Spring Break, Part One - Australia

We have two weeks of a mid-semester break for Univerisity, so Kristine, Sarah, Nicole and I headed to Sydney, Australia for our first week. We arrived on Saturday and checked into our hostel at Bondi Beach. We rented a car to make getting around easier. On Sunday, we went to Featherdale's Wildlife Park and we were able to feed kangaroos as well as hug a koala. It was such an incredible experience. I also drove for the first time on the wrong side of the car and road. It was an interesting experience because the roads were very narrow and our car was very wide, but I managed to keep us and the car in one piece. After the wildlife park, we decided to take a detour and check out the Olympic Park and the Sydney's Royal Easter Show was going on. We heard it was cheaper to go after 5, so we did some grocery shopping then back to our hostel. We then went to the Easter Show and after getting lost a few times, we headed straight to the alcohol booth. The Royal Easter Show was very similar to the county fair, and made me crave funnel cakes and churros, however they lacked those items, but they did have chips on a stick. We met some wood-choppers from NZ and Aussie in the alcohol area, and they gave us free tickets to return the next day and watch them chop. So, Monday we went back to the Royal Easter Show and spent the entire day there watching the wood chopping, and checking out everything else that the show had to offer. Tuesday we decided to stay at the beach and soak up the sun. Later that night, our hostel was taking people to a club in a van, so we hopped on and had our first Sydney night life experience. Wednesday we took a ferry to Manly and did some souvenir shopping. Manly reminded me a lot of Devonport, and it was cute little area. Thursday, we devoted our day to the beach again, but later that night embarked on my first pub crawl. We paid $25 and were taken to 5 bars and given a free drink at each bar. Nicole and I won a contest at the third bar for a free cruise for Friday along the harbour, which was the high of the night. The low of the night was realizing that the party bus had left without us to the fourth bar, so we had to catch a cab and meet them there. Originally we had planned on going to the Taronga Zoo on Friday but after waking up in the morning, we decided Bondi Beach day sounded a lot better, so we headed down the beach to soak up some more sun. Friday night, Nicole and I went on the boat cruise while Kristine and Sarah explored Bondi Beach because they didn't want to pay for the tickets to go on the boat cruise. Nicole and I had an amazing night and it was incredible to see Darling Harbour from a boat with all the lights. Saturday we finally made it to the Taronga Zoo, it was cool but I liked the Wildlife Park a lot better because it was more interactive. I'm not a huge fan of starring at animals through fences. We had to leave by 2 because we were headed back to Auckland and our flight was suppose to be at 6. However, our flight was delayed an hour and we didn't make it back to Auckland until midnight and it was close to 2 before we made it home. Sunday was Easter and it was not the same without being around family, but I was able to skype the family today for their Easter, so that helped make it feel more like an actual holiday. Tomorrow I leave for Samoa and will have more adventures to share!!

Passed Out on the plane ride

Driving on the Anzac Bridge

First Time driving on the wrong side of the car/road

our hostel

Bondi Beach :)

Koala

Feeding a Joey

Harbour Bridge

Sydney Opera House

Ferry to Manly

Merry-Go-Round at Manly

Manly Beach

Pub Crawl

Party Boat Cruise

Speak No Evil, See No Evil, Hear No Evil

Koala at the Zoo

Kangaroo

Hungry Jacks instead of Burger King

Half Way through my Adventure =/

My journey in New Zealand has met its halfway mark, I officially only have 2 1/2 months left in this country and can't believe how fast time is flying by.

I think I could live in New Zealand if it weren't for the lack of these things:

1. Friends & Family
   
2. Taco Bell
3. Dr. Pepper (They have it in single cans at 2 convenient stores... not enough)
4. Vejars
5. In-N-Out
6. Spicy Doritos
7. Urbane Cafe
8. Chipotle

Things that were introduced to me in New Zealand that will forever change my life:

1. Hokey Pokey Ice Cream
2. Diagonal Crossing at intersections
3. L&P Soda
4. Starburst Rattlesnakes 
5. Tim Tams
6. Squiggles

Though New Zealand has introduced me to some amazing things, they also have some very strange things:

1. Starburst Babies 
2. Eggs that don't need to be refrigerated 
3. Meat pies (chicken, mince, steak... pretty much anything in the form of a pie) 

While being in New Zealand I've also experienced a few Firsts:

1. First Time Camping
2. First Time Surfing
3. First Time Drinking LEGALLY
4. First Time Swimming in a Waterfall
5. First Time Driving on the Beach
6. First Time Zorbing
7. First Time Caving

Then there are the things that the U.S. should adopt that New Zealand already does:

1. The Metric System (since we are the only country that doesn't use it, we should probably start)
2. The Money system (they don't use pennies or nickels, instead everything is rounded to the 10)
3. Correct meal portions (when out at dinner your meal is actually made for one person, this may help the obesity that America faces)

Fun Slang Words that are now a part of my vocabulary:

1. Dodgy - sketchy, dirty
2. Heaps - lots
3. Sweet As - awesome/cool
4. Keen - interested
5. Mate - friend
6. Flash As - expensive/nice
7. Rubbish - trash
8. Pissed - drunk, but they also use the word "piss" in many ways for instance "taking the piss out of something" is making fun of something, "out on the piss" means drunk at the clubs, "on the piss" meaning on your way to being drunk or if you just use "piss" it means alcohol  

Too Far from Family & Friends

Diagonal Crossing (FAVORITE)

 Eating my first Steak & Cheese meat pie

First Time Surfing

Lack of Gravity in New Zealand

So I have always been a clumsy person and I don't pride myself as being graceful by any means, but I am beginning to think this country has a lack of gravity. Proof #1 Spraining my ankle while getting off my surfboard 1 1/2 months ago at one of the best surfing beaches in the Northern Island, I thought that was one of the lamest ways to hurt yourself, but it keeps getting better, or worse.. Proof #2 Last weekend while hiking, I tripped over some rocks while hiking on the best scenic cliff walk that New Zealand has to offer. Proof #3 If you take a look at people walking down Queen street or really any street in Auckland, you will notice many people tripping, me being one of them from time to time. Proof #4 Today! I was walking to take a test, which is shitty because who has exams on Saturdays anyways, and the door to the building was closed, as I walk around to use the other door, I fall on the uneven sidewalk. Mind you, this is at 8 in the morning so there is heaps of traffic for people going to work and as I fall completely down my water bottle goes tumbling down onto the road through traffic and as a car runs it over, I get splashed (barely, but still) Not only did I further injure my already sprained ankle that has yet to heal, but I also hurt my other foot really bad. I'm hoping its only bruised since I can still walk, but I am really thinking I am going to have to be put in one of those Mana Balls that I zorbed in to get around this country without getting hurt.

Road Trip

This weekend a bunch of us decided to head up to the 90 Mile Beach and Cape Reinga, I traveled with Lauren and her friend Alice. We started our adventure at 9 on Friday morning and didn't end it until 11:30 Sunday night. As we were driving North, our first stop was Mangawhai Heads which is known to have the best cliff walk in New Zealand, there was a beautiful beach and we walked along the trail for about an hour until my clumsy self decided to fall on my bad ankle. We then got back on the road and went as far as Paihia where we met up with the boys Taylor, Joey, Alex and Steven. We then caravaned to Rainbow Falls which is a 27 meter waterfall near the town Kerikeri. We decided to go for a swim and though the water was freezing cold, it was a fun adventure. After we were done swimming we hit the road again to our final destination of the night, Maitai Bay. We met up with Katlan, Jeff and Alex at the campsite and they helped us set up our tent in the dark. We saw the most beautiful view of the stars and I have never seen so many at once in my life. We woke up the next morning and went for a swim in the ocean before we began driving up the coast some more. Our next destination was the 90 Mile beach, I learned it is not actually 90 miles but instead 55 miles, apparently a drunken sailor walked along the beach and swore it was 90 miles and that is how it got its name. We drove the car on the beach and then layed out to soak up the sun. After we had enough sun, Lauren, Alice and I walked over to the Giant Te Paki Sand Dunes. There we were able to surf down the dune on a boogy board. I got sand in my mouth and only went once, but it was lots of fun. After that we decided to head further north to Cape Reinga where there is a lighthouse and the Tasman Sea meets the Pacific Ocean. We had a picnic dinner and ran into the boys again while we were there and all enjoyed the sunset together. After the sun had set we went to our next campsite in Tapotupotu Bay (little did we know that this campsite was infested with mosquitoes that enjoyed eating away at us) We all sat together with this question book that Taylor owns, and continued to get to know each other better. The next morning, it was time to head back to Auckland, so we left the bay and started another long driving adventure. As we were  driving we came across this beautiful beach called Omapere and stopped to enjoy the sun, we went with us girls and Jeff, Katlan and Alex but as we were messing around on the beach, the other boys came running towards us because they had seen us while they were driving. We had no cell phone service in the far North so it was quite humorous that we kept running into each other. After that we all caravaned to the tallest tree in New Zealand. It's name is Tane Mahuta which means Lord of the Forest in Maori, and it was a giant Kauri tree. We took our pictures then continued our journey home. We stopped again at Bayly's Beach to watch the sunset and all of us decided to go swimming in the ocean because the waves were so huge. We then got to drive on the beach and I got to drive around for a while as well. It was truly the perfect end to a great weekend. We drove a few more hours and finally made it back to Auckland. :)

View of Beach from Mangawhai Heads

Rainbow Falls

Cave behind waterfall

Me in front of the waterfall

Te Paki Sand Dunes

Driving on the 90 Mile Beach

Cape Reinga

Lauren and Me

Tasman Sea Meets Pacific Ocean at Sunset

Tapotupotu Campsite

Me in front of the giant Kauri tree

Group Photo

Tourist Photo

Sunset in the waves of Bayly's Beach

Me getting ready to drive on Bayly's Beach