Weekend Getaway

This past weekend, me and Mark received a van and drove out to the Coromandel Peninsula to check out a concert, about 4 hours away from Auckland. I was really excited to do this since it would be my first venture outside of the main city since i'd arrived. Refer to the map, Coromandel is to the right of Auckland.


So we loaded up the van with all the necessities: bread, peanut butter, chips and beer. We chose our complimentary DVD's: War of the Worlds and Lethal Weapon...1. Yes, these were the best options. It was lucky for us that one of the first scenes of LW1 features a bottomless Mel Gibson with a mullet. Anyways, we headed out on the road, the left side of it that is.

The drive was long. But we chose a "scenic" route that we thought would follow the water the whole way. We were half right. Here are a few shots from the trip up:








Making it to Coromandel Town around 9 at night, we were glad to finally be at our destination. The drive up was treacherous at times. Many areas of New Zealand are uninhabited and you can drive for miles on unguarded roads, barely large enough for one car nevermind two. The country is extremely mountainous, only adding to the craziness of the ride. And they're big fans of the "one lane bridge" here; your guess is as good as mine. This is what we saw most of the ride up there, not much room for error. What you can't see is the continuous 300 foot drop to the left.



Getting there, we drove through the city in about 8 seconds. Bar? Check. Gas station? Check. Everything else needed to sustain life? Try the next town. Asking the station attendant where the concert venue was for tomorrow night, he referenced a local map, showing Coroglen as our real destination...about 2 hours drive away. Oops. Anyways, we made due and set up shop in the bar's parking lot, knocking back a few beers with Mel and Danny Glover. We checked out the local bar scene, got as many dirty looks as your local pedophile and headed off to bed. And awoke to a park ranger knocking on our car window at 7:30am...with a warning.


Oh well. So that morning we ventured out to Coroglen, driving one of the most ridiculous roads I could ever imagine, called the 309 road. Named after the number of turns in it, 80% of it unguarded and concrete chipped from what road remains, it was a little daunting. We arrived to the town and realized a trend of business development. It was a bar, and that's it. A little down on the idea of a concert being held here later that night, we decided to make the most of the day.

We headed to a place called Hahei. Hahei is an area about 30 minutes north of Coroglen, and features a place called Cathedral Cove. I will just show some pictures, because my words will not describe it well:





Feeling a little inspired, we headed back to Coroglen to get a few drinks before the show. Grabbing a case of beer, we made a quick dash for the hills to hang out on a farm with some cattle. We jumped an unassuming fence and hung out for the next few hours with some nature. After a few cold ones and some close encounters with the locals (cows), we headed back to the show. Jumping the fence back to the road my knee momentarily brushed the wire, sending an electric jolt through my body. The next few minutes are hazy, though Mark will not let me forget that I described the feeling as a "sonic boom through my body". So I was electrocuted. Ok, even I'll admit that is hilarious. And I don't get any points for being smart on this trip, but we already knew I wouldn't exert my brain too much anyways.

So we got to the concert, and to our surprise there were about 1000 people there. Coming from all over the country to see this act, Tiki Taane, a local Maori rap/reggae/folk act. This summer he reached #1 on the New Zealand charts. The song that succeeded him? "In the Air Tonight" from Phil Collins. This is dead serious...it came out in 1981 and charted in 2008. Yes, I am as puzzled as you are. Here are some pics and an annoyingly unclear video from the show:




The night was fun, and afterwards we camped out again, this time with no problems. We hit the road early the next morning to head back and after a few scenic stops...



...we were back in Auckland. And city life resumes. It was a great and exhausting trip, though it's weird to arrive back at the hostel with a sense of relief and comfort. I will post all the pictures from the last two weeks up soon, until then i'm out.

Contact Info

I have it. It is located on the right hand side of the page, and will change accordingly if needed. This contact info should stay the same through December 1st, or until I get deported, whichever comes first.

The phone number is including all country codes and international hoo-ha, so that is the exact number. Now you no excuse not to contact me, well i'm sure you have many, but whatever.

Send me a text. Buy a phone card. Give me a call. Or bugger off you wank.

What's going on?

Well, it's been a little while since i've updated what actually is going on over here in New Zealand, so let me take a minute to do that.

Since I last left you, I was in the midst of looking for a job. I ended up finding one last week at a retail bookstore, Whitcoulls. One of the largest bookstores in New Zealand, well, just take a look for yourself.

Whitcoulls Official Website

So for the last week I have worked there in additional to working 16 hours at the hostel to cover my accommodation. And in that week I learned that retail and me just don't click. So I cut back on my hours there, moreso towards zero, and will be looking for other work somewhere more palatable...I can get into specifics, but i'd just be whining. Let's just say it didn't help wearing an extremely red shirt every day.

Anyways, so right now I am back to square one. Right now, my only hours are behind the desk at the hostel...which looks a little like this:



Yes, this is Surf N' Snow Backpackers in Auckland. Now I know you're saying that I complained about my other work shirt, so what gives. Ok, I never said my reasoning was rock solid. Oh, and I am definitely giving the universal Asian picture pose. When in Rome...

Also, this weekend I will be driving to a city called Coromandel with sir Marcus to go check out some concert. This van is called a spaceship and is super-neat (yes, I said that) with a bed, grill, dvd player and a steering column on the wrong side of the dash. So that should be interesting. Because A) Other side of road being driven on B) the route to be taken is mostly coastal, and by coastal I mean, 'oh look, roads with no guardrails' coastal. Ah, there's no need for a C). But it's free, and that's a good price, so I will keep you posted on how that goes!!

Also, I climbed Mt. Eden the other day, which is one of dozens of dormant volcanoes in Auckland and New Zealand in general. It is the highest natural point in Auckland and gives an amazing view. Here is the view:



It was pretty cool, and worth the walk/hike. (Yes, I know, awesome videography...yikes).

So things are going good over here. I hope everyone back home is staying warm! I miss all of you and will keep you posted as always.

So one more ridiculous video...

So, by now you pretty much know Mark...so this will not come as a surprise. This was like 2 weeks ago, but once again, uploads speeds are about as fast as the Mesozoic era. It lasted 180 million years, roughly.



P.S. Marcy's Playground "Sex and Candy" just came on the radio. I think it just came out here...

Pictures...finally

Here are my pictures from the first two weeks. Enjoy!!

Auckland first 2 weeks

and one hilarious video...

Intersection

I was walking past the harbor today and I was nearing the street corner ready to cross. I missed the light. So I was waiting there, and it was about 7:30pm so the sun is setting; I'm listening to my ipod. I'm standing there staring blankly across the intersection when I notice the sky's brilliant red streaking through the skyline above my head. It's cutting into the tall buildings just dropping into the streets but I had caught it. In that moment, my ipod is playing the perfect song and it all happens at once.
The warmness rushes over me and paints a smile on my face as I stand. It takes all of thirty seconds but it feels like so much longer, like time is frozen still. And it is all that is needed to make my day.
On trips I look for these moments. When everything and everyone is so far away and home is just a thought, I can lose sight on what I am really there for. These moments, this moment, brings that back into focus. In these seconds I feel everything. It's overwhelming, but it is what makes it all worth it. The cramped living spaces, the passing acquaintances, the time away from real life, missing friends and family, and all of the uncertainty. It goes away and lives inside of you at the same time.
And then the light changes. So I walk on to that cramped living space, to wish another someone good luck on their travels. Still away from real life, uncertain about tomorrow...and I wouldn't change any of it.

Back to normal

So the last few days have been pretty normal by any standard. Went on an interview for a retail job at Quiksilver (have yet to hear back...hold back your laughter). I also have done a few shifts of reception at the hostel. The manager here is a Japanese guy in his early 30's named Take (pronounced Teck-Ay). He is quite inept and all the backpackers working here completely agree, his countryman included. He scratches his head when he is confused, which is often...it's really silly. I've found that most backpackers (at least the ones who stay in one place for an extended period of time) are characters. I could write a book on this place...it's hilarious. Pictures will be coming soon...don't worry.

Not too much new to report here. I am watching the gamecast of the red sox game right now. Ah, the life of a backpacker can be so normal sometimes.

Picture blog

So here are some pictures from the last week...

The Auckland city skyline on a commonly overcast day...



Wait a second...there's a Wollongong campus in Auckland?? On a sidenote, here is an excerpt from an email I wrote to the head of Campus East (the dorms I stayed at in Australia 5 years ago) in regards to presenting to the students there to get free accomodation...

"My colleague Mark Williams and I, who met while at Campus East, have spoken with hundreds of students about the benefit of studying abroad and its' positive impact on an American student's career path...We would like to visit Campus East, for nostalgic as well as educational purposes. I wanted to express our interest in speaking with the students at Campus East in regards to getting the most out of their studying abroad experience and how to use that post graduation to enhance their careers." - ok ok, so I might be embellishing our credentials a little bit...it's worth a shot!



The first picture was not so good. This is the second, and i've just told Mark to look like he's alive. He might be overcompensating a bit. And Will could care less what is going on.



The next three are me on a yacht...I'm so mom-friendly...





I think this is art-noveau...or maybe art deco? Or I am just a big dork. You choose.



One of the main reasons I am here is so someone can carry Mark home after a long night of screeching and bootydancing. I was born to do this.

Auckland in one piece...

So I got into Auckland after 36 hours of continuous travel. Boston-Charlotte-Los Angeles-Fiji-Auckland. I was 80% sure Mark would be there at the airport, but i don't think i give him enough credit...he was there. I got in at about 2 in the afternoon, and it was good to see a familiar face. We didn't waste anytime, and after dropping off my bag at the hostel we did this...



So that was scary. But it was free, so that was great. It’s much more satisfying not paying for almost dying, I would feel silly otherwise. Mark works for the hostel doing travel sales and reception, so he hooked up this Skywalk for us. It's off this structure called the Skytower (630 feet):



Afterwards, I changed my pants. Yes, I know that's what you were thinking...

So i've been in Auckland for 4 days now. It is a really interesting city is many ways. I will be posting pictures soon, when I can get access to the work computers here, so bear with me. I am going to begin working at the hostel for a few days a week, and that will gain me free accomodation. I'll also be looking for other work as well to start balancing out the money i'm spending. Every time I open my wallet it’s a sobering moment. So I have my resume and I’ll go out this week and find something I am completely overqualified for.

So life here is good. I’m nearing the point of comfortability and looking forward to getting into sort of a rhythm here. I’ll try to post more frequently. I’ll starting having more time to do so.

Fun Fact: New Zealanders refer to green peppers as capsicums. I know this because Mark also works at Subway. Yes, I just said that.