackers up to hotwater beach. At low tide everyone comes and digs holes in the sand, and then you get a little natural spa. The sand is quite hot, at times it can burn your feet, and then the pits heat up the sea water that gets in them. It was a really cool and unique experience. After hot water beach we checked out Haehi beach, another breathtakingly beautiful landscape.
That night at the hostel we watched Good Will Hunting which actually made me really homesick for Cambridge, which I suppose is a good thing since I am returning so soon.
My second full day I set out with the two guys again on foot. We walked up to Shakespear’s Cliff, which is a beautiful green field at the top of about a 15 minute incline where you can see huge landmasses jutting out of the beautiful blue water. After we walked along Cook’s beach where we ran into two other guys from our hostel who were with car and heading to Cathedral Cove. We caught a ride with them and walked the 40 minute track down to Cathedral cove, a beautiful bay with a huge rock tunnel, and large mounds of sand. Apparently this was one of the locations of the Narnia movie. Regardless, it was breathtaking. After we went to hot water beach again and had a paddle in the water.
My entire weekend in Whitianga was perfect weather, which was great because I got a lot of beach time in. Today I travel from Whitianga to Wellington via two buses and an airplane. Appropriately it is overcast and drizzling. I get into Wellington tonight and have less than 24 hours to wrap up all my loose ends and get on my plane to come back stateside. I can’t really process that I’m leaving New Zealand much less the fact that I’ll be arriving back home. But I am very satisfied with my time here and am so pleased with everything I’ve done. I will try to enjoy my final hours here as much as possible, but am also extremely excited to see everyone and everything waiting for me on the other side of this trip.
December 9, 2008
This week I’m staying at Rose Cottage in Thames wwoofing with Shaun and his son George. This is much different than my experience at The Food Farm as this is much more urban and I’m basically just a housewife. I do all the cooking, dishes, drop George off from school, pick him up and play with him. It’s quite relaxed as Thames is a small town of about 6,000. So far I’ve learned to make fishcakes, date slices, and cheese scones. I’m also going to learn to make hummus and home made bread. Thursday is George’s birthday so I’ll be baking a cake and probably some cookies for him. The low key pace is nice and I’ve had a lot of time to reflect and get ready to head home. A week from right now I will be on my way to the Wellington airport to begin my long trip home. I’m getting quite excited to sleep in my own bed, be fed, not live out of a suitcase, and see family and friends and of course my dog max.
But not so fast. This weekend I’m leaving my little camper van for one at Rose Cottage and taking a bus around the Coromandel. This is supposed to be one of the most beautiful parts of New Zealand and is a very popular holiday location. I’ll see the entire coast of this peninsula by bus and stay in Whitianga where I’ll hopefully soak up a lot of sun at the beach to remember back to when I come back to Boston winter.
December 9, 2008
After a life changing time skydiving in Taupo I had to leave and catch a bus to Tauranga. On my way out I ran into a Christmas parade taking place on the main street. Highlights included a young Indian girl next to me in a cowboy hat and a mini mouse backpack who was crying because she was afraid of Santa and a float of young kids dressed up as crayfish. My bus ride continued to deliver beautiful, lush New Zealand green. I had a layover in Rotarua where I got to put my feet in some mineral water at the bus terminal and then a two hour break in Cambridge (aw, home) with this really weird kiwi. He told me all about his religious beliefs (reincarnation and pot, I think) and how he wrote them into his screenplay, which he was high when he wrote every page of, the tattoo he wanted and how he wish he brought pot on the bus trip. I was somehow coerced into buying him a hamburger as well. I arrived in Tauranga and of course got madly lost and no one seemed to be able to point me in the direction of the YHA. Once I was there I went on a cute little bushwalk in their backyard where they had funny sculptures and signs, then curled up with my book, The Uncle’s Story by Witi Ihimaera, which was amazing, I also recommend Nights in the Gardens of Spain also by him as well as Whale Rider which is a movie, and Bulibasha which is being adapted into a screenplay.
The next morning I walked around Tauranga but there was not much to see. I had a little breakfast overlooking the water, wandered around the small, but nice, art museum, and then caught my bus up to Thames to start my second wwoofing stay.
December 5, 2008
After a lovely day in Wellington I set out bright and early for Taupo. I took the bus which was great because I got to soak in heaps of the beautiful New Zealand Green scenery that I’ve been missing. Every view seems to be more breathtaking than the next and the six hour trip was actually a pleasure.
I arrived and checked into rainbow lodge, a cute backpackers, and immediately booked a skydiving trip that left right away. This was great timing because I knew if I waited I would just become nervous. I knew before coming here that this was the ultimate place I could go skydiving because of the great view over lake Taupo, and it’s one of the only places where you can wee both the east and west of the country at once. I also had friends dive here and had it highly recomended.
I got picked up by the company in a stretch white limo and signed away my life on the ride there. Once I got there I met some really cool people traveling and working at the company and we discussed travels and jumping out of planes. Surprisingly I was not actually nervous because Ally had done it and said it felt very safe because you are completely strapped into the other person on top of you. My friend Tawny described it as an extreme cuddle, which I found quite appealing. So I was perhaps far more calm than I should have been. There were four of us jumping and us and our tandem jumpers packed into a tiny bright pink plane where we took a ten minute trip up to 12,000 feet. The views even from inside the plane where amazing! It was quite calming and nice when my jumping buddy Alex started strapping me to him and calmly talking me through everything. When we jumped he said I would put my head back on his shoulder and make a banana shape, pushing my hips out and keeping my feet together pushing them back under the plane. I was told to keep me hands on my harness until he tapped my shoulder then I could put my arms out.
Jumping out of the plane was probably the scariest part but I was completely attached and didn’t really have a choice. It also happened so fast, there was no hesitating. From 12,000 feet I had approximately 40 seconds of free fall which were the scariest and also most exhilarating and amazing part of the whole experience. As soon as I got out of the plane I felt like I was falling but not super fast, so I could really take it all in. The thought that kept going through my head was simply: I can’t believe I’m doing this! Over and over. It is one of the most unnatural experiences I’ve ever felt (scuba diving was a close second, and my ear drums are really hating me right now especially doing the two so close together). Falling was an amazing rush. It was a lot colder than I imagined it would be and the wind pushed my face in pretty hilarious ways and I was covered in drool when I got down. I have a DVD of the whole thing which I will try to upload online and will gladly show anyone so you can relive the experience with me!
So as I was shocked that I was jumping out of a plane, and swearing and screaming a lot! I was also witnessing some of the most amazing views of one of the most amazing landscapes ever. I could see green hills, mountains, city and of course lake Taupo which apparantly is the size of Singapore. The 40 seconds of free fall felt like both a lifetime and a blink. It was truly a unique experience that I would reccomend to anyone and everyone!
After the free fall Alex pulled our parachute and all fear went away. Even though I was still quite high up I was not afraid as now instead of plummeting through the sky I was calmly coasting, standing upright instead of on my stomach and still firmly connected to Alex (who by the way was a young guy covered in tattoos and wearing a shirt that said ” I have issues” but was very sweet and made me feel very relaxed and calm). There was a bit of fear when he said, i’m just going to make you more comfortable, and released a strap that dropped me a few inches down. We glided over the lake and the land and saw the most amazing views, and of course I still had a ton of adrenaline pumping from the free fall. It got a bit scary again when we started getting closer to the landing and I realized how fast we were actually going. On landing I put my legs out and tried to simply sit down but we somehow ended falling over.
Standing up on land was more comforting than I could possibly say. It was so good to feel the ground. My entire body was tingling and I felt really lightheaded and overwhelmed. The woman behind the desk said it’s normal to black out and not remember anything of your first jump but it all seemed crystal clear in my mind and I think my body was really confused. I sat on a couch and relived it with my fellow jumpers over a cup of tea. There was one young traveler from the UK and then an older couple from Ireland. It was nice having them throughout the whole experience because they were a calming parental influence. Then we got to watch the DVD of our jumps on a big screen. Watching it so soon after made me feel like I was doing it all over again. After the limo ride back to the hostel I just had to lie down in bed doing nothing for an hour. My body felt so weird and I was just trying to remember, relive, and experience everything my body was feeling. I still felt a bit lightheaded, tingly and lighter than air. It was an intense experience and at a point I didn’t feel like I would be able to do anything ever again because nothing can top that feeling.
That night I went and saw the lake from a different angle. I sat at the beach doing nothing for what felt like forever. It was good to just sit and I felt that after the sensory overload of the afternoon I needed a sensory deporvation tank. But staring at the water was peaceful, calming and just what I needed. I went to bed early and had the soundest sleep I’ve had in many days.
December 5, 2008
After an intense and awesome trip along the east coast of Australia it felt so comforting and relaxing to come back to Wellington for one day. We got in late Wednesday night which is student night, so a lot of people were out and about which was fun to see as apposed to a sleeping city. The next day we had breakfast at one of our favorite places, Midnight Espresso, then of course, went shopping! We met up with three of Ally’s flatmates for lunch which was a really good chance to catch up and say a proper goodbye. I then had to see off my travel mate as she headed home to Chicago. It was very sad and weird to be in New Zealand without her as I have literally been with her since day one of this trip. I will miss her dearly but am heartened to know that I get to be with her again at Tufts!!
After a sad goodbye I met up with my friend Emily, did some shopping, then had dinner and drinks with Martine, Caitlyn, Niv and Deeps. It was great seeing so many friends again, filling them in on my travels, and just having a great time in a city that I know and love.
December 5, 2008
So after the most luxurious experience of my life I took a 13 hour Greyhound bus ride up to Cairns. Surprisingly it wasn’t actually that bad. We watched two movies on the way (Get Smart and The Lake House) and slept a lot. In Ciarns we stayed at Dreamtime which was a cute, comfy little hostel with hammocks, which of course Ally inadvertently fell asleep in until she was awakened at 3am by pouring rain. Because we got in at 2am we only had one real full day in Ciarns, which was hot hot hot. But I soaked it up knowing that I am coming home to snow. We walked around the cute little town, had an amazing lunch at a cute cafe, shopped, went to a museum of local Australian art, and down to a lagoon where we dipped out feet and wrote lists. It was a nice, relaxing and very hot day, and a great way to end an amazing vacation. The next day we spent our whole day in transit, getting very familiar with airports.
Fun fact: all through Australia we saw this fast food chain called Hungry Jacks with the exact same logo as burger kind. I just assumed this place had ripped off burger king’s logo, then I found out that it actually is Burger King, but they couldn’t name it that because there is a restaurant in Australia named burger king that refused to sell the rights to the name. Way to have a spine and not sell out to corporate giants aussies!
December 2, 2008
In Arlie beach Ally and I met up with Alex to do possibly the most luxurious thing of my life: a three day cruise through the Whitsunday islands in which I scuba dive for the first time and see the great barrier reef! We were on board the boat Wings a small boat with 4 crew members, all of whom were awesome and taught me some great slang such as keen as a bean, churr, and chicken used as a pet name (I almost died when the scuba instructor called me this!). There were 20 passengers all backpackers from around the world. We sailed through some of the most beautiful water and scenery I have every seen and lived in the lap of luxury having meals cooked for us and not having to wear real clothes or shower for three days! “I feel like P Diddy!” Ally exclaimed more than once!
In addition to cruising in our perfect weather (yay!) we got to go the the most beautiful natural beach in the world according to National geographic. The sand is 98% silica and was used to make the glass in a lens of the Hubble space craft. The sand was so soft and smooth and clearly I rubbed it all over myself to exfoliate as well as be buried, make sand castles and a sand koala.
But aside from the beautiful above water views we got to see the most spectacular things below water. The great barrier reef extends around a good portion of Australia so we only saw a tiny tiny potion of it. That being said, we got to see a ton. The reef is amazing colors and shapes and the fish we saw were beautiful and multicolored. I had really wanted to see a turtle because we are probably the last generation to see turtles. Turtle eggs become sexed based on sand temperature, and because of the rising temperature of the earth more and more are turning out female, creating a serious problem for reproduction. I also learned that many fish can and do change sex throughout their life. Crazy!
As some of you may know I used to have a fish phobia so this was quite a step in overcoming my fears. The fish were very beautiful and for the most part didn’t come that close to you underwater, although at one point I did find myself pretty much inside a school of fish which was both overwhelming and breathtaking. I also tried scuba diving which was a crazy experience! Breathing underwater is probably the most counter intuitive thing I’ve ever had to do. It’s also quite scary being so far underwater and it was a bit dark when I dove which added to the scary factor. It’s also quite hard to control where you are swimming because your air tank pulls you up while you are weighted down. Overall I didn’t really like the feeling of not being in control and much preferred snorkeling which was still quite scary at some points.
Other highlights of the trip including seeing dolphins and sharks swimming behind our boat at night, looking up at the stars, being rocked to sleep by the waves and getting up early to see the sunrise. I’d never spent so long on a boat and I loved it. It was cool to sort of feel like an explorer charting new waters, discovering what’s beyong the horizon, and being so close to an amazing piece of nature that some people estimate will only be around for the next 30 years.
December 2, 2008
After our whistle stop tour through Brisbane we flew into Arlie beach, the home of the Whitsunday islands. The area is truly picturesque with palm trees and beautiful beaches. Our hostel felt like we were living inside a rain forest, and was cheap enough for us to get our own room, which was a nice change of pace. Our hostel also had an open section in front with a bar, club and shops, all a stones throw from the beach. We met some very friendly Aussie blokes and blokesses (?) as well as many English people, Canadians and Germans. We got to learn some cool Aussie slang and field questions on what American is really like (“So, have you guys like, ever been to the ghetto?” “Is California like the OC?” etc.)
December 2, 2008
After we had our tearful goodbye with the Arts Factory we caught a greyhound bus to Brisbane. We had less than 24 hours in Brisbane which was a surprisingly nice place. When we got in we took a bus to Lone Pine Koala sanctuary where I got the chance to cuddle a koala! After initially being afraid once we saw the koalas lounging and playing in the branches and chewing eucalyptus (which makes them stoned) I was instantly smitten with these furry laid back dudes. I got to hold Seymore, as he used me like a tree and we smiled for a picture. Then I got to pet him and he felt just like a stuffed animal. We got to see young and old koalas and even some baby koalas in the pouches of their mommies! Adorable! The zoo also had wild turkeys and lizards roaming around which gave it a cool bush feeling. They also had a large field enclosure with kangaroos of varying sizes, emus and a peacock roaming free. You just walk amongst them and can buy food to feed the kangaroos who were very mellow. They are as beautiful as they are tasty!
After the zoo Ally and I had an ultimate date night in honor of thanksgiving. We went down to a pedestrian mall in town and had dinner at an outdoor cafe. We got a turkey with cranberry sandwich and listened to live music floating in from a nearby bar. Then we strolled around and happened on a circus in the street that was surprisingly good and entertaining. Other attractions of note were a store named Ally, a cool Christmas window display and a croc store (barf). In our quest for dessert we got kicked out of a building for wearing flip flops (crazy!) but settled on a cafe where I got a pecan tart! Then we saw the movie Australia which everyone should definitely go see. The visuals are amazing and it’s an interesting piece of Australian history. Our hostel in Brisbane was a little bit gross but we didn’t log that much time there, and they had a cool cafe where we had breakfast and met a canadian traveling the world by boat who teaches English in Singapore. Once again I am always amazed at the cool experiences that fellow travelers have.
